Chapter 395 Overnight

Chapter 395 Overnight

On April 23rd, while Celestial Waters Hotel's Greenridge District Hotel project was in full swing, news about Golden Ember Hotel came flooding in from all directions.

This brand rapidly entered the public eye overnight. Major short video platforms were filled with ads promoting Golden Ember Hotel, and two well-known travel bloggers featured stays at Golden Ember Hotel in their recent travel vlogs. They provided detailed introductions to the hotel's interior, accommodation environment, bedding and amenities, as well as the service.

Golden Ember Hotel not only had numerous chain hotels domestically, but also had locations in several important overseas cities.

Joshua watched the videos, thinking to himself: Something's not right! What's going on?

At the same time, Gemma and her daughter were also in the office watching the ads with disbelief written all over their faces.

According to system analysis, Golden Ember Hotel's occupancy rate was surprisingly high.

Preston received the statistical report, his expression grim.

Golden Ember Hotel's rapid rise to fame became another piece of news in the hotel industry, but for Celestial Waters Hotel's upper management, this wasn't good news—it was unexpectedly strange.

Preston immediately called Joshua to his office. The latter pushed the door open and entered, his expression serious.

"Mr. Wipere." Joshua kept his head down, sensing a storm was coming.

Preston threw the statistical report on the desk and said coldly, "Explain. What's going on? I told you to keep an eye on Leopold, and this is how you handle things?"

Joshua picked up the report, and when he saw the occupancy rate, his eyes widened. This was impossible!

A thought suddenly crossed Preston's mind, his gaze slowly moving to the Greenridge Project materials.

Leopold had played them.

Preston clenched his jaw. Leopold had put on quite a performance.

He asked Joshua with a stern face, "When you discovered he was going to do the Greenridge Project, did you do a thorough investigation?"

Joshua paused slightly, instantly realizing what Preston's question implied.

"Mr. Wipere, I..." Joshua's surprised expression said it all.

Preston closed his eyes. "Such a big project, and you didn't properly do your due diligence or investigate his background thoroughly. Of all the tasks I assigned you, you haven't completed a single one successfully, and you've created such a mess."

Joshua's head dropped lower. "Mr. Wipere, the person I arranged did see the Greenridge Project development blueprints posted in his office. He couldn't have predicted we'd investigate him. This might just be a coincidence."

Preston's eyes narrowed dangerously. He threw the Greenridge Project materials at him and shouted sternly, "Others might not be able to, but he's Leopold. You've underestimated him."

The materials hit Joshua's face, leaving one cheek red. "Mr. Wipere, I'll investigate this matter again and definitely give you a satisfactory answer."

Preston laughed coldly. "Satisfactory? Golden Ember Hotel now has branches all over the country—how can I be satisfied?"

Joshua swallowed, at a loss for words.

Preston's tone was severe, his attitude firm. "I hired you at a high salary because I valued your abilities, but based on your performance, you're completely unable to handle the responsibilities of this position. You've deeply disappointed me."

Joshua said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Wipere. This is my fault."

Preston said, "Immediately notify all department heads at middle management level and above to meet in the main conference room."

Joshua nodded. "Alright."

He hurried out of the office. After closing the door, his eyes were full of hatred toward Leopold.

At that moment, Leopold was sitting in his office, leisurely drinking coffee.

Pearl's call came through, and he answered, "Ms. Reynolds."

Pearl said, "Congratulations, Mr. Wipere."

Leopold said, "I also need to thank Ms. Reynolds for your support. Without the Reynolds Group's strong backing, Golden Ember Hotel's occupancy rate wouldn't have shot up the industry rankings."

Pearl said, "You're too modest, Mr. Wipere. I can arrange guests to go to the hotel, but if Golden Ember Hotel's quality isn't good and the reputation doesn't hold up, no matter how many guests I introduce, it won't succeed."

Leopold said, "Pleasure doing business."

Pearl: "Pleasure doing business. I'm calling because I want to renew our strategic cooperation agreement for the second quarter."

Leopold smiled. "I welcome you anytime, Ms. Reynolds."

After agreeing on a time to sign the contract, Leopold hung up, and other travel agencies started calling in.

Erik looked at the backend data and smiled with satisfaction. He could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The first phase of the rollout had achieved remarkable results. As for the follow-up services and supporting facilities, they would need dedicated personnel for supervision and inspection.

Just after four o'clock, Leopold came out of his office. Lily heard the door close and said to Leopold as he passed by, "Leopold, are you leaving early?"

Leopold stopped in his tracks and looked at Lily with a speechless expression. "You're an employee, I'm the boss, and you're watching me?"

Lily said, "You were the one who said that bosses and employees are treated equally, and leaving early means losing the full attendance bonus."

Leopold clicked his tongue. "My wife is coming home today. Can I leave a bit early?"

Lily said, "Yes."

Leopold had just lifted his foot when Lily added, "But I still have to mark you down for leaving early."

"Great, what I hired wasn't a secretary, but a disciplinary committee member!" Leopold strode out of the company, wondering as he walked why he needed to tell her he was leaving.

What the hell, why was he afraid of her!

Leopold walked briskly, only breathing a sigh of relief after entering the elevator.

Perhaps it was a lingering effect from all these years of being partners. Lily had always been his capable assistant, supervising him in many aspects. Sometimes when he saw her serious expression, he was reminded of his school homeroom teacher.

Leopold drove all the way home, prepared a romantic dinner, and tidied up before changing into an outfit that highlighted his good looks.

But it was already five o'clock and Caroline still wasn't home. He dialed Caroline's number.

The phone rang for a while before being answered. "Ms. Tudor, you're not back yet?"

Caroline said, "Don't even mention it. I'm stuck in traffic on the highway. I just found out there was an accident up ahead. The road won't clear until the tow truck removes the vehicles involved."

Given this situation, he couldn't blame her. He could only wait.

Leopold said, "You all be careful. Don't just sit in the car—go wait somewhere safe by the roadside."

Caroline said, "The accident site is far from us. We're fine."

Leopold said, "I've prepared the meal and I'm waiting for you. Don't worry."

He always did this—preparing meals and waiting for her to come home.

Caroline said, "Sorry to disappoint you."

Leopold laughed. "No one wanted this to happen. Besides, nothing is more important than your safety."

Caroline said, "I saw the Golden Ember Hotel ads."

Leopold said, "What do you think?"

Caroline said, "Very impressive. I didn't expect Lunaris City, where I'm having my meeting, to also have a Golden Ember Hotel. When did you set up so many chain hotels?"

Leopold said mysteriously, "It's a long story. When you get home, I'll explain my S2B2C model to you in detail."

Caroline had heard of the S2B2C model. "You're really amazing."

Leopold raised an eyebrow. "So my wife knows a bit about it?"

Caroline sat in the car, recalling, "Its basic structure has Golden Ember Hotel as the S-end industry platform, B as the channel provider, and S+B together serving C-end customers. Short-term, high-value, strong cash flow. Am I explaining it right?"

Leopold said, "Exactly. With my current cash flow, if I wanted to buy land, build hotels, and make subsequent investments, I couldn't open many chain hotels. But using an asset-light model saves money and time, without needing to invest large amounts of money in building hotels or purchasing land. I just need to send people to various places to select promising small hotels without brands. The replication speed in the short term is very fast."