Free Web NovelChapter 269: Chapter 269 A Bouquet of Trouble
After all, it had been such a long time.
They needed some reassurance. Otherwise, after everything that had happened—offending Ethan, losing several major projects, and suffering setbacks both internally and externally—the situation would only continue to worsen.
Samantha pressed her lips together. “I’ll handle it.”
She offered no further explanation.
Logan, however, continued, “We need to make plans as soon as possible. If we can’t secure the top position openly and legitimately, then we’ll have to resort to other necessary measures.”
As an elder, he couldn’t bring himself to say those “necessary measures” outright.
But he knew Samantha understood exactly what he meant.
Samantha sounded slightly impatient. “I’m going to see Ryan.”
With that, she ended the call.
Samantha drove straight to Kingswell.
The next few days would determine everything—success or failure hinged on this moment. Rose had NYU’s full support, and if the academic paper symposium went well, she would likely be promoted to the National Center for Biomedical Innovation once again.
Samantha had to find a way to ensure that Rose... could never recover.
She arrived at Kingswell.
Ryan was still in a meeting.
While waiting in his office, Samantha opened her laptop and continued editing her thesis.
As she worked, she suddenly remembered something.
One of the key reasons Aster had established such an extraordinary reputation in academia was because of her dissertations, which were regarded as textbook-level masterpieces.
Samantha searched for those papers.
As she studied their exceptional quality, her eyes narrowed.
She was so engrossed that she didn’t even notice Ryan walk into the office.
Ryan stepped inside.
His gaze fell on Samantha’s laptop screen, where an academic paper was displayed.
His eyes briefly settled on the author’s name.
Aster.
He then glanced casually at Samantha before looking away and continuing toward his desk.
Noticing his presence, Samantha instinctively closed her laptop.
“Ryan, are you finished?”
“Yeah.”
Samantha walked over and said with a hint of resignation, “My dad said the company hasn’t been doing well lately. It seems Ethan has been targeting us.”
Ryan glanced at her sideways. “He needs an outlet for his anger. If necessary, I’ll arrange other business opportunities for your family later.”
Hearing his reassurance, Samantha’s spirits lifted. She looked at him with admiration shining in her eyes.
“It’s okay. After all, this is a choice I made willingly.”
Only then did Ryan look directly at her.
A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
“How’s your paper coming along?” he asked.
Samantha smiled gently. “Professor Max is still helping me revise it. The quality is exceptional. I’m confident I’ll take first place.”
As for Rose...
She wasn’t qualified to compete with her on equal footing.
Ryan nodded.
“That’s good.”
*****
When Rose arrived at NYU, she learned that the research laboratories had just been equipped with a brand-new batch of equipment.
The offices and laboratories had now been integrated.
It was a major upgrade.
The investor, of course, was Kingswell—specifically, Ryan.
Alicia came running over first thing in the morning, chattering excitedly.
“Professor Rose, you have to try this new equipment! It’s incredible. We won’t have to run back and forth between different labs to analyze samples anymore. Each machine functions as a complete workstation. It’s fully equipped—you can even connect it to a computer for presentations and online meetings. It’s going to make our research so much faster!”
Rose walked over to test it.
She connected her laptop.
It really was incredibly convenient.
No more running back and forth between laboratories.
Rose had no idea how much this new equipment had cost, but it was undoubtedly an astronomical investment.
“Isn’t it amazing?” Alicia asked excitedly. Looking as though she had discovered buried treasure, she gently ran her hand over the machine beside Rose. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes sparkled at the thought of how much easier future experiments would become.
Rose smiled. “There’s no problem in this world that money can’t solve.”
Although the equipment had been purchased for Samantha’s project, everyone would benefit from it. It offered undeniable practical value.
“Professor Rose, have you finished your paper yet? The academic symposium is only a few days away,” Alicia suddenly asked.
Universities across the country were now racing to secure the final spots on the research teams.
“It’s finished. I’m submitting it today.”
Rose opened her laptop.
She had completed every revision.
All that remained was to press the final submit button.
Just then, Samantha walked in carrying a report.
She happened to overhear their conversation and curled her lips into a faint smile.
“You’re actually quite efficient.”
But rushing simply for the sake of speed was a serious mistake.
What was the point of being fast if the quality wasn’t there?
Without even looking up, Rose continued testing the new equipment through her laptop.
“I’m no match for you. Since I’m lacking in ability, I’ll just rely on a shortcut.”
Samantha frowned. “I think you should understand that connections and resources are also part of a person’s ability, Rose. There’s nothing wrong with admitting when someone else is exceptional.”
Rose calmly continued testing several key functions of the equipment.
“I can’t comment on anything else, but if you ever switched careers and became a locksmith, I’m sure you’d be famous.”
At first, Samantha didn’t understand.
It was Alicia who gave it away.
Unable to hold it in, she snorted with laughter.
Only then did Samantha realize what Rose meant.
Rose was mocking her for picking locks, stealing opportunities, and barging into other people’s lives.
Her expression immediately darkened. “If your actual abilities were as sharp as your tongue, perhaps people would finally take you seriously.”
With that, Samantha turned and walked outside.
A moment later, she returned carrying a beautifully wrapped bouquet of red roses.
Even from several feet away, Rose could smell the delicate fragrance of pure rose essential oil that had been lightly sprayed over the flowers.
Samantha glanced at Rose before casually looking toward Alicia.
“I love little gestures like this, so I receive flowers quite often. If you’d like, feel free to take a few to decorate your desks.”
She never explicitly said who had sent them.
But the answer was obvious.
Especially because Rose loved blue tulips so much, yet Ryan had never personally given her any. Every bouquet she received had actually been sent by Margaret in Ryan’s name.
Ryan himself had no idea what flowers she liked.
Samantha was deliberately putting on a show, flaunting what she wanted others to believe was their romance.
Rose couldn’t have cared less.
She was just about to click the final button to submit her thesis when suddenly, Alicia, who was sitting beside her, turned bright red.
She clutched at her throat and began gasping desperately for air.
“H-Help... help me...”
Barely able to breathe, Alicia grabbed Rose’s hand.
Rose turned and saw Alicia’s face rapidly turning blue, her lips already taking on a purple hue.
She could barely remain standing.
“I... I have allergic asthma... the flowers... those flowers...”
She couldn’t even finish the sentence.
Rose instinctively looked toward the bouquet in Samantha’s arms and immediately realized that this was far more serious than an asthma attack.
Alicia also had a heart condition.
It was highly likely that the allergic reaction had triggered a cardiac episode.
In severe cases, it could be fatal.
Rose’s expression changed instantly.
She quickly caught Alicia before she collapsed and shouted to Samantha, “Call an ambulance!”
Only then did Samantha take out her phone.
Rose quickly checked Alicia’s condition.
Her expression grew increasingly grim.
Alicia’s pulse was chaotic, and her heartbeat was dangerously irregular.
Combined with her allergic asthma, the situation was extremely critical.
Struggling to lift Alicia onto her back, Rose urgently said, “Call the affiliated hospital. Have them send an ambulance immediately! It’s only two minutes away.”
Samantha watched as Rose hurriedly carried Alicia toward the door.
Yet instead of panicking, she remained standing where she was.
Her gaze slowly shifted...
...to the laptop Rose had left behind.
