19 Chapter 19: The Perfect Face-Slapping Moment
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"The world is not beautiful, therefore it is."
- Kino, (Kino's Journey)
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<(Atem POV) >
"You really want to do this here? I mean when you said you wanted to go on a date, I thought that we were going to go to some fancy restaurant or something like most normal billionaires. Why choose a nightclub, may I ask? Is this supposed to be common among the rich?" Susan asked curiously as she began to look around in wonder while stepping down from the sports car I brought her to the nightclub in.
She looked ravishing tonight as she was dressed in a silver-striped gold Versace dress while I myself was dressed in a white bond tux.
However on second thought, maybe I should have worn a violet tuxedo instead. I always wanted to try wearing something bold like that. If I could pull that off even half, as well as the Joker, could in the multiverse next door, that would still be a huge achievement for me.
"What can I say? I am a pretty unique billionaire. But truthfully, I have to admit this is probably the most stress-free I have ever been while going on a date with someone since I don't have to constantly stress out about impressing you, Susan. Impressed or not, you will still have to come back on dates with me again and again for the next six months." I said with a teasing smile.
"Thanks but for some reason, I feel insulted by that. I would have preferred it if you were a little stressed about impressing me, would have been soothing for my womanly ego." Susan joked back, not at all making this date awkward by trying to remind me that I had literally blackmailed her to come to this date with me.
"Well, since you prefer me impressing you, then I guess I have to put on my best game. You first madmoiselle." I said with a small bow as I directed her to the gate of the establishment.
"That's a big building for just a nightclub. Hellfire club? Wait, isn't that the famous chain of premium nightclubs, casinos, restaurants, and hotels all in one? But, aren't they a members-only club catering to only the top 1 percent? I thought that only rich businessmen, politicians, artists, and Hollywood celebrities were allowed in these clubs." Susan said surprised as she walked onto the red carpet going into the entrance of the club.
"Yeah, I am a member... sort of... I think. Anyway, I heard that the club today is supposed to hold some sort of gala for its more premium members. So I thought that this could be a memorable experience for a first date. May I?" I asked as I offered to hold her arm-in-arm at which she nodded after some slight hesitation.
'I hope they still have my name in their system, otherwise, this is gonna be really insulting for me. I would have to call Zoya or Emma and tell them to register my name which would ruin the date.
"Membership pass or invitation?" One of the two bulky guards guarding the entrance asked with a respectful voice after seeing us approach.
"Well, I kind of forgot the invitation and the physical membership card at home. You have a list of members in that tab of yours, right? Check if you have Atem in there. My picture should also be in it." I said hoping I was right and they hadn't removed that feature from the system.
I normally never entered any of the club buildings through the main entrance, so I wasn't sure that I was in their system as a member. I just hope Emma, Selene, or Zoya remembered to include me as an official member or this was going to be really shameful for me.
"Okay, let me check, sir... umm, there it is... a founding black card member?" The person checking the list almost became as pale as a statue as his arms holding the tab shook like he was suffering a stroke.
"OK sir, we have verified that you are a member. You can bring as many additional people as you want with unlimited food and drinks as well as a hundred million dollars in gambling credits on your tab and all other perks we offer to our members. I assume this beautiful lady is one of your guests?" The other man quickly recovered himself and spoke after he took my fingerprint on his machine to verify my identity all the while his partner was trying his best to recover from the shock.
I guess they have an idea of what being a founding black member meant in the club since they work here. I myself don't have any concrete idea what it means since the perks and membership grades should have changed a lot since the last time I read about them but looking at their expressions it seems to be something quite premium.
"Yes, she is," I answered as the man nodded while doing a 90-degree bow, and offered to escort us inside while his partner quickly logged us in with his tab.
"Let's go," I said as I took Susan's hand and followed after our escort.
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<(Omniscient POV) >
"Why the hell were you this nervous Robert? Was the last guest some hot shot or something? I mean I saw you giving entry to a couple of senators and a dozen Hollywood A-listers a little while ago but there wasn't even a single change in your expression during that. So what happened this time? Was he some sort of Middle Eastern prince or something?" Another guard who looked like a newcomer walked up to him from his previous post and asked in a whisper.
"Middle Eastern prince? Hah, we threw out a Middle Eastern prince a couple of nights ago because he was behaving badly with some of our other premium customers. No, he wasn't some prince. You might not know this since you are new and just joined the entry-level post a couple of months ago but do you know who the owners of the club are, Tom? Their true identities? The ones who control this club where some of the world's most influential, rich, and powerful people are members of and attend regularly to network, and socialize as well as support each other?" The guard named Robert asked in a heavy voice.
"Uhh, no. I have heard that only a few of the top Diamond class members know about their identities. However, I am sure you don't too Robert. I might be new but you don't exactly work at a much higher post than me." Tom said while narrowing his eyes, feeling a little insulted at his colleague's words.
"You are right, I don't. But, what I know is that publicly there are only 12 grades of membership in the club, 10 of which are invitation-only types of membership where the club invites you if you are worthy enough to be a member, 1 is referral-based where an existing member refers you to be a member, and the lowest one which is the basic type of membership with the smallest amount of perks that can be purchased by the general rich public.
