Chapter 203 - 202: The Potential to Be a Mother Hen

Auntie Dahlia’s dear son had ’come back from the dead’ after twenty-two years, so the couple was no longer in the mood to return to Apeiron and laze around.

Besides, they now had free labor to help them uncover the truth of what happened back then. So they accepted Leo Grant’s invitation to stay at the Shadow Pavilion long-term, thinking they could also buy a property in Continent R and foster a relationship with their son.

That evening, when Yvonne Lowell came out of the bathroom, Leo Grant was sitting on the sofa, on the phone.

Seeing her emerge with her hair wrapped in a towel, he said into the phone in a deep voice, "Got it. If she’s willing."

With that, he hung up.

Then, he pulled a hairdryer out from some nook or cranny and beckoned to her. "Come here."

Yvonne Lowell ambled over and plopped down beside him. "You really have the makings of a mother hen."

"Mhm, a mother hen who only fusses over you." Leo Grant took the towel off her head and gently began to dry her still-dripping hair.

"I’ve already assigned people to investigate the William Lynch case to lighten your workload. If you want to slack off, you can just hand it all over to me."

He hadn’t brought it up earlier when Auntie Dahlia and Uncle Stark were there, not wanting to steal his girl’s thunder.

Yvonne Lowell pouted. "It’s fine. I’m used to them ordering me around. Besides, I’ve already had my people start investigating too. We can just touch base later and divide the investigation into parts."

"Alright, whatever you say." Leo Grant picked up the hairdryer and began to gently dry her hair.

Yvonne Lowell hadn’t fastened the top button of the pajamas she was wearing tonight.

With one sitting and one standing, from Leo Grant’s angle, he could see her delicate collarbones, his ’masterpiece’ from last night, and the faint outline of her cleavage.

The young woman didn’t look like she had much meat on her bones, but she was certainly curvy where it counted—something he had learned firsthand last night.

And the marks on her neck had already faded from last night’s bright red to a faint purple, making her skin look even paler in contrast.

Leo Grant took a deep breath, forcing himself to look away and fixating his gaze on the crown of her head.

’Even though I have every right to look now, I can’t handle taking a cold shower every single day. This is torture!’

After turning off the hairdryer, Leo Grant took the opportunity to pull her into his arms. "I have a lunch meeting tomorrow. Want to come with me? I’ll introduce you to some friends."

Yvonne Lowell raised an eyebrow. "Really good friends?"

"They’re alright. I met them over the years in Continent R. As for how close we are... I’d say they’re second only to your brother and Boss Crawford," Leo Grant leaned in close to her ear and whispered.

People at their level naturally have many ’friends,’ but most of those relationships are superficial. There are very few you can truly open your heart to.

Therefore, the number of people Leo Grant would consider true friends—without the quotation marks—and want to introduce to Yvonne Lowell was even smaller.

Even though he knew she wasn’t lacking for connections, he still wanted to bring her into his circle, just as she had done for him before.

His warm breath on her ear made Yvonne Lowell involuntarily tilt her head to the side.

"Got it. Let’s go then. But speaking of which, does my brother know you’re in Continent R?"

"He knows a little. When I first established the Shadow Pavilion, I invited him to join, but he declined, saying he wouldn’t be able to manage it. But then, whenever any dirty work came up, he’d still dump it on me first thing."

Leo Grant said, his tone full of resentment.

He held quite a deep grudge against this good brother he’d grown up with, who was also his future brother-in-law.

Yvonne Lowell patted his shoulder like a good buddy, consoling him.

"That just means my brother is close to you and sees you as his own flesh and blood. See? I’m not so lucky."

Leo Grant let out a dry laugh. "You want this ’blessing’ then?"

"Nope. I’ll politely decline."

She had no plans to tell the Lowells about her secret identity for the time being. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them; it was just that living a life constantly on a knife’s edge would only make them worry.

Her injury in Country X last time had already left its mark on Charles Lowell. To this day, her old man still thought she was a special forces soldier. His worry was palpable every time she went out, and he would occasionally hint that she should retire from the military soon.

So it was better not to say anything, to save them from being on pins and needles every day.

Between her old man worrying alone and her whole family worrying, she decisively chose the former.

...

「The next day at noon, Prosperity Pavilion.」

Leo Grant drove straight to the entrance of Prosperity Pavilion, executing a beautiful drift to park the car in a spot.

Yvonne Lowell looked at the sign by the entrance, unable to stop the corner of her mouth from twitching. "Are you... deliberately trying to boost my sales figures?"

"I only found out last night myself. They said they’d booked it several days in advance, so we can’t let it go to waste." Leo Grant shrugged innocently.

This wasn’t a lie. After all, Prosperity Pavilion was not only members-only, but even members had to make a reservation in advance to be allowed inside.

If you made a reservation and didn’t show up without giving prior notice, it would be much harder to book again in the future.

Sometimes, they even had to book several days in advance just to get a table for a meal.

The reason was simple: business at Prosperity Pavilion was just too good.

Even though a single meal was astronomically expensive, people still flocked to it.

Yvonne Lowell got out of the car, holding onto Leo Grant’s hand.

The lobby manager spotted a familiar figure from afar and quickly jogged over. He stopped in front of Yvonne Lowell and bowed slightly. "Boss, you’ve finally come to the Continent R branch!"

Then he straightened up and, ignoring their intertwined fingers, gave a poised nod to Leo Grant. "Greetings, Pavilion Master of the Shadow Pavilion."

’It’s not a done deal. He’s not worthy of being called the boss’s husband just yet.’

"Mhm, it’s just a lunch with friends. No need to make a fuss." Yvonne Lowell waved her hand dismissively and continued toward the main entrance.

"Yes, ma’am. In that case, will you be going to the top floor, or...?" the manager asked, taking half a step back to follow behind her.

Yvonne Lowell glanced sideways at Leo Grant. "What do you think?"

Leo Grant spoke up. "They booked Private Room 1. That’ll be fine. They aren’t worthy of the top floor."

Yvonne Lowell couldn’t help but laugh out loud. She looked at the manager. "You heard him?"

"Understood, Boss. However, the guests for Private Room 1 haven’t arrived yet. I’ll show you two up first," the manager replied, struggling to suppress a smile.

As they neared the entrance, Yvonne Lowell saw a group of men and women standing by the bushes not far from the door. The woman in the lead was saying something with an arrogant attitude.

Across from them stood two waiters, who were responding to her with perfectly polite smiles, their demeanor poised and professional.

Yvonne Lowell’s steps faltered, and she narrowed her eyes. "What’s going on over there?"

"They don’t have a reservation, nor are they members, so we stopped them according to our policy. But the woman in the lead keeps clamoring that she’s the Governor’s niece and demanding we arrange a premium private room for her."

The manager’s tone was placid, as if he were merely recounting the tale of a clown.

Yvonne Lowell’s lips curled into a scornful smile. "The Governor himself has to make a reservation to eat here. Who the hell does she think she is? Just kick them out. Why waste your breath on her? You’re damaging the Prosperity Pavilion’s image."