At the sight of Leslie’s stunned gaze, Calix’s chuckles slipped out of his mouth. His eyes curved, expressing the glee sparkling in them.
"Why? Can’t you believe it? Still?"
Leslie blinked, her lips parted slightly in disbelief. She shifted her eyes from Calix who crouched opposite her to the lake in the backyard.
The glimring surface rippled gently under the moonlight. Not far from where they were, an unfinished deck fra fell in Leslie’s line of sight.
"When I heard... Aunt Wendy... talking about it... I thought it’s... just a joke..."
Leslie vaguely heard weird noises coming from the backyard after she erged from the basent where the rehab room was. Different voices of n echoed above the other undistinguished sounds.
Listening to them reminded Leslie of people constructing sothing. Out of curiosity, she asked what was happening in the backyard.
"We have so workers building a deck there, Mrs. Charlene. Don’t worry about their appearance. None of them will enter the house."
Aunt Wendy happily explained about the situation while reassuring Leslie that the labor workers—complete strangers to them—wouldn’t ever step into the main building.
The housekeeper’s words caught Leslie off guard. Instead of asking Aunt Wendy further, she simply waited for Calix to return ho.
When she asked about it, he smilingly told her to wait until he brought her for a stroll in the backyard.
Blinking, Leslie pulled herself out of her stupor. She withdrew her gaze from the wooden deck fra, back to looking at Calix. A huge grin was plastered on his face.
Still crouching on the ground, Calix held back from laughing out loud. He found Leslie’s bewildered expression now was very funny.
"The deck back at Ro was good. So, why don’t we get one too? Makes it easier for us to lounge by the lake. Didn’t you say how good it is if we have it as well? I thought so too."
"That... sounds plausible..." replied Leslie quietly. She opened and closed her mouth a few tis, wanting to say sothing more but, nothing ca out of it.
This news hadn’t sunk properly into Leslie’s mind but, her heart swelled in joy. She couldn’t wait to see how the deck would look after it was finished. Calix said a roofed pavilion would be built on the platform too.
Sigh... Did he just snap his fingers calling these experienced workers to build the deck here?
Chuckling, Calix rose to his feet. He rounded the wheelchair, standing behind Leslie.
"Perhaps we can have a party there once it’s finished. Us, Aunt Wendy, Uncle Raymond and Edward. How about that? Mrs. An and Mrs. Su, any of them."
Leslie’s smile softened. Nodding once, she expressed her approval, "It sounds so... nice... Unfortunately, I can... just have... liquid food instead... of at..."
Calix let out a chuckle, "Once you recover later, let’s celebrate it there too."
Leslie’s eyes brightened. She nodded again, prompting Calix to laugh.
After spending so ti by the lakeside, Calix wheeled Leslie back to the main building of the manor. The clock was showing a quarter past nine.
"Leslie, I’ve gotten Edward to call the orphanage. So of my n will deliver the supplies needed and watch over the girl."
Calix’s voice resounded behind Leslie. What he had just said caught her off guard.
"You have... ordered them to... do that?" Leslie unconsciously clenched her hand. She stiffly tilted her head up before turning around a little, trying to look at Calix, "So fast..."
"The faster, the better," replied Calix with a smile, "Who knows? The place might require help. I’m telling you this because I hope you won’t worry too much."
Calix omitted the fact that he was heading to Harmony Haven Orphanage himself next week. He was sure that Leslie might be surprised if she heard that. He didn’t want unnecessary thoughts complicating her mind.
Calliope. The unfamiliar little girl’s existence cast so doubts in Calix’s heart. He didn’t know whether his conjectures were true or not but, he didn’t dare bring any of it in front of Leslie.
There were so many things going on in Calix’s mind. Despite feeling bad for not informing Leslie about his suspicions—going behind her back—he believed this was sothing he needed to conceal from her.
At least, for the ti being.
’For now... I can’t say anything to her yet.’
In the following days, Calix’s busier schedule began. He wanted to finish everything before the day he went to Bridgeland City ca. Edward did a stellar job being his close aide.
As expected, Calix had to go ho later than usual. He notified everyone in the manor including Leslie about it.
Leslie had been having dinner and strolling at night accompanied by either Aunt Wendy, Mrs. An or Mrs. Su. If Calix returned before she fell asleep, he spent so ti chatting with her.
During Calix’s cramd schedule, he received several phone calls and ssages from Xander on the rare occasion of the latter trying to apologize for his conduct in Viluxs last weekend.
"I’m not avoiding you, okay? I’m just too busy this week. Let’s talk again later."
Calix repeatedly turned down Xander’s invitation to dine together. He didn’t care how bad his friend felt. He simply didn’t have ti for that.
Even if Calix managed to squeeze so ti out of his busy days, he would rather use it to quickly complete the tasks for that day. He could go ho earlier if he did that.
With the next Tuesday closely approaching, Calix headed to work even on the weekend. He barely had ti to have breakfast with Leslie on the days he was supposed to spend in leisure.
On Edward’s side, he had finished arranging everything necessary for the forr’s trip to Bridgeland City. It needed to be conducted discreetly.
Finally, the most awaited Tuesday arrived. The morning began with Calix bringing Leslie downstairs for them to dine together.
"I’ll be out of the city until this late afternoon," said Calix while wiping the corner of Leslie’s lips sared with soup, "I’ll try to get ho as early as I can."
"You’re too busy... since last week..." Leslie smiled in helplessness, completely unaware of Calix’s plan for today.
"Well, I’m the CEO so, it’s expected," Calix shrugged, trying to act as usual, "I’ll be less busy after today though. Wanna go out for a drive tomorrow night?"
Calix hadn’t been able to bring Leslie out due to how congested his revised schedule was. He couldn’t image how bored she was only staying inside this estate.
"If you’re not... too exhausted... let’s go..." replied Leslie after pondering for a mont.
Leslie didn’t know what made Calix very busy. She simply attributed it to his high position in the conglorate. But, she was happy to see how he tried to spend so ti with her amid his packed schedule.
She had thought about it before but, CEO Xu was indeed an exemplary gentleman.
Calix acted as usual from the beginning until the ti he left Graceville Manor. But, instead of heading to the company, his destination was elsewhere.
Edward and a few of Calix’s personal bodyguards were waiting for him at the private helipad. Before leaving with the n in black suits, he didn’t forget to leave so instructions to the forr.
"If you can’t reach , contact Alan," Calix referred to one of the bodyguards, "Keep the company safe from any fires, will you?"
"Have a safe trip, Boss," Edward raised his brows, "I’ll start delegating my future tasks to my subordinates before sumr arrives."
Calix clicked his tongue.
Geez... when his boss was busy working to death, he still dared to think about his sumr vacation?
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