Chapter 158 Wedding Ring
Caroline said, "Why compare with male colleagues at my office? There are plenty of guys with your body type at the gym across the street."
Hearing this, Leopold suddenly leaned forward, staring at the person on screen. "You went to the gym across from your office? So you don't have time to video chat with me, but you have time to go to the gym?"
"No, I didn't go, don't accuse me falsely." Caroline quickly denied it. "My office window just happens to face the gym."
Leopold narrowed his attractive eyes, nodded, and said with a slightly warning tone, "Instead of working properly, you stand by the window watching other men all day. Enjoying the view?"
Caroline said, "I don't watch all day, and I don't do it on purpose. I see them by accident. My desk is so close to the window, and the gym across has floor-to-ceiling glass with a row of treadmills. Anyone would see it."
Leopold shook his head. "That gym owner really knows how to do business, even got my wife interested."
Caroline's gaze was firm. "No."
Leopold's tongue swept across his lips. "Go to the window now."
"Why?" Caroline was confused.
"Get up." Leopold smiled meaningfully.
Caroline walked to the window. "What next?"
Leopold moved closer to the screen, observing Caroline's expression, and asked, "Are there any guys with eight-pack abs running over there right now?"
Two of the five treadmills were in use, and one of the men was someone Caroline often saw, so she had a deeper impression of him.
"Yes."
Leopold asked, "How are his pecs?"
Caroline observed, completely oblivious to Leopold's changing expression. She said, "Not bad, when he runs they just..." Her eyebrows unconsciously raised. "Very sexy."
Leopold forced a smile. "Does he have V-lines?"
Caroline squinted. Due to the distance, she had to focus to see the finer details. "One does, the other is close."
The one with V-lines was the man Caroline preferred watching.
"Is he wearing long pants or shorts?" Leopold asked again.
Caroline said, "Black shorts. When he runs, his leg muscle definition is beautiful too."
As she answered, all her facial features moved upward, and she couldn't control the smile at the corners of her mouth.
Leopold took a screenshot, preserving the "criminal evidence."
"Caroline."
"What?" The guy she liked watching went to lift dumbbells nearby, and her gaze followed.
Leopold exhaled. "Caroline, quickly grab a tissue and wipe the drool from your mouth. It's about to drip onto the screen and drown me."
"No way." Caroline quickly denied it.
At that moment, the gym guy shouldered a barbell and started doing squats. As he squatted and rose, his glute lines were tight and shapely. Caroline pressed her lips to hide her smile.
Leopold had an indescribable expression. He clicked to send an image, sending her current expression to her.
"See for yourself."
Caroline minimized the video window and clicked on his screenshot. Seeing her own expression, even Caroline couldn't explain herself.
"This isn't... it's pretty normal," she said, laughing more and more. "You're the one who told me to look."
Leopold sighed. "Fine, now you're pinning the blame on me."
Caroline turned back to her seat, cleared her throat lightly, and corrected him. "We haven't seen each other in days. When we meet, let's not talk about useless things. Any topic that might affect our relationship should be nipped in the bud."
Leopold gave a thumbs-up to the camera. "When it comes to twisting words, Ms. Tudor is really something!"
Caroline said, "What about you? Usually, you're all covered up when video chatting with me, but today you're half-naked. What's that about? Did you have a romantic encounter? Did some young, pretty girl throw herself at you? You didn't just do something to betray me, did you?"
Leopold gritted his teeth. "You're really something."
He picked up his phone and switched cameras, starting to film around the room. "See? I'm the only one sleeping in this bed. Let me flip open the sheets, check if there's anyone in the covers, and check if anyone's hiding under the bed. Come on, let's look in the closet too—what if I hid someone in the wardrobe? Should we check the bathroom? We definitely should. I'll open the bathroom cabinet too—what if I stuffed someone in there? Come, look at the balcony too. See? Forget women, there's not even a female ghost. Wait, there's one more place you haven't seen."
Caroline certainly trusted him; she was just joking around earlier.
Leopold pulled open the bedside table drawer. "Look, no condoms inside, none in the trash either. Don't say I took out the trash—today's garbage won't be collected until tomorrow morning. Satisfied now?"
"Of course I'm satisfied."
Caroline watched as Leopold in the video sat back down on the sofa.
Leopold was sensitive inside. He didn't want Caroline to have any doubts, and after Allegra's scene today, it reminded him that some things needed more consideration.
"Is everything going smoothly lately?"
Leopold put away his playful expression. "Pretty smooth, but I need to go to the hotel in Aetheria next week."
"For how long?" Caroline asked.
Leopold put on his bathrobe, walked to the balcony, lit a cigarette, and said, "Initially estimated to be a week."
Caroline stared at his hand holding the cigarette—his slender hand with distinct knuckles. He had beautiful hands.
"How many more hotels do you have to visit?"
Leopold said, "Six more."
Six more hotels to visit, which would probably mean at least another month abroad. Counting everything, they'd probably not see each other for three months.
Caroline missed him but couldn't ask him to drop his work and come back.
Leopold smiled. "Want me to come back?"
Caroline pretended to be casual. "No, I'm just asking."
He was abroad, not in the suburbs. If he were in the suburbs, he could drive back in a few hours, but abroad meant half the globe's distance. She'd better not say things that would make both of them feel bad.
Leopold took a deep drag on his cigarette and slowly exhaled white smoke. His affectionate eyes looked at Caroline in the video. "If I could, I'd want to come back right now."
His expression was serious. Caroline knew she was Leopold's weakness. If she showed even a little vulnerability or cried a bit, Leopold might very well take a flight back the next morning.
Knowing his difficult position at the company, Caroline didn't want to give those who wanted to suppress him an excuse to find fault with him because of her.
She changed the subject and talked about her own work. Leopold listened with great interest, and the atmosphere lightened considerably.
Before leaving work, Caroline received a WhatsApp from Erica with a screenshot. Caroline clicked to open it. The name on the screenshot wasn't very familiar, but from the birthday cake on the table in the photo, it appeared someone was celebrating a birthday.
Caroline asked Erica: [Who is this?]
The dialog box showed that the other person was typing.
When Allegra's name appeared, Caroline's heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
Not for any other reason, but because the four dishes next to the cake looked very familiar—they looked a lot like Leopold's plating style.
Erica: [Zoom in on the picture.]
Caroline spread two fingers apart. In the photo, she saw a man's hand, and he was wearing a wedding ring.