Chapter 915: Chapter 913: THE MAINLEY FAMILY’S BANQUET
"Thank you very much for your hard work," Diamond sincerely said as she shook hands with the team’s leader.
"You are welcome. We are just doing our job!"
"And your work is just ..."
The beautiful lady shook hands with her with a smile, very happy with the job well done and the money earned.
Diamond sent off the team, and after watching them leave, she returned inside the villa and headed to the dining room.
The broadcast had ended shortly after she was done. Diamond didn’t want to show the fans the final look just yet. She wanted them to think it over for a while. Besides, the voting results were about to be announced. They should focus more on that and not on themselves.
Auntie Janet had prepared a sumptuous meal for them, which they carefully ate, avoiding smudging their makeup and messing up what they couldn’t fix by themselves.
After the meal, they headed to Diamond’s room for the final preparations. It was almost time for their departure.
It would take hours to reach the destination. The sooner they leave, the faster they would arrive.
****
Meanwhile, at the Mainley ancestral mansion, spanning over several acres of land, with several standalone villas, golf course, gardens and other entertainment facilities. The place was bustling with activity as several cars stopped in front of the mansion, bodyguards opening the doors and ladies and gentlemen alighting from the cars.
Everyone was beautifully and handsomely dressed. Men were simpler. It was just a matter of wearing an expensive suit or tuxedo, a nice watch, and some nice-smelling cologne.
While ladies .... That’s where the battle was.
Standing close to the garden watching as these guests arrives were a group of young men and ladies who weren’t feeling like entering the mansion just yet. So, they waited outside, chatting and just enjoying.
Of course, most of them were busy eyeing the arriving guests and checking what kind of brands they were wearing and which identity they were carrying.
This was the old patriarch’s birthday banquet; the people who came mattered. The youths were very eager.
In this group of youths, familiar faces could be spotted: Waylon, Sean, Luke, Sophia, Maya, and Clarissa.
"Oh! I wasn’t expecting to see that group coming!" Sophia said with disdain all over her face upon seeing four gents who were quite familiar with Waylon and his friends.
Waylon looked at Brian, Dan, Chris and Mike, who were Wyatt’s friends and couldn’t help but feel his heart getting squeezed.
He knew those four pretty well. when he was hiding his love for Diamond, these four were happily spending time with Diamond. He felt sour to be honest. He couldn’t help but recall how happy Diamond was as she danced with Wyatt at her birthday party.
Wyatt was a strong competitor, and when he returned to the country, Waylon was afraid that he might lose Diamond. The bond between those two, if he were to exclude that effeminate Nolan whom Diamond looked at with sparkling eyes, was completely insane.
Waylon didn’t respond to Sophia’s words but simply looked at Luke, who berated his younger sister.
"Behave!"
Sophia grumbled unwillingly at Luke before looking at Sean flatteringly, but Sean merely ignored Sophia, his attention focusing on the incoming cars.
’When is she coming?’ he was quite anxious about seeing Ruby. He couldn’t wait to see her.
Sophia seeing that she had bene ignored, gritted her teeth as she clenched her fist and stomped the ground angrily.
The others pretended like they didn’t see anything and continued with their chat.
Inside the mansion, in the banquet hall, several guests were already inside, talking and networking.
The Mainley children were busy welcoming the guests warmly and leading everyone to their respective tables. Since there were invitations sent, the family had prepared everything meticulously.
In a certain private room, Chairman Mainley sat on the couch with his eldest son, who was managing the business on his behalf. He was an old man, and his son was still healthy. Having him manage the business wasn’t such a bad thing.
Moreover, having time to rest now and then was very good as well. He had suffered so much in his young days. It was time to rest and enjoy the blessings of the descendants.
"Did the old man from the Uvedale family send anyone?" Chairman Mainley asked, his tone tinged with heaviness as he looked at his son.
The son, who was in his fifties, shook his head and responded truthfully, "I haven’t seen anyone yet so far."
Upon hearing that, Chairman Mainley broke out into a fit of laughter, but the son shivered, knowing fully well that the old man was pissed.
"Hehe, he still doesn’t want to give me face!" he slammed the cane on the floor, his face red as he heaved with anger.
The thought of that old man playing hard to get made him so angry.
The son couldn’t do much except to coax his father, "Father, today is your birthday. Don’t let the villain win. It will be very bad if something happens to you!"
When Chairman Mainley heard that, he took several breaths as he tried to push away the gloating expression of old man Uvedale from his mind. After moments of trying, he felt much better as he accepted his son’s advice.
It would be his loss if he got too angry.
The Mainley family being part of the big six families wasn’t an achievement that was earned by lying low. He worked hard to drag his family, which was once number six, all the way to number three. Although the family now has a setback and somehow could surpass the number two family, Yalden, the family that pisses him off the most was the Uvedale.
That family had been sitting strong at the top position for so many decades, if not centuries, but that wasn’t the real case.
Chairman Mainley just wanted the best for all of them. So, what was wrong with what he did?
Wanting the families to unite through marriage. He even humbled himself to speak to the old man, but what did he say to him?
When he thought about what that old man did and said, Chairman Mainley just felt like finding him and giving him a piece of his mind.
He had given the old man his invitation as well as to their descendants, but none of them came. Who were they looking down on?
The more he thought, the angrier he became and the more worried the son became.
No one downstairs knew what was going on. They were all waiting for the auspicious time for the birthday host to arrive.
Running all over, with a smile plastered on her face, was Tiana. It was her duty as the family’s child to entertain the guests. Moreover, she didn’t dislike this chore at all.
This very moment allowed her to communicate and converse with people of honor who could be helpful to her in her business ventures.
Her grandfather was very insightful. He wasn’t a saint, but he knew how to gauge people. When others look down on these smaller families, upstarts, and so what. Her grandfather would do the opposite. That’s why there were a lot of such guests attending the banquet.
It was just a matter of proving them with a platform and they would always remember this generosity. One day in the future, they would return such a favor several folds.
Apart from that, Tiana liked interacting with such families. Unlike her family, which could be considered old money as it has been in existence for more than a century. The way the elders think was very different from that of these other families.
Their families were bound by traditions and rules that weren’t easy to break. Which meant that at times, they were stiffer and found it difficult to adapt to changes. In the age of technology and continuous advancing, Tiana felt like they needed to change.
Even if the family doesn’t want to. She will fight for her own change and hope to achieve her dream one day.
The more she thought about that, the more enthusiastic she became.
"Sis Tiana, when is Diamond coming?"
As Tiana was taking a rest somewhere, her younger cousin came over to her cheerfully, inquiring about that.
This cousin of hers was a huge fan, a JEWEL, who had been clamoring about seeing Diamond for a while now.
Hearing about Diamond, Tiana was reminded of the fact that she hasn’t talked to Diamond all day. She had been too busy that time to go online or make calls, and she wasn’t there.
When she thought about how her grandfather was very concerned about Diamond, she smiled at her cousin and responded, "Euni, let me call her and ask!"
And Eunice was so happy that she squinted as she looked eagerly at Tiana as if cuing her to go ahead.
How could the little girl act so brazenly like that?
The life of fans was truly ..... Tiana couldn’t even get angry as she watched Eunice’s antics.
Being glared at like that, Tiana helplessly took out her phone and made the call.