Chapter 280 I Am a Guest
Given the hotel manager's position, Leopold couldn't have a public argument with a young girl in the hotel lobby.
He could only suggest moving to a more private place to resolve the issue.
"Ms. Lorne, if you want to talk, we can go somewhere else. What do you think?" Leopold suggested.
Eve looked around and immediately understood he was worried she'd make a scene in public.
"Where do you want to talk?"
Leopold, "We can go to a conference room."
Eve sneered, "Fine."
The girls who came with Eve today were all unfamiliar faces, probably new people she'd brought along for support.
Leopold made a "please" gesture, "This way."
Lily had just come out of the elevator and was surprised to see Eve, wondering what she was doing here.
Leopold exchanged a glance with Lily, who immediately understood his meaning and stepped forward, "Hello, Ms. Lorne."
When Eve saw Lily, her face immediately showed resistance, "I don't want to talk to you. I want to talk to him."
Lily maintained a professional smile and said gently, "Ms. Lorne, we can discuss any issues you have. Some things might be better understood from a woman's perspective."
But Eve completely ignored her and raised her voice instead, "I already said I don't want to talk to you! I want him to solve the problem. Don't you understand? Is this how your hotel treats guests?"
A dangerous glint flashed in Leopold's eyes, but when facing Eve, he resumed his refined manner, "Ms. Lorne, please calm down. Whatever complaints you have, we don't want to see this happen. Now, let's find a quiet place, sit down, and talk calmly, okay?"
Eve asked back, "Are you sure you'll be the one talking to me?"
Lily was about to speak when Leopold interrupted, "Yes."
Eve gave Lily a challenging eye roll, "That's better. Mind your own business."
Lily felt so angry that her chest tightened, feeling stuck and unable to breathe properly. This was the first time she'd been driven nearly out of control by such a young girl.
She opened her mouth but eventually swallowed the words that had reached her lips.
When tensions were high, any explanation or rebuttal would only add fuel to the fire.
Lily chose silence.
Leopold said, "This way, please."
When Eve saw Lily also preparing to follow, she immediately stopped her, "Why is she still following? I don't want to see her. Seeing her makes me unable to stay calm."
Lily still maintained her smile, "Ms. Lorne—"
Before Lily could finish, Eve started screaming again, "I don't want to see you, don't you understand? I'm going to complain about you to your manager! Why do you keep following me? Are you afraid I'll say something bad about you? Everyone, look, this woman won't let me complain to the manager!"
Leopold lowered his voice in warning, "Ms. Lorne, are you here to solve the problem, or do you want another trip to the police station?"
Eve's shouting stopped abruptly. She looked at Leopold's serious expression, which didn't seem like a joke, and looked away.
Just then, the elevator doors opened, and Leopold made another "please" gesture.
Eve entered the elevator first. Leopold waited outside but noticed that the friends she'd brought weren't planning to come in.
Leopold reminded them, "Aren't you coming up together?"
But Eve said, "They don't need to come up. I'll talk to you alone."
Leopold frowned. Lily, seeing this, was about to step into the elevator when Eve stopped her again.
Eve pointed at Lily, "Don't come in! I already said I only want to talk to Mr. Wipere!"
Lily looked at Leopold, who shook his head slightly at her, indicating she needn't worry.
He then walked into the elevator, stood near the door, and pressed the button for the fourth floor.
Lily watched as the elevator doors slowly closed. She turned to the young girls and said, "You can wait for her in the lounge area. I'll have a server bring you some drinks."
At this moment, inside the elevator.
Eve stood in the back corner, glanced up at the security camera on the ceiling, then looked away.
Leopold turned sideways to let Eve exit first.
Eve stood in the hallway, looking around. "Which way is the conference room?"
Leopold pointed in a direction, "This way."
Eve followed behind Leopold, her eyes constantly scanning the surroundings, until Leopold pushed open a conference room door. "Please come in."
"This conference room is really big." Eve looked around.
Leopold walked to the round conference table and pulled out a chair. "Please sit."
After Eve sat down, her eyes still seemed somewhat distracted.
Leopold sat down three seats away from her, his expression serious as he asked, "What do you want to talk about?"
Eve put on a casual attitude and said, "I already told you. You got me taken away by the police. What are you going to do about it?"
Leopold patiently was about to speak when he heard Eve continue, "Yes, I went into Ryan's room, but I didn't do anything to him. I just took a few photos of his room. Did it need to be so serious as to call the police?"
Leopold said, "Eve, there are no outsiders here, let's be clear. If you remember correctly, the person who decided to call the police was Ryan. You should go find him. What does this have to do with me?"
Eve noticed that the surveillance camera in the conference room didn't have a red light on, meaning the equipment wasn't recording.
She calmly looked away and tugged at her collar, "It's a bit hot in here. Can you turn on the air conditioning?"
It was almost winter now, yet she was saying it was hot. Leopold just thought she was deliberately making trouble to vent her dissatisfaction. He stood up and turned on the air conditioning.
After returning to his seat, he asked, "Is this temperature okay?"
Eve said, "Now it's a bit cold. Turn the temperature up a little."
Leopold adjusted the temperature as she requested, "Is it okay now?"
Eve brushed her bangs. "It's fine now."
Leopold returned to his seat, his hands naturally placed on the table, "You broke into Ryan's room first, took photos of him showering, went through his luggage, and sent photos of the room to your friends. Tell me, which part did we wrongly accuse you of? Or which part did we make up?"
Eve was silent for a moment before saying, "Actually, this isn't a big deal at all. I just took some photos. Posting these helps celebrities get attention, doesn't it? Otherwise, where do you think all those online leaks come from?"
Leopold said, "What you're saying has nothing to do with me. My responsibility is to protect guests' privacy and ensure every guest at Celestial Waters Hotel enjoys safe and comfortable service."
Eve stood up while talking, "Since you mentioned serving guests, I'm also a guest. I was taken away by the police at your hotel. Don't you have any responsibility?"
Leopold almost wanted to laugh coldly. What did this have to do with him!
His lips pressed tight, his tone turning cold, "When I'm trying to reason with you, I hope you can also be reasonable. If you want to be unreasonable, I'll keep you company, but my methods might be more direct than yours."
Eve fiddled with her hair again, "Who's being unreasonable?"
Leopold frowned, "Eve, I see you're young, so let me give you some advice. Ryan can forgive you once, but there won't be a second time. Don't do this kind of thing again, or next time the trouble you cause won't be as simple as going to the police station for a verbal warning."
Eve walked to the door and suddenly started screaming, "Mr. Wipere, what are you doing! Mr. Wipere, don't..."
Leopold was instantly stunned, but he immediately turned his head away, avoiding eye contact.
In his peripheral vision, Eve had already taken off her outer clothing and rushed out of the conference room, wearing only her underwear, crying for help in the hallway.
Leopold lowered his eyes, his black pupils ice-cold and grim, his hand on the table slowly clenching into a fist.