Chapter 166 Househusband
Lily knew better than anyone else how hard it had been for Leopold to get to where he was today.
When Leopold first joined the company, he was ostracized because of his special status.
Gemma particularly disliked him and deliberately assigned him the most menial jobs.
He was given a hard time by customers, excluded by colleagues, and even mocked sarcastically by his supervisors.
Later came the struggles of climbing the career ladder - people less capable than him badmouthed him, while those who used to outrank him were resentful in various ways.
Work was difficult to carry out, and Preston would scold him whenever projects didn't go well. But even through all that, he never complained.
Now, Leopold held management rights over more than a dozen hotels, all of it earned by his former self, who knew when to bend and when to stand firm.
But now, he refused to admit fault just to return to his peak position. Lily was anxious for him, worried that someone might take advantage of the situation and kick Leopold out of Celestial Waters Hotel completely.
Leopold leaned against the bathroom counter, propping himself up with one hand. "Have you thought about this, if I back down now, it's like admitting to him that I do have divided loyalties."
That one sentence woke Lily up.
Leopold reassured her, "The company hasn't shortchanged you a penny of what you're owed, and the terms I offered you initially weren't bad, right? That already included compensation for putting up with some grievances."
Lily opened her mouth but found herself speechless.
Leopold let out an amused laugh through his nose. "Alright, stop worrying. As long as the overall direction is fine, let him make whatever fuss he wants."
Lily caught the implication in his words. "Fine, as long as you know what you're doing."
Leopold smiled in agreement. "I know."
After hanging up, Leopold put his gloves back on and continued working.
At noon, Caroline called. A corporate leader was visiting her office for an inspection, and she had to accompany them to lunch with the deputy manager and others, she couldn't come home to be with him.
Leopold saw the fridge was empty, so he threw on a T-shirt and beach shorts, slipped on flip-flops, and headed out.
He was tall and well-built with defined features, giving off a clean-cut impression.
He entered the supermarket pushing a shopping cart toward the vegetable section, wearing a black bucket hat pulled low, showing only his features below the nose.
He stood in front of a pile of potatoes, tore off a bag, and started selecting them, then bought a head of broccoli and put it in his cart. In no time, he'd efficiently picked out five or six vegetables, then pushed his cart toward the meat section.
A middle-aged woman nearby had been sizing him up for a while. She said to another woman about her age, "Look, that man's not bad, tall, pretty handsome, and you can tell from how he picks vegetables that he shops regularly."
"He does seem nice. Are you thinking of introducing him to Bianca?" The other middle-aged woman asked.
"I think he's pretty good. Bianca might like him. What do you think?"
"Definitely! He and your Bianca would match well in height and build. Just don't know what he does for work." She started speculating, "It's Friday today, businesses and government offices should all be working, but he's out shopping for groceries. Maybe he's self-employed?"
Hearing this, Bianca's mom became a bit less satisfied with the job situation.
"Why don't you go ask?" The other woman started egging her on.
"Come on, come with me."
"Okay."
The two women followed Leopold to the meat section. Bianca's mom asked Leopold, "Excuse me, could you help me check what date this box of lettuce is from? I didn't bring my reading glasses and can't see clearly."
Leopold took it. "From this morning."
He handed it back to her.
Bianca's mom smiled and said, "Thank you so much. I'm getting old, can't see without my glasses."
Leopold smiled slightly. "No problem."
She continued praising him, "You even do your own grocery shopping. Young people like you are rare, you know how to manage a household. That's great."
The other woman chimed in, "You can tell you're kind-hearted and good-natured."
Faced with the sudden praise, Leopold silently pointed at the ribs and said to the staff, "Give me four pieces, cut into small sections, thanks."
Bianca's mom said, "The ribs look good today. Get me some too."
The other woman smiled and said, "You really know how to shop for groceries."
Leopold fell silent.
His smile was getting a bit stiff. He looked left, then right - a middle-aged woman on each side teaming up to praise him. What was this about?
"How old are you?" The other woman asked.
"Twenty-nine."
Bianca's mom looked thoughtful. "Twenty-nine already? What do you do for work?"
Leopold fell silent again.
Were they doing a background check on groceries?
Before he could voice his confusion, the other woman asked, "Do you have a girlfriend?"
He got it!
Leopold smiled bashfully and raised his left hand to show the ring on his ring finger. "No girlfriend, I have a wife."
The two middle-aged women exchanged glances, then both laughed.
She said with a laugh, "We thought you didn't have a girlfriend and wanted to introduce you to one. Her daughter is so pretty, great credentials, tall too, looks like a celebrity, even prettier than celebrities. She teaches at an elementary school in Seaside City."
Bianca's mom quickly said, "My daughter's not in a rush. She just started working, no rush at all."
Leopold took the ribs the staff handed him, put them in his cart, gave them a polite smile, and pushed his cart away.
Who would've thought, just buying groceries and running into people trying to set him up on the spot.
Good thing Caroline wasn't there, or this would've been a huge misunderstanding.
Leopold had planned to buy some beef, but now those two middle-aged women had completely disrupted his plans. He pushed his cart straight to the fruit section.
As it turned out, the two middle-aged women also went to the fruit section. Leopold couldn't dodge them in time - being tall, he stood out in the crowd. He hurriedly picked a few fruits Caroline liked, got them bagged, and went to weigh them.
Life just loved to add a little fun, when checking out, Leopold ran into those two middle-aged women again, and they were even in the same line.
Leopold quickly gave up his spot. "You go first."
They declined, "No need, no need, you go ahead."
"I just remembered I forgot to buy something." Leopold stepped out of line, letting them check out first.
He randomly grabbed two bags of snacks from the snack aisle, then pushed his cart out. Only after confirming he didn't see those two middle-aged women again did he feel safe enough to get in line.
Earlier, one of the middle-aged women had secretly taken his photo with her phone. Leopold had even pulled his hat brim lower - probably sending his photo to show someone.
Leopold carried his bags full of groceries to the parking lot. Just as he finished loading everything, his phone rang in his pocket.
Seeing the number, Leopold held the phone between his shoulder and ear. "What's up?"
Maddox said, "You're back?"
Leopold made an affirmative sound.
"When did you get back? You didn't even tell me." Maddox took a bite of his apple, chewing as he spoke. "What are you doing? Want to come out for food?"
Leopold happened to not have eaten yet. "Sure, let me drop this stuff off at home first, then I'll come find you."
Maddox frowned. "Drop off what? Just bring it over."
"A car full of groceries, plus ribs."
Maddox curled his lip. "Househusband!"