章節 16: Nate Rue's Return
"You can change up here, boss," Clark said as he followed Nathaniel into the Presidential suite of The Emerald Palace, the most prestigious hotel in Arlington City.
It was in this very hotel that the Annual Celebration of Arlington's Cityhood would be celebrated. It also just so happened to be owned by DLR Enterprises.
"Does the mayor know I'll be attending?" Nathaniel asked as he opened the closet. Inside he found two suits for the night. One for Nate Rue, and another for the new President and CEO of DLR Enterprises.
"Yes, I also placed in your request for the theme," Clark informed Nathaniel. "It did cost us quite a sum."
"We both know that money is no object to me Clark," Nathaniel told his assistant as he took out the simpler blue suit. "The invitation for Nate Rue?"
"Here, boss," Clark said as he took out a golden invitation, one that many people were hungry to get. "Jay said he will be waiting for you at the entrance of the ballroom."
Nathaniel nodded as he dismissed Clark and got dressed.
It didn't take long before Nathaniel was stepping out of the hotel elevator and into the lobby of The Emerald Palace.
Just as its name promised, its walls were lined with gold and emerald accents. The hall was covered with a carpet that seemed to tell a story intricately woven into it.
"Nate!" Jay shouted as he waved at his friend. He had clearly been waiting for Nate for quite a while.
"I hope I didn't take too long, something came up," Nathaniel wasn't lying.
Right before he had come down, there was an emergency from the main branch of DLR Enterprises, someone was attacking them and they had no idea who. Nathaniel had to quickly put out the fire before any of the stakeholders found out or before it caused any real damage.
"Not too long, the event hasn't even started and I don't think Maya has arrived either," Jay informed Nathaniel. "Let's go in."
Nathaniel nodded as he walked side-by-side with his old friend as they entered the main ballroom of The Emerald Palace.
There were hundreds of guests dressed in their finest gowns and suits, it was clear to Nathaniel that they were all here to impress someone.
"I can't believe they let scum like you in," Nathaniel heard someone scoff from the side.
Nathaniel and Jay turned their attention to a freckled man in his thirties. He had brown hair and brown eyes, he looked familiar to Nathaniel but he couldn't quite put a finger on who the person was.
"Gary Miller," Jay hissed as he looked at the man that had made a comment against Nate.
"It seems that the man that hurt my cousin can't even remember who I am. I introduced you to her, remember?" Gary said as a mischievous smile spread on his face.
"Ah, Gary, I remember now," Nathaniel said as he looked at the man from head to toe.
Gary had never been a friend of his. The only reason he introduced Maya to Nate was that he thought Nate would take advantage of Maya in her drunken state.
He had been quite shocked to see that Nate had actually respected Maya and even cared for her. When the couple started to date, Gary encouraged it in the belief that it would weaken Maya's standing in the family.
"I'm surprised you have the guts to show up here," Gary said as he looked at Nate from head to toe. "I'm sure you're a trespasser, I should call the security team on you."
"I have an invitation, Gary, we both do," Nate calmly said as he showed his invitation and gestured towards himself and Jay.
"I'm sure you stole it from someone," Gary scoffed.
"I'm no thief," Nate said as he defended himself. "You know nothing about me Gary, so I'd watch your mouth if I were you."
Nate exuded a domineering aura that even made Jay take a step back.
Gary seemed to be prouder or dumber than Nathaniel expected. Instead of backing down, he chose to egg Nathaniel on even more.
"Call security," Gary told one of his companions who quickly complied and ran off.
"You're making a very big mistake here, Gary," Jay warned.
Gary grinned and shook his head. A small crowd of people had now gathered around them, most were people that knew about the man that Maya Miller had fallen in love with.
"Who are you to think that scum like you can just waltz into this celebration?" Gary asked as he placed his hands in his pockets and slowly inched closer to Nathaniel with an overconfident aura.
"I have an invitation," Nathaniel repeated.
"One that you could have falsified or stolen, a man like you doesn't belong in a place like this," Gary said as pointed at Nathaniel. "Who knew that Nate Rue's return to Arlington would see him kicked out so fast?"
"I don't see why you are so against me being here," Nathaniel said with a shrug as he feigned innocence. "Is it because I failed to serve the purpose you wanted me to fulfill? Or is it because you're afraid everyone will know the truth about you?"
Gary curled his fingers in a fist, clearly ready to punch Nathaniel, but his friend quickly grabbed his arm and gave him a warning look.
"Sir, we were called?" A man dressed in a police uniform arrived to see the commotion between Nathaniel and Gary.
"This man is trespassing, send him out!" Gary shouted.
The guard took Gary at his word and waved his companions over to escort Nathaniel and Jay out.
"I am a guest here," Nathaniel said as he showed them the invitation.
"It's stolen," Gary argued.
Since they all knew Gary Miler and they had no idea who the man before them was, they chose to listen to him.
One policeman quickly cuffed Nathaniel, while the other tried to get a hold of Jay.
All of a sudden a familiar voice spoke, disrupting the entire scene.
"Nate?" Maya asked as she stood at the entrance with Oliver reaching out to wrap his arm around her waist.
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