Chapter 161: I’m Here for the Men. Husband, You Too?

Chapter 161: Chapter 161: I’m Here for the Men. Husband, You Too?

Eleven o’clock at night. At the Gilded Hour club.

When Penelope Sullivan heard that Estelle Lockwood was coming, she waved her hand and immediately booked all the top-tier hosts at the Gilded Hour. Various handsome men stood inside the private room. Highly satisfied, Penelope turned and asked, "Does your ex-husband mind you coming here?"

Estelle poured herself a glass of wine, took a sip, and narrowed her eyes. "I don’t know."

She didn’t know? What kind of answer was that? Penelope was just about to press for details when she heard a sudden commotion outside the door.

The manager of the Gilded Hour seemed to be following someone, her face full of fawning smiles. "Our club is an entertainment venue exclusively for ladies. If you’re interested, sir, the place next door caters exclusively to men. Why don’t you..."

The man walking in front didn’t reply, maintaining a brisk pace.

Then came a clear male voice. "Wait for me, Nathaniel! Do you even know your way around here?"

Penelope found the voice somewhat familiar. Estelle raised an eyebrow. Soon enough, someone outside recognized the arrivals.

"That’s the second young master of the Sloan family!"

"Which second young master?"

"The most favored one! I heard he gave up the family business to be a lawyer. His name is Liam Sloan. You know him?"

"Liam Sloan?! Then the one walking in front of him... could it be Mr. Sloan!"

"It has to be! Otherwise, who else would Liam be calling after like that?"

"What’s a big shot like him doing here? We only have male hosts. He must be in the wrong place."

"Ahem, I heard..." Several bartenders cast obscure glances toward Estelle’s room, swallowed hard, and gossiped in low voices. "I heard that she’s Mr. Sloan’s... uh... ex-wife. Mr. Sloan is probably here to catch her cheating!"

"He even cares about his ex-wife?"

"They say ex-wife, but they do have three kids together. They might remarry at any time. What if Mr. Sloan gets furious, thinking his ex-wife is humiliating him by coming to a club like ours, and makes a scene?"

The bartenders and waiters were both worried and gloating, but no one left. After all, they loved high-society gossip the most.

Nathaniel’s lips were pressed into a tight line as he navigated the winding corridors of the Gilded Hour, finally arriving outside the largest private room.

The female manager, in her early forties and wearing heavy makeup, offered an ingratiating, awkward smile. "Mr. Sloan, the person you’re looking for isn’t here. Have you perhaps come to the wrong place? It’s our honor that you think highly enough of us to visit. How about this, sir? I’ll make the call to waive all your expenses today..."

"Tell Estelle Lockwood to come out," Nathaniel said flatly, his tone betraying no emotion.

But the manager immediately felt a sense of dread. Having no emotion was the greatest emotion of all; he was clearly here to pick a fight!

"Mr. Sloan, Miss Lockwood isn’t here..."

Nathaniel gave a slight nod, and Luke pushed the door open.

The scene inside the private room instantly came into view. Estelle sat right in the center of the sofa, her long, fair legs crossed. She held a wine glass in one hand and idly toyed with a folding fan in the other. Her eyes were lazy and hazy. Hearing the noise, she looked toward the door with a faint, mocking smile.

Nathaniel’s lips tightened sharply, the air pressure around him plummeting. "Estelle."

Estelle took a sip of her wine and casually set the glass on the table. A male waiter beside her immediately topped it off. Propping her chin on one hand, Estelle raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Watching this scene unfold, the manager felt that something was completely backwards. The Sloan family had never announced Nathaniel’s marriage to the public, which meant they didn’t think much of Mrs. Sloan. Running this club, she had seen her fair share of high-society men and women. Given Mr. Sloan’s background, logic dictated that he would be the one to disdain Mrs. Sloan and womanize, leaving a grief-stricken and indignant Mrs. Sloan to come knocking to catch him in the act.

But... but why was it the other way around now?

The one with an utterly indifferent expression was Mrs. Sloan, while the one clenching his fists and pressing his lips together in obvious forbearance was actually Mr. Sloan!

Terrified that the situation would blow up and ruin her business, the manager stuttered as she asked Luke, "Haha... Mr. White, h-how did you know Miss Lockwood was in this room?"

Luke remained unfazed. "With so many people standing around here like wooden posts, it’d be hard not to know."

Choking on her words, the manager shut her mouth.

Inside the room, Penelope set her wine glass down in shock. She nudged Estelle with her elbow and lowered her voice. "Your ex-husband is here. That was way too fast! Estelle, what are you going to do now? He looks like he wants to eat someone alive—"

"Mrs. Sloan," Nathaniel called out, and the entire room instantly fell silent.

Estelle lifted her eyes breezily. "Oh? What brings Mr. Sloan here?"

The manager gasped. She was so horrified that her soul nearly left her body. Mrs. Sloan, at this point, you might as well swallow your pride and admit your mistake! Mr. Sloan is already here, yet you’re still acting so tough!

She wished she could rush forward and apologize on Estelle’s behalf, but Estelle remained completely oblivious. She raised an eyebrow. "Why aren’t you saying anything? Take a seat. By the way, what are you doing here?"

Nathaniel was speechless.

Liam hurriedly rushed forward. "Estelle! Estelle! Listen to me, Nathaniel is here on serious business!"

Estelle feigned curiosity. "What serious business needs to be discussed here?"

Liam didn’t even know what he was saying. Feeling incredibly unfortunate, he struck upon a desperate idea. "Ahem, well, whatever you’re here to do, Estelle, Nathaniel is here to do the exact same thing!"

Surely she wouldn’t say she was here to look for men, right? That would be far too disrespectful. He had already laid the groundwork so perfectly; as long as she played along and used this out, a family conflict could be flawlessly resolved. Was he actually a genius?!

Then, he heard Estelle say coolly, "I came here to look for men. Hubby, are you here for the same reason?"

Liam was speechless. Dumbfounded, he realized she was a lost cause and silently shut his mouth.

The manager’s eyes practically rolled to the back of her head. Taking a deep breath, she used her gentlest, most ingratiating voice. "Mr. Sloan, Mrs. Sloan is just joking. We are a proper establishment..."

"She’s not," Nathaniel said, raising a hand slightly to signal the manager to stop talking. He then looked at Estelle and answered her question.

Estelle raised an eyebrow.

The manager and Liam exchanged a glance, both seeing pure despair in the other’s eyes. Yep, it was over. In a situation like this, nothing anyone said would be right. It seemed this family conflict was—

"I’m here to learn a few things," Nathaniel said slowly. His voice was calm and gentle, devoid of the slightest displeasure.

A massive question mark popped into Liam’s head. He had been fully prepared to mediate a family dispute.

Estelle frowned. "What are you here to learn?"

What could he possibly learn at a high-end club like the Gilded Hour?

Then, they heard Nathaniel say nonchalantly in his warm, ethereal voice, "I’m here to learn how to serve people."

Liam stumbled, the manager’s jaw dropped, and Penelope outright dropped her wine glass. Almost everyone present thought they had misheard.

Nathaniel gently explained it again. His words were slow and methodical, and though he was pandering to her, he didn’t appear the least bit subservient.

The corners of the man’s lips curled into a smile. "Since you like this place, you must have your reasons. Therefore, I came over to learn how to make you happy."