Chapter 90

Marissa's lips parted slightly.

If she couldn't call him Mr. Brooks, then what was she supposed to call him?

Theodore,maybe? Or perhaps...something else?

"Honey?" she said evenly, her tone so calm it was almost deadpan.

Theodore coughed lightly, raising a hand to his lips as if to compose himself. It was rare to see him flustered, but the faint pink on his ears betrayed him.

Behind them, Boden nearly choked on air. He coughed so violently that his eyes watered, caught completely off guard by Marissa's unexpected form of address.

Marissa turned, brows knitting together slightly.

Was there something wrong with him physically? "You should really visit a hospital for a check-up,"she said with sincere concern.

They continued the conversation while walking out together.

"Me?" Boden blurted, catching up to her quickly."No, no, I just did a full medical exam recently! I'm perfectly fine."

It wasn't illness. He had simply been shocked by Marissa's boldness. And now she was teasing him about it!

Marissa gave a small nod, her attention returning to Theodore. "So, what do you think of that name? Do you like it?"

Theodore didn't answer immediately.

His eyes darkened a little, carrying a glint that hinted at danger or perhaps jealousy.

Had she ever used that same word with Bryson before? Without a word, he opened the car door and placed his hand above it to shield her head.

"You don't like it?" Marissa pressed, her tone flat but her eyes sparkling mischievously.

Theodore let out a soft chuckle, his voice warm but controlled. "You can address me however you'd like."

In other words, he didn't mind.

Marissa caught on instantly.

She slid gracefully into the car, showing no trace of embarrassment, and said with a straight face,"Alright then, honey."

Theodore rubbed his forehead with a helpless smile."You sound so stiff."

"How could you say that, honey?" Marissa crooned,mimicking Evelina's syrupy, flirtatious tone perfectly.

If he hadn't seen her expression, Theodore might've actually believed the act, but her straight face gave her away completely. The two of them continued chatting casually in the back seat.

Up front in the passenger seat, Wilbur was keeping a close eye on the online trends.

Someone had just called him to report that before they could intervene, one party was already working to remove the trending topics, while yet another was paying big money to keep them up.

It turned into an online tug-of-war, neither side backing down, until the servers finally crashed.Twitter's tech team was scrambling to fix it.

Could the Curtis family be behind this?

And who else had enough influence to challenge them head-on?

Wilbur frowned slightly and glanced at the rearview mirror.

The two in the back were still deep in conversation,completely at ease with each other. Marissa leaned back in her seat, tapping her fingers lightly on her knee as she explained why she hadn't turned to Theodore for help. "I'm planning to reportit to the police," she said simply.

Theodore was momentarily taken aback. He had already gone through a list of potential solutions in his head-simple, efficient, and ready for execution.

Yet, of all the possibilities he had considered,Marissa's approach was not one of them.

Given the Brooks family's influence, their name alone could resolve countless problems without much effort.

But he caught on quickly. "You're right. Reporting it to the police would work."

As he spoke, he gave a few light taps, signaling Wilbur in the passenger seat, who immediately responded with a nod.

Not wanting to interrupt the growing connection between Marissa and Theodore, Wilbur hesitated,then pulled out his phone to type a message explaining everything clearly.

But after only typing two words, he froze and glanced back.

Theodore had already picked up on why Marissa wanted to involve the police. His calm voice broke the silence. "Do you think the situation's serious enough for the police to step in?"

Marissa opened her mouth to reply, but her eyes flicked to Wilbur, who was looking back at them. She paused. "If there's something important you need to discuss, go ahead. I'll put on my headphones."

Wilbur quickly waved his hand. "No, no... it's not about work." He shot a look at Theodore, then added, "Since Miss Curtis's already involved, it's better to talk things through openly."

He had overheard Marissa's mention of calling the police earlier.

Her composed tone suggested she already had a plan. The last thing he wanted was for Theodore to derail her strategy.

Still, something felt off. Could there be another twist in the online situation?

"Go ahead." Theodore's words were succinct.

Wilbur hesitated, not wanting to ruin the rare,almost gentle atmosphere between them. After a deep breath, he straightened up and said, "The trending topic's been taken down."

Marissa froze for a second. "Taken down?" She quickly grabbed her phone. The last time she checked, the topic was still climbing the charts.

She had planned to let it run wild, to let the public outrage peak before she made her move, exposing the truth and ensuring those spreading the rumors would face consequences without her having to explain herself.

Wilbur continued, "Two groups are fighting over it.The topic keeps going up and down. Twitter's server even crashed-they're still trying to fix it." Marissa's expression shifted. She understood immediately.

Her team was boosting the exposure, but who was trying to suppress it? The Curtis family,maybe?

Without hesitation, she dialed Marc's number.

"Rissa, what's up?" Marc answered the call almost instantly.

"Marc," she said, wasting no time, "did you have the trending topic taken down?"

Marc's voice came back with a hint of confusion."Yeah, I did. But my guys said there's another group outbidding us to do the same. Is it Theodore? Wait,are you two together right now?"