Seeing that Royce remained expressionless, Lionel quickly added, "President Butler, can I just call you Brother Royce? Harry has been wanting to meet you for a while now, and I've turned him down several times. I can't refuse anymore. Besides, you know how my old man is. Can you do me this favor?"
Royce sighed silently. Due to his status, he didn't have many friends, and Lionel was probably his best one. He understood Lionel's predicament.
The Gonzalez family was a prominent name in Zenith City, with businesses spanning multiple industries. Lionel was the second son, with an elder brother above him. The family patriarch always favored the eldest, while Lionel, who excelled in eating, drinking, and having fun, knew nothing about the family business. The old man thought he was hopeless, and Lionel had been scolded and punished numerous times.
"Alright," Royce finally agreed.
"I knew you were the best!" Lionel immediately stuffed a card into Royce's pocket. "Hurry up then, don't keep the girl waiting."
Royce frowned slightly, stood up, and looked down at Lionel.
"Go on, go on. Your sacrifice for your brother won't be forgotten!" Lionel gave Royce a thumbs-up.
Royce shook his head and left the room.
Only then did Lionel breathe a sigh of relief and collapse onto the sofa.
The Royal Hotel was right next to the July Blossom Nightclub. Royce checked the room number and headed straight for the elevator.
To be honest, ever since he had slept with Julia and lost his virginity, he found himself unable to stop thinking about such matters.
So, with Julia gone for just a few days, he was already feeling an itch that needed scratching.
Lionel had said countless times that women were just there to satisfy physical needs, and it didn't matter who they were.
But was that really true?
If so, why did every step he took feel so difficult?
Why did Julia's face pop into his mind with every step?
Room 808 was right in front of him.
He stood there, hesitating, wanting to turn back.
But then he remembered Lionel's words. Harry had surely prepped the woman inside, and if he left now, Harry would know he hadn't shown up and would definitely blame Lionel.
That would spell trouble for Lionel too.
Since he had already promised Lionel, he might as well...
Royce took the room card out of his pocket. With two beeps, the door unlocked, and he pushed it open.
The room was pitch dark, and a refreshing fragrance filled the air. Royce instinctively touched his nose before turning on the light.
To his surprise, a path made of rose petals lay at his feet.
He let out a cold laugh. Harry had really gone all out with the setup.
Following the rose petal path, he reached the bedroom door. Bracing himself, he opened it, but the room remained shrouded in darkness.
No one spoke, and there wasn't a single sound!
This made Royce suspicious. Wasn't there supposed to be a woman in here? Why wasn't she making any noise?
He flicked on the bedroom light, revealing a round bed directly facing the door. Red, semi-transparent curtains swayed gently with the breeze from the window.
On the round bed lay a person. The curtains and the rose petals scattered over the figure made it hard for Royce to see clearly.
He didn't move, just stood at the doorway.
"Stop pretending! Get up!" Royce barked.
The person on the bed didn't move.
"Are you dead?!" Royce shouted again.
Still, no response from the bed.
Royce frowned immediately. Could she have been drugged?
He often hung out with Lionel, who was an expert in this area. Drugging women was a common practice for him.
With large strides, Royce approached the bed and yanked the curtains aside forcefully.
The woman on the bed was dressed in a black-and-white maid outfit, with a small fox mask covering her face. He recognized this outfit; it was the uniform of the lowest-ranking servers at the July Blossom Nightclub.
Rose petals were arranged in a heart shape around her.
How romantic, indeed! Any other man would have already seized the moment.
But Royce had quite the self-control.
"Tch," Royce couldn't help but let out a cold snort.
Just as Royce stepped out from behind the curtains and was about to call Lionel, his phone rang.
"Royce, how's it going? Is the woman Harry prepared for you top-notch? Is her body amazing? How about her chest? D? E? F?"
"What kind of joke is this? He got me a maid from July Blossom Nightclub, dressed in black and white."
"What?" Lionel sounded incredulous. "No way! Harry wouldn't dare give you just anyone... Tell him he's really messed up this time."
"Wait, wait! Knowing Harry, if it were just an ordinary woman, he wouldn't have dared. Heaven knows he dreams of currying favor with you! Send me a picture so I can judge."
"She's wearing a mask and a maid outfit. You can't see anything."
Royce glanced at the woman on the bed.
"Come on! You didn't even take off the mask to see if she's your type! Just take a look!"
Royce sat down on the single sofa in the bedroom. "Not interested. Trying to fool me with a waitress!"
"Trust me, just take a look. Maybe he prepared some other surprise for you! If you don't like her, you can leave right away. Tomorrow, I'll tell him you didn't like the woman he sent."
Royce was getting impatient. "Aren't all the maids at July Blossom Nightclub pretty much the same?"
"Oh, come on, I'm begging you! Just go take a look! I can't believe it—Harry is craftier than a fox!" Lionel pleaded desperately.
Royce sighed and stood up. "Alright, I'll go check it out."
With that, he walked back to the round bed and approached the woman lying there, his hand slowly reaching for her mask. For some reason, his hand was trembling slightly.
Deciding to rip the band-aid off quickly, Royce snatched the mask off and tossed it aside. When he looked at the woman on the bed, his eyes widened in shock.
The woman on the bed was—Julia Avery!
"Hey, what's taking so long just to remove a mask? Did you see anything?" Lionel urged impatiently through the phone.
At that moment, Royce still had his phone pressed to his ear, maintaining the posture of taking a call with one hand.
"Hello? Are you dumbstruck? Did her beauty captivate you? Hurry up and send me a photo!" Lionel's voice carried a mischievous laugh from the other end.
"Lionel Gonzalez! You better explain to me why my wife is lying on this bed!"
"What? What did you say? Your wife?" Lionel sounded utterly confused on the other end of the line.