Silas Kent could no longer hear any of the discussion going on inside the room. Before, he could at least offer a few perfunctory replies, but now, he couldn’t even be bothered to feign interest.

His thoughts were entirely on Mika Summers.

A trip to the restroom should take ten minutes at most. But now, it had been nearly half an hour, and Mika Summers still hadn’t returned.

He stood up, made his excuses to the group, and left.

Just as he opened the door to leave, the door to the room opposite his opened as well, and a woman walked out.

When the woman saw him, she froze for a moment, then gave him a polite smile and a nod.

He merely gave a cold smirk and closed the door, intending to look for Mika Summers. However, before he could take a step, he caught sight of a familiar man behind the woman out of the corner of his eye.

How could he not recognize his love rival? The urgent need to find Mika Summers vanished. He shoved his hands in his pockets, a devilish smile spreading across his face as he looked at the two of them.

"Tristan, it’s settled then. I’ll stop by your company another day to find you."

Tristan Grayson glanced indifferently at the man in the hallway and said coldly, "Don’t look for me. Ian Shaw will be responsible for this partnership."

Aria Joyce frowned, displeased. Just as she was about to speak, a man’s disgruntled voice drifted from inside the room. "Tristan Grayson, I just got back! Can’t you let me get some rest?"

"You’ve rested long enough," Tristan Grayson retorted sharply, tossing the file in his hand into Ian Shaw’s arms.

Holding the file in one hand, Ian Shaw sauntered over. He placed a hand on Aria Joyce’s shoulder and said with a wry smile, "Miss Joyce, it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on."

"Mr. Shaw, please show some respect. If you don’t, I’ll have to consider bringing my bodyguards to our next meeting," Aria Joyce said coldly, her mouth twitching in disgust.

Ian Shaw removed his hand and shrugged helplessly. "Miss Joyce, that’s quite a double standard. You meet with Tristan Grayson alone, but you need bodyguards to meet with me."

"That’s because I trust Mr. Grayson’s integrity. As for you, Mr. Shaw, I can’t say the same." After her cold reply, Aria Joyce turned and strode away proudly in her high heels.

Ian Shaw watched Aria Joyce leave, the smile fading from his lips. He turned a wary eye to the imposing man before him. He could sense it—this man was radiating killing intent toward his friend...

Ian Shaw glanced from the man to Tristan Grayson, growing more certain of his suspicion. ’This killing intent is no joke...’

"Ian Shaw, leave," Tristan Grayson said sharply, shooting him a cold glance.

How could Ian Shaw possibly leave? With Tristan Grayson in his condition, how could he leave him alone with a clear conscience?

So, after a moment’s hesitation, he walked over to Tristan Grayson’s side. He cleared his throat and whispered, "Ahem, hey man, you want me to call for backup?"

"..."

Tristan Grayson shot him a death glare, making Ian Shaw shudder. "Alright, alright, I’m going! Can’t I go now?" he said with a placating smile. "Just remember to call if your life is in danger."

"You talk too much!"

Ian Shaw wasn’t the least bit angry at Tristan Grayson’s words. Instead, he just gave a nonchalant shrug and started to walk away.

However, at that moment, Aria Joyce, who should have been long gone, suddenly reappeared from the stairwell for some unknown reason. Just then, a woman’s scream echoed from the end of the hallway.

Hearing the scream, Silas Kent whipped his head around. When he saw Mika Summers emerging from the restroom at the end of the hall, he panicked, rushing past Ian Shaw to get to her.