Chapter 3 Mr. Lucian's Examination

The next day, Leah went to school early morning. As a graduate student, she was busy with her thesis these days.

Being a student who excelled in her studies, her resume had already been sent to major companies, and the offer letters had come pouring in. When she graduated successfully, she would be able to land a job at any one of these prestigious companies and enjoy a good salary.

Of course, for that she needed to graduate first. Her thesis was already written, but her tutor hadn't approved it for a long time. He was still dissatisfied with it and she didn't know why. However, she was determined to get the approval today.

Leah went to the office and handed over her thesis to her tutor.

"Sir, this is my revised thesis. Please have a look." she said earnestly.

"No, rework these bits." said the tutor almost immediately and started marking the document with a red pen.

"But..."

"No buts! Take it back and modify it," he said impatiently.

Leah was furious. She had already changed it seven times and would be defending it in a few days. She stormed out of the office.

The tutor stood by the window, watching Leah walk away. He pulled out his phone.

"Hello, Mr. Charlie. She came again today." the tutor informed in a flattering tone.

"Okay, do not allow her to graduate easily, understand?" Charlie commanded.

"But why do you want to do this to her? She has written a good thesis."

"Do I need to explain myself to you?"

"No, no. I will do as you say, sir."

The tutor hung up and wiped the sweat on his forehead. He shook his head and sat down. 'What could Leah have done to offend Mr. Charlie this much? He seems set on ruining her future.'

Leah walked to the campus. She had no intention of changing her thesis. Her tutor had been very good to her throughout the term. So there must be a reason for the sudden change in his attitude. It seemed like he had made up his mind to make things difficult for her. So no matter what she did now, he would not agree.

Suddenly her phone rang, interrupting her musings.

She checked the caller ID and saw that it was Manager Guo. She had worked part-time at the Caspar Manor through college. Manager Guo was a kind soul, who looked out for her.

She answered the phone, "Hello, Manager Guo."

"Leah, come to the hotel this afternoon. Our big boss will be coming for an inspection."

"Big boss? Who is that?" Leah was surprised.

"Mr. Lucian. Don't you know that our hotel belongs to his company?"

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"Anyway, come early. We have to prepare for his arrival."

"Okay!"

Leah hung up, thinking about this Mr. Lucian. Why did she feel like she had heard this name before? Where had she heard it? She tried hard to recall but couldn't.

Suddenly, her mobile phone vibrated again. She looked down and saw a message from the butler of the Ye family. "Miss Leah, the living expenses of this month have been transferred to your account. Please check and confirm."

She was taken back to the Ye family from the orphanage when she was thirteen years old. Not only did they let anybody know her true identity, but they also treated her like a maid. After going to college, they only gave her one thousand a month and cared nothing about her. That was how her father treated her.

There was nothing more important than self-reliance and Leah was used to it.

After lunch, she went to her rented apartment to change her clothes and then headed to the hotel.

"Ah, here you are, Leah." Manager Guo commented when he saw her. He appeared stressed.

"Yes, sir." she replied with a smile.

"All right, now that everyone is here, let's have a quick meeting." Manager Guo stood in front of the waiters and security guards who had lined up. He cleared his throat and spoke in a serious tone. "I'm sure everyone knows that Mr. Lucian is coming for inspection this afternoon. This is his first check-up since he has returned. We can't make any mistakes. Do your job well and don't let Mr. Lucian down. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!" everyone replied in unison.

"Very well, go get changed and get ready for work."

The crowd dispersed. All the waitresses went to the dressing room, including Leah.

She opened her assigned locker, took out her work clothes and quickly changed.

Meanwhile a group of waitresses started gossiping.

"Have you seen the news? I've heard that Mr. Lucian is super handsome."

"Oh yes. His profile is so sexy. I want to pounce on him."

"I want to have a child with him, waah, waah...!" They were all giggling and monkeying around.

Leah rolled her eyes at the group of smitten waitresses and said, "Come on, let's get to work. Otherwise, the manager will scold us."

