Chapter 201 Kaleidoscope
With Erica's enthusiastic matchmaking, Leopold, the advertising director in charge of business development at the provincial TV station, arranged to meet in Skyview City to discuss cooperation details. The variety show director came along too.
Leopold had a business trip coming up, so Caroline went to the walk-in closet to help him pack.
His suitcase had been placed at the entrance of the cloakroom. It was used so frequently that it was inconvenient to store and retrieve it. The suitcase was covered with dense baggage tags, and one could tell how busy he was just by looking at these flight traces.
Caroline pulled out her phone to check the local weather and temperature. Even though it was nearly the end of August and the temperature in Seaside City wasn't low, Skyview City would only be hotter.
"Honey, your flight is tomorrow, right?"
Leopold had just finished showering and was only wearing pajama pants, bare-chested, drying his hair as he walked toward the closet. "Tomorrow morning, a little after eight."
"I just checked the temperature in Skyview City, 94 degrees tomorrow, about the same the day after. It's so hot, I'll pack you a few extra changes of clothes."
Leopold hung the towel around his neck and bent down to pull her up. His firm, defined back muscles reflected in the full-length mirror, his waistline radiating sexual tension. "I told you not to bother, I'll pack myself. Why won't you listen?"
Tall and broad, he easily lifted her by the wrist. Caroline stood on tiptoe as he pressed her hand against the wardrobe door, his body still warm and damp pressing close against her. His powerful, dominant presence enveloped her completely. The dangerous and strong atmosphere became an aphrodisiac for the approaching desire. He lowered his head to capture her lips, gently teasing, then lifted his head to stare into her eyes.
Caroline couldn't stand his quiet gaze. His eyes seemed to have magic, and she became a willing devotee, offering herself to a vampire.
As he was about to continue, Caroline grabbed his hand, exploring inside her clothes. "Stop!"
Leopold frowned and pulled back slightly, his face full of resentment. "I'm leaving on a business trip tomorrow, for a whole week."
"I know," Caroline's face instantly flushed. Unable to withstand his burning gaze, she could only look down. "After we finish packing."
"I'll pack." Leopold buried himself in her neck again, his hand on her waist increasingly greedy and forceful, making the person in his arms let out ambiguous moans.
"Having sex here isn't great." Caroline stood on tiptoe, the position uncomfortable. It wasn't convenient for Leopold either, so he lifted her by the hips and placed her directly on the vanity. His urgent kisses, his hands quickly untying the robe's belt.
The silky nightgown slipped from her shoulders, revealing the neck and shoulders underneath, skin as delicate as a baby's.
He leaned his whole body over, pressing against the vanity.
Perhaps he was collecting debts for the week they'd be apart. In this walk-in closet, she saw herself in the mirror with dazed eyes, a version she'd never seen before - flushed cheeks, kiss marks of varying depths. Her gaze slowly followed his downward.
She tilted her head back, the crystal chandelier's light becoming a kaleidoscope, dreamlike and illusory. When he stood up with a wicked smile, licking the corner of his mouth, he hooked her head and kissed her again.
She tasted sex.
That night, he was especially wild, endless.
The next day.
Caroline drove them both to the airport. As Leopold went to get the luggage from the trunk, Erica said to Caroline, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him the whole way."
Leopold closed the trunk and came over with two suitcases, smiling broadly. "No need to watch me. I'm a good student, I act the same whether the teacher's there or not."
"Not so sure about that." Erica pursed her lips.
Leopold leaned close to Caroline's ear and said quietly, "I emptied out a whole week's worth for you. You still don't trust me?"
Caroline had never heard him say such things in public. Her face couldn't hide it, her eyes showing slight panic, afraid Erica might hear. She quickly looked at the other woman, and seeing Erica's expression unchanged, gently pushed Leopold away and rolled her eyes at him.
"Waiting for you to come back."
Leopold asked knowingly, "Waiting for me to come back for what?"
"Stop it, you two making eyes at each other in broad daylight, can you consider the innocent bystanders?"
Erica complained with her mouth, but she saw all of Leopold's kindness to Caroline. Her wonderful best friend had met a good man and was living happily, just thinking about it made her happy for her.
Caroline took a box of medicine from her bag. "The weather's hot in Skyview City, and you're prone to heatstroke. Take this with you."
Every summer, Erica had one or two scary episodes, and Caroline remembered.
"You're the one who thinks of me." Erica took the medicine box and put it in her bag.
Caroline said, "You guys should go in now, security check is coming up soon."
Leopold hugged her again, reluctant to leave.
Erica said, "You should head back too. In a bit, the elevated highway will hit morning rush hour - don't get stuck on the bridge and be late."
Caroline said to them both, "Safe travels."
The plane landed in Skyview City near noon. Besides Lily, the team included Verity Getty, who handled strategic planning, Isaac Obelon, in charge of marketing, and financial director Liam Mellon.
The person sent to pick them up was Dane Lavien, manager of Skyview City Hotel. After receiving notice last night, he immediately arranged for the driver to thoroughly clean the hotel's business van inside and out.
Leopold was different from other managers, his hotel inspections were extremely strict. Now that he'd been promoted to the board of directors, he was even more someone Dane couldn't afford to offend.
Skyview City Hotel ranked in the top ten nationwide in scale. The economy here was developed, and in recent years, the growth momentum had been especially strong. If this cooperation could be finalized, Skyview City's Celestial Waters resort hotel was also on the list of potential venues.
Dane arrived early at the airport terminal exit to wait. Seeing Leopold's group emerge, he smiled and stepped forward.
"Mr. Wipere."
At that moment, under the scorching sun, sunlight poured down on the earth like a golden furnace. Green rice paddies stretched endlessly, cicadas hidden somewhere in the shade buzzed incessantly, making people irritable.
Caroline stood in the blazing sun at the entrance of a brick kiln factory in Elderwood Village. Behind her were two male colleagues responsible for checking electrical equipment - Ulysses Devereux and Oliver Branpia. They'd come to Elderwood Village today to inspect a factory suspected of electricity theft.
The kiln factory's gate was welded from finger-thick steel bars, wrapped three times with a large chain, and secured with a big lock. Inside the iron gate, two large dogs stood against the door, their paws braced against it, banging it loudly while barking fiercely outward. These dogs stood as tall as a person, mouths open, showing sharp fangs, looking extremely frightening.
Even though Caroline wasn't afraid of dogs, facing these aggressive breeds made her nervous.
Caroline gathered her courage and shouted inside, "Is anyone there? We're from the power company. Someone, come open the door."
Her voice was drowned out by the barking. Oliver stepped in front of Caroline to shield her from the dogs, worried she'd be scared. He shouted at whoever was inside, "Is anyone there? Come on!"
The man's voice was louder. He banged on the iron gate with a wrench. The third door of the nearby bungalow opened, and a middle-aged man covered in muscle walked out.
The man had messy hair, a full beard, two deep lines between his brows, and sharp eyes like knives. He looked fierce.
He slowly made his way to the gate and asked through the iron door, "Who are you?"
Before any inspection, they had to present proper notification. Caroline took out an "Electricity Inspection Work Order" and said, "We're from Seaside City Power Company, here to inspect the lines."