Soon more guests arrived and the banquet hall was filled with all sorts of people. However, most of them came from notable backgrounds. Arlan even noticed some local actors and actresses interacting with the guests.
"Are you alright, buddy?" Terrence patted his shoulder.
Arlan smiled as he looked at him. "Yes. I'm just not used to this sight." He answered.
"Is that so? Just relax and enjoy the celebration. Everyone's goal here is to make friends. You see those people right there? Most of the guests here want to befriend them. Even my father who is the owner of this hotel has to be careful in interacting with them." Terrence pointed at a group of old men in business suits.
Arlan followed the direction he was pointing and narrowed his eyes upon hearing Terrence's words. Any of those old men could destroy the former company he was working for. "That powerful?"
Terrence nodded his head seriously. "That's right. They only came here because Mr. Sanchez is a friend of my father. If not, they wouldn't even bother to step inside our hotel."
Hearing this, Arlan couldn't help but take a few more looks at the old men. 'I'll be as powerful as them soon!' He muttered in his heart.
"Mr. Sanchez is here!"
"Happy birthday, Mr. Sanchez!"
"I hope you stay healthy, Mr. Sanchez!"
The crowd was suddenly enlivened by the arrival of a middle-aged man. He had a short black hair that was combed sideways. His forehead had already formed a few creases from the habitual frowning.
This man was the birthday celebrant, Henry Sanchez, the CEO of Jobby. He built Jobby from scratch and he was also the major shareholder, holding a stake of about 60% of the entire company.
Henry Sanchez was dressed in a red tuxedo. He looked amiable as he chatted with the guests.
"Thank you for coming here, everyone!" Henry smiled at everybody and started a short speech. The moment he spoke, everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and listened to him. He was a very successful person and a few words from him were very valuable. No one wants to miss this opportunity. Even those rich old men attentively listened to his speech.
After his speech, the crowd clapped their hands enthusiastically.
"You may continue what you were doing. There will be performers who will perform soon. I hope you enjoy the rest of the celebration." Henry said before he walked towards the group of old men.
"That's my father." Terrence pointed at a bespectacled middle-aged man who was clinking glasses with Mr. Sanchez.
"Come. I'll introduce you to him. My father likes basketball and I believe that with your potential, he might even help you in signing with the local pro league." Terrence grabbed Arlan and dragged him away without even waiting for his reply.
"Hey, wait..." Arlan could only helplessly follow Terrence. He didn't plan to become a professional basketball player since it was too high profile. He preferred to be a businessman and have people work for him.
"Greetings, Uncle Henry." Terrence greeted Henry Sanchez before nodding at his father.
"Oh, isn't this Terrence? I heard that the NBA G League has shown signs of interest in you." Henry's eyes lit up as soon as he saw Terrence.
Hearing this, Terrence chuckled and shook his head. "My goal is to become an NBA player. The G League is just a stepping stone for me. Speaking of which, my friend here is a better player than me. I think those scouts would fight for him once they see him play." He said while smiling at Arlan.
"Hello, Mr. Sanchez. Hello, Mr. Montefalco. I'm Arlan, just a normal guy." Arlan introduced himself in English. He spoke fluently as if it was his native language and this made Henry Sanchez and Mr. Montefalco looked at him more favorably.
"Oh, for Terrence to speak so highly of you, you must be a great basketball player, Arlan!" Luke Montefalco said with a smile. He could see that his son admired this young man. He knew that Terrence was a very proud guy because of his talent in basketball so he was a bit surprised that he would actually speak highly of someone in the same age group.
Henry remained silent and merely smiled as he watched the scene.
"You think too highly of me, Mr. Montefalco." Arlan smiled and shook his head with a hint of embarrassment.
"You are friends with my son. Just call me Uncle Luke." Luke said smilingly.
"Alright, Uncle Luke."
Suddenly, a waiter anxiously walked towards Luke and whispered. "Sir, one of the performers couldn't attend because of an accident. That guy was supposed to play the violin and the other performers aren't prepared to perform yet."
"What?!" Luke frowned upon hearing this. He didn't want the celebration to fail since it was for his friend, Henry.
"What happened?" Henry asked when he saw the change in Luke's expression.
Luke hesitated for a moment before he said apologetically. "One of the performers had an accident and he couldn't come here on time. The other performers are still not prepared to perform so there might be a delay. I'm really sorry about this, Henry. I should have made some preparations for things like this."
Henry was disappointed, but he didn't make things difficult for his friend. He calmly analyzed the situation and said. "It's fine. We can't delay the performances since most of the guests here are busy people. Do you have someone here who can perform something on the stage?"
They just needed someone to buy them some time until all the performers are ready.
While they were anxiously looking for someone who could perform on the stage, Arlan suddenly stepped forward and asked. "Uncle Luke, do you have a piano here?"
Luke stared at him and nodded his head. "Yes, we do. Do you know how to play the piano?"
Arlan nodded confidently. "I can play a few songs. It should be enough to buy time for the other performers."
"Great!" Luke heaved a sigh of relief when he heard his words. He then ordered the waiter to bring the piano to the stage.
Soon, a few men carried a piano to the stage and it immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Luke and Terrence nervously stared at Arlan who was walking towards the stage. They didn't know if he could really play the piano. However, there is nothing they could do but believe in him.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