The awards ceremony that night was actually for many people, and Stark was just the grand finale.
Since it was an official event, with some members of the Defense Committee and military generals present, there was no red carpet or similar procedures. Colonel Rhodes, as the host, started by telling a few American jokes to tease the political parties, and then the ceremony began.
The first to receive an award was a New York mounted police officer. This brave man single-handedly took down six thugs in Hell's Kitchen. Of course, this was also thanks to the KF5 submachine gun produced by Juggernaut. With 10mm subsonic bullets and a rate of fire of 550 rounds per minute, this was truly a defender of American democracy.
Watching the mounted police officer, his face flushed, accept his medal, everyone present applauded, except for Obadiah and Rhodes, who were looking around.
"What are they looking at?" Kate asked, puzzled.
"Waiting for a man who haunts their dreams!" Fisher whispered.
In fact, Tony Stark had already arrived. He drove his Audi R8 sports car, got out, and went straight into the hotel's casino. As for the awards ceremony? A lousy trophy was no match for girls and money.
"A martini, this hand is making me a little nervous!" Stark, still wearing his flashy red sunglasses indoors, snapped his fingers and ordered a passing waiter.
"Of course, Mr. Stark!" The waiter, seeing the hundred-dollar bill extended to him, immediately forgot about the other guests in the casino and quickly brought Stark's drink.
"Great, now who wants to blow on my chips? Maybe it'll bring good luck!" Taking a sip of the sweet and sour martini, Stark said flirtatiously to the two beautiful women beside him.
"Me, me, me, me..." The two beauties, who practically wanted to stick to Stark, were almost fighting.
"Alright, alright, you each blow on one!" Stark quickly intervened.
The transparent crystal chips clattered as they were tossed onto the gambling table. After seeing the numbers, the gamblers who had bet with Stark immediately cheered.
"Fantastic, babies, these are for you! So, who are the next challengers?" Stark triumphantly grabbed a handful of chips and stuffed them into the arms of the women beside him, eliciting a chorus of screams. Meanwhile, the unlucky ones who lost their chips could only grumble and leave the table to try their luck elsewhere, their empty spots quickly filled by others... While Stark himself was enjoying a night of revelry, he was unaware that upstairs, two people were awkwardly trying to fill the time because of him.
The awards ceremony had reached its final stage: presenting the Apex Award to America's most outstanding arms dealer, the symbol of freedom and democracy, and the defender of world peace, Tony Stark. But Stark himself was still nowhere to be found, leaving Colonel Rhodes awkwardly holding the trophy on stage. Rhodes was now a mix of anger and frustration. He had just lavished praise on Tony Stark and even meticulously edited a short film highlighting Stark's achievements, but the recipient was uncooperative, making Rhodes's efforts to flatter him fall flat.
However, the audience, including Fisher, was not surprised. This was typical Tony Stark. Fisher knew that even after becoming a superhero, Tony's bad habits hadn't changed; he would still occasionally engage in verbal sparring with Captain America, let alone now. Fisher had initially thought about giving Tony Stark a heads-up, but now, on second thought, letting him suffer a bit wouldn't hurt.
As Rhodes stood awkwardly, unsure what to do, Obadiah stood up and helped Rhodes off the stage.
"Actually, Tony is truly busy, you know. The safety of America and the world relies on him. He often stays up late and sometimes even forgets to eat..." As he spoke, Obadiah even squeezed out a few tears. "I often advise him to take care of his health, after all, the world still needs him, and the American people need him even more, but he just won't listen!"
Obadiah's emotional speech brought tears to the eyes of many guests in the audience. They hadn't realized that behind Stark's seemingly glamorous life, he put in so much effort. He truly was a conscientious American entrepreneur, kudos to him!
Even Kate believed it, thinking Stark was genuinely a person who had risen above petty pleasures. "They're both bosses, but there's no comparison!" As she spoke, Kate slapped away the mischievous hand on her thigh and then gave Fisher a glare.
"Woman, you're looking for trouble!" Fisher made a face at the little secretary and then planned to take her to see Stark's true colors after the ceremony.
After the speech, the ceremony was almost over. Fisher saw Obadiah leave with a displeased expression and quickly followed him.
"Oh, look who it is, my good brother, Tony Stark, my good friend, the good brother who stood me up today!" Colonel Rhodes clearly valued his friendship with Stark. Upon seeing Stark reveling in the casino, his face expressed his inner joy with four or five expletives.
"Uh, hi, buddy, long time no see!" Tony was quite embarrassed to see Rhodes looking furious.
"Does gambling matter more than the ceremony?"
"Actually, there's also alcohol!" Stark picked up two glasses and handed one to his good friend.
"Drink up, your favorite Old Tom Gin!"
"I'm not drinking, I'm too upset, I can't drink anything!" Rhodes was about to push the glass away, but after seeing the light liquor inside, he immediately changed his mind.
"What kind of liquor?"
"Old Tom Gin!" Stark repeated with emphasis.
"Then I can drink it!"
After a glass of fine wine, Rhodes's anger instantly subsided quite a bit. Then he took the trophy from Obadiah's hand and examined it for a moment.
"Why isn't this trophy made of pure gold?"
"You can have a pure gold replica made when you get back and put it on your cabinet!" Obadiah said, affectionately putting his arm around Stark's shoulder.
"Good idea, Happy, hold onto it!" With that, Stark tossed the trophy to his driver and bodyguard, who was about to grab a snack.
After tossing the trophy, Obadiah wanted to say a few more words, but Fisher happened to appear in the casino. Stark's interest was immediately piqued when he saw Kate beside Fisher.
"Beautiful lady, haven't we met before?" Stark pushed up his sunglasses and stepped forward to greet her.
"Of course, Mr. Stark. About two years ago, in Miami, I saw you and seven or eight women in swimsuits having a party on the beach with my boss. You were so drunk you were almost throwing up!" Kate said with a smile.
Failure Diary: As the saying goes, there's one good thing about hitting rock bottom: you can't fall any further. All that's left is to slowly climb up. There will be favorites, there will be recommendations, it's just a matter of knowing when (literally, the Year of the Monkey and Horse, meaning a long, long time from now).
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