Chapter 45
45. Taste of business world.
The forum is taking ce on the East coast, in New York, no less. And I for one, had never been to New
York. In fact, I have never had the pleasure of leaving the west coast to visit anywhere else no matter
how I wished, and my abysmal bad luck struck whenever there was a field trip organized for my ss
whenever there was something exciting going on. And that was saying something, considering how I
rarely got sick.
But the few times I did, it was almost always on days when exciting field trips were scheduled. Which
meant that I got the visit some boring powdered milk and dairy product factory which was just a stone’s
throw away from ndestine city, but never got to visit New York in the eighth-grade field trip because I
apparently got food poisoning from some bad selfish after mom took me to an all-you-can-eat buffet the
night before at a newly opened seafood restaurant.
And I wasn’t even allergic to it. Those damn oysters had just not agreed with me.
So, I was as excited as a puppy just to embark on this trip. And that excitement was almost enough to
drown the sheer nerves I had regarding the forum.
The North American Business Forum was one of the biggest annual corporate events in this part of the
world, and in order to participate in it, you had to get an invitation. And in order to get an invite, your
company should be noteworthy. Almost everypany in the country strived to get in, and only five
hundred invites were sent per year.
I did not anticipate Zelt Tech getting an invite this year, and apparently, neither had Gerald. We thought
we had years to go before we became noteworthy in any kind.
But we were pleasantly surprised.N?velDrama.Org owns all content.
The forum was a three-day event. On the first day, there was an introduction, followed by lunch and
some panels. The second day was entirely dedicated to various panels, events, sub-forums et Cetra.
The third day had the final panels, followed by naming the ten most sessful businesses of the year,
followed by a g event.
Ten executives of ourpany were participating in the whole thing, and I was just d that the whole
thing started after the dreaded finals. Otherwise, I would’ve been in such a mess.
Because of the perceived threat to Zelt Tech employees, we have hired a special securitypany to
provide us with the relevant bodyguards throughout our trip. At first, it was embarrassing, and when the
idea was suggested, I really wanted to veto it. But given the situation we found ourselves in, we did not
know what will happen. While the shooting was mostly concentrated in ndestine city, and asionally
the Empire city, there is no saying what will happen once we were out of ourfort zone.
Better safe than sorry. And the bodyguards were pretty non-descript, it was easy to pretend like they
were just another bunch of executives in their sleep suits and casual manner. Had they been acting like
the bodyguards often seen in movies, I would’ve died from embarrassment.
When I told this to Coraline, sheughed for three minutes straight and dered that I was such a prissy
drama queen.
We take a ne to New York, thankfully not together, and rendezvous at the hotel surrounded by
bodyguards, where the forum is taking ce. It’s a giant fie star sot that looks too pristine to live in, even
for three nights.
The steward at the reception table refers to me as Mr. Greyson as if she’s aware of my connection to my
father. While we hang around the lobby until our rooms are sorted, more and more businesspeople and
representatives from corporate giantse to meet us, and whenever I get introduced to them, I see the
widening of their eyes, followed by the question, “so, you’re Joseph Greyson’s son?” These questions
are ringed with disbelief. It’s only because of general politeness that they aren’t asking me to spill my life.
story to them because they need to know where I popped up from, otherwise, I don’t think I’d ever be
able to get out of the lobby.
Mostly, people cannot believe that my father had sired an heir. Some ask why I haven’t been in the public
eye until now, because apparently, no one had really been aware that I existed. All the introductions are
always followed by a note of surprise, and when we leave the lobby, finally, after our room keycards are
given, I can feel more than forty pairs of eyes tracking me.
The whole experience is bizarre, and to be frank, surreal.
“You, sir, are now a celebrity,” Coraline announces gleefully as we enter an elevator, which seems to be
made from gold and marble. Seriously, everything was so bright in here.
I wonder if I look as lost as I feel, “what just happened?” I find myself asking.
“That is your first taste of being publicly introduced into your father’s world, young master,” Gerald
rifies, “so far, there had only been rumors of your existence. Tales told by random business
associates. who’ve met you for a meal or a meeting. Until now, you’ve never been seen in public in a
way that mattered.”
“But now you have been,” Coraline adds, “but this is informal. Your official introester in the forum
introduction. By the way, with your assistance, I’m going to be managing your whole timetable while you
are here, and I’ve taken the liberty of assigning you to various panels that I believe will be beneficial for
you. Also, I just got a message from theundry room saying that your suits for the stay have been.
delivered to your room…”
Coraline lists off various things regarding the forum, I try to listen and keep track. It had not been even
three hours since we arrived here, and I already feel overwhelmed. And we still have to get started on
this. damn thing.
“Gerald,” I murmur when Coraline pauses, “how am I going to do this? I…I know nothing about
conducting myself in events like these. I feel like I need to watch a YouTube instructional video or
something.”
Gerald shoots me an amused look, and smiles, “Do not worry about it much, Jace. You can handle it the
same way your father did.”
“Oh?” And how’s that.”
“You simply fake it till you make it.”