However, what most don't know is that there is one more grade of membership pass at the higher end of the spectrum. A membership card that only the founding members or owners have, the black card. That man is a member of that grade. He was probably one of the most strongest and influential people in the country, no correction, in the world." Robert explained why he was truly shocked. It was because he had met one of the most powerful people on the planet.
"Oh..., that makes sense. I would have probably crapped my pants if I had to suddenly face the same amount of pressure. Maybe handling the crowd is a much better job for me. I don't think I want that promotion the boss was talking about." Tom gulped and nervously laughed as he went back to handle the group of stupid reporters and wannabe members crowding near the entrance.
'This could have been quite a story for my grandchildren. Pity I had to sign that iron-clad NDA. I guess, nobody besides a few of my colleagues will ever know that I met one of the owners of the most powerful organization in the world.' Robert thought to himself after Tom left as he prepared to check the next customer. "Ah, Mr. Jeff Bezos. Please show me the invitation... Okay, you are free to go in." Robert said as he went back to diligently doing his work.
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<(Atem POV) >
"Wow, this is..." Susan started with a little hesitation after our escort explained to us all of the available perks and different types of premium rooms and services and left us at the main lobby of today's gala event.
"Not what you were expecting? Well, I feel the same. This is DEFINITELY not what I was expecting." I completed her sentence as I looked at the fashion show going on at the gala as all the members dressed in over-the-top clothes watched it with interest while discussing amongst themselves about it like it was the most important issue in the world. There were also hundreds of art pieces decorating the walls of the club with price tags on them, probably to be sold as exhibition pieces.
There was even soft music going on in the background played by a live band as waiters continuously carried around drinks and snacks.
"Well, I guess I mistook when I heard the word 'gala'. I always thought that it meant exotic music and dancing but it seems the meaning has changed to boring fashion shows and rich people's hobbies now." I whispered to Susan, making her laugh at my joke.
"Miss Storm, is that you? I never knew that you were a member of this club. Let me guess, are you a mahogany grade member or did you get a referral and become a bronze member of the club? Well, still congratulations. I think you might be at the right place. I am sure that one of the richer members might be willing to invest in your non-profit 'Foundation' if you do some... um, favors of the physical nature for them. Hell, I might invest myself in that case, after all, who would be stupid enough not to?" A fat bald Asian man in his forties with his hands wrapped around two scantily dressed women said in a haughty and arrogant tone after he approached with a crooked smile on his disgusting face.
"Mr. Jin Ming, I thought that I made myself clear last time when I said never to approach me again. Baxter Foundation doesn't need any more money from people like you and neither will it ever partner with you again. You were one of our investors before at the early stage but right now, you do not have any connection to us. And I have no interest in having a respectful conversation with you." Susan said with a strict yet not-so-rude tone of voice as she made herself clear to the man after which she looked at me for some support, hoping that I wasn't offended by her taking charge all of a sudden but truthfully, I was awed by something else.
"Impossible... A real-life wuxia villain. I have never seen one in person before but wow. You are just like what I read in those novels. Always there at the right time for the protagonist to face slap. Somebody up there must love me." I muttered aloud to myself, genuine wonder and astonishment evident in my voice as I stared at the man.
"What? How dare you? You have no idea who I am. I can make your life a living hell. I did not get a Platinum Elite membership of this club just by some luck. Even these girls are Silver Select grade members of the club and pop stars recognized all around the country. I can ruin you with just one phone call if I want to." The man raged, his belly shaking with his anger making the scene really funny. However, no matter how angry he was, his voice never increased too much, probably afraid that the club would kick him out.
"Tell me Mr.... wait what was his name again, oh yeah, Mr. Jin Ming, have you ever heard of faceslapping? I always wanted to try it at least once in my life but never found the right person. I mean nobody is THAT arrogant in real life, so I always thought that my dream would always just remain that, a dream.
But finally, it seems that I have found you, my perfect face-slapping guinea pig. You know what, you said you could ruin my life with a phone call right? Guess what, I can and will ruin your life with just a manager call." I smirked as I noticed the nearest manager in a tight grey tuxedo keeping an eye on our exchange and waiting to step in if required. "Oh, Manager," I called out with an exaggerated English or should I say British accent.
"Yes, Is there any problem? Anything the management can help you with?" The manager asked politely, trying his best not to appear partial to either party.
"Yeah, you can actually. I want his membership to the club terminated forever and also I want him to be placed on the club's red list." I said with a harmless smile.
The red list was something I myself had come up with back when I reestablished the club after taking care of Sebastian Shaw. It was a list of people that the club deemed as enemies to its very foundation and once someone was put on the list, not only any members were strictly prohibited from offering any aid or support to the person but also the club itself would use its resources and would make sure to ruin the life of the person unofficially from behind the shadows. And this would go on till the person was either completely ruined, dead, or removed from the list.
Normally, this almost didn't happen since very few people were stupid enough to go against a well-connected organization like the Hellfire Club, and as for the few people who were powerful enough, they didn't care about the club because they had much better things to do than make an enemy for no reason.
So, why was I going to such an extent? Well, there were many. First I was doing it to make an example out of him for threatening me. Second, I didn't like him insulting my date. Third, I like all other men on the planet who are not some weak-ass beta love to impress a woman with a display of absolute power, wealth, and influence.
As for the fourth and most important reason of all, if someone can be stupid enough to act like a third-rate Wuxia villain in front of me, sure as hell I can act like a first-rate Wuxia protagonist, right?
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