John chuckled and shook his head with the idea.
"Am I really welcome?" He asked Vincent.
John wanted to confirm first because the last time he had an encounter with the princess, he was warned to take a detour and never show his face to her. He wanted to think that the princess felt disgusted in his face because of her pregnancy, but that was not the case.
"Of course, you can come too. Hailee had already forgotten what happened in the past."
"Then, I'm glad to hear that." John pursed his lips into a meaningful smile. The glint in his eyes is unusual.
Vincent did not notice all of that as Mikael tugged on the hem of his tuxedo like a little child.
"Hey, Vincent! Why did you just invite John? How about us?" Mikael had pleading eyes, twinkling them as he fluttered his eyelashes.
Vincent shook his head at how disgusted Mikael looked at that moment. His wife elbowed him for how ugly he looked like doing that. She gave him a warning stare.
"I should have invited you too. But I changed my mind now." Vincent jested.
"Hey! Don't show favoritism now! We are old buddies!" Mikael meant about John. Although they already bury the issue between Vincent and John, Mikael would love to tease the men.
"Would you settle down for once?" Mikael's wife Tess warned her husband. She could not believe how Mikael acted in front of Vincent, especially now that he was the big boss of Davies Corporation.
The men laughed along with their dates when Tess berated her husband. They all knew that Mikael had better shut his mouth and not talk back against his wife.
Vincent was amused seeing this and so, he added, "Of course, you all can come as well. Our wives are good friends."
After a while chatting with them, Vincent excused once again to mingle with the other guests. This time, it was Theo he approached who was talking to other Asian tycoons.
"Hey, Theo."
"Vincent! Congratulations, bro!" Theo and Vincent shook hands, hugged, and patted each other's back.
"Thank you, bro. I'm glad you made it."
"I would love to come. I'm happy my wife came along too. Otherwise, I could not leave her behind."
Theo and Vincent glanced at the corner where Shun's wife was lounging on the long sofa with Theo's wife and their friends. Vincent recognized Levi Montfort's wife, Madison, and Shun's sister, Blaire Ivanov.
"I'm really glad you all came. Hailee would love it if the girls could visit her."
"Yeah. I heard they were planning to do that tomorrow."
"That's great! A barbecue party then?"
"Sure!"
Vincent could not contend with happiness. He had nothing he always wished but to make Hailee happy every minute of her days.
Vincent swept his gaze to the entire hall, searching for his mom. He needs to inform her that guests are coming to visit Hailee. He knew his mom would freak out if he would tell her later, so he need to notify her asap.
Finally, Vincent found Hilda chatting with Theo's stepmother, Nina Li Shang, and other elder ladies from prominent families in high society.
"Hey. I'll excuse myself. I have to talk to mom," said Vincent to Theo.
"Sure! Go ahead." When Vincent left, Theo walked toward the other tycoon he had a partnership with. "Hey, Spencer!"
"Hey, Theo."
"When is your wife's due?" he asked, looking at Spencer's wife, the owner of the Reynolds Vineyard, talking with Riley Isagawa and Jean Lawrence, the one who sang in Vincent and Hailee's wedding.
Hailee loves to hear Jean singing. So, Vincent specially invited Jean to this banquet. When he made the decision, he could imagine his wife's face would brighten after she learned of his surprise.
Spencer answered Theo's query. "She will be due in three months."
"Hmm… Nik would give birth first, then."
"Hum…" Spencer nodded his head. Soon, more men approached Theo and Spencer, who were Swiss descendants like them, and they all met during the Swiss Expo.
When it was about time, Kristian and Pitt came to the stage to announce that the banquet had officially started. The two assistants acknowledge every guest's presence tonight. After then, to give the opening remarks, Kristian called on Jacob on the stage.
A round of applause echoed the entire hall when Jacob walked on stage. He raised his left hand to settle the guest.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming tonight. As you have already heard, tonight, I am formally stepping down as a chief executive officer of Davies Corporation. However, you have nothing to worry about. Davies Corporation had a more competent leader that will move us to a new era. I assure you that this man is more innovative than me. We are now walking to a more advanced world. So I believe in this man's capability that Davies Corporation will lead everyone's lives to a more convenient world!"
"I will not hide the fact of how impressed I am that my daughter has indeed chosen the best man to marry. Now, I am proudly presenting to you my son-in-law, Vincent Shen! The new President of Davies Corporation and Davies International!"
Loud applause filled the entire grand hall.
Wearing a white tuxedo with golden dragon buttons, Vincent climbed the stage staircase and stood next to his dad-in-law. Jacob handed him the microphone. Vincent took it and faced the crowd below.
He was a little nervous, but it's nothing about his wedding day because he had mixed feelings at that moment. But tonight, he has confidence in himself because he is a little relaxed.
"Good evening, everyone. First of all, as the new CEO of Davies Corporation and Davies International… I welcome you to tonight's Special Gala. If you think it was just my welcome party and dad Jacob's farewell party. You are wrong…" Vincent trailed his speech to have more anticipation in his words.
"Before I accept this greater task. I promised my wife that I would love Davies Corporation as much as I love her. And so, I am standing before you, and tonight I am marrying Davies Corporation that for the better or the worst, I will take care of her for the rest of my life."
Once again, the grand banquet hall filled with applause. Hailee, who watched the live stream, shed tears at how proud she was of Vincent. Davies Corporation is her family's pride and glory.
In the future, she will pass it down to her children and so on to the next generations that will continue the legacy.
And she was thrilled to see her future....
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