19. Andre's Actions

"Huh! That was close!"

Andre hid near the trash can, he didn't want his presence to be known. Even though for that Andre was forced to inhale the unpleasant smell that emanated from the trash can. He desperately held back the nausea and the urge to vomit, the effect of how bad the smell was that he was forced to inhale if he wanted to stay safe.

"Leon is here. What does he want? It's rare for him to travel alone. Where is that fierce personal assistant who always follows him?" Andre muttered from his hiding place.

Leon, the person Andre was avoiding, also passed by that place. Leon didn't know that someone was hiding and spying on him. After making sure Leon had passed, Andre came out of his hiding place. 

"Yuck! Crazy, the smell is so bad. Ugh!" 

Andre even spat to get rid of his discomfort. He rushed in the same direction as Leon, intending to catch up with him. Andre gave up on going to Veronica's treatment room. He didn't want to miss the opportunity to follow Leon. Andre widened his smile, feeling relieved when he saw Leon's figure in the distance. It turned out that he hadn't lost Leon's trail, he thought.

Andre suddenly stopped and decided to hide, when he saw something suspicious. A middle-aged woman was seen sneaking around as if she didn't want her presence to be known. What surprised Andre was that the woman was following the same person as him, Leon. 

"What is the relationship between that woman and Leon? Why is she secretly following him?" Andre thought curiously. 

Andre continued to observe the woman, he didn't know whether the woman had good intentions or bad intentions towards Leon. However, from her behavior, Andre suspected that the woman had bad intentions, that's why she chose to follow Leon secretly. If she had good intentions, she would definitely call Leon and tell him what her interests were. That's what was on Andre's mind.

Then a plan crossed Andre's mind, to involve the woman. If it was proven that the woman had evil intentions towards Leon, then Andre would make her an ally to fight Leon. 

Andre continued to follow the woman who was none other than Ariana. Ariana herself was indeed following Leon. Her curiosity because she saw Leon's different appearance made Ariana want to know everything about Leon. 

"Damn! It turns out Leon is going to the parking lot!" 

Andre cursed in annoyance, when he found out that Leon's steps ended in the parking lot. Leon was seen standing waiting, then a car approached and Leon got into it.

"But why didn't that woman do anything? What was her purpose in following Leon?" Andre muttered in surprise. 

Andre immediately hid when he saw Ariana turn around. Andre remained silent, letting Ariana pass him. Then Andre followed Ariana again, he wanted to know what and who the woman was and why she followed Leon. He wanted to make sure if Ariana was a friend or foe to him. 

Ariana's steps turned out to take Andre to Veronica's treatment room. The place Andre had intended to go to before seeing Leon. Andre squinted when he saw a man he recognized as a bodyguard at Charlie's main residence sitting on a bench across from Veronica's treatment room.

"Why is she here? Did Leon tell her to? Does Veronica mean that much to Leon?" Andre muttered. 

Andre decided to hide from the guard. Andre didn't want the man to know where he was and report to Leon. Andre's plan would fail and fall apart before he started. 

"Damn! She didn't move from her place. How can I get close to that room?" 

Andre was really annoyed because his intentions were forced to be blocked by the guard. He felt it was useless to be in that place if he didn't get any information. However, Andre didn't lose his mind, he found out for himself who the middle-aged woman really was.

The internet was the only option for that. Andre searched for information about Veronica's family, then found Ariana's photo there. Previously, Andre had only searched for Ariana, not digging into her family. 

"Oh, so that woman was Veronica's mother? Ariana. Nice name. No wonder she's here. She must be taking care of her daughter," Andre muttered while nodding. "But why did you follow Leon? This is suspicious!" 

Andre's feeling said that Ariana must be about to do something bad to Leon. It was proven by her behavior earlier in following Leon secretly. So Andre thought that Ariana was the right person to work with. His partner in crime to bring down Leon.

Andre suddenly remembered the viral video. Andre played the video stored in his cellphone memory for a moment, then found a new fact that had previously escaped his attention because it was considered unimportant. In the video, there was a scene where Ariana also insulted and embarrassed Leon. Andre finally realized that Ariana really didn't like Leon because she considered him a loser. 

However, Andre felt a little doubtful. After knowing Leon's identity, would Ariana still consider Leon a loser? Or had Ariana changed course and started liking Leon? Maybe money could change everything. Including changing Ariana's feelings for Leon.

"But if I think about it, why did Ariana follow Leon like that? There's no way they're already getting along. The proof is that Ariana is still secretly following Leon. She must have a specific purpose for that, to Leon. Does that mean she's still hostile towards Leon even though she knows Leon is rich?" Andre muttered while tapping his forehead, thinking deeply. 

Andre tried to rack his brains, figuring out how he could get into Veronica's treatment room. Andre wanted to meet and talk to Ariana, but the presence of the guard there really tied his steps. Moving forward, he had to move back. 

"Huh! It's taking so long. When did she leave? My stomach is hungry again. Damn it!" Andre cursed in annoyance.

Andre looked at the luxury watch wrapped around his left wrist. It was already noon. No wonder his stomach felt hungry. Remembering that it was already lunchtime, Andre suddenly exclaimed happily. 

"Ah, I have an idea!" 

Andre rushed out of his hiding place and headed for a place, still in the hospital area. Andre walked around, but still couldn't find the place he was going to. Then Andre saw a cleaning service who was busy with his work, cleaning the hospital hallway floor. Without thinking twice, he asked the cleaning service. 

"Okay, one more T-junction. Turn left later. I'm coming ...."

Andre continued to follow the directions given by the cleaning service. Until finally he arrived at a place with a large sign hanging on the entrance. 

"Public kitchen. Ah, finally arrived at this place. I can't wait to get in action." 

Andre peeked for a moment at the atmosphere in the hospital's public kitchen. Then he saw one of the food delivery officers pushing a trolley filled with lunch for patients. When he was outside the kitchen, Andre stopped him. 

"Excuse me, are you the officer who delivers food in the Akasia VVIP room?" 

"Oh, sorry. I only deliver to class 2 rooms. For the VVIP room, that's different," replied the food delivery man.

"Can I meet him? Which one is he?" Leon asked again. 

"Just look, that's the guy. The tall, fat one with a thin mustache. His name is Rudi." 

"Okay. Thank you!" Andre slipped a red bill into the man's shirt pocket, then walked towards the person he wanted, then said, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Rudi? Can we talk for a moment?" 

The tall, fat man narrowed his eyes, he felt like he didn't know the person who had just greeted him and wanted to talk to him. However, he was curious because the person knew him, knew his name.

"Who are you? What do you want to talk about? I have to quickly deliver lunch to the patients," said the officer named Rudi. 

Andre took Rudi to a place that was not too crowded, then whispered something to the food delivery officer. A few minutes later, Rudi was seen nodding and his eyes sparkled happily. 

"Shall we take action now?" 

"Ready, Sir!"