Filed to story: Finding the Secret Daddy for My Baby Novel >>
After he somewhat excitedly drank a big gulp from a can of beer and adjusted his suit, he went up to the stage.
Looking at how happy her father was, Anastasia was very calm inside as she clapped and looked admiringly at him speaking excitedly on stage.
On the other hand, Elliot gave a stretch and looked between the woman beside him and Francis. At that moment, Elliot could feel the charm of what family was due to the obvious love Anastasia showed for her father.
On stage, Francis did not mention Elliot’s real identity. If his daughter did not tell him to do so, he would’ve given Elliot a grand introduction.
After Francis’ speech, it was time for the banquet to start. Because Francis himself was in the blue-collar field, his guests tonight were all his employees and they occupied over fifty tables. The scene was very lively, even though it did not match the elegance of the upper society.
Everybody just wanted to fill their stomachs and drink until they dropped. In short, having a good night was their only aim. When Francis was still on stage, someone
even requested that he sing a song, so in a state of being forced and submitting to it, he decided to sing a classic to help liven up the atmosphere even further. Francis even sang with great vigor.
Off stage, Anastasia had been howling with laughter at this scène, and she alternated between covering her mouth and giving her father a thumbs up. Seeing how his daughter loved listening to him sing, Francis put in even more effort.
Fuior byd narrowed his eyes as he had never felt this kind of atmosphere before. The woman’s sweet smile became his view, and her happiness directly affected him as he became very happy too.
Erica had caught Elliot looking at Anastasia a few times, and this made the former green with envy. So, she also intentionally laughed out loud, yet she failed to elicit a response from him.
Sitting off to the side, Alex carefully hid his love for Anastasia as he knew that Elliot also liked her very much, judging from the man’s gaze.
After singing, Francis got back to the table and immediately raised his glass to toast Elliot. “Young Master Elliot, I’ll toast you on behalf of me lacking as a host.”
Quickly, Elliot stood up to reciprocate his toast. “You’re too kind, Mr. Tillman.”
Upon seeing Francis down his glass entirely, Elliot, whose glass was also filled with beer, did the same and finished it too.
“Anastasia, quickly refill the president’s glass. Make it full,” said Francis.
However, Erica, who was beside them, had a bottle of red wine ready. “Let me pour it, Dad!”
Not in the mood to argue over this, Anastasia let the woman fill Elliot’s glass to the brim. Upon seeing that, Elliot frowned.
“President Presgrave, I’m a close friend of Francis. It’s rare to see such a capable young individual like yourself, so I would like to toast you too.” The man beside Francis stood up and raised his glass, his voice full of pride.
Standing up again, Elliot raised his glass half-heartedly, with the man adding, “I’ll finish my glass, but you can drink howevermuch you want.”
Since it was a close friend of Francis, he would also be considered a senior to Elliot. So, out of respect, the latter also finished his glass as well.
Seeing him drink two full glasses of alcohol made Anastasia immediately recall that he had a weak stomach, yet Erica was already refilling his glass yet again.
As Anastasia tugged on his sleeve, Elliot naturally leaned toward her.
“Don’t drink so much. You have a weak stomach, remember? You might just upset it again,” said Anastasia caringly.
A smile appeared in Elliot’s gaze when he heard that. “Miss-Tillman, are you worried about me right now?”
Looking at him, Anastasia then saw another senior beside her father had stood up, and her heart skipped a beat. Don’t tell me that every one of Dad’s friends is going to toast Elliot?!
Elliot came from a distinguished background. Meanwhile, these people were likely alcoholics from the looks of their beer bellies. In this kind of situation, it was customary to always toast the wealthiest around the table, as a person of stature was a respected person. Hence, Elliot became their target to toast to.
“P-President Presgrave, I’m not good with words, but I would like to propose a toast to you. Here’s to your health, and hoping that your company will prosper!”
Even Elliot did not think that he would be targeted like this. However, due to them all being Francis friends and that Francis himself would be his future father-in-law, Elliot, as the junior, couldn’t afford to offend him.
Standing up again, Elliot gracefully held his glass as he raised it. “Thank you.”
Anastasia could only look on as the man finished another glass. Panic slowly hit her and she thought to herself, If seven or eight of dad’s seniors were to all toast with him, wouldn’t he just black out on the spot?
And Elliot was raised on high-end imported red wine as well. With the beers on the table being sold for less than ten on the market, Anastasia was afraid that something might happen to him if this continued.
“Young Master Presgrave, it’s a rare opportunity to be able to drink with you at the same table. Here, a toast!” Another senior stood up and said that.
Anastasia could clearly see Elliot getting tipsy, but she knew that it would be disrespectful to the person who proposed the toast if Elliot did not drink it. So, in the heat of the moment, she took his glass and said to the senior, “I’m sorry, but the president has a weak stomach. Hence, I’ll be accepting this toast on his behalf.”
After that, she drank it in one shot amidst everybody’s shock. Then, she tugged at the dazed man beside him and said, “President Presgrave, don’t you still have something very important to attend to? We have to go now.”
To this, Elliot only blinked in response. Having little choice at this point, Anastasia could only pull the chair away as she said to her father, “Dad, President Presgrave and I will be excusing ourselves first. Please enjoy your meals.”
Elliot did not even have the chance to react to what had transpired when Anastasia wrapped her arms around him and pulled him up forcefully. “Dad, everyone, please enjoy your meals. We have something else that we need to deal with.”
“Hey!” Erica called out hurriedly.
As Elliot was being pulled out of the venue, he suddenly realized that the woman was afraid he might get drunk, hence the excuse to drag him away. She even helped him drink!
She really does care about me.
Finally, they reached the third floor’s elevator and they bumped into Rey, who was just preparing to eat. Seeing that his boss was about to leave, he quickly ate two mouthfuls and got up.
“President Presgrave, are we leaving now?”
“He was constantly being toasted, so I was afraid there might be some problems. Rey, how about you take him back first?” Anastasia asked him.
Upon hearing that, Elliot shot a glance at Rey, hinting quite clearly at what he wanted.
Intentionally looking at his wristwatch, Rey then replied, “I’m sorry, Miss Tillman, but I can’t send the president home. My father was just admitted to the hospital.”
This stunned Anastasia. “What? Go there quickly, then!”
“I’ll go to the hospital now.”
Reaching the ground floor, the trio exited the elevator, with Rey hailing for a taxi and leaving in a hurry. Then, Anastasia said to Elliot, “Where’s your car?”
At that moment, his bodyguard drove the car over, and she opened the door. “Get in the car and go home.”
“Accompany me.” Elliot held onto her arm, preventing her from leaving.