"Wait!" Sofia called out to him.
Arlan stared at her and asked. "What is it?"
Sofia grabbed an invitation card and handed it to him as she said. "A VIP guest will be celebrating his birthday in our banquet hall tonight. He said that all the guests in the hotel can join the celebration with him. If you don't have anything else to do, you can take this chance to interact with the other guests."
Arlan took the invitation card with a hesitant look. He hasn't been to a banquet hall before and he had no interest in chatting with strangers, but he still accepted the invitation card since it was given by his new friend. "Thanks. I'll be there if I'm not busy." He smiled at Sofia and went back to his room.
He opened the invitation card and read its contents.
The celebrant is a man named Henry Sanchez. He would be celebrating his 40th birthday and from the short introduction, Arlan could already tell that this person was a big figure in his country.
He searched for the man's name on the internet and he found out that this guy was actually the CEO of his favorite fast food restaurant, Jobby!
Arlan who initially had no interest in joining the birthday celebration revealed a look of anticipation.
He checked when the party would start.
6:00 PM.
He then checked the time on his watch. "I still have a lot of time to prepare for the party. Since it's a bigwig's birthday celebration, I should wear something more formal. Hmm..."
Arlan looked at the new clothes he had recently bought from the luxury store and chose a white knit wool turtleneck sweater and navy blue trousers. As for his shoes, he chose a pair of brown leather shoes.
He wasn't a fashion expert so he just randomly chose what he thought would look great on him.
After choosing his outfit for the birthday party, Arlan decided to head into the hotel's infinity pool to relax. His mind has been so occupied lately because of the shocking things he experienced. He wanted to take this opportunity to calm his mind.
With that in mind, Arlan grabbed his swimming trunks and headed to the infinity pool.
The hallway was empty since most of the guests are working in the morning. It would only be busy during nighttime.
When he arrived at the infinity pool, he noticed that there were only a few people. He went into the changing room and changed into his swimming trunks. He kept his clothes and watch inside a locker that could only be opened with his room key. As for his phone, he also placed it inside the locker. He wasn't worried that it would be stolen since there were a lot of CCTV cameras installed in the locker room.
After that, he went back to the infinity pool and submerged himself in the water. He then moved to the edge of the pool and looked at the scenery beneath the hotel. "This would be a nice view at night." He muttered.
The cold water made his tense muscles slowly relax. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the tranquil atmosphere. It was a good thing that the guests were cultured people so they weren't making a lot of noise.
However, the silence was soon broken by the arrival of two groups of youngsters. The two groups seemed to be arguing about something and the noise made Arlan wrinkle his eyebrows.
He looked at them in displeasure. The other guests were also displeased by their behavior.
"How about a bet? Your team will play with mine in a basketball match. If you win, I'll give you 100,000 dollars, and if you lose, you give me 100,000 dollars. What do you think?" A tall youngster who was about 6 foot four muttered in a confident tone. He was a varsity player at the renowned La Salle University and he has also been scouted by the local pro league because of his skills. The four young men who were standing behind him were also members of his university's basketball team. One of them was even six foot nine in height! He looked like a giant!
The opposing side only had four members and they were also shorter compared to the other group, but they showed no signs of weakness. "Terrence, no matter who wins or loses, you must promise me that you will no longer talk to my girlfriend. Also, you have to wait for some time since there are only four of us here." Muttered the leader of the other group.
Terrence smirked when he heard this. He nodded his head as he halfheartedly replied. "Sure."
Arlan who was listening to their quarrel frowned. "So it's just a love triangle." He blurted out unconsciously.
Although his voice wasn't loud, the arguing youngsters heard his words clearly. All of them turned their heads in his direction.
Terrence glared at him coldly. "What did you say?"
Arlan wasn't afraid of him and he was also irritated by the rudeness of this young man. He was already twenty-one and this guy was most likely younger than him, but he was actually speaking to him impolitely. "You guys should settle your problems without disturbing the other guests and you should mind your manners because I'm older than you!" Arlan's mood was ruined because of this guy. He got out of the pool and stood calmly in front of Terrence.
Terrence stared at him up and down. After looking at him briefly, the corner of Terrence's lips suddenly curved upwards to form a mocking smile. "It looks like you've found your fifth member." He muttered disdainfully.
Hearing this, Owen, the leader of the opposing group furrowed his eyebrows as he said. "Are you joking with me? We don't even know if this guy knows how to play basketball." He said with a hint of anger. Terrence has been making things difficult for him lately. He really wanted to smash this guy, but he couldn't do it since Terrence's father was the owner of the hotel.
"Alright. I'll play with you." A calm voice drifted into their ears.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