Ch 451 - The Banquet

"Oh." Wesley pulled his hand back in embarrassment and looked at the other guests. This was an important table, the seats filled with well-known figures in various fields. His eyes flickered over to Alex, but they didn't recognize each other.

"Mr. Alex, you must be very close to the Ambrose family, since you also have Ambrose in your name," Wesley said with a smile. He stretched out his large hand to shake Alex's.

In doing so, Wesley's shirt sleeve rose, and his arm was exposed. Alex paused slightly and quickly looked Wesley up and down. There was a swallow tattoo on his right wrist. It was very small, but it was big enough for Alex to know that he was close to the Ambrose family.

In the Ambrose family, people of a certain level had such marks on them to make them more recognizable.

Chief financial officer? He would have to be someone highly valued by the Ambrose family. And if he was the CFO, it was more than likely he was also close confidant to leaders in the family. Did Grandfather Lincoln personally promote him? Alex wondered.

Alex was confused. Considering the status of the Ambrose family, Wesley should have been treated with more respect. He didn't deserve to be slighted by the others, and he shouldn't have to try and curry favor with officials like Celia.

Therefore, Alex reached out his hand and shook Wesley's. The man's eyes showed a glimmer of joy. Celia watched the interaction and relaxed.

"Well, Mr. Boone, you can sit at this table to eat," she said.

"Oh, may I? Thank you." Wesley knew that she was only offering to be polite, but he didn't refuse. He sat down and exchanged greetings with everyone around the table.

"I have heard of the Ambrose Group," one of the guests, a financial expert, said. "It's a well-known listed company in the city. It seems that its business scope is quite wide. It not only dabbles in real estate, but also capital investment, transportation, education and the services sector. It has grown rapidly," he finished with great interest.

"Yes, Ambrose Group has done very well. Now its assets are worth two billion dollars," Wesley said with a smile.

The dinner guests couldn't help but be in awe. If this man was the CFO of a company with a two-billion-dollar net worth, he must be important. The guests began to ask him many questions, trying to get to know him better. He may have seemed strange earlier, but now they were intrigued. He appeared to have a promising future ahead of him.

But Wesley was pleased with the attention, eating and drinking with an elite group that he hoped to be a part of one day. He felt he deserved more in his career, a top position. While being CFO sounded impressive, he didn't have as much power in the company as he wanted. 

The conversations continued to flow back and forth as they all drank and ate together. Wesley found himself moving further up the table, becoming more open and comfortable as he drank more alcohol.

"Mr. Boone, I heard that the Ambrose Group and DominiCorp are fighting over some territory outside the city. Do you know anything about that?" an investment banker questioned. He had taken a great interest in Wesley and had been speaking to him the most over the evening. It wasn't an appropriate question to ask, as insider trading was illegal and could lead to substantial changes in stock prices.

The guests quieted down and looked at Wesley. The news was so intriguing—they all wanted to take advantage of an opportunity to make a fortune from this inside information.

DominiCorp was another big company in Baltimore, known to everyone. If these two giants were competing for something, it would have to be worth a lot of money. Joining the bid would have a lot of advantages.

Hearing DominiCorp being brought up made Alex shift slightly in his seat. He had heard of it before and had seen their advertisements frequently. Hadn't Justin said that someone named Dominic had been causing trouble for the Ambrose family?

Wesley smiled but didn't answer. 

"Dominic Mitchell is the richest man in Baltimore," someone else chimed in. "The Ambrose Group has met their match this time. In my opinion, they won't be able to compete with DominiCorp."

Wesley laughed, swaying slightly from the alcohol. "The Mitchell family supports DominiCorp, and the Ambrose family is behind us. It doesn't matter who wins," he said confidently.

What does he mean by us? Alex frowned slightly. Alex was certain that Wesley worked for the Ambrose family. However, his behavior didn't reflect the discrete nature of the family and how they conducted their business. Wesley seemed too boastful.

As for the Mitchells, he had heard about that family before. On the day he was expelled from the family by his grandfather, he heard that the Mitchell family had rapidly developed in recent years, though they were also quite discrete and hard to trace. They were like the Ambrose family in almost every aspect, but more ambitious in ways that allowed them to surpass the Ambroses.

So, the Ambrose family's current situation must involve the Mitchells somehow, otherwise Justin wouldn't have called him. With the Ambrose family out of the way, there would be no one else in Baltimore who could compete with the Mitchells.

Wesley's face was growing red as he continued to drink more and more. "Few of you here are businesspeople. To me, a business elite, you people are simple and out of touch," he gloated. "You think you are superior to others, just because you have a lot of money. What do any of you do? You think you can just hold an event, and have people like me give you whatever you want? You think you can just sit and get other people to work so you can make easy money?"

The atmosphere of the whole table shifted abruptly, and some of the guests' faces blushed in humiliation. This man's words were harsh, almost like he was swearing at them.

"Boone, you have been drinking too much," the banker warned.

"I didn't drink too much." Wesley laughed loudly. "I just have something to say. When I was in the university, I had to work hard for and still made little money. When I saw my boss making a lot of money, even though he hardly worked, I was very jealous. If I had come from a rich family, do you think I still wouldn't work hard to be worthy of my money? Of course I would!"

Celia's couldn't mask the disapproval and anger on her face. She wasn't in the business world either, being a part-time instructor at the military academy. But she had worked hard for her position, and yet this man was accusing her of being arrogant and stupid. She didn't understand why her secretary had invited this man to the dinner. I'll be sure to give her a good talking to when I get back, she thought.

"By the time I graduated from university, I earned my job. I was offered over half a million dollars a year, which was nice at the time, and a big step up. And soon, I will be getting a huge sum of money, which will be enough to keep me comfortable for the rest of my life." Wesley looked at Celia defiantly. He had sensed her contempt for him early on and had remained silent, but the wine had given him the confidence to speak freely.

Alex frowned. From the disrespectful way that Wesley spoke and looked at everyone's faces, he began to see the man for the problematic upstart that he was. He listened to the rest of Wesley's rant, giving him a sharp look.

Wesley finally finished speaking, when a man came to the table to stand beside him. 

"Wesley," he said, "you have been drinking too much."

Wesley turned to look at the man and stopped short. He was shocked, and his face suddenly turned white.

"I'm sorry, everyone." The man put his hands together and faced the table. "I'll take him outside to sober up, or he'll keep talking nonsense. I'm sorry," he repeated. "I'm sorry."

Celia sneered and didn't answer. If Alex hadn't expressed interest in the Ambrose Group, she wouldn't have invited Wesley to sit at their table in the first place. And if that Boone's behavior is any indication, she thought, that company is going downhill anyway.