Chapter 79 In a Chaotic World, Only This Carefree Attitude is Missing
In the third-floor private room of the Everlasting Entertainment Club on Maple Street, a row of girls stood gracefully. Robert, smoking a cigarette, turned to Alexander and said, "Come on, you guys get to choose first today. If you're not satisfied with one, we'll get two or three even. I'll cover all the costs."
"I want that one, looking at me so affectionately," Andrew said without any hesitation, waving his hand. "Come over here."
"Good evening, sir," a pretty girl said with a smile as she walked over to greet Andrew.
After Andrew made his choice, Alexander and the other three each picked a girl to sit beside them. Robert then called the waiter to bring drinks and personally sang a song to liven up the atmosphere.
Setting aside the small talk, after everyone had gotten closer due to the alcohol, Robert sat next to Alexander, raised a glass, and said, "Alexander, I'm not one to hold grudges. Although we've had our differences before, it was because we were on different sides. I have my reasons for not pleading guilty, and you had your reasons for beating me up every now and then. But from today onwards, we're going to be doing business together, so let's let bygones be bygones, okay?"
"Sure," Alexander said simply, raising his glass to clink with Robert's before downing his drink.
Robert spat on the floor, wiped his mouth, and said to Alexander, "Uncle Benjamin is getting old. He won't be able to handle business matters for much longer, so I'll probably be managing the business from now on. Alexander, I'm a straightforward person. If you have something to say, just say it. If I disagree, I'll tell you why. But let's not keep secrets from each other; it's pointless."
"Alright." Alexander nodded, looking Robert in the eye. "If you're going to be handling the business, I do have a couple of things to say."
"Go ahead." Robert nodded.
"When I came back, Samuel had a talk with me. He specifically told me to keep a low profile when doing business." Alexander then lowered his voice and continued, "The Patrick family has connections with several big pharmaceutical companies and strong local ties. We're just getting started, and some of Samuel's higher-ups are watching to see if we can handle things. So, we need to show results and avoid trouble."
Robert immediately waved his hand. "We've been in the pharmaceutical business for a while. Don't worry, I know what to do."
"To be honest," Alexander continued softly, taking out an e-cigarette, "the supplier has given me a hard target. If we want cheaper prices, we need to sell at least 200,000 BTC - Bitcoin worth of products each month. Do you know what that means?"
Robert, though not the brightest, quickly understood. "It means our relationship with the supplier is also fragile?"
"Exactly." Alexander nodded. "The supplier wants to see if we can really work together. They are competitors to several pharmaceutical companies, so if their partners aren't capable, they'd rather not do business than take risks."
"I get it." Robert nodded.
"We need to be steady in the beginning," Alexander said, pouring another drink. "Once the supplier is satisfied, our business will naturally get easier."
"Don't worry. I know what to do," Robert responded confidently.
"Let's have a drink," Alexander said, feeling he had said enough. He raised his glass and took a sip.
The two smiled at each other and downed their drinks.
After discussing business, Robert called out to a burly man with a scar over his left eyelid, "Matt, come over here. I want to introduce you properly."
The man, who had been chatting with Andrew and the others, walked over with a drink in hand.
"This is Matt Anderson. He's been with Benjamin for almost ten years and practically watched me grow up," Robert introduced with a smile. "He had something to take care of earlier, so he didn't join us for dinner. You two should get to know each other."
"I'm Alexander."
"Nice to meet you," Matt said with a steady voice and a smile. "I had something urgent earlier. Please take good care in the future, Alexander."
"You're too kind," Alexander smiled.
Despite the noticeable scar on his face, Matt spoke with a deep, calm voice and didn't come off as arrogant, making him seem very reliable.
After the introduction, Robert explained to Alexander, "Benjamin wants to give me more responsibility but is worried I might not handle it well, so he has Matt working with me. We discuss a lot of things together."
Hearing this, Alexander felt a bit more at ease. "That's good. Having a steady person around can keep you in check. Otherwise, you might start a fight with the waiter over a meal, which is worrisome."
Everyone laughed at this.
"Let's not talk about anything else tonight. Let's just drink and have fun," Robert said happily, calling out to the girl next to him, "Go get a few dancers. I want to see some Latin dance."
Alexander pulled Robert back. "No need. You've already spent a lot tonight."
Robert waved it off. "Money is meant to be spent. If it weren't for you and Daniel taking responsibility for me, I'd be on death row! If I'm dead, money is useless."
Alexander had no response to that.
"I've got money tonight, and I'll spend it all. If I die tomorrow, I won't regret it," Robert shouted exuberantly, "Ladies, let's get wild. Take good care of my friends. We'll throw money on the table later."
The girls screamed and cheered for Robert.
Alexander sat on the sofa, smiling at Robert, thinking to himself, 'Some people say they don't love money, but they might be pretending or just don't have any. But to be truly carefree like this, he had only seen a few people in his twenty years, and Robert was one of them.'
Robert lacked sophistication and spoke with a rough edge. If people looked closely, they would find he had many bad habits, but his genuine nature was admirable. Living life so freely was not easy, whether in peaceful times or chaotic ones.
Although Alexander could hold his liquor, he couldn't keep up with someone like Robert. After less than an hour, he was completely drunk and had to be helped home by John and Matthew.
Andrew, on the other hand, seemed to be getting into the groove. Ever since meeting Robert, he felt like he had found a kindred spirit and regretted not meeting him sooner.
As midnight approached, Andrew was also drunk and had to be helped out by a girl. Grabbing Robert's hand, he said, "Robert, I... can't take it anymore... I'm going to take a shower, and I'll buy you a drink tomorrow."
"You're drunk. Alright, you go ahead. I'll leave after settling the bill."
"Thanks for the hospitality."
"Is this girl good or not... give me a report tomorrow."
"Okay!"
After their exchange, Andrew was helped out by the girl.
Fifteen minutes later.
Robert, Matt, and the others had just settled the bill and were about to leave when they suddenly heard one of Terry's men shouting inside the music bar, "Chris, $100."
"Fuck, they're here, too!" Robert turned around at the shout and squinted his drunken eyes at the people inside the music bar.
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