Chapter 326: Chapter 326: I Like Her
Ashley Shaw’s eyelid twitched lightly: "James Langley? Sean Langley? The one who came to Stirred Meadows looking for trouble?"
Warren Prescott made a sound of affirmation.
Ashley Shaw’s eyes flashed with surprise: "He went down?"
Warren Prescott handed over a "What do you think?" expression.
Ashley Shaw’s mind went blank again.
"Because of me?"
Warren Prescott threw out a line: "Of course."
Ashley Shaw: "..." Suddenly, she didn’t know what to say.
But there’s one thing for sure.
She owed Warren Prescott more than she had thought.
This isn’t something that can be repaid with just a meal.
The next moment, she heard Warren Prescott say: "But you were just incidental. This James Langley was already not very obedient, during the last live broadcast, he almost sabotaged us. Even without Sean Langley, we would have taken him down."
Hearing this, Ashley Shaw felt a slight relief in her heart.
That’s good.
Warren Prescott bent down to get out of the car, glancing at the expression on Ashley Shaw’s face, and said: "But that doesn’t mean you don’t owe me this favor."
Ashley Shaw instinctively said: "I didn’t ask you to do this."
"But the fact is that I did."
"You just said, I was merely incidental, you all were going to deal with him anyway."
Warren Prescott shrugged: "Did I? When did I say that?"
"You..."
"Mr. Prescott Jr." A few middle-aged men in suits and ties came out of The Imperial Hall, stepping forward to greet Warren Prescott obsequiously.
As they passed Ashley Shaw, they intentionally or unintentionally gave her a few extra glances.
Seeing Ashley Shaw’s face, their eyes all unanimously showed amazement.
"Thank you, Mr. Prescott Jr., for the card you sent us. We’ll be sure to make good use of it."
"If you ever need us to free up a room again, just let us know."
A hint of coldness surfaced on Warren Prescott’s face.
"Is there anything else?"
Their smiles froze for a moment, quickly realizing they had misspoken. They awkwardly laughed and said goodbye to Warren Prescott.
They came today for business talks, and since the first floor was inconvenient for discussions, they planned to return to The Nocturne’s grounds.
Unexpectedly, they ran into Warren Prescott upon exiting, so naturally, they seized the opportunity to show face in front of him.
As it turned out, it would have been better not to show face at all.
The group quickly departed.
Ashley Shaw looked at Warren Prescott with suspicion.
"Our private room... was it you who made them give it to us?"
Warren Prescott wore an expression of "You’re overthinking it."
"There are only two rooms on the second floor?"
Ashley Shaw swallowed her words and said: "I was merely asking... Anyway, thank you for today, I’ll head back now."
"Wait a minute."
"What else?"
"Tomorrow’s mediation, what time is it?"
Ashley Shaw realized he was asking about Ariana Grant’s lawsuit.
She replied honestly: "The court notified us it’s at ten in the morning. Why, are you coming too?"
Before Warren Prescott could answer, she spoke first: "You should take care of your own business, there’s no need for you to come. Attorney Coleman is very capable and a nice person. With him around, nothing should go wrong."
"Who said I was coming? Do you think I have so much free time?"
"..." Then why is he asking?
"What are you spacing out for? Let’s go." Warren Prescott said, already walking ahead.
Ashley Shaw quickened her pace to catch up.
As Ashley Shaw and Warren Prescott went upstairs, Leo was smoking with Owen Sinclair at the door of the private room.
With a cigarette between his fingers, Leo asked casually: "Mr. Sinclair, you claimed to be Ashley’s father in a moment of desperation to help her, aren’t you afraid they’ll spread this around and hurt your reputation?"
Owen Sinclair said nonchalantly: "At my age, what reputation do I have to worry about ruining?"
Leo was taken aback, just about to speak when Owen Sinclair asked him: "How long have you known Ashley?"
"Five years."
"Five years, huh... That’s quite a long time indeed."
"Not bad."
"Then you should know what Ashley likes, right?"
Leo looked at Owen Sinclair: "Like what? For example?"
"What brand of clothes, or what kind of bags she likes, or maybe what foods she enjoys."
Leo chuckled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
"Mr. Sinclair, haven’t you got any work lately? Why so curious about this?"
Owen Sinclair noticed Leo didn’t want to answer, so he just shrugged and said: "Just making idle conversation, I suppose."
Leo took a drag on his cigarette and said: "Recently, I saw in the news that Mr. Sinclair just got divorced?"
Owen Sinclair’s expression turned calm.
"Yes, I heard you were abroad these past two years. I’m surprised such news reached that far?"
Leo chuckled softly, knowing full well he doesn’t follow those kinds of news; he had just looked it up on his phone earlier today.
"Mr. Sinclair, you’re an international star. Not to mention a divorce, even casually being seen with a girl in the frame would make news reach overseas. Especially news as big as a divorce."
At this point, Leo changed the subject, extinguishing his cigarette and said: "Mr. Sinclair, there’s something I’m not sure if I should say."
Owen Sinclair put out his cigarette as well.
"Go ahead."
Leo spoke slowly and seriously—
"Ashley could be seen as a sister I’ve watched grow up, and since she’s lost her parents, she really doesn’t have any family in this world."
"But that doesn’t mean there’s no one to back her up. Whether it’s me or the elder Mr. Prescott, we won’t allow certain ill-intentioned people to deliberately get close to her."
"If anyone bullies her, no matter who they are, we won’t let them off."
"I believe someone as smart as you, Mr. Sinclair, can understand what I’m saying."
"Is that so?"
Hearing the first half, Owen Sinclair felt discomfort, guilt, and heartache.
By the second half, he finally caught on.
Leo was mistakenly thinking Owen Sinclair had some "improper" thoughts towards Ashley and was thus warning him.
Owen Sinclair’s first reaction was to laugh, and then he felt pleased.
As a fellow man, he didn’t believe in pure friendships between men and women.
Perhaps women could, but definitely not men.
The fact that Leo was this guarded meant, absent a special reason, he likely had feelings for Ashley.
Owen Sinclair now even wanted to know Leo’s reaction after discovering his true identity.
But after feeling pleased, Owen Sinclair was left with a sense of loneliness.
He had wronged her mother and daughter so much, even if he presented the paternity test to Ashley, would she acknowledge him as her father?
Owen Sinclair was a very confident person, but regarding this matter, he had no confidence whatsoever.
Leo noticed Owen Sinclair’s prolonged silence, making his gut wrench.
Could it be that his suspicion was correct, that Owen Sinclair indeed had inappropriate feelings for Ashley?
But Owen Sinclair’s current expression... a semi-smile, somewhat sad, yet his lips slightly curled, made him difficult to read.
If not, Owen Sinclair would surely be outraged if he understood, right now.
If he was, Owen Sinclair would surely throw a fit if displeased.
But his expression... was too peculiar.
"Mr. Sinclair?"
Owen Sinclair snapped back, giving Leo a deep look, then asked directly: "Do you like Ashley?"
Leo’s demeanor stiffened, then he calmly admitted: "Yes, I like her. So, I would appreciate if Mr. Sinclair keeps his distance from her to avoid any misunderstandings."
Owen Sinclair laughed heartily: "I do like straightforward people. Rest assured, my relationship with Ashley is that of an elder’s care for a younger, different from what you think."
Leo was about to speak, but his expression froze.
For no other reason, Ashley Shaw and Warren Prescott had somehow appeared at the elevator entrance.