Chapter 217

Chapter 217

William narrowed his long eyes and said nothing more. He was heading to the best hotel in Harmony City, and it made sense that Lewis, that spoiled rich kid, would be staying there.

The car soon arrived at Cascade Haven Hotel, a five-star chain hotel owned by Daniel's family. William was an A-level VIP member with a permanent room and dedicated parking spot.

James drove the car over, and as he turned the corner, he caught a glimpse of the Mercedes G-wagon ahead parking at the restaurant in front of the hotel. The boss had told him there was no need to greet Lewis, so he paid no more attention and went straight to park.

On the other side, Lewis parked his car, got out, and came around to Ava's side to open her door. They had just gotten out and exchanged a few pleasantries when Robert's car pulled up.

Robert's deep eyes moved between Ava and Lewis, and he seemed to understand something.

Jones Media had never done business with the Davis family before. He'd been puzzled why this Mr. Jones would leave Emerald City, where he could call all the shots, and come all the way to Harmony City begging to work with him, cutting profits to the bare minimum.

He'd even suspected the guy wasn't in it for the money but for the partnership itself—maybe he had some scheme up his sleeve.

Robert scoffed inwardly. It was obvious now—the guy had other motives.

This kid had his eye on his sister.

The more he thought about it, Robert found Lewis even more annoying. Did this guy think his sister was someone just anyone could pursue?

If he couldn't get past Robert, it didn't matter if he was Mr. Jones of some media company—even the king of heaven himself wouldn't make a difference.

The two ahead also spotted Robert. Lewis was great at socializing and chatted warmly with Robert, whom he'd only met twice, as if they were old friends. His topics were natural and appropriate, and even though Robert didn't really want to engage, the atmosphere was still pretty good.

Once inside the reserved private room, Robert first settled Ava on his side, keeping distance from that kid.

This was the first collaboration between the two families. Lewis came alone, so Robert sent his assistant out too, leaving just the three of them in the large private room.

Robert had the waiter bring several bottles of fine wine he'd stored there earlier, planning to properly entertain this business partner.

Lewis wasn't about to back down either. The two men drank toast after toast, and before many dishes had been served, they'd already finished most of the wine.

After all, Lewis had just returned from abroad not long ago and couldn't compare to Robert, a veteran who'd spent years in the business world attending all kinds of drinking parties. Before long, he was slumped over the table.

Ava nudged Robert with her elbow.

"Robert, are you okay?"

Robert glanced at Lewis sprawled on the table as if asleep, and smiled without batting an eye.

"Don't worry, he's no match for me."

Ava paused, then asked,

"Is he okay? Should we take him to the hospital?"

Robert snorted.

"A grown man needs to go to the hospital after a few drinks? How embarrassing. With drinking capacity like that, he thinks he can pursue my sister?"

Ava blushed slightly.

"Robert, I made it clear to him that I'm not thinking about marriage right now. Being on my own..."

She paused, then continued,

"...is pretty good. Besides, he's from Emerald City. I don't want to have too much to do with him."

Robert looked at his sister with sympathy.

"Don't worry, no one will dare bully you anymore. Anyone who dares bully you, I'll turn them into a specimen. As for that William, I'll deal with him slowly."

Ava lowered her head. Hearing Robert mention William still made her heart ache faintly.

As they chatted, they completely ignored Lewis slumped on the table.

He'd seen things going south and quickly pretended to pass out, though he was actually somewhat drunk. If he kept drinking, who knew what Robert would put him through. Businessmen never let their guard down when out and about.

He lay there motionless, but his mind was racing. From what Ava had just said, she clearly had no plans to start a new relationship, and didn't even want any connection with anyone from Emerald City.

This avoidance showed that the hurt in her heart couldn't be healed overnight.

Lewis felt a pang in his chest, thinking his chances looked slim. Not to mention she had a difficult brother to deal with—this wasn't a match he could make just because he wanted it.

But he quickly encouraged himself. If she didn't want to date, then he'd wait—wait until she did. He'd lived for over twenty years and had finally met a girl who made his heart flutter. He absolutely wouldn't give up.

Ava and Robert chatted a bit more, and the waiter brought honey water.

Robert had someone pour Lewis a bowl and called him to wake up.

"Mr. Jones, drink some honey water and go back to the hotel to sleep. Don't catch a cold."

Lewis rubbed his head, pretending he'd just woken up, and drank the bowl.

Robert asked with fake politeness,

"Mr. Jones, where are you staying? Do you need a ride?"

Lewis had booked a hotel right next to the restaurant. If it weren't so close, he'd actually want the sneaky Robert to give him a ride, just to match his fake courtesy.

"No need to trouble yourself, I'm staying next door."

Robert handed his wallet to his assistant to settle the bill.

"Mr. Jones, we won't see you off then. I'll take my sister home first. Sorry for the poor hospitality this time. If there's a chance, next time I'll bring those bottles of Romanée-Conti I have at home, and we'll drink our fill."

Lewis thought to himself that this guy just tried to drink him under the table, and now he's pretending to apologize for poor hospitality. If this was good hospitality, he'd end up in the hospital.

Just because he wanted to pursue his sister, was it necessary to be so defensive?

Bastard!

He cursed a hundred times in his mind, but kept a fake smile on his face.

"Mr. Davis, you're too kind. Next time I'll host. If you come to Emerald City, be sure to let me know."

That one sentence showed his determination to get even.

The passive-aggressive exchange between the men made Ava uncomfortable too.

The three got up to leave, and Lewis stumbled and nearly fell.

He steadied himself against the wall, a glint of cunning flashing in his eyes.

"Sorry about this, Mr. Davis, but I might actually need that ride."

As Lewis spoke, his legs gave way and he nearly sat on the floor. He smiled awkwardly.

"See, I can't walk straight."

Since Robert had offered to give him a ride, he wasn't one to be polite.

Robert raised an eyebrow and said through gritted teeth,

"Let's go then. Where to?"

"Cascade Haven Hotel, room 9201. Much obliged."

Lewis raised one arm toward Ava, indicating he needed support.

Robert immediately pulled Ava aside and grabbed that annoying arm himself. The two of them stumbled toward the adjacent Cascade Haven Hotel, with the drunk man between them.