Chapter 137 Invitation to a Meal
Olivia thought about Lisa's shy look just now, and her feelings got more and more mixed up.
After school, Luca was already waiting outside the kindergarten in his car.
Soon, the kids came out of the school building in a line. Luca's eyes quickly locked on Leo and Dylan.
The two little guys were holding hands at the end of the line, with Leo chattering away to Dylan.
Dylan spotted him first. His eyes lit up. He wanted to call out "Uncle," but remembered Luca's earlier reminder, so he just walked over quietly and tugged at Luca's clothes.
When Leo saw Luca, he immediately broke free from the teacher's hand and bounced over with a big smile. "Uncle LO! Why are you here?"
Luca crouched down, ruffled Leo's hair, and patted Dylan's head. His voice was gentle. "I'm here to pick up Dylan and stopped by to see you."
"Uncle LO, why didn't you come to school to see me today?" Leo looked up with his little face full of hope, clutching a drawing he made at school.
"I was busy today. Next time." Luca took the drawing and glanced at it—two little figures holding hands, with a sun and clouds nearby. "Looks great."
Leo beamed at the praise, puffing out his chest proudly. "Dylan and I drew it together!"
Luca nodded and stood up. He looked at Leo and said casually, "Leo, I have something to tell you. Tomorrow's the weekend. Want to grab lunch and hang out with Dylan and me?"
Leo froze for a second, his eyes going wide. "Just you, me, and Dylan?"
"Yeah." Luca crouched down again, looking into Leo's eyes with a soft tone. "Dylan just started at the new school and doesn't have many friends yet. I want him to spend more time with you. Would you like it?"
He didn't mention Olivia on purpose—he didn't want her overthinking or his real identity slipping out. He wasn't ready to come clean with her yet, so he'd start with the kids and build things up slowly.
Leo nodded right away, bobbing his head like crazy. "Yes! I would love it!"
"Then when you get home, tell your mom, okay?" Luca ruffled his hair. "Ask if she's cool with you coming out with me tomorrow. If yes, I'll pick you up at noon."
"No problem!" Leo patted his chest like it was all on him. "Mom will say yes for sure!"
Luca smiled, pulled two candies from his pocket, and gave one to each boy. "Okay, I'm taking Dylan now. You wait nicely for your mom. See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow, Uncle LO!" Leo waved his little hand, watching as Luca led Dylan to the car. He kept waving even after it drove off.
When Olivia pulled up to the kindergarten gate, she saw Leo standing by the road on his tiptoes, peering into the distance and humming a tune. He looked super happy.
She parked and honked the horn. Leo turned at the sound, saw her, grinned, and ran over. He opened the back door and climbed in.
"Mom! You're finally here!" Leo leaned close to her ear, all mysterious. "Mom, I have great news!"
Olivia glanced at him in the rearview mirror, smiling. "What news? You look so excited."
"Uncle LO invited me to eat and play with Dylan tomorrow!" Leo said, super pumped, waving his hands. "He said Dylan just transferred and has no friends, so he wants me to hang out with him more. He'll pick me up at noon tomorrow!"
Olivia's hands tightened on the wheel. Her heart sank. LO was only inviting Leo and Dylan?
"Just you and Dylan?" She tried to sound casual. "Uncle LO didn't invite me?"
"Nope. Uncle LO said just me, Dylan, and him." Leo said it like it was obvious. "Mom, I want to go. I want to play with Dylan!"
Leo grabbed her arm and shook it like he was begging, his little face full of hope, eyes sparkling.
"Sweetie, you going out with someone we don't know well makes me nervous." Olivia patted his head. "Plus, you and Dylan aren't super close yet. What if you don't have fun?"
"Uncle LO isn't a stranger! He's a good guy!" Leo shot back seriously. "Dylan and I are already good friends. We'll have fun for sure! Mom, please say yes!"
Leo shook her hand harder, looking like he might cry.
Olivia sighed and rubbed his head. "Okay, fine. But you have to promise: tomorrow with Uncle LO, be good, no running off, no talking to strangers, and call me right away if anything happens. Got it?"
"Got it! Mom, you're the best!" Leo went from almost crying to grinning and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Back home, Leo kept bugging Olivia to message Uncle LO. She got him settled, went out to the balcony, pulled out her phone, opened the backend for Leo's live stream, found LO's account, and sent a private message.
[Hi, Leo told me you want to take him and Dylan out for food and fun tomorrow. What time and place? Also, the kids are little, so I'm a bit worried about them going alone. Can I come too? I can thank you in person.]
LO replied quickly: [Noon tomorrow at 12, meet at the parent-child playground entrance in the south. Play first, then eat. You can come if you want, but it might be boring for you—it's all kid stuff.]
Olivia replied: [Okay, thanks. I'll go with Leo tomorrow.]
[No problem, see you tomorrow.] LO messaged back fast.
On the other side, Luca saw Olivia's reply and frowned. No way was he letting her tag along—that would blow his cover.
So he had to come up with a plan.
He smirked a bit, grabbed his phone, and called Olivia directly.
"Olivia." She picked up quickly. Luca got straight to it. "I need you to handle something."
Olivia paused, annoyed that it was Luca. "What?"
Luca kept his tone flat, ignoring her coldness. "I need a promo design plan for a new brand. On my desk by noon tomorrow. I have a client meeting in the afternoon."
Olivia's heart dropped. Noon tomorrow—that clashed perfectly with meeting LO!
"So urgent?" She frowned, voice sharper. "I already said yes to something else. Can it be the day after?"
"No." Luca shut it down flat, a hint of threat in his voice. "This plan is key to the deal. If you can't do it, I might have to rethink the studio's funding."