"Leah, aren't you curious about what our CEO looks like?" asked one of the waitresses.

"No, because I know what he looks like."

"What? Have you met him? Is he as handsome as they say?" another waitress asked and her eyes lit up.

"He looks like any other men," Leah said flatly, glaring at them.

"Don't lie, Leah."

She shrugged. She was not interested in the legendary Mr. Lucian at all. She just wanted to know whether he was ugly or not, that was it.

The Caspar Manor was the largest hotel in the country. It was designed in the Chinese style of architecture. The environment was serene and unique. The employees were also very well-paid. When Leah had first applied for a part-time job at the hotel, she was refused repeatedly, but she was like an immortal fighter who kept re-applying again and again. The manager had finally relented and accepted her.

Despite being young and inexperienced, she was good at her job and learned the ropes quickly. Seeing her work, the manager had decided to let her stay, so that she could afford tuition and rent an apartment, although it was small and in a remote location.

Most of the people who came to the Caspar Manor were either rich or powerful, but there were also upstarts who behaved crassly unlike the aristocratic upper-class crowd.

Leah had inherited her mother's beauty at a young age. A few days ago, a certain Mr. Wang, who had come to the hotel for dinner, ended up having a crush on her. She prayed that she would not meet him today.

Leah was going about her work, as usual, taking orders for the guests and serving them deftly. She was about to go into the kitchen to place the orders when the manager came to her in a hurry.

"Leah, Mr. Wang is in Room 201. He has specifically asked you to take his meal order." The manager knew what kind of person Mr. Wang was, but, being duty-bound, he was in a dilemma. He had no choice but to send Leah.

"That scumbag!" Leah's face darkened. Why was God punishing her? Such a bummer!

She went upstairs and opened the door to his room. She suppressed her anger and forced herself to smile. "Mr. Wang, what do you want to eat today?"

"Leah, come in." Mr. Wang unbuttoned his suit. The shirt inside was stretched to its limit thanks to his beer belly.

Hearing his sleazy voice, Leah felt sick and tried to ignore his invitation. "Mr. Wang, please tell me your order. I'll write it down."

But he was not satisfied. "I'm asking you to come in. You'd better do as I say, or I'll complain to your boss."

Left with no other option, she said, "Yes, sir." She walked in warily.

"What would you like to eat?" "You, of course!" Mr. Wang smiled creepily and grabbed her hand and pulled her. She fell into his arms.

"Let go of me!" she yelped. Leah squirmed in his arms.

"Baby, I have missed you for a long time." Mr. Wang tried to take off Leah's clothes.

"You bastard!" Leah was seething with rage. She slapped his face instantly.

Mr. Wang's ego was shattered. "Bitch! How dare you hit me? You should consider yourself lucky that I like you." He continued to rip her clothes off.

"Ah!" Leah managed to take out her pepper spray and aimed it at his eyes.

Mr. Wang howled like a pig being slaughtered. He pushed Leah away and hopped up and down. Leah lost her balance and bumped her head on a chair. She could see stars and her eyes started watering.

"Bang!" Someone kicked open the door of the room and Leah suddenly felt a strong arm supporting her.

She blinked and looked up at the person. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Didn't I meet you at the airport that day?"

"Come, I'll take you to the hospital." Lucian ignored her question and carried her out of the room.

The manager heard the din and rushed over. He was shocked. "Mr. Lucian, this..."

"Take the guest to the hospital, and cover all the fees." Then Lucian strode out of the hotel with Leah in his arms.

"Mr. Lucian, I'm fine. You can put me down," said Leah, feeling very uncomfortable in his arms.

"No, you are my employee and I am responsible for your safety," Lucian said authoritatively, quashing her protests.

Leah didn't dare to resist after that. She couldn't risk annoying the big boss.

Lucian felt her soft, lithe body in his arms. It was strange but he felt a sense of familiarity once again. He had only seen her once. He lowered his head and gazed into her almond-shaped eyes. He felt that her eyes were similar to the eyes of his little girl in the photo.