Chapter 43 Waiting for Information
When the door clicked shut, Elysia leaned back in her chair, her eyes fixed on the entrance. "Did Leopold leave already?"
"Yeah, he's gone."
Caroline's heart was still doing that ridiculous flutter thing. Afraid Elysia might notice her flustered state, she quickly slipped into her house shoes and made a beeline for her bedroom.
Elysia, busy texting Elijah, barely glanced up before returning to her phone. She turned slightly, lowering her voice so Caroline wouldn't hear. "I think Leopold actually has a thing for Caroline."
Caroline shut her bedroom door without catching Elysia's gossip report to Elijah. She flopped onto her bed, staring at the ceiling with her mind completely hijacked by thoughts of Leopold.
Her phone chimed. Caroline grabbed it to find a voice message from Leopold.
"What now?" She muttered.
She tapped play and heard Leopold's voice: [I'm on the highway now.]
Seriously? That's the urgent update?
Still, she typed back: [Got it. Drive safely and don't text while driving.]
Later, when Leopold reached his hotel, he messaged her again before even getting out of his car. Caroline played the new message: [I've arrived at the hotel.]
Caroline sighed. Didn't he have anything more interesting to say? I was leaving. I was here. Could he possibly be more boring?
"Caroline."
"What's up?"
Caroline stepped out of her room to find Elysia already wearing her coat, ready to leave. "Are you heading out?"
"Your dad's bringing a friend over for dinner tonight. I'm going to grab some groceries and prep."
"I'll come with you. Just give me a sec," Caroline said, grabbing her car keys and following Elysia out the door. In her rush, she left her phone behind on the bed without realizing.
As Caroline drove out of the parking garage, she suggested, "Let's go to the supermarket nearby. Their produce is actually pretty fresh."
Elysia shook her head. "That place won't do. Their seafood isn't as fresh as the market across town."
Only when they arrived did Caroline realize she'd forgotten her phone. She felt oddly anxious without it.
Elysia went overboard with the shopping, nearly filling the trunk to capacity. Caroline struggled with multiple bags in each hand as they walked back to the car.
"Mom, are you grocery shopping or restocking a restaurant? If I hadn't stopped you, you would've bought out the entire market."
"All this complaining just because I asked you to carry a few bags," Elysia retorted. "The food was fresh, so I stocked up. I couldn't have managed all this by myself anyway."
Caroline laughed despite her annoyance. "Mom, you really are something else."
When the elevator doors opened, Caroline lugged the groceries in behind Elysia, her shoulders sagging under the weight. After they got home, she spent over an hour helping with food prep before finally heading back to her place.
Meanwhile, at the hotel...
Lily trailed behind Leopold as they inspected the hotel floor by floor, noticing he checked his phone yet again.
"Mr. Wipere."
Leopold, completely fixated on why Caroline wasn't responding on Messenger, furrowed his brow, radiating a don't-approach-me coldness.
"Mr. Wipere," Lily called again.
"What?" Leopold turned with a frigid expression that would have intimidated anyone who hadn't worked with him for years.
"What is it?" He demanded.
Lily cleared her throat. "We've already inspected the hotel three times tonight."
Leopold blinked. "Have we?" Then he immediately went on the defensive. "Is that a problem? Work demands thoroughness, especially with a new location opening. We need to be extra attentive."
Even Leopold couldn't keep up this charade.
"If you're tired, go ahead and rest," he offered.
As Leopold continued walking, Lily followed behind and said, "Including just now, you've checked your phone thirty-two times tonight. If you need to handle something personal, go ahead. I can manage the inspection alone."
Leopold hesitated. "There's a client I'm waiting to hear from."
"We've worked together for years," Lily said with a knowing look. "I know you better than that."
Leopold felt transparent, like she'd read his mind. "I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered defensively.
He walked off in another direction, leaving Lily staring after him, wondering:
"Did he get dumped or something?"
When Caroline finally got home, she made a dash for her phone. Leopold had sent three more messages and called twice, the most recent missed call just thirty minutes ago.
First voice message: [Heading into a meeting.]
Second: [Meeting's over.]
Third: [Are you busy?]
Caroline considered replying on Messenger but decided to call him back instead.
Leopold sat alone at the hotel bar, contemplating a drink but settling for water since the hotel was packed with guests. When his phone rang, he assumed it was Lily, but seeing the caller ID, he nearly knocked over his glass in his rush to answer.
He listened intently to the voice on the other end.
"I went grocery shopping with my mom and forgot my phone at home," Caroline explained. "I just saw all your messages."
Leopold's mood instantly brightened. "That explains it."
"You called twice. Something important?"
He'd only called because she hadn't responded to his messages, and he'd started to wonder if she was deliberately ignoring him.
Leopold took a sip from his glass. "I heard from your mom that you love seafood. The kitchen just got a shipment of king crab, and I had them set one aside. I can bring it to you tomorrow."
"King crab? That's way too expensive. Please don't. Besides, I couldn't eat a whole one myself." Caroline was genuinely shocked by the offer.
"They're already holding it for me," Leopold insisted. "I'm heading back to Seaside City first thing tomorrow morning. I can drop it off."
"I really can't accept something that expensive," Caroline protested. "And isn't that technically hotel inventory? You can't just take it, can you?"
Leopold chuckled. "Don't worry, I paid for it."
"That's not the point," Caroline pressed. "It's just too much. Please don't bring it."
"Is it so wrong for me to buy you something nice to eat?" Leopold asked.
"This isn't 'something nice'—a single king crab costs at least fifteen hundred dollars if it's not fresh, and double that for fresh ones. Absolutely not."
Leopold agreed verbally, but his mind was already set on returning to Seaside City tomorrow morning.
His real motivation wasn't just delivering king crab—he wanted to see Caroline.
Changing the subject, Leopold asked, "What time do you usually leave for work?"
"I usually head out around eight, which gets me to the office right on time," Caroline answered.
"Got it."
Leopold did some quick mental math. He'd need to leave Solstice Mountain an hour and a half early, around 6:30 AM, to make it to her place.
"Please don't bring anything," Caroline repeated.
"Okay, I understand," Leopold replied, then asked, "What time do you go to bed?"
Caroline used to be an early sleeper with a regular schedule, in bed by 10 PM. But lately, she'd been working on her wind energy proposal, often until late.
"Around midnight," she answered.
"You're quite the night owl."
"Not really. I usually turn in early, like 10-ish. I've just been working on this project lately. If I can pull it off, it'll be a major boost for my upcoming promotion bid."
"Can you tell me what the project is?" Leopold inquired.
"It's confidential until the official announcement. I can't discuss it yet."
The truth was that it involved potential relocations, and if word got out, locals might try some questionable tactics to inflate property values.
Though she didn't spell it out, Leopold caught on immediately and didn't press further.
"What about you? When do you sleep?" Caroline asked.
"I've been dealing with insomnia lately. Probably up for a while yet."
"Too much pressure managing the new hotel?"
"The hotel's not what's keeping me up," Leopold admitted. "You are."
Caroline fell silent.