Chapter 8

Surely Ric was going to teach the guard a lesson for daring to touch him in the first place. If none of the guards had made the first attempt at a hit then Ric would have also remained calm.

The fuss outside did not in any way disturb the peace of those within or draw the attention of passerbys since the Lazeeza Resort was located at the East Hill of Vittorio street with a very secluded environment to ensure comfort and luxury.

Ric easily put each of the guards in place and after he had dealt with the two that launched at him, the other two let him in out of fear for their lives.

"He looks so weak yet he is so strong," one of the guards remarked as Ric journeyed to the reception area through the long isle with the driver trailing behind him.

"Come brother, I will take you to the pharmacy nearby and inform the security inside to stop him." The security who were left unharmed immediately phoned those at the reception to inform them of Ric and purposely left out the detail of how strong and energetic he was.

The aisle that led to the reception area was decorated with fancy LED lights and expensive marble stone flooring, the driver that accompanied Ric had a little more confidence as he walked behind Ric grateful to Ric for the opportunity.

Ordinarily the driver would have never had access to such a luxurious place.

"Excuse me Sir, please may I see your reservation slip?" A smartly dressed young lady stopped Ric politely and inquired. Access to the Lazeeza Resort was always by reservation to avoid unnecessary crowds in the beautifully confined luxury space.

"I don't have one but I will like to see Mr. Lombardi." Ric was equally polite, though Mr. Lombardi had told him to address him by his first name seeing how rich Ric was, Ric still accorded him due respect since he was older in age.

"I am sorry Sir but I can't let you in." The beautiful lady politely denied Ric access, just then a few more security guards came to walk Ric out. 

"Just hold on a bit, let me place a call through to him to inform him I am here." Ric beckoned on them to give him extra time but a few guests that lounged in the garden area gasped.

"Is it really possible that Mr. Lombardi now drops his phone number on the streets?"

"That man is obviously lying, how will someone like him even dare claim to have Mr. Lombardi's contact?"

"He's so despicable, he dares try to act like he is mighty when in the actual sense, he is nothing at all."

The side comments from the guests out on the porch in the garden rose to the ears of Ric, the driver, the lady at the entrance and it also fuel the fury of the security guards.

After all they had been called from their colleagues at the gate to state that Ric was a nobody coming to cause a nuisance.

Since the security at the gate could not humiliate or overpower Ric, they thought to use their colleagues inside instead to still embarrass him.

At that same time a young man walked past and stopped right at the entrance to the reception where Ric stood with the uniform security guards.

Ric had checked his pockets and realized that he had not brought along the card Mr. Lombardi gave him therefore he could not put a call through to him.

"I did not bring a long the card he gave me, please inform him that his friend Ric ---"

"Ric Mariano not so?" Ric was interrupted by the young man who had walked in on the unpleasant scene.

"I reckon you stay out of this Lucio," Ric regarded the young man. The young man was Lucio Rivera, his wife Melissa's maternal cousin.

"I see you did not learn any lesson at all but have come here to brag shamelessly." Lucio spoke in a demeaning manner as he sized Ric's appearance and attire before speaking to the lady that gave the access to the reception area.

"You should not keep such people around your premises, you know my Uncle will be Mayor soon and my father has a very good relationship with Mr. Lombardi too." Lucio bragged with the position Melissa's Dad was about to attain in the city.

The lady at the entrance had been patient with Ric but when she heard Lucio speak, she thought to curry favour with him since he did not seem to like Ric either. 

"Please security, escort him out. People like you are not welcome here at all." She looked at Ric with disdain and condemned him simply because he did not dress in the trendy fashion like Lucio.

The driver immediately felt embarrassed and regretted why he had bothered to follow Ric all the way.

The truth was, the driver had hoped to get an opportunity to eat at such a luxury resort since he had only ever heard of how good the food was with his ears and seen excellent pictures online.

"Didn't you tell me that the owner of this place is your friend?" The driver asked Ric in a bid to save his own face.

"He is," Ric replied,

When the driver said this, a lot of guests turned to look at Ric and on hearing his response they spat arrogant words at him.

"Mr. Lombardi is too prestigious to keep such a person as his driver let alone friend. He must have lied to the young man."

"That's bad, he is trying act like something he is not. So disgusting."

"He is so poor yet so arrogant, he won't just go away. I think he is making the air here stale, I should just leave it such people can be allowed in here."

Despite the comments that rose from the guests, Ric turned a deaf ear and remained calm.

Several guests stood up to leave.

"Will you stand there and watch your guest leave because you could not handle this lowly pauper." When Lucio said this, the young lady immediately took an action to please him.

She stepped forward, picked a half full glass of wine from an empty table nearby and splashed the contents on Ric making everyone gasp.

"Leave here this minute or I will be forced to do something worse," She scolded Ric further.

Ric was stunned, he wiped his face and shot a deadly glare at the young lady before turning to leave.

Just as Ric took two steps heading for the exit, a huge domineering figure pushed open the revolving door and stepped out.

Everyone greeted him curtly and organized their act in his presence.

"Security ensure he doesn't return." The young lady added to Mr. Lombardi's hearing so she could be awarded an accolade.

"Who are you talking about?" Mr Lombardi asked when he recognized the shirt Ric wore from earlier that day.

"Call him here." Mr Lombardi hoped he was mistaken but when Ric returned with a stained shirt and moist hair, Mr. Lombardi was immediately alarmed.

"Oh Sir, it's just some hillbilly trying to cause trouble but your staff already fixed him with a proper lesson." Lucio was so pompous he spoke arrogantly.

Slap!

Mr. Lombardi gave Lucio a tight slap across his cheek.

"Who are you calling a hillbilly?" Mr. Lombardi asked furious and several guests were stunned.