1272 Gathering of Big Shots
Lucas really couldn’t be bothered to argue with a cowardly villain like Chace.
After today’s incident, their almost non-existent friendship was totally gone.
If Chace was still bent on causing trouble for him, Lucas didn’t mind teaching him a profound lesson.
“Mr. Gray, we didn’t expect you to arrive first. Sorry, we’re late!”
At this moment, a few cars stopped in the parking lot in front of the Parkers’ Hampton Restaurant. Bruce, Damon, and Edmund quickly got out of the cars and hurried to Lucas’s side.
They had agreed to meet at the restaurant at seven in the evening to discuss the development plans of the families. To their surprise, Lucas had arrived at half past six.
Lucas hadn’t planned to arrive so soon. But what Charlotte said earlier had made him feel awkward, so he had rushed out of the house and arrived half an hour early.
“No, you’re not late. I came early.” Lucas smiled.
The people who came tonight were not only the helmsmen of the Hales, the Parkers, and the Coles but also their most outstanding juniors.
For example, Connor, Kenneth, and Clement, respectively.
Once the helmsmen retired, their juniors would take over for them.
Kenneth was the owner of the Hampton Restaurant, so he took the lead in bringing them to the King’s Room, the best private room on the top floor of the restaurant.
Lucas had been to this private room before. Apart from the Parkers, Lucas was the only one who could use this private room.
Everyone let Lucas take the master seat while the helmsman sat next to him, and their successors sat next to them.
Among them, Kenneth was the youngest and lowest in seniority. Moreover, he was the owner of the restaurant, so he was in charge of serving wine and so on. He was just like a waiter.
But Kenneth had no complaints at all. Instead, he was incredibly excited and honored.
It was an absolute honor for him to be able to gather with these big shots and serve them.
After everyone sat down, Edmund smiled and spoke first. “Mr. Parker, you really have some foresight! Other than Mr. Gray, your family was the first to leave California and come to DC to develop. You’ve already become the strongest family after the eight top families. It’s truly worth celebrating!”
Bruce smiled. “That’s right. Mr. Parker, the Parkers are really impressive. It’s only been a few months since you moved to DC, and you’ve already made such amazing achievements. You’ve even established a restaurant group with restaurants all over the country. Everyone praises you when the Parkers’ restaurants are brought up. How wonderful!”
Damon said, “Hey, stop teasing me. After all, we know how competent we really are. If Mr. Gray hadn’t given us the opportunity, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve so much.”
He respectfully bowed to Lucas, who was next to him.
Damon wasn’t being humble. He was stating facts.
The helmsmen present were aware that the initial strength of their families was almost on par with each other. If the Parkers had developed with their own effort, they definitely wouldn’t have been able to surpass the families that had already established themselves in DC for decades and become the top family that was second only to the eight top families.
Moreover, everyone was clear that although the Parkers had made remarkable achievements, the Waltons’ former businesses that they were managing actually belonged to Lucas, and they were just handling them on his behalf.
But even then, the other helmsman still hoped to get the same development opportunities as the Parkers had.
“Mr. Gray, it’s all thanks to you that the Parkers could develop and come so far today. So, I’d like to toast you!” Damon stood up and toasted Lucas respectfully.
The others also stood up and raised their wine glasses.
“Mr. Gray, it’s all thanks to you that the Hales will be able to develop in DC. Here’s a toast to you!”
“It’s the same for the Coles. Now that we are able to develop in DC, we have to offer you a toast!”
…
All of them thanked Lucas sincerely for his assistance.
Lucas had stopped drinking alcohol, so he raised the glass of water in front of him and smiled. “You’re being too polite, everyone. Actually, you got the opportunities because you’re good at grasping them. I won’t take credit for it.
“Here’s a toast from me. May all your families improve by leaps and bounds in DC!”
Everyone raised their glasses and drank them with joy.
The night resumed with a lively and harmonious atmosphere.
Suddenly thinking of something, Lucas asked, “I just heard that the Parkers’ restaurants give away unused ingredients and clean leftovers to the homeless people nearby. Is that true?”
Damon nodded. “Yes. At first, we just wanted to increase the quality of the restaurants’ food, so we insisted on only using fresh ingredients bought or delivered in the morning. But this would result in a lot of wastage. So later, Kenneth suggested that we make some simple food with the remaining ingredients we have at the end of every day and distribute them for free to the needy, along with some staple food like bread, rice, and whatnot.
“I didn’t expect a reporter to photograph this during a visit to the restaurant and write an article about it. Neither did I expect this little act of charity to increase our reputation and popularity. That’s how we became an Instagram hotspot.
“So now, we’re not only giving away simple cooked food and leftovers to the homeless, but we also make at least fifty kilograms of various special dishes every day and provide them to the less fortunate who live nearby.”
While speaking about this, Damon looked at Kenneth proudly, feeling extremely proud of his grandson.
Lucas looked at Kenneth and praised, “It’s great that you think that way!”
Kenneth was immediately flattered. He was so excited that his face flushed red. “It’s all thanks to you, Mr. Gray. It’s only right that I do so!”
Lucas smiled. “It’s amazing that you could think of this charitable act. You’ve helped countless people, so this is really something worthy of praise.
“I’ve always believed that we should give back to the community when we can and try our best to help as many people as we can. The Stardust Corporation and the Solar Corporation donate some money each month. Everyone should work on doing more charitable acts too.”
Bruce, Edmund, and the others agreed one after another. “Mr. Gray is right! This is the social responsibility that we have to undertake next. While developing and expanding, we must contribute to society too!”
They raised their glasses again, and the atmosphere in the private room was very pleasant.
Suddenly, a bunch of gangsters holding steel rods charged into the restaurant lobby and rushed to the cashier counter. They said menacingly, “Is there someone named Lucas Gray here? Which room is he in? Tell me honestly. Otherwise, I’ll have my men wreck your place!”
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