America 1919

"If it weren't for your invitation to Atlantic City this time, I wouldn't have known how to talk to Maholi about this." Donnie looked at Walker with disdain and asked, "It's just a Mansfield, couldn't you have found him easily if you wanted to?" Walker, unconcerned by Donnie's look, said, "It's not the same; of course, I could find him, but that feeling..." As he spoke, Walker seemed a little conflicted before he continued helplessly, "Oh well, I don't even know how to describe this feeling, but I just think this situation is more alluring to me!" Donnie chuckled and scorned Walker's idea! Finally, Walker lost his composure due to Donnie's attitude and snorted, "Huh, even John told me about it, and he even reserved a ticket for you on purpose. Besides, if you weren't thinking along these lines, would you have let Helen and Alice take Maholi out for fun?" Donnie dropped a line: "What do you know!" Then he turned and left! In fact, Donnie didn't have much confidence in John's show, but when he arrived here with Walker following him like a shadow, he was still somewhat stunned. It wasn't an exaggerated or luxurious curtain, but after passing through several corridors, a different elegance was presented to Donnie. Luxury, vulgarity, refinement, customs, various styles that should not coexist were ingeniously combined through the designer's hand, adopting a Broadway stage model on a grand scale, but also featuring passages that allowed actors to interact with the audience at any time by piercing the distance from stage to seating area. Most importantly, though employing the Broadway model, there weren't as many seats; a Broadway stage has at least a thousand seats, but here, at a glance, there definitely weren't more than 30. This was all about high-end exclusivity! "This designer's got talent!" After checking out the decor, Walker immediately offered his praise! Donnie nodded, unable to help himself, and thought that sometimes, a mindless person can surprise you when determined to do something. "Ha-ha, everyone, this will be our stage for tonight." At this time, the voice that came from the entrance was John's. Donnie and Walker turned around and then saw John arriving with a few people, among them many familiar faces to Donnie. William Mellon, George Whitney, Charles Merrill, Albert Furr, Laze Madison... These were the major players in both the business and political realms of the United States, and now they followed John through the entrance, all looking as excited as kids. When they saw Donnie and Walker, they burst into laughter and came over! Donnie went over proactively, shook hands, and made small talk, "Gentlemen, no fuss, huh? Coming to Atlantic City and not giving me a heads-up? What, were you afraid I'd have business with you?" William Mellon joked loudly with Donnie, "We're just here to relax in Atlantic City. Everyone knows you've been busy, so we didn't bother you. If we'd known you were here, we'd have come to you first!" George Whitney pretended to complain, "Donnie, as a friend, I must criticize you. John has set up such a fun club, and you didn't tell us about it before?" The rest began to give Donnie a mock hard time. Seeing everyone's reaction, John stood aside and became even happier. Donnie waved his hands repeatedly, "Folks, you're wronging me here. It's my first time here today too, and the show hasn't even started yet. How can you think it's fun already?" "No need to wait!" William Mellon waved dismissively, lacking his usual composure, and said, "After hearing John's introduction, if what we see here matches just eighty percent of what he said, it will already be more than satisfying." George Whitney added, "I've been to a club in Paris, France once. Seeing John's invitation, I instantly became excited!" Donnie laughed, "Well, if that's the case, then let's all look forward to it together!" William Mellon and the others naturally shared this sentiment. Now that everyone had met, it was only natural to stick together, so they all took a tour of the club, listened intently to John's explanation, and then dined together at the Surf Hotel. Clearly, everyone had a tacit understanding not to mention business at all, only discussing light-hearted topics. During this time, Nucky also arrived and joined in. Until the evening, the group went to John's club... and yes, John was so brazen as to name it after himself, John's Club! By the time they got there, some of the lesser-important guests had also started to arrive. Clearly, their interest in the club far exceeded Donnie's expectations; but that was understandable given that they were all men before they were wealthy men. Power and women will always be the direction of a man's endeavors! Donnie, though reclining on the sofa, had no trouble seeing the stage. According to John, this was the VIP lounge of the club, with another main hall outside that could accommodate over a hundred people at the same time.