Cedric parked the van at the basement parking of R Tower, the slots reserved for people eating at Nouveau was right next to the mini showroom where Cedric's cars were kept, among them was one sports car and the Maseratti he sometimes drove.
"Wow! Cousin, look at those cars." Jam pointed. "Those are my dream cars." Jam exclaimed.
"Tell you what Jam, if I become rich, I'll get you one of those." Cedric said half jokingly.
"Jokes like that are not funny." Patricia Lobo scolded. "You're just an employee. To buy something like that you would have to actually own a company or be one of its higher ranked officials, don't give my son false hope. Besides, we Lobos aren't that poor that we can afford cars like that, we just choose to spend them on better things." Adrianna's aunt huffed, as she walked ahead to the elevator.
"Have patience with your aunt." Ivan Lobo, Adrianna's uncle, told her and Cedric in a low voice. "She was heartbroken when you rejected Tony. She placed so much effort into getting him to like you and you just said no."
"Uncle! I'm a married woman. I swear you and my Hernandez relations are the worst." Adrianna said, as she turned and left Cedric, Jam, Uncle Ivan, and the grandparents speechless.
Uncle Ivan just shook his head and looked at Cedric.
"Whatever happened to those Hernandezes?" Ivan Lobo asked Cedric.
"Gone." And with that he followed his wife to the elevator.
The group went up in silence, luckily R Tower had high speed elevators so Cedric and Adrianna didn't have to suffer the awkward air too long.
When they entered the restaurant the manager rushed over to greet them, he knew of course that this was the boss and his in-laws so they had to be treated with care.
The table Cedric had reserved for them was one near the window with a view of the Capital. Gracia and Charles were already there cradling little Emilio.
"Mom, Dad." Adrianna greeted, as she took the baby from their arms.
"Gracia! You look amazing!" Patricia Lobo happily said as she hugged her sister-in-law.
"How could she not look amazing, your mom and her went to the Nationalia Spa earlier while we played a round of golf." Charles whispered to his son-in-law, making Cedric laugh at his comment.
"Oh this dress, it's beautiful!" Patricia Lobo complimented as she noticed the limited edition dress that Gracia Lobo - Hernandez wore.
"It was a gift." Gracia said, hanging out with the Reyeses had made her shy to praise, a trait she picked up for the other moms.
Gracia wasn't lying, the dress was a limited edition, made to order, Maureen Cordova design. Adrianna and Ayanna had given it to her for her birthday. She had honestly forgotten that the dress was a limited edition.
"Do you think we'll bump into one of the five princes?" Jam asked Cedric and Charles Hernandez.
Charles was visibly panicked by Jam's question, while Cedric remained calm.
"He's obsessed with the five princes." Cedric explained, as he placed a hand on his father-in-law's shoulder.
"You never know, Jam." Charles Hernandez said when he finally collected himself.
"Mom, Dad, come sit. Cedric booked the best table in the restaurant." Gracia Hernandez boasted to the two elders.
"Since when have you been so nice to this kid?" Grandpa Lobo asked his daughter.
"Since little Emilio here." Adrianna said, quickly saving her mom from answering the awkward question.
Adrianna had placed Emilio in his stroller and brought him over to where the elder Lobo couple was seated. Little Emilio being a happy baby didn't complain when he saw the unfamiliar faces, as a matter of fact he even laughed.
"Son, this is your grandpa and grandma." Cedric said as he knelt by the stroller.
"Apa, Ama!" Little Emilio managed to say, melting the elder's hearts.
"He's quite smart." Adrianna's uncle Ivan commented as he watched on.
As they were getting seated Aiden Ortiz arrived, Patricia Lobo waved him over. There was clear confusion on his face as he walked over to them.
"Aiden, this is my sister Gracia, her husband Charles Hernandez, and the little one on the stroller is their grandson Emilio." Ivan Lobo proudly introduced.
Aiden, however, did not respond and maintained his stunned look.
"Is something wrong Aiden?" Ivan Lobo asked their guest.
"Mr. Hernandez must know some very important people." Aiden said as he sat next to Jam Lobo.
"Why do you say that?" Charles Hernandez asked as a waiter handed them a menu.
"Do you really not know sir?" Aiden said, his tone full of respect and admiration.
"No, not really." Charles Hernandez was now even more confused.
"You can't just reserve this table, it has to be given to you." Aiden explained, shocking the rest of the Lobo family.
"Aiden, it wasn't dad -" Adrianna had already began to explain that it wasn't her father that reserved the table, but rather, her husband when she stopped mid sentence as Amanda arrived with none other than Tony Tamano.
Next to her Cedric grinned, it seemed his visit earlier had managed to convince Tony to fight for his love.
"Amanda? Tony?" Adrianna asked as the pair approached them.
"Sorry we're late. I had to pass by Amanda." Tony said quite smoothly as he pulled out a chair for Amanda and sat next to Aiden.
Cedric wanted to laugh the moment he noticed what Tony was doing, it was so smooth than no one had the time to even process that he was keeping Amanda away from Aiden without offending the younger man.
"Aiden why didn't you tell me you would be in the Capital. Uncle said you should give me a call whenever you're here. I have a lot of business associates in the city that can show you around, I do, afterall, know your taste." Tony said as he looked daringly at Aiden who sat next to him.
"Ah, older brother Tony, I didn't get the chance to call. I'm not staying long." Aiden said as soon as he recovered from Tony's subtle threat.
"Well after this I'm sure my business partner can arrange something for you. I'll call Ray Laurence right now, he owns one of the most popular clubs in the country." Tony boasted. He of course had permission from Cedric to name drop as much as he wanted.
"You know Raymund Laurence!" Jam Lobo suddenly said from Aiden's other side.
"Yes, I know the five princes. I do work with the Reyes Heir so I've met the others too." Tony said with a shrug.
"You've seen him in person, like his face, his real face!" Jam was hyperventilating at this point, it seemed he was really a super fan.
"Calm down Jam, I'm not the only one on this table that's close to the five princes." Tony teased, as he looked at Cedric who was already glaring at him.
"Mom, don't you think Tony is amazing?" Amanda asked as she tried to divert the topic. "He's in partnership with the Reyes Group, no wonder the Tamano's are the richest and most powerful in our province." Amanda continued to praise.
"Yes, unfortunately your cousin turned him down." Patricia Lobo said with her head held high.
"How dare you!" Gracia Hernandez said in a raised tone, Gracia knew that she was quite like Patricia Lobo only a year ago. But after truly getting to know Cedric, she realized that whether rich or poor this man was the one for her daughter. So when Patricia Lobo openly pushed her daughter to another man she got mad.