Chapter 8

• Simon Mayfair shamefully called his father in the presence of everyone then scurried away once Venice confirmed the payment.
• Now that they couldn’t upload the videos or publish any articles about what happened, the people around naturally turned their attention to the person he had been on a date with.
• Mia Miller lowered her face to the floor and covered her face with her palms as she rushed out of their presence, but the crowd went in pursuit of her.
• Now, the only people left behind were Venice and Leon.
• Because it was only natural for the owner of a hotel to defend its name, Leon didn’t think too much about why she helped him, but he did plan to thank her for doing so before leaving.
• However, she suddenly ran to his front and went down on her knees in front of him. “Mr. Bartlett, it’s an honor to meet you!”
• He halted and glanced around to make sure there was no one around. Thankfully, there was a car behind him which shielded them from the sight of anyone coming behind them.
• Leon's emeanor was nothing like what it was in front of the public half an hour ago. He had assumed the demeanor of trillionaire Leon Bartlett who commanded immense power and respect.
• He tilted his head to the side slightly and raised an impatient brow, “And who are you supposed to be?”
• The woman smiled lightly, trying to hide her disappointment at not being recognized.
• "You must’ve helped a lot of people back then, Mr. Bartlett. I’m Venice Carter. I used to run a shabby, run-down inn until you visited and thought I was capable of running a hotel.”
• “Oh?” Leon still didn’t get the point of why he was having this discussion with her, his impatience growing.
• Venice’s palm grew sweaty, and she anxiously pressed it down on her thighs.
• She was usually very outspoken, and always knew what to say in any given situation. But now she couldn’t think of anything to say.
• She had also heard of how strict Leon was, but never did she think he’d be so strict that he didn’t bother to hide his displeasure of the conversation.
• “I will be at your beck and call whenever you need me. And I will do whatever you want me to. Anything. Just name it.”
• “I don’t think I have any need for you.” The man murmured and turned to leave.
• However, she quickly got up and stretched his keys towards him with both hands. "Your keys. You left them inside, and Mr. Wyatt had me return them to you."
• Leon halted, and she walked closer to him to hand him the key.
• "Thank you." He nodded and walked out, taking out his buzzing phone from his pocket unaware that thanking the two words he said had set someone's heart on fire.
• Well, even if he knew, he wouldn't care.
• He held his phone to his face to see it was his alarm buzzing. One of the alarms he had set so he wouldn’t forget what he was supposed to do in a day.
• He had figured out that doing his chores diligently kept his mother-in-law's mouth shut.
• Even though she was displeased with him, she hardly saw anything wrong with what he did, so she said nothing much.
• For the day, he was supposed to go grocery shopping.
• He stopped by a grocery store on his way to the house and got the things needed before heading home.
• When he got home, he found Dean Miller playing a video game while cussing and yelling angrily at the person he was playing with.
• When he saw Leon walk in, he raised his voice at him in exasperation, “Where did you go, Leon? I’ve been craving orange juice for over an hour. You took so long, almost died of thirst. Where did you go that you had to stay out this long?”
• “Don't answer that, I don’t care where you went. Just hurry into the kitchen and get me a glass of orange juice. And no, I don’t need the boxed one. I want freshly squeezed juice. Hurry up before I die of thirst!”
• Leon stared at him with a blank face before he proceeded to make the juice. He added sedatives to it, before bringing it to him.
• After ten minutes, the cussing coming from the living room stopped, but the sound from the game continued. He didn’t need to go out to see Dean had fallen asleep.
• When it was an hour before Aria returned from work, he walked outside to wait for her. Ten minutes afterward, her car drove in.
• “How many times do I have to tell you not to wait for me outside?” Aria smiled when she got out of the car and saw him smiling at her from the pavement.
• Leon smiled sheepishly and lowered his eyes to the floor. What he always did whenever he didn't have anything to say to her.
• As Aria walked towards him, he lowered his head to her height for her to ruffle.
• “Are kids really this obedient? Should I just have one?” She sighed incoherently as she got to him and placed her hand on it, ruffling his hair gently and with a relaxed smile.
• Leon’s eyes lit up in agreement and he immediately raised his head to look at her. “Yes, you should!”