In the Golden Cauldron, Leonardo excused himself from the private dining room and made a call to Tim.
“Have you picked her up?”
“I’ve sent Mrs. Emerson back to the mansion.”
“Mm.”
Hanging up and turning around to head to the washroom, he collided into a waitstaff, who was carrying a bowl of curry in his hand. The bowl tipped over, and its content splashed onto his shirt.
“I’m sorry, Sir… I’m sorry…” It scared the crap out of the waitstaff, and he fervently apologized.
Leonardo’s brows were pulled together. Instead of scolding the waitstaff, he just turned and walked away.
As it turned out, Leonardo had a room in the Golden Cauldron, where he would always stay for the night whenever it got late after he attended to anything nearby. However, that was before his marriage. He had never stayed there ever since his marriage.
The room contained everything he needed: toiletries and clothes. He took off his shirt and rummaged through the wardrobe for a new one, his eyes landing on a navy-blue piece. As he reached out to take it, he suddenly sensed someone approaching from behind. He stopped and turned around instantly to grab the person’s throat with his hand.
“Who are you?”
The person’s skin felt soft and tender; it was a woman. Leonardo looked down and saw a face he recognized.
Vicky was only wearing a strappy plunge dress without a brassiere. She appeared very seductive. She did not bat an eyelash even though he was tightening his hand around her throat.
Looking at him seductively, she said, “Mr. Emerson, shouldn’t you show more tender loving care toward women? I’m suffocating…” She then let out a soft, lustful moan.
Vicky was a dab hand at seduction after sleeping around with so many men. But her tricks on other men obviously did not work on “Douglas”.
The next moment, “Douglas” threw her out of his room. Looking at her in disdain, his face darkened. “Get the hell out of here and go back to wherever you came from!”
In spite of that, Vicky was determined. She was not going to give up just yet. Pulling herself to her feet, she lurched forward.
“Douglas” was prepared, though. He swiftly stepped aside, and Vicky lost her balance, tumbling to the floor. Taking out his phone, he contacted the security room. “There is a mad woman here. Get her out!”
After he said that, he shut the door and put on his shirt.
Still unwilling to give up, Vicky struggled with the security guard. “He’s my boyfriend. Let me go!”
Leonardo came out and looked sternly at the security guard. “Why is this woman still here? Can’t you do your job? The Golden Cauldron needs to change its security guards.”
The guard may not have known that Leonardo was the owner of the Golden Cauldron, but he knew that since this patron could afford to rent a private room for the long term, he had to be either rich or powerful. If the patron complained to the management, he would lose his job. So, he got tough and dragged Vicky away. As he made his way, he bowed and apologized to Douglas.
“I’m sorry for the trouble, Sir.”
Leonardo said nothing. Just as the security guard was about to move, Leonardo suddenly said, “Call the police and tell them that she sexually harassed me.”
The security guard was transfixed for a moment. He had been working in the Golden Cauldron for many years, but that was the very time a male patron had complained about a woman sexually harassing him. Plus, he said it so naturally.
“Understood.”
Never had a man snubbed her and humiliated her that way, so she decided to drag Summer’s name through the mire. “Summer was the one who told me that you’d be here tonight. This is all her idea. See? You’ve been treating her so well, but she doesn’t even look at you.”
The security guard put his hand over Vicky’s mouth and brought her away.
Leonardo’s face was still dark. He squinted as he mumbled, “Summer…”
Upon returning to the private room, Carl saw his sullen face. “What happened?”
“The Golden Cauldron has to replace everything,” Leonardo said. The waitstaff whom he collided into earlier must have been bought by Vicky. She probably used the same way to find out his room number as well.
The Golden Cauldron had always placed its patrons’ privacy at heart. Now it seemed that many of its services had been compromised and needed a cleanup.
When the dinner was over, Carl noticed that Leonardo was still sitting there, and he was puzzled. Leonardo had recently been wanting to head home straight after work. Even if he had things to do, he would go home immediately once he got them done. “Why are you still sitting here?”
“Leave me to myself. I’m not going home today.” He stood up, grabbed his coat that hung on the back of the chair, and headed for the door.
Carl ran his fingers through his hair, mumbling to himself, “Are they having a fight?”
…
After dinner, Summer was back in her room. She lay in bed, tossing and turning. She had confirmed that Vicky did not go to the Golden Cauldron. But as long as “Douglas” did not come home, she just could not be at ease.
She was keeping an ear out for any roar of the engine. It was past midnight, and she had yet to hear a sound. That meant “Douglas” was still not back.
She restlessly took out her phone and thought about calling him. Hovering her finger over the screen, she hesitated. She never made the call. As “Douglas’s” face came to mind, she felt even more guilty. It was not until the latter part of the night that she finally could no longer stay up and fell asleep.
The next morning, she felt energetic despite not having too good of a sleep last night. Coming downstairs, she could not help but ask the bodyguard at the door, “Did Douglas come home last night?”
“No.” The bodyguard shook his head.
Her heart sank. On the way to the office, she plucked up her courage to call “Douglas”. A few rings later, “Douglas” answered.
“Anything?”
His voice sounded hoarse as if he had just gotten out of bed. Judging from his usual waking hours, Summer knew that he did not have the habit of sleeping in.
“No… Nothing. I just dialed the wrong number. Keep sleeping…” She hung up in a hurry. Biting her lip, she was worried that Vicky had really gotten to him. The thought of “Douglas” sleeping with Vicky disgusted her. She even felt regret.
After hanging up, Leonardo’s lips curled up in a smile. She finally called him. He would let her worry for a while then. Leonardo was now in a good mood and made a call through the intercom.
“Please send me a glass of hot water.”
He forgot to turn on the heater in the Golden Cauldron the night before and had caught a cold.