Chapter 235 I'll Give You Some Motivation
The resentful tone made Maddox wonder if he'd interrupted his buddy's fun.
He glanced at his watch. "It's still early."
Caroline tried to get up, but Leopold pressed her shoulder down again. "Just tell me, what's going on?"
Maddox said, "I just got back from Solstice Mountain Hotel. The set we built the day before yesterday got ruined by heavy rain. The project's going to be delayed."
The production team's filming schedule was fixed. Leopold said, "I'm afraid we can't change it. So many people's schedules are already planned out. You'll have to work overtime to catch up."
"Overtime is doable," Maddox hesitated, "it's just..."
Leopold said, "Not enough money?"
Maddox scratched his head with the hand holding his cigarette. "According to the contract, the down payment only covers normal worker expenses. But now we need to rush the schedule, people, vehicles, materials all need to be arranged again. The money I have left is enough for everyone's expenses next month."
"How much do you need?" Leopold cut him off.
Maddox said, "According to the production team's requirements for the set, a lot of materials need to..."
"Just tell me how much money?" Leopold had run out of patience.
Maddox gave him a number. Leopold said, "Wait for it."
He hung up. Maddox looked at his phone and smirked. "Leopold's got great stamina."
Leopold was about to lean down and continue when he saw Caroline had already fallen asleep from exhaustion.
He flopped down beside her, hand over his forehead, eyes closed, considering whether to block Maddox.
The next day, Maddox's bank account received a transfer - more than the amount he'd mentioned yesterday. He called Leopold to thank him.
"Leopold, you've helped me so many times. You're a real friend. I won't forget it."
Leopold said, "Doesn't matter if you remember or not. I only have one requirement."
Maddox laughed. "You don't need to say it. I get it. From now on, I'll text you before calling. If you don't reply, I definitely won't call and interrupt you."
Leopold rubbed his forehead and explained, "Sometimes I'm in meetings, seeing clients..."
"No need to explain, I get it." Maddox chuckled. "You're at that age, and you just got married. It's normal. That thing didn't scare you off, did it? Still working okay?"
Leopold dropped his hand and said seriously, "I think you're feeling no pressure right now. No pressure, no motivation. Let me give you some motivation, I'm charging you five percent interest on the loan."
Maddox immediately backed down. "I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that."
Someone knocked on the office door. Leopold said, "Go work on the project. I've got a client to see."
"Okay, bye."
Leopold put down his phone and called out, "Come in."
Lily walked in with two strangers. "Mr. Wipere, this is John Wainwright and Summer Quinn from the production team."
John smiled and shook hands with Leopold. "Mr. Wipere, I've heard your name. You really live up to your reputation - so distinguished."
He looked at Summer. "This is our newly signed artist, Summer."
Summer smiled sweetly and extended her hand. "Hello, Mr. Wipere."
"Ms. Quinn," Leopold barely touched her fingertips before pulling back. "John, you're too kind. Please, both of you, have a seat."
He had Lily bring in two coffees. Once the office door closed, John got straight to the point. "Mr. Wipere, I'm here to go over details for the recording. About the list we sent last time, have you arranged the hotel accommodations?"
Leopold pulled out a detailed plan from his drawer and handed it to him. "Already arranged. Room numbers and the hotel's floor layout are in there."
John looked through it carefully. "This plan is so clear and detailed. Worthy of Mr. Wipere's work."
He closed the file and continued, "Mr. Wipere, there's one thing I need to trouble you with."
Seeing him hesitate and beat around the bush, it was probably about Summer sitting next to him, and likely a personal favor.
Leopold waited to see what would happen. "Not at all, John. Feel free to speak."
John glanced at the person beside him and said, "Mr. Wipere, Summer is a newly signed artist with our company. A fantasy romance drama she recently starred in blew up. The show she was in is rated as a top hit series, and she's incredibly popular right now. Having her stay on the same floor as those B-list artists doesn't seem quite appropriate. Could you possibly move her to Ryan Ashford's floor?"
Leopold's expression remained calm, a slight smile on his lips. "John, the room arrangements have already been sent to all the artists' management companies. I can certainly make adjustments, but will Ryan's agent agree? Their company contacted us directly requesting to book the entire floor, and we already gave them our plan. Moving Ms. Summer to that floor at the last minute, I'm afraid Ryan's agent won't agree."
Hearing this, Summer quickly looked at John, worry written all over her face.
Leopold withdrew his gaze without a trace. Truly young, his inability to keep his composure was written all over his face.
John seemed completely at ease, not bothered at all. "Mr. Wipere, don't worry. Since we're bringing this up, we've already discussed it with Ryan's side. Summer's popularity and exposure are very high right now. We're planning to have her and Ryan promote together, which will attract fans who ship them as a couple. This will drive up buzz and boost both their popularity and exposure."
He hadn't directly answered the question. Leopold nodded knowingly. "I understand what you mean, John. As soon as Ryan's agent makes one phone call, I'll arrange the room immediately."
John was caught off guard and laughed awkwardly. "Okay, Ryan should be filming. I'll contact his agent later."
Leopold looked directly into his eyes. "Fine. As soon as they say the word, I'll adjust things right away."
Seeing that Leopold hadn't agreed, Summer took the initiative. "Mr. Wipere, could we add each other on WhatsApp? I have millions of followers on TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook. When I stay at Celestial Waters Hotel, I'd like to take some videos or photos to post. I'll show them to you first, and if you're satisfied, I'll publish them. It would be a good promotion for the hotel."
John chimed in, "Add each other on WhatsApp, it would be great to help promote the hotel. Mr. Wipere, don't underestimate her. She has over seven million followers combined across those three apps, and Summer's fans are very engaged. They watch everything she posts."
It was obvious what her hidden agenda was, but Leopold, considering their ongoing business relationship, took out his phone and let her add him as a contact.
Summer scanned Leopold's QR code, but he immediately put his phone away. For the rest of the meeting, John and Leopold discussed safety issues during filming and security arrangements after check-in. Summer couldn't get a word in.
Even after she left and walked out of the Celestial Waters Hotel building, the person in her friend's request still hadn't approved the request.
Leopold opened WhatsApp, saw the new friend request in his contacts, and simply exited without responding.
Whether or not Summer scanned his code was her business, but whether or not Leopold approved it was his.
Who said that just because you scanned me, I had to approve it?
Though they weren't in the same circles, Leopold really disliked people who played petty games.