Chapter 385 He Is Not Up to Par

Chapter 385 He Is Not Up to Par

Leopold opened his eyes to a gray, overcast sky. He walked to the window and saw tiny snowflakes drifting down outside. The city was blanketed in snow, looking gloomy and dark.

In the blink of an eye, it was already mid-March. With only a month and a half left until Memorial Day weekend, time was running out for the Golden Ember Hotel.

Caroline walked into the bedroom and saw that Leopold was already awake. "Breakfast is ready. Go wash up and we'll eat."

Leopold turned around, smiled, and walked toward her. He hugged her and tried to kiss her first. Caroline pushed him away, saying, "You haven't brushed your teeth yet."

Leopold pointed at his chest. "I didn't even shower last night, but you didn't mind then. Look at what you bit me."

"It's my fault you didn't shower? You started the moment you walked in..." Caroline felt too embarrassed to say more. After making love, she had showered with him again.

Leopold picked her up and sat her on his shoulders. Caroline asked, "Leopold, what are you doing?"

He gave her butt a pat. "Don't move. If you fall, I'm not helping you."

He strode into the bathroom and set her down on the counter. Leopold grinned mischievously. "Keep me company while I wash up."

Caroline helped him apply shaving cream. Leopold shaved casually while Caroline sat quietly watching him.

After he finished shaving, he rubbed his face against hers. "Not scratchy anymore, right?"

Caroline thought back to last night and her face flushed unnaturally. He had kept kissing his way down, but his stubble scraped against her thighs. It hurt and tickled at the same time, and her hands instinctively pushed at his shoulders.

He had looked up at her with a cocky tone, "Don't move. Where can't I kiss?"

She could only say, blushing, that his stubble was scratchy.

She had thought he was drunk and wouldn't remember what happened last night, but clearly he remembered everything.

Caroline tried to escape. Just as she was about to jump down, he predicted her move. He pressed his leg against the edge of the counter, blocking her in.

"Don't run. Didn't I tell you to keep me company while I wash up?" Leopold insisted she stay with him until he finished, and only then did they go have breakfast together.

Before leaving, Leopold said, "The new house is finished being renovated. Let's find time this weekend to go see it."

Caroline said while putting on her shoes, "The formaldehyde test hasn't been done yet. I'll arrange it today."

"Okay, go ahead and schedule it."

Leopold carried her handbag for her and followed Caroline out the door. He habitually held her hand and didn't let go even after they got in the elevator.

Just before they got out of the elevator, Leopold's phone rang. He glanced at it—the number was Maddox's. "What's the situation?"

Maddox said, "I'm about to die from exhaustion. The workload is way too much. The money you gave me isn't quite enough. Send me some more today."

Leopold asked, "No problem. I'm heading to the office now. I'll have Liam transfer the money to you in a bit. Can you finish by the end of April?"

Maddox hesitated. "Hard to say. The workload is really huge, and it's spread out all over the place."

Leopold said, "If you can finish early, I'll pay you extra."

There were two seconds of silence on the other end.

Maddox said cheerfully, "Why didn't you say so earlier? Mr. Wipere, don't you worry."

Leopold rolled his eyes. "Right. The moment money's mentioned, you're happy as a fool."

Maddox laughed heartily. "As long as the money's right, I'll gladly be a fool."

Leopold handed the handbag to Caroline. Seeing she was about to leave, he pulled her back and quickly kissed her on the lips. Caroline looked around guiltily, and only after confirming no one was there did she hurry toward her car.

Leopold got in his car and said, "I talked to another distributor last night. Now it all depends on you."

Hearing this, Maddox felt the pressure. "I'll do my best."

After hanging up, Leopold drove straight to the office.

At that moment, at Celestial Waters Group.

Joshua kept glancing toward Preston's office. When he heard familiar footsteps in the hallway, he quickly got up to greet him.

"Mr. Preston Wipere." Joshua lowered his voice. "I have the latest news about Leopold."

Preston glanced at him. "Come in and talk."

Once in the office, Preston settled into his seat. "Go ahead."

Joshua said, "A friend of mine works in credit at a bank—he's got real authority. He said he saw Leopold applying for a loan at their bank. It should be for the Orchid Garden project."

Preston's expression remained blank as he thought for a moment, then asked, "Will the loan be approved?"

Joshua smiled sinisterly. "Mr. Preston Wipere, whether it gets approved or not is just a word from you."

Preston smiled slightly, his tone meaningful. "His company hasn't accomplished anything yet, and he's already borrowing money everywhere. He's really becoming more and more pathetic."

Joshua said, "I understand what you mean."

He slowly backed out.

Leopold walked into the office. "Liam."

Liam followed Leopold into the office. Leopold gestured for him to close the door.

"Sit." Leopold pulled out a chair, picked up a pen, and wrote a string of numbers and related bank information on a blank sheet of paper. He handed it to Liam, pointing at the numbers. "Transfer this amount to this account."

Liam nodded. "There's one more thing I need to report to you."

Leopold asked, "What is it?"

Liam said quietly, "The bank didn't approve our loan."

Leopold frowned slightly. "If this bank won't approve it, we'll try another one."

Liam said, "I'll reach out again."

News of Leopold's loan rejection quickly reached Gemma's ears, and she immediately told Xiomara.

Xiomara sneered with schadenfreude. "Someone like Leopold—once he leaves the Wipere family, he's as good as dead."

Gemma said disdainfully, "Even if he didn't leave the Wipere family, he wouldn't get a single penny from me."

Xiomara's eyes darted around. "Mom, right now, we can't give him any way out. This bank rejected him, but there are others. Use your connections and leak some information that's unfavorable for his loan."

Gemma's eyes narrowed dangerously, as if remembering someone. "There is someone who can handle this."

Lily had been so busy lately with customer service for the new platform and following up with high-spending customers that she'd even forgotten her own birthday.

She arrived at the office early, planning to finish updating all the customer information today, but saw that Erik had gotten there before her.

Lily asked, "You're here so early?"

Erik looked up. "I have a contract to rush through. What about you?"

"Updating customer information." As she finished speaking, Lily was about to leave when Erik stopped her. "Have you eaten breakfast?"

Lily rubbed the back of her neck, looking a bit tired. "I don't feel like eating. I was updating customer information until late last night. No appetite."

Erik picked up breakfast from the side cabinet and walked over to her. "I bought an extra one."

Lily laughed. "Who buys extra breakfast? You're not even good at lying."

Erik said, "There's an egg in there. Eat it." Then he said something odd, "It's not that I can't lie. I just can't lie to you."

Lily frowned, feeling he was acting strange today. She didn't take the breakfast. "I don't like eggs."

Erik took the warm egg and pressed it into her hand. "Even if you don't eat anything else, you have to eat the egg."

Lily asked, "Why?"

Erik fell silent.

He looked at her confused expression. She must have really forgotten. "Do you know what day it is today?"

Lily said, "Wednesday."

Erik sighed and shook his head.

Lily asked, "Why are you sighing?"