Laila had never paid much attention to the profession of psychologists before, but after hearing such praise, she couldn't help but feel curious about meeting that person. However, there was no way for her to do that now. Her schedule was packed with one thing after another, and she felt like she needed to split into ten people to manage it all. Even her trip to the East for the Spring Festival didn't leave any room for detours.
After nearly half a month, Laila handed over the outlines and the first five episodes of the two TV series to her grandfather. She didn't care about what happened next, nor did she have the time to care, as her return to Hollywood approached step by step.
This time, her family didn't try to stop her from leaving. They had all realized that with a grandfather who took pleasure in exploiting his granddaughter, Laila was more exhausted at home than in Hollywood. Seeing her dark circles that couldn't even be concealed with makeup, Janet and her grandmother constantly complained about her grandfather's ruthlessness.
When Laila left, it was just when Quentin returned. With him and Claire around, she felt more at ease leaving.
Upon her return to Hollywood, she went directly to the company from the airport.
Louise was taken aback when she saw Laila. "Laila, weren't you supposed to be in New York? What's with the dark circles?" She had thought that leaving Hollywood for a while would give Laila some time to rest, so she hadn't bothered her with company matters, hoping she could take a few days off. But why, after half a month, did she look even more tired than when she left?
"It's nothing," Laila waved it off casually. Dark circles were nothing new to her; she had dealt with them in her previous life. In her line of work, having a regular sleep schedule was simply impossible.
"Is there anything happening at the company while I was away?" Louise asked with concern, glancing at her several times. "Construction has started on the theme park side, and we've received design proposals from several companies for the Harry Potter section. They are on the desk; you can take a look."
Laila found the documents Louise mentioned on her desk and opened them. Inside were designs for the theme park, and there were eight proposals in total. They all looked quite similar and didn't seem to differ much from what you'd find in a typical amusement park. This left her disappointed.
"These aren't what I want. I'm looking for more creative designs, not something every amusement park already has. Didn't you tell the design companies about the Harry Potter book?" Laila asked.
"Of course, I did," Louise replied. As for whether the designers actually read it, that was hard to say. After all, only children liked children's stories, and even she couldn't get through them. "Don't worry; this is just a part of it. There will be more proposals coming in later this week. You can take a look then."
Laila pushed the documents aside in disappointment. Although these were the results of others' hard work, she couldn't help but feel frustrated. Why couldn't they show some respect to their client? She had told them it was for a theme park, but they had made it so mainstream. Did they think she was naive and couldn't distinguish between the two?
Louise understood what Laila meant and stepped outside to make some phone calls to the companies that hadn't submitted their proposals yet. She reiterated Laila's requirements to them. If they still submitted ordinary designs, they would be discarded.
When she returned to the office, she found Laila had discarded the documents and was now sleeping with her head on the desk.
"She must have been through a lot recently," Louise sighed in sympathy, taking a blanket from the lounge and gently covering Laila's shoulders.
"Demi, Laila has fallen asleep. Please inform Claire to come and pick her up in a while," Louise whispered as she closed the office door quietly.
Demi hesitated for a moment. "Isn't Ms. Claire in New York?"
"Oh, right, I forgot," Louise slapped her forehead in frustration. "Well, just stay here and make sure no one disturbs her. I'll see if there's anyone else who can help."
"Understood." Demi glanced in the direction of the office and returned to her seat.
Louise could have asked Laila's bodyguards to take her home, but she always felt somewhat guarded around them. She worried that they might be too rough and accidentally hurt her. With that in mind, she made a phone call.
"Roy, where are you right now?"
"I'm with Abel. Is something wrong?" Roy's work had already finished, but he had been staying outside, thinking it would be awkward for him and Laila to be under the same roof after what had happened. These past few days, he had been taking care of Abel and staying at a different place.
Louise knew about this, which was why she thought of him. "Can you come to the company? Laila has fallen asleep, and I'm worried about her."
"Asleep at this time? That's surprising," Roy said as he glanced at his watch. Sleeping during this time? It was quite astonishing news.
"She just returned from New York, and she looks really tired. I'm worried about her health. Unfortunately, Claire went to take care of Janet, and I don't want to burden her. Now that you're back, could you take care of her for a while?"
Roy remained silent for a moment and then agreed, "Alright." Originally, he had planned to stay away from Laila for a while after she returned from New York to allow both of them to forget about what had happened. However, after hearing Louise's request, he set aside his previous thoughts.
An hour later, Roy arrived at the company. He pushed open the familiar office door and saw Laila sound asleep.
Even in her sleep, her brows were slightly furrowed, as if she was having a not-so-pleasant dream. It seemed that she was either having a bad dream or the worries that had plagued her before sleep continued to haunt her. Seeing her dark and puffy eyes, Roy had an urge to scold her.
Who did she think she was? Did she believe she was a hero destined to save the world? Did she think that every problem in the world needed her attention? Did she think she was all-powerful and would never get tired?
Roy gritted his teeth, picked up the blanket and Laila, and carried her in his arms.
"Demi, I'll take her home to rest. If there's anything, contact Louise," Roy whispered to Demi, who nodded in response.
And so, Laila's first-ever princess carry in her two lifetimes happened while she was fast asleep, completely unaware.