Tonight in New York, the stars twinkled, and celebrities gathered—well, only female celebrities. News that Tony Stark, the head honcho of Stark Industries, was to receive the Apex Award quickly spread throughout the capital circles. Countless luxury cars filled the Hilton Hotel's parking lot, and various socialites, adorned with dazzling jewelry and looking incredibly glamorous, clutched limited-edition handbags as they anxiously waited at the hotel entrance, just to await the arrival of that man.
Under the dazzling lights along the street, a motorcade of luxury cars slowly approached the hotel entrance. Red-clad valets rushed forward, awaiting their arrival.
Then, amidst a flurry of camera flashes, a bald man with a neatly trimmed suit and graying beard stepped out of the stretch Lincoln in the center of the motorcade.
"Tony, Tony!" A crowd of socialites surged forward, pushing past the bald man and his bodyguards, surrounding the car door and screaming hysterically.
"Sir, should we drive them away?" The bodyguard glanced at the frenzied crowd and asked the bald man for instructions.
"No need. Stark isn't here anyway. Let's go in!" The bald man waved his hand, adjusted his suit which was slightly disheveled from the crowd, and then, with a smile on his face, waved at the constantly flashing cameras.
Obadiah Stane, CEO and major shareholder of Stark Industries, and a close partner and colleague of Tony Stark's father, Howard Stark. He and Howard worked together to build Stark Industries into a powerful company. After Howard Stark's accident, he single-handedly supported Stark Industries until Tony Stark came of age. This tireless old man was eventually thrown into a reactor by the ungrateful Tony Stark (laughs) and tragically died.
Of course, Obadiah Stane had not yet dropped his disguise at this time. He still acted like an elder to Tony Stark, shielding Stark from the storm.
"Sorry, ladies, Tony isn't here. You'll be disappointed!" Obadiah rolled up his sleeves, turned, and walked into the hotel, followed by a chorus of wails.
It's not that those socialites were snobbish; in their eyes, a guy like Tony Stark was a definite diamond bachelor. If they could have any kind of interaction with him, even a small one, they would surely soar to new heights. Especially the cover girls of those magazines—Stark's single phone call could instantly double their value. But now, the Stark they had eagerly awaited hadn't shown up, which was undoubtedly a splash of cold water on them.
However, some socialites had more active minds. Stark hadn't appeared, but wasn't the Obadiah in front of them just as good? Moreover, this old man was over sixty; if she married him, wouldn't she have everything she wanted? So, some socialites who felt they couldn't compete with others gathered around Obadiah again. And the old man, beaming, put his arms around two beauties and walked into the hotel's casino. The awards ceremony was still a while away, so he could play a few hands.
Some were happy, others were sad. For example, Colonel Rhodes's face was as black as the bottom of a pot right now. Oh, he was already Black.
The Colonel, dressed in his Air Force uniform, looked at the precise tactical watch from JUShen on his wrist and couldn't help but sigh, pressing his hand to his forehead.
"Damn Stark!" The Colonel swore that the next time he saw him, he would kick Stark's ass with his boots, because Stark had stood him up again.
"Who else hasn't arrived?" The Colonel asked a staff member nearby.
"Only Mr. Stark and Mr. Fisher are left!" The staff member scrolled through their PDA.
"Do these guys all like to stand people up?" As Rhodes pulled out his phone, preparing to call the two again, a roar suddenly echoed from the sky.
"What's that?" Rhodes looked up and saw a black and red painted Bell 429 twin-engine helicopter leisurely descending onto the open space in front of the hotel.
The strong wind generated by the helicopter's rotating blades immediately blew away many glamorous skirts, startling a chorus of shouts and gasps.
"I hope I'm not late, Colonel Rhodes!" A neatly dressed Fisher jumped off the helicopter and extended his right hand to Rhodes.
"You're just in time; everyone else has pretty much arrived!"
"That's good. After all, punctuality is the courtesy of kings!" Fisher waved at the pilot, signaling him to take off.
"You're right, your entrance is no less grand than a king's!"
"It still doesn't compare, after all, there are only two of us!" Fisher gestured to the other tycoons, each followed by a dozen bodyguards, while he only brought one secretary.
"Let's go, Kate!" Fisher extended his right hand to his young secretary, signaling her to put her hand in his arm.
The young secretary was also dressed incredibly glamorously today, with a newly styled Italian haircut, dark eyeshadow, and vibrant red lipstick. She wore a pure white knitted long dress, revealing her smooth back, and with crystal high heels, her sharp queen-like aura instantly overshadowed many eager socialites in the venue.
In terms of fame, JUShen Company is basically non-existent in the daily lives of ordinary citizens. Of course, in the eyes of those top business magnates, JUShen is a formidable force they must deal with seriously. After all, in America, there are two kinds of people you don't want to mess with: rich people and people with guns. The former controls all aspects of society, and the latter, well, serves the former. But JUShen is different; it has both money and guns. Although due to legal issues, most of JUShen's private army is deployed abroad, everyone actually understands American regulations. If you really want to exploit loopholes, there are plenty of ways to do it.
Therefore, as soon as Fisher entered the hall, a group of entrepreneurs, old enough to be his father, surrounded him. They showered him with flattery, calling him a promising young man and a pillar of the nation. Obadiah, seeing this from the side, snorted disdainfully, "A bunch of sycophants! If Tony were here, you'd all be swarming him!" Saying this, Obadiah also put on a smiling face, squeezed into the crowd, and began chatting with Fisher.
"Where's Mr. Stark? Why isn't he here? I'm a big fan of his!"
"Tony is a bit shy; he doesn't really like attending these kinds of events. But he should be here; he's probably hiding in some corner and will appear when it's time for his award!"
"Oh, I see. Mr. Obadiah really worries about Mr. Stark. Your relationship is like father and son; it's truly touching!"
"Uh, yes, yes, I regard Tony as my own child!"
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the conversation quickly shifted to their respective businesses. "Mr. Fisher, I'd like to purchase a batch of desert-specialized equipment from your company to equip our Stark Industries' mining operations in the Middle East. You know, the environment there is quite harsh!"
"Is that so? Mr. Obadiah can directly contact our company's representative. For our sakes, it'll be free!"
"That's truly wonderful!" Obadiah was overjoyed. This way, he could kill two birds with one stone!