“My flight will be at seven tomorrow morning, Leonardo.”
There was no response. She could not help but press her ear against the door to listen for any sound inside.
It was totally quiet inside.
The room’s sound insulation was good, but as she pressed her ear against the door, she could still hear someone walking toward the door.
Summer let out a sigh of frustration. It seemed that Leonardo still did not want to see her. This man was harder to coax than Rosie.
She knocked on the door again.”I’ll leave if you don’t come out.”
There was finally some sound in the room, but it was Leonardo’s angry roar.”Get the hell out of here!”
Summer pursed her lips and went on her way.
After she left, the reading room’s door was opened from the inside.
Leonardo stood at the doorway, looking at the empty corridor with a grave expression.
Why did she still have to tell him when she had already decided to leave? She would only be asking for it if he could not stop himself from forcing her to stay, he thought.
…
The next morning, Leonardo woke up and stood in front of the mirror to sort his tie. He raised his hand to check the time.
It was ten minutes to seven.
Summer should have boarded the plane. Thinking of it, his expression sank even further. His hands became stiff, and his movements were almost mechanical.
After breakfast, Tim had arrived to pick him up.
During that time frame, Leonardo had slowly adapted. Tim no longer stayed at Leonardo’s house, but he came to send Leonardo to work every day.
Tim opened the car door for Leonardo respectfully. As Leonardo was getting into the car, he saw Tim’s tie from the corner of his eye and frowned.”The color of your tie doesn’t match your shirt.”
Tim was struck dumb. What happened for the young master to suddenly be so concerned about the color of his tie?
Leonardo did not immediately get into the car. He just stood there, staring at Tim.
Tim thought for a moment with his head low.”I’ll get a new one tomorrow.”
Leonardo still did not move.
Tim’s expression slackened. He glanced at Leonardo and undid his tie. Only then did Leonardo duck to get into the car.
Tim mumbled to himself. The young master had always been fussy, but he had never been finicky to the point that he would pick on his attire.
What happened without his knowledge? Whatever it was, Tim speculated that this was only the beginning.
He went around to the driver’s side and sat behind the wheel. Just as he was about to start the car, Leonardo spoke in the backseat.”What kind of freshener is in the car? It smells bad.”
“It’s the same air freshener that you said smelled good last time…”
“Oh, really?”
Knowing Leonardo’s temperament, Tim naturally did not say anything. He just put the lid on the air freshener and binned it.
While Tim was driving, Leonardo spoke again.”After so many years you still drive so roughly.”
First, Leonardo trashed the color of his tie, then the fragrance of the in-car air freshener, and now, he commented on his driving skills.
Tim realized that Leonardo was behaving that way because everything was now an eyesore to him. Why? Obviously, he was in a bad mood. Why was he in a bad mood? It had to have something to do with Mrs. Emerson.
Leonardo would act extremely out of his character because of Summer. That would explain everything.
With that realization, Tim remained cool, calm, and collected no matter how fastidious Leonardo became.
In the office, Leonardo also saw his top executives as an eyesore. It made the day difficult for everyone.
Tim started to wonder, what could have caused Leonardo to become so grumpy?
After work, Tim finally could not hold back his curiosity.”Are you going to Mrs. Emerson’s house for dinner tonight, Young Master?”
“Did I say I was leaving?”Leonardo sat behind his desk and looked at Tim with a straight face.”I’m staying back today.”
“Understood.”Tim nodded his head slightly.
Outside the president’s office, Tim sighed.
All of today’s tasks had been completed. Staying back was unnecessary, but Leonardo was his boss. When the boss told him to stay back, what could he do?
The last time Leonardo and Summer got into a cold war, it was because of Jerome. What was the trigger this time?
Tim took out his phone to check the news online while he walked back to his office.
There was no gossip about Mrs. Emerson and other men. It was hard to guess what the young master was thinking.
As soon as Tim was back in his office, he received a call from Leonardo on the intercom.
“Come over.”The line went dead once Leonardo finished his sentence.
Tim thought that there was some emergency, so he hurried over.”Is there anything, Young Master?”
“Call Summer and ask her where she is.”Leonardo was so serious that it sounded as if he was discussing business with him. There were no changes in his tone.
Tim’s mouth twitched, and he did not know what to say.
Under Leonardo’s stare, he took out his phone to call Summer.
The phone on the other end rang for a few moments before it was picked up.
Tim put the phone on loudspeaker so that Leonardo could hear the conversation.
“Tim.”Summer’s voice came through with an added gentleness.
“Where are you now, Mrs. Emerson?”Tim asked her the question as Leonardo requested.
She told him her location and asked,”What’s wrong? Has something happened to Leonardo?”
Tim could not help but look at Leonardo, who looked back at him emotionlessly as he signaled him to say whatever he wanted.
“No, I wanted to call a client but pressed your number by accident. I was just asking.”
It was a lousy excuse, of course, but Tim was known to be a respectful and cautious man. Hence, Summer suspected nothing and believed what he said.
“I’ve flown out of Hoover City and will only be back in ten days or so. I’m counting on you to take care of Leonardo.”
“I will, Mrs. Emerson. Don’t worry,”Tim said.
Then the conversation ended.
“Young Master…”Tim looked up at Leonardo as the line went dead. He noticed that Leonardo’s expression was worse than before.
He was not sure if Leonardo had heard him since Leonardo just squinted as if he was deep in thought.
A few moments later, Leonardo finally spoke.”She has never taken me seriously.”