Chapter 309: A Toast To Luca!

More than ten minutes after Luca returned to the private room, a young man in casual clothes hurried through the entrance of the hotel.

He looked somewhat unwell, and the faint smell of alcohol clung to him. He moved quickly, almost as though he was afraid he would arrive too late.

The moment he passed through the glass doors and entered the first-floor lobby, his eyes swept across the room.

Then he spotted a familiar figure sitting on one of the sofas in the corner.

Benjamin Dier.

The young man’s expression darkened immediately. He strode across the lobby and stopped in front of him within seconds.

Benjamin was sitting on the sofa with his head lowered, looking anxious and miserable. When the shadow standing before him caught his attention, he slowly looked up.

The moment he recognized the person standing in front of him, his face nearly crumpled.

“Mr… Mr. Beaumont, please help me. I promise I won’t do it again…”

The young man standing before him was Ethan Beaumont, the general manager of the Capital City branch of Beaumont Group. He was also the son of the company’s chairman and its sole heir.

Benjamin’s rise to his current position had been largely due to the Beaumont family’s appreciation for his abilities. At least until today, Ethan had valued him highly.

Benjamin’s personal conduct left much to be desired, but when it came to his work, there was no denying that he was capable.

Unfortunately, no amount of ability could save him from the trouble he’d caused today.

He had picked the wrong person to offend. WEthan knew better than most just how dangerous that was.

There had been a time when even he had to lower his head and behave cautiously in front of Jack Denim.

And now Benjamin had offended Luca, the man who had brought the entire Maison Premier down.

These days, who in Capital City’s business world would dare provoke him?

Yet Benjamin had somehow managed to do exactly that.

Worse, he was one of Ethan’s own subordinates.

When Ethan received the call from the hotel’s lobby manager, Jacob Reynolds, he had felt his entire body go stiff.

The moment Jacob explained that Benjamin had tried to take advantage of Luca’s woman and had even physically attacked Luca, Ethan had nearly lost his mind.

He’d immediately pushed away the woman who had been sitting beside him at the bar, rushed outside, and hurried to the hotel as quickly as possible.

Luca’s methods were well known.

Ethan didn’t believe Luca would necessarily target Beaumont Group over the actions of a single employee.

But he wasn’t willing to gamble the future of his family on that assumption.

Right now, the most important thing was to make a sincere apology and ensure Luca didn’t hold a grudge against Beaumont Group.

What Ethan hadn’t expected was that the idiot responsible for the entire mess would still have the nerve to beg him for help.

His expression turned cold.

Without saying a word, Ethan raised his hand and slapped Benjamin across the face.

Smack!

Benjamin’s head jerked to the side.

Before he could even recover, Ethan struck him again with the back of his hand.

Smack!

The sound of the slaps echoed throughout the lobby.

The surrounding guests stared in surprise as Benjamin’s already large face quickly swelled.

Only after venting some of his anger did Ethan finally stop.

Whether he had simply calmed down or grown tired of hitting him, he accepted the wet towel a waitress offered and wiped his hands.

Then he pointed toward the revolving glass doors.

“Take him outside. Have him kneel at the bottom of the steps.”

He paused.

“Thank you.”

The two employees immediately stepped forward.

Ethan turned his cold gaze back toward Benjamin.

“Benjamin Dier, you’d better pray that Mr. Hale is willing to let this matter go. Otherwise, don’t even think about leaving Capital City without consequences.”

Benjamin’s face went pale.

He could only watch helplessly as Ethan walked toward the elevators with Jacob following behind him.

After a few drinks and everything that had happened that evening, Luca naturally had no idea what was happening downstairs.

By then, most of the food on the table had already been cleared.

Everyone had more or less finished eating.

The only exceptions were Trish and Elizabeth, who still had their cheeks puffed out as they continued stuffing food into their mouths.

They looked like two little hamsters.

Knock, knock, knock.

Several knocks sounded from the door.

“Come in,” Luca said.

The door opened, and Jacob stepped into the private room alongside a young man.

Behind them, two women pushed serving carts into the room. Each cart carried two unopened bottles of red wine.

The moment the four entered, Luca and the others understood what was happening.

Earlier, Luca had briefly explained what had happened with Alani after he returned from the restroom.

So the young man accompanying Jacob was clearly either a senior executive from the hotel or someone connected to Benjamin.

Either way, he was obviously here to apologize.

Even though Ethan had prepared himself mentally, his heart still tightened when his eyes met Luca’s.

Vincent Denim had once been one of the most influential young heirs in the city, yet Luca had brought him down completely.

Ethan had never expected to meet him in person, let alone under circumstances like these.

But what surprised him even more was the group sitting around the table.

The head of the Windsor family was there.

So was a member of the Halloway family.

Both were among the most powerful families in Capital City.

Then there was the round-faced girl happily eating at the table.

Ethan stared for a moment.

‘If I’m not mistaken, isn’t she the beloved little princess of the Moneir family?’

The Moneir family might not have been considered one of Capital City’s most prestigious families, but they were still a force to be reckoned with.

Compared to the Beaumont Group, their influence was on an entirely different level.

Ethan had originally thought Luca was the only person in the room he needed to worry about.

Now he realized that practically everyone at the table was someone he couldn’t afford to offend.

He quietly shot Jacob an aggrieved look.

The meaning was obvious.

‘There are this many important people here, and you didn’t even warn me?’

Jacob immediately understood.

Unfortunately, all he could do was give an awkward, helpless look in return. If Luca hadn’t introduced himself when making the reservation, Jacob wouldn’t even have recognized him at first glance.

As for the people Luca had invited to dinner, apart from Arabella, whom he already knew, Jacob didn’t recognize most of them. It wasn’t really his fault.

Given his position, Jacob could only come into contact with people around his own level.

People like the Windsor family, the Halloway family, and the Moneir family were practically legendary figures to someone like him.

How was he supposed to recognize them all?

Besides, the hotel he worked for catered primarily to mid and high-end customers.

People of Luca’s level did occasionally visit, but they were rare.

Jacob simply hadn’t realized what kind of gathering he was walking into.

Ignoring his aggrieved expression, Ethan straightened his clothes and put on a polite smile.

He lowered his posture slightly before speaking.

“Mr. Hale, I’m Ethan Beaumont from Beaumont Group. I’m very sorry that one of my people offended you earlier. I sincerely apologize.”

He gestured toward the wine carts.

“I also prepared these bottles of wine for you and Mr. Halloway. I hope they can help make up for the unpleasant experience.”

Despite his reputation as a playboy who enjoyed spending his nights at bars and clubs, Ethan was quite capable when it came to handling business.

He knew exactly how to apologize without making himself look desperate.

Luca smiled casually.

“There’s no need to worry about it. I haven’t taken the matter to heart.”

His gaze briefly fell on the bottles of wine.

“They look expensive, but we don’t need them. We’ve already eaten enough.”

Hearing that, Ethan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, he had no intention of taking the wine back.

He picked up one of the bottles and held it in his hand.

“Mr. Hale, I’ve admired you for a long time. Unfortunately, I came here in such a hurry that these two bottles are all I managed to bring.”

He smiled apologetically.

“I hope you won’t find them too insignificant.”

Ethan raised the bottle slightly.

“I, Ethan Beaumont, would like to offer you a toast.”