Laila remembered that Gisele and Leonardo had broken up due to his playboy tendencies. It wasn't that she was deeply heartbroken; she believed Gisele wouldn't give up on him. If she didn't have to fall in love with him this time around, she might be even happier, right?
Laila shook her head with a smile, pushing aside those scattered thoughts. "Demi, is everything ready at the park?"
"Yes, we've already notified them to close for today. There might be a need to communicate about some of the pre-booked tickets."
"Never mind. We don't need to clear out the whole park. Just clean the necessary areas as we go." Laila thought about the losses she would incur from closing the park and decided against it. Why should she help promote Victoria's Secret and suffer unnecessary losses herself?
"Okay, I'll let them know." Demi acknowledged and picked up her phone to make the call.
After having lunch by the roadside, the group finally arrived at the hotel and prepared for them around 4 p.m. The hotel was conveniently located near the theme park, making it easy for them to commute to work the next day. There were theme-based lodges within the park, but those settings were more suitable for adventure enthusiasts who enjoyed horror experiences. Laila couldn't bring herself to put these delicate girls through such a terrifying ordeal.
Once they were inside their hotel rooms, Laila opened her laptop to review the photos taken in the past couple of days. She was grateful that her current computer and phone were still functional, despite being a bit outdated. She couldn't help but wonder how different her life would be if she had been reborn in an era without these technological conveniences.
Before long, a knock sounded at the door, followed by Roy strolling in.
Seeing him, Laila redirected her attention to the photo selection task. "Do you need something?"
"Of course," Roy grinned as he took a seat next to her. "I know you're eventually going to scold me, so I thought I'd save you the trouble. It wouldn't be good if your anger keeps building up until you explode."
His words could easily irritate anyone. If he didn't want to be scolded, then he shouldn't do things that would upset her in the first place!
In truth, Laila's initial frustration had largely subsided during their journey. She didn't want other emotions to interfere with her work.
"If you have nothing else, you can leave. I have work to do."
"What work?" Roy leaned over next to her, peering at the screen. He saw the models wearing sexy Victoria's Secret lingerie in various poses on the bed and exclaimed, "Oh, this is lace, and you have good taste!"
"Lace, my foot! These are photos I took at the Victoria's Secret headquarters!" Even someone as patient as Laila couldn't tolerate his off-topic comments. She was sorting through photos, not admiring beautiful women!
Roy chuckled mischievously and snatched her mouse, flipping through the photos on the laptop. "Not bad at all. Why do you have such a gloomy expression? You should be happy about this."
Laila furrowed her brows. "I'm not gloomy."
"Why not? You meet me, and your face turns into a frown as if I owe you a ton of money."
"That's because I see you." Laila squinted at him. "You lied to Demi using my name. You're getting better at this."
"Really? I think I'm getting better too." Roy scratched his head with a "bashful" expression.
Laila reached out and gave his head a solid slap. "I'm not praising you! You've certainly improved, I won't deny that." Indeed, he had gotten better, especially when it came to being thick-skinned.
"By the way, how did you meet Leonardo?"
"At a bar." Roy blurted out before he could stop himself, and immediately regretted it. Why did he have to reveal the truth?
As expected, Laila's expression turned stern.
"Aren't you prohibited from going to bars? Do you want to get into trouble again?"
"Heh heh, no! It was the crew's idea to go for a drink. I didn't want to go, but you know, it's the same crew, and if I act too unsociable, they won't like me, right?" Roy tried to appear as innocent as possible.
However, his acting skills were no match for Laila's deep understanding of him.
"Do you think I'll believe that? If you didn't want to go, there are a hundred ways to reject without hurting anyone's feelings. Don't forget your age! If you get caught drinking, I won't have the face to bail you out!"
In the U.S., the legal drinking age is 21, although it's a rule that's often ignored. However, if the police see him drinking, they could still arrest him.
"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm old enough." Roy put on a wounded expression, looking at her with hurt eyes. "You even forgot my age. I feel neglected."
"Reached the legal age?" Laila looked at him with confusion. She distinctly remembered that he was only about a year older than her, so how could he have reached that age?
"Of course, don't you believe me? I can show you my ID." Roy said, taking out his wallet and handing her his identification.
Laila glanced at it and indeed, he had reached the legal age. His birthday had just passed a few days ago!
"Sorry, I forgot your birthday." She realized she had been neglectful. Turning 21 is a significant milestone.
After a moment of thought, she said, "Here's the deal. As a belated birthday gift, I'll arrange for your little brother to come to Hollywood soon. Do you want to live with him or should I find another place for him temporarily?"
Roy was stunned. He hadn't expected her to suddenly bring up his little brother. He missed that kid dearly; every day of strenuous training was in the hope of seeing him sooner. However, he didn't anticipate getting news about his brother from her at such an unexpected moment.
"Is this okay with you? I can temporarily arrange for you to stay in my father's vacant house here in Hollywood. It might be more convenient than staying at the company's accommodations."
"I don't mind at all! I don't mind!" Roy leaped up excitedly, practically dancing around. "I can see my little bro? "I don't need to lie to you, I will arrange for your brother when I finish this job." Laila reminded: "Let me say this, although someone will clean up the house at a fixed time, they are only responsible for the general area. After you live in, you have to manage your own life."
Roy suddenly held up her head and kissed her on the forehead "Don't worry, it's just cleaning the house, I can't trouble you! Thank you so much! I'll go tell Abel about this right away!" He blurted out his gratitude and darted out of the room without even saying goodbye.
Laila rubbed her forehead, her face darkening. "That troublemaker!" He dared to kiss her without permission, and his audacity was growing by the day. Fortunately, he had only kissed her forehead. If he had... well, never mind. Considering how ecstatic he was, she would forgive him this once.
By the way, what was he here for, anyway?