Although Tawana was reluctant, for the sake of future business cooperation, she agreed to the evening party invitation, if only to give Bernard Elno some face.
Bernard Elno’s assistant breathed a sigh of relief, quickly saying politely, “Miss Sweet, you’ve had a long journey, so please let the butler take you and your family to the villa. Rest well, Mr Elno has instructed that any requests you have on White Horse Island can be made to the butler, and the entire island will do its utmost to accommodate you.”
Tawana nodded, saying, “Please thank Mr Elno for me.”
The assistant smiled slightly, thinking, “Miss Sweet hasn’t misunderstood me, has she? I meant the whole island would do its best to meet her needs, but not for free. Mr Elno is frugal, always saving where he can, he wouldn’t possibly cover all of Miss Sweet’s group’s expenses…”
For a moment, he considered subtly reminding Tawana, but on second thought, decided against it. If Tawana took offence, Mr Elno might blame him for speaking out of turn.
Anyway, the island operated on a tab system, with all expenses settled at checkout. Whether Tawana misunderstood or not didn’t matter, someone would bill her at the end, and even if she cursed Mr Elno a hundred times in her heart, it would have nothing to do with him.
So, he smiled and said, “Miss Sweet, please get in the car with your family!”
Tawana nodded, asking, “Are all our booked rooms together?”
At this, a white female butler stepped forward respectfully, saying, “Miss Sweet, you’ve booked four water villas, and they’re all next to each other.”
“Good,” Tawana nodded, “Please take us there.”
The butler gestured politely, bowing, “Please get in the car, I’ll take you to your rooms.”
By now, a crowd of curious guests had gathered around the pier’s perimeter. They had heard yesterday that the superstar Tawana would arrive at White Horse Island today, and upon hearing the roar and landing of the seaplane, they flocked to the pier, eager to catch a glimpse of the international celebrity.
Seeing Tawana in person, the guests shouted excitedly, and many fervent fans tried to rush forward for autographs and photos.
Fortunately, White Horse Island had security personnel prepared, and with Tawana’s burly bodyguards, the enthusiastic fans were kept at bay.
Unable to get close, the fans resorted to taking as many photos as possible with their phones. Tawana, accustomed to being the centre of attention wherever she went, kept smiling and waving to the other guests as she boarded the golf cart.
Hamid and his two heavily pregnant young wives were among the crowd.
Seeing Tawana, the two wives were thrilled, jumping and waving at her while screaming, prompting Hamid to whisper anxiously, “Don’t jump, don’t jump, be careful of the babies, be careful!”
The two wives, being young, weren’t much different from other women at home despite wearing headscarves and veils in public as per custom. They surfed the internet, followed celebrities, and idolised Tawana, so meeting her naturally left them ecstatic.
Hamid was nervous beside them, but fortunately, the young and robust wives were unaffected by their bouncing.
As Tawana left, Hamid sighed in relief, trying to persuade them, “Ladies, you’ve seen the celebrity, shall we prepare to head back? It’s still early, if you agree, I’ll arrange tickets for today. We can check out after breakfast and head to Malé for the flight.”
