Chapter 271 Low-key Enough
No wonder Dashiell was being so cautious that Summer's management company really played dirty.
They obtained Ryan's flight information to Seaside City through unusual channels and then temporarily arranged for Summer to arrive at Seaside City Airport overnight. They took photos of the two being in the same place at the same time and posted them online. Immediately, marketing accounts started hyping up their relationship. Now, when searching for Ryan's entry, there were already news stories about the movie king having a secret talk with a young actress in the entertainment industry.
Who benefited and who lost from all this was crystal clear.
As for the two management companies, they competed for resources among artists of similar status, but when a newcomer like Summer got involved in a scandal with an established Best Actor, only Summer benefited.
The other company saw this opportunity and had Summer set up this trap, but they didn't expect Leopold to block it.
With filming about to start, the priority was getting Ryan treated.
Leopold said, "Hold on, let me make a call and contact an expert in this area."
Dashiell walked to the window, pulled back the curtain, and looked down, frowning. "So many reporters and fans. We'll need to avoid the main entrance later. Does the hotel have a back door?"
Lily said, "Yes, it does."
Leopold dialed Caroline's number. It rang a few times before she picked up.
"Honey, do you know any doctors in Seaside City who treat skin allergies?"
Caroline's first thought was that he was sick. "What's wrong with you?"
"Not me," he glanced back at the person on the sofa, "a guest."
"My high school classmate works at Seaside City Hospital, but not in dermatology, he's in cardiovascular. Let me ask him who's good. Wait for my call."
Leopold said, "Okay."
Soon enough, Caroline called back.
"My classmate happens to be on duty today. He says Dr. Stone from dermatology is in, he's pretty much the authority on this kind of thing. I'll send you his number. Contact him directly when you get to the hospital."
"Got it."
After hanging up, Leopold had them get ready and drove them to Seaside City Hospital.
Before leaving, Dashiell had Ryan put on a baseball cap and sunglasses, pulling the brim down low so no one could tell he was a celebrity.
Leopold left while Lily stayed behind to hold down the fort.
The Cayenne left through the hotel's back door. From a distance, they could see the crowd at the main entrance growing larger. Many fans held up Ryan's support signs - clearly, most of them were there for him.
The car had just entered the city when Caroline called.
"Where are you?"
"Just entered the city."
Caroline glanced at the time on the console. They should arrive in about half an hour. "I'm on lunch break. I'll wait for you in the hospital parking lot."
"Alright, wait for us."
Seeing Leopold's car pull into the parking lot, Caroline got out and walked toward him. She watched two strangers get out of Leopold's car - one with ordinary features but shrewd eyes, the other tall with good taste in clothes, but wrapped up so tightly you couldn't even see a strand of hair.
After Leopold introduced everyone, Dashiell thanked them both for helping arrange the hospital visit and the doctor.
Ryan took off his sunglasses and politely greeted Caroline.
This was her first time being so close to a celebrity. Her impression matched Leopold's description, he seemed polite and gentle.
Caroline called her old classmate Ethan Cole. He had just finished eating and was waiting for them in the hospital lobby.
Seeing Ethan, Caroline greeted him and apologized, since they were taking up his precious lunch break.
"Dr. Cole, sorry to bother you during your lunch break."
Ethan smiled. "Don't be so formal."
"My husband, Leopold."
The two men shook hands and exchanged greetings.
Ethan asked, "Who's the patient?"
"This gentleman." Leopold briefly explained the situation to Ethan, mentioning the patient's celebrity status and hoping to keep today's visit as quiet as possible.
Ethan nodded understandingly and, after having them register, led the group to the elevator to the dermatology department.
Ethan glanced at his watch. "Dr. Stone is probably resting right now. Wait in the office for a bit, and I'll go get him."
Leopold nodded. "Thanks so much."
They knocked on the office door, sure enough, it was empty.
Within five minutes, Ethan returned with another doctor in a white coat.
Seeing him enter, everyone stood up.
Caroline and Leopold greeted him together, "Dr. Stone, hello."
Dr. Stone had an air of refined composure. He nodded, his tone gentle as he asked, "Let me take a look at the patient's current condition."
Ethan said, "Let's step outside. Dr. Stone needs to examine him."
The three of them left the office and closed the door. Leopold happened to take a phone call while Ethan and Caroline chatted about their last class reunion.
"I couldn't make it to the last reunion, I was on duty."
Caroline said, "That's too bad. We had the best turnout that time. Only you and Daniel Brennan were missing."
"I was on duty, why didn't Daniel go?"
Caroline said, "I heard he was out of town. His mom was sick."
Ethan understood. "Right, Daniel brought his mom in for treatment. Her condition isn't very good."
That phrase "not very good" already revealed how serious the illness was.
Caroline said regretfully, "Remember back in school, at every sports day, Daniel's mom would bring our class bottled water and snacks?"
"Yeah, she's really a good person."
Leopold finished his call and came back. Ethan said, "You look really familiar. I feel like I've seen you somewhere."
Leopold said, "A lot of people say that. Maybe I just have one of those common faces."
"Your husband's pretty modest, so handsome and calling it a common face. What does that make me? A potato?"
Caroline laughed. "Ethan, you haven't changed a bit."
They'd only been chatting for a few moments when the door behind them opened.
Dashiell told those outside, "Dr. Stone finished the examination."
Leopold quickly went in and asked, "What's the result?"
Dashiell said, "It's a skin allergy. Whether it's contact-based or from eating something he's allergic to, we'll have to wait for the test results. He'll get an IV first, and the red marks on his face and body should fade quickly."
Since they couldn't determine the allergen yet, Leopold covered the medical expenses on behalf of the hotel for now.
Since they'd taken up Ethan's break time, they needed to return the favor - they made plans for dinner on the weekend, and then Ethan went back to his department.
Ryan lay in bed getting his IV, clearly uncomfortable, eyes tightly closed. Dashiell kept taking phone calls - from what they could hear, they were mostly about Ryan's work.
Leopold stood by a window in the hallway and let out a silent sigh. Caroline comforted him, "Dr. Stone said the rash will fade quickly after the IV. Don't worry."
Leopold said, "The show hasn't even started filming, and we already have one sick celebrity. Good thing we kept the news under wraps, otherwise the hotel's first headline would be 'Poor accommodation causes allergic reaction.' No amount of PR spending could erase that stain. Most consumers hearing negative news only remember key words like 'celebrity' and 'unsanitary hotel.'"
Caroline suddenly felt Leopold had it tough, always having problems to solve.
She grasped his hand resting on the windowsill. "You've handled everything really well. It'll turn out fine."
Leopold's brow furrowed. "There's a tricky problem now - we need to find the allergen. If it's an issue with the hotel bedding, there'll be even more trouble ahead."