Chapter 180 Love Lunch
The phone went quiet. Preston knew that to get Leopold to step up and solve the problem, he had to play the emotional card.
"Of course I'm speaking as your father," Preston said earnestly. "Leopold, I've seen all your contributions to the company and your hard work. I won't forget what you've done. All these years, you've gone wherever the hotels needed you, traveling even more than me. Celestial Waters Hotel's success today is largely thanks to you. See, I haven't forgotten you. But right now, the business you've poured your heart into is about to fall apart because of one blogger's exposé. Can you bear to see that? Can you really just watch things spiral out of control and let our overseas hotel chains decline?"
"So it's my problem?" Leopold laughed mockingly.
"Of course it's not your problem. I just hope you'll think like a leader—with vision and perspective, considering the bigger picture."
If Leopold hadn't been clear-headed enough, he probably would have been brainwashed before Preston even finished talking.
"Mr. Preston Wipere."
Preston frowned, hearing from his tone that Leopold wasn't convinced.
Leopold sneered. "Cheap motivation and zero-cost mind control—you're the one who taught me that, told me to use it in employee management. Forgot?"
Preston's deep gaze glanced over, proving that a student could indeed starve their teacher.
"What will it take for you to step up?" Preston stopped beating around the bush.
Leopold named a price for handling the PR crisis, then added, "Twenty percent salary increase, plus an extra ten percent in year-end bonuses."
"You've got quite an appetite." Preston laughed coldly to himself. Sure enough, family ties couldn't compete with actual benefits.
Since he was talking money, they'd speak in terms of money.
Leopold's thinking was practical—rather than just negotiating the salary and bonus increase, he should throw in an even bigger demand that wouldn't be accepted.
That way, settling for less, Preston would definitely choose the more acceptable condition.
Leopold said, "The value I create for the company is worth this much. You know it."
"Can't go lower?" Preston probed.
Leopold didn't budge an inch. "No room for negotiation."
The phone went quiet again. Leopold glanced at the time and said, "Mr. Preston Wipere, why don't you think it over? My wife's getting off work soon, and I need to make her lunch."
Preston raised an eyebrow. "You stay home all day just to cook for a woman?"
Hearing his mockery, Leopold didn't care. "What's the problem? I came back to the country, and the company didn't assign me any position or work. All my hotels were handed over to other managers. Right now, I can only rely on my wife, so what's so funny about making her a meal?"
The business prodigy and finance darling that Preston had cultivated had been reduced to staying home and cooking for a woman.
Preston demanded in frustration, "Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?"
Leopold laughed. "My wife doesn't mind, so why should I care what others think?"
Preston ground his teeth in secret. "You really are just like your mother, no ambition."
Leopold's expression suddenly darkened. He could take anything said about him, but not about Quinlan, and Preston was the last person qualified to judge Quinlan.
"You have no right to talk about my mom. Anything else? I'm going to cook." Just as Leopold was about to hang up, Preston on the other end stopped him. "Wait, your asking price is too high. The company won't spend that much money on one PR crisis. Paying you that much would probably drain the company's cash flow."
"Mr. Preston Wipere, can you just get to the point?"
Preston said, "I can agree to your salary increase and year-end bonus conditions."
A barely noticeable smirk of satisfaction appeared at the corner of Leopold's mouth. His eyes narrowed as he said, "Draft the contract within half an hour and confirm with an electronic signature."
Preston scoffed lightly. "Don't trust me?"
Leopold said, "If that's what you think."
Preston said, "However, there's one more thing I need to tell you upfront. When you come back, you'll only handle the overseas hotels' PR crisis, not participate in daily hotel management."
In other words, he still wouldn't have any actual management authority, and wouldn't be given any hotels.
This result was expected, but some things didn't need to be rushed.
Leopold knew what Preston was guarding against—nothing more than worrying that once he returned to the hotel's senior management, Victor and Idris would immediately set him up to join the board of directors, and then Preston's position would be threatened.
Leopold said, "Getting paid without having to work hard—I'm getting the better deal."
With that, he hung up first.
Preston gasped heavily and slammed his phone on the desk, his eyes flashing viciously.
Half an hour later, Leopold received the electronic contract from Erik. After confirming the content, he signed it and sent it back.
After receiving the electronic file, Erik called Leopold on his personal phone.
"Mr. Wipere, I received the contract."
Leopold said, "You're not calling me just to say that, are you?"
Erik said, "Mr. Wipere, you're not planning to return to the company?"
"What makes you think I'm not planning to return?"
Erik said, "The overseas PR crisis is your best chance to get back to your original position. You didn't make that a condition—you must have other plans, right?"
"Erik, you're overthinking it," Leopold chuckled. "Is Celestial Waters Hotel somewhere I can just return to whenever I want?"
Although Leopold's words made sense, Erik still felt the whole thing wasn't that simple.
Leopold said, "If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."
Since he wouldn't admit it, Erik couldn't keep pressing. "Sorry to bother you, Mr. Wipere."
During lunch break, a colleague passing by Caroline's office door saw she hadn't gone to the cafeteria yet and asked casually, "Not going down to eat? The cafeteria will run out of food soon."
Caroline said, "Not going to the cafeteria today. Someone's bringing me lunch."
The colleague laughed. "How lucky."
Caroline had received a photo and message from Leopold: [I'm bringing you lunch today, wait for me in your office.]
She had just finished tidying her desk when she heard footsteps in the hallway.
The next second, Leopold's tall figure appeared in the doorway. His outfit was clean and fresh—a white striped shirt over a crew-neck T-shirt, gray jeans that made his legs look straight and long, and white canvas shoes that made him look younger. When Leopold seriously tried to pass as a male college student, it really didn't look out of place at all.
Leopold held up the insulated lunch box in his hand, used his other hand to push the door closed and lock it, then smiled wickedly with a roguish look in his eyes and said, "Male college student delivering a love lunch has arrived. Please sign for it, JoyfulBaby."
JoyfulBaby was Caroline's nickname in their family group chat.
Caroline took the lunch box, opening it with a smile as she said, "With that look in your eyes and that flirty smile just now, who knows how many women you'd charm."