Chapter 85: Questions at the Dinner Table

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon: https://patreon.com/Twilight_scribe1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Western dining has no such taboo as "no talking while eating"—in fact, the slow pace of serving courses is designed to let guests enjoy the food and engage in conversation, building connections in the process. Under Katharine Hepburn's firm insistence, Tony Stark reluctantly recounted how he first met Henry. Just after chewing through an asparagus spear, Katharine quipped, "So, what you're saying is—on your very first meeting, both little Tony and that other fellow got thoroughly embarrassed by Henry." "I did not! The one who got embarrassed was that guy, not me!" Tony protested, trying to defend himself. Katharine turned to Henry. "And you, Henry? Could you really solve such complex problems just by glancing at them?" Henry smiled and replied, "Of course not. Even the most brilliant mathematicians need tools to work through some problems—how could I possibly know the answer at a glance?" "Then how did you do it...?" "Well, if you speak with enough confidence—sound dead serious—those lacking confidence will naturally believe you. That's why people love movies so much. If audiences scrutinized every plot hole, logical gap, or impossible physics in films, nobody would watch them." Katharine nodded, satisfied. "Now that sounds like a real filmmaker. If you don't believe in your own work, how can you convince the studios or the audience to believe in it?" Finally finding a chance to cut in, Tony muttered, "But that's not scientific at all." Even now, he wasn't entirely sure whether Henry had really guessed the answer back then or had just bluffed—though oddly, it had matched his own answer... Katharine countered, "Tony, we're talking about the movie channel, not the Discovery channel. If science dictated everything, Star Wars would've flopped decades ago." Tony grumbled under his breath, "Still not scientific..." Katharine continued, "So, during your second meeting, Tony was actually rude enough to just start eating off the table without asking?" She always had a knack for approaching any topic from a completely fresh angle. Tony defended himself, "That meal was funded entirely out of my own pocket—including the chef team and ingredients. Why shouldn't I eat the food I paid for?" Henry nodded quickly and chimed in, "Exactly. Of course you can eat it. But maybe you could, I don't know, introduce yourself first, so people realize the 'stranger eating everyone's food' is actually the host—not some homeless guy." Then he turned to Katharine and asked, "Is that just a Stark family trait? Thinking everyone should recognize them wherever they go? Sounds like a chronic overconfidence issue." "It's a full-blown hereditary illness," Katharine replied with a straight face. "One can only hope the next generation improves." She pivoted. "By the way, Henry, I know that the third time you two met, you were following Tony around shooting people from behind. But what happened before that? Why were you soaking wet and looking like a mess?" Tony had never asked that question himself—but it didn't mean he wasn't curious. So when Katharine brought it up, he stayed quiet for once, waiting to hear the story. Henry recounted the incident where he bumped into Justin Hammer again, and how a chubby little rich kid threw his expensive phone into the pool and made Henry retrieve it. After the story, Tony said, "So that's why you didn't want to save him? Because that fat bastard pissed you off first." Henry explained, "I should clarify—I didn't even realize that guy, Josh Hilton, was the target of the hit until later. At the time, a name was just a name. I didn't connect it to a person." Tony asked, "If you had a second chance, would you save him?" "Still no," Henry replied, uncharacteristically serious. "Let's set aside what the job required. Bodyguards at parties are there to deal with drunks or rowdy guests—not people with guns. "Besides, I was already off the job. I was just a civilian by then, unarmed. My first priority was protecting myself, not cleaning up messes made by rich kids." "But you still helped Tony," Katharine pointed out. Tony interjected, "Hey, I brought him along, not the other way around. He wasn't some gun-slinging rookie, so I figured at least he'd give the bad guys something to think about. That's why I kept him around." "Exactly, exactly," Henry echoed, voice dripping with sarcasm. Not that any of the Americans at the table could catch the sarcasm. Henry wasn't about to explain it either. He just let Tony boast about his own heroics while he focused on wrestling the asparagus on his plate—which, strangely enough, was the main course tonight. Considering the age of their hostess, Katharine Hepburn—who was already 84 years old—Tony had ensured the chef and nutritionist worked together to design the optimal menu. There was some meat served, but it was soft and in small portions, easy to chew for elderly guests. Alex Hart and his wife, both at the age where health-conscious eating was a priority, found no reason to complain. As for the two younger men, they devoured the meal with equal enthusiasm. In fact, Henry's table manners were noticeably more refined than Tony's—even going so far as to chat with the servers in fluent French, complimenting the food. These little things quietly earned Henry even more goodwill from the elders at the table. With a kind and gentle gaze, Katharine asked, "So, Henry—what are your plans for the future? Tony says you're a small-time actor in Hollywood right now." Was she planning to use her connections in the film industry to help Tony repay the favor? It seemed the old star still had a soft spot for this young man, who was about the same age as her grandchildren. But Henry politely declined the offer. Shaking his head, he said, "I came to Hollywood just to see the world. It's been less than six months, but I already feel I might change careers sooner or later." Katharine smiled. "You don't want to become a big star?" "Rather than say I don't want to be a big star, I'd say I'm unwilling to pay the price it takes to become one. I'd prefer to live more freely." What Henry didn't say aloud: even though Katharine still held sway in Hollywood, she wasn't some kingmaker. If she really wanted to "make" someone, she wasn't the kind of golden ticket to bet your life on. Besides, the favor Tony owed him wasn't big enough for Katharine to go all-out repaying it. If this was just a chance—a casual opportunity—Henry wasn't going to risk his future in Hollywood on it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Loving the story so far? Want more chapters? 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