“Jasper, is there something wrong with this invitation?”
Julian had been following Jasper for a very long time. One could even say that Julian was the person Jasper spent the most time with.
It had gotten to the point where Jasper had the habit of bringing Julian wherever he went.
Therefore, Julian knew Jasper very well, and when he saw how Jasper’s expression turn solemn at the sight of the invitation, Julian immediately realized that the situation was more complex than he had initially thought.
“Nothing much.” Jasper shook his head.
He did not have the intention to hide things from Julian, but the situation here involved too many people and Jasper did not know where to start with his explanation.
Lord Alvarado’s appearance caused Jasper to realize that Tefa City’s waters ran deeper than he thought.
He did not have much contact with Lord Alvarado in his past life. Therefore, this sudden invitation was most likely related to his fight with the Covington family. This was coincidentally the worse kind of news for Jasper.
“Tell Baz to speed things up with the headquarters and the staff arrangements. Have him take control of Downstream Investment Company as soon as possible,” Jasper said grimly.
Julian grunted his acknowledgement and left to look for Baz.
When he heard the sound of the door closing, Jasper placed the invitation to the side.
This meal would certainly be a dangerous one to attend, but Jasper did not plan to decline.
Many things could not be avoided. Therefore, he might as well attend generously and decide his next course of action after he better understood the situation. Exquisite House was a renowned private kitchen in Tefa City.
Its superior dishes were also accompanied by superior prices.
With an average meal price of 2000 Somer Dollars per person in the year 2001, one would never see a regular salarymen appear in the restaurant.
This meal was arranged to begin at seven pm.
Unlike the bustling everyday restaurant, Exquisite House was completely empty, as it had been bought out for the night.
It took more than just money to buy out a restaurant of such sophistication.
Jasper got out of the car and found a few suited men, who were evidently not servers, staring at him intently from the entrance of Exquisite House.
One of them walked over and asked courteously, yet still conservatively, “Are you Mr. Jasper Laine?”
“I am.” Jasper nodded.
“The Marquis is waiting upstairs, please follow me.” The suited man turned around and pushed open the door after saying this.
There were no traces of any servers in Exquisite House’s dining hall. In place of them were men in black suits standing around casually despite being extremely alert. Each of them occupied strategic points of the Exquisite House and stood protectively at the entrance of the staircase.
On the second floor, at the entrance to a private room, two ladies in elegant traditional clothing reached out to open the door at the same time when they saw Jasper and Julian arrive.
The strong scent of hotpot invaded their nostrils.
A young man was sitting at the end of the round table in the large private room, clearly focused on his food in front of him. There were also two alluring and beautiful women on either side of him, one with a bottle of red wine and the other with a towel.
There was an expressionless man in a suit at each of the room’s four corners. It was a grand scene.
Jasper arched his brow slightly.
“There are two good fighters, Jasper.”
Julian whispered quietly.
Jasper nodded. There was nothing surprising about a few good fighters protecting someone as important as Lord Alvarado.
However, the scene did seem rather extravagant.
“You’re here.”
Lord Alvarado said calmly from behind the table. As he was served by two beautiful women, Lord Alvarado did not look up at all as he continued to cook the slices of lamb in the hotpot.
“Come take a seat and eat since you’re here.”
The man’s tone sounded like he was greeting an old friend.
Jasper did not decline, and while the grandiose downstairs and outside the room did not quite match with a hotpot meal, he settled in any way. He walked over to the seat opposite Lord Alvarado and sat down casually.
Even though he sat down, Jasper still did not touch his cutlery.
Instead, he looked at Lord Alvarado closely.
To be honest, Lord Alvarado might be the most attractive man Jasper had ever seen.
With exquisite features, sharp brows, and starry eyes, the man’s facial features were arranged in beautiful symmetry. What caught his attention the most was the beauty mole under his left eye, which added a feminine touch to the man’s delicate appearance.
The two dressed up women behind him were also extraordinarily beautiful, but they paled greatly in comparison to Lord Alvarado.
‘What a shame.’
‘That such beauty is found on the features of a man.’
This was the first thought Jasper had when he saw Lord Alvarado.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Lord Alvarado realized that Jasper had been staring at him for a long time. However, he seemed used to it and did not express any displeasure. Instead, he asked Jasper kindly.
“I prefer my food spicy,” Jasper felt slightly embarrassed and simply picked an excuse.
“My bad, it’s an oversight on my part.”
Lord Alvarado smiled at Jasper. Even Julian felt slightly defenseless against the beauty of the man, let alone Jasper.
Lord Alvarado turned around to instruct the woman beside him, “Go and ask for a plate of spices.”
The woman acknowledged courteously, then she turned and left.
At the same time, Lord Alvarado placed a cooked piece of lamb into his mouth. Lord Alvarado made such a simple action seem completely in tune with his aura.
The man managed to make hotpot seem like a noble delicacy. Lord Alvarado’s appearance and charm were genuinely off the charts.
“I don’t have a lot of time.” Lord Alvarado said as he ate.
“I can only spare some time to talk to you while I eat.”
“Let’s get straight to the point. The Covington family is just a medium, I’m the one who wanted Downstream Investment Company.”
Jasper nodded and replied, “I thought as much.”
Lord Alvarado smiled and continued, “I don’t like people interrupting me when I speak.”
Jasper shrugged.
Lord Alvarado might seem like an easy person to talk to when Jasper walked in, but there was no powerful trust-fund child that was truly easy to talk to.
One would be dead before they it if they fell for a simple façade so easily.
The woman returned and brought Jasper a plate of spices.
Jasper grabbed a piece of lamb to cook it, then dipped it in spices before placing it into his mouth.
‘F*ck. I miscalculated. It’s really f*cking spicy.’
