Chapter 146: Chapter 146: Utter Despair
"Hahaha..."
The crowd burst into laughter.
"Scared? She’s going to call the cops!"
Damian Ford was both embarrassed and furious.
"Damn it, I didn’t see her standing right behind us, and none of you bothered to warn me?"
He regretted not retorting then, saying he was just joking, and she didn’t need to take it so seriously.
Now it seemed like he’d lost to a woman.
Lost face all the way to the Pacific.
"Damian, really, what a bad idea you had!"
"She’s still here, and you’re talking about getting her drunk, it’s embarrassing me too."
"Yeah, it’s super awkward! I was standing right next to you, she won’t think I’m colluding with you, right? I’m not that low."
Damian curled his lips in annoyance.
"Now you say that, but you were all agreeing with my plan a moment ago!"
"Nonsense, who agreed with you? This is a law-abiding society, what were you thinking?"
"Exactly, I didn’t agree with your plan; if she actually calls the cops, don’t drag me down."
"Shut up, everyone!" Damian felt really annoyed.
Had he known Ashley Shaw was standing right behind them, he wouldn’t have said all that in front of her.
At that moment, a deep yet penetrating voice sounded—
"Damian Ford."
Damian followed the voice and saw Warren Prescott staring at him expressionlessly.
That gaze was like ice frozen for a thousand years, making Damian’s heart skip a beat, feeling something was amiss.
"Wh—what’s wrong, Warren?"
Warren lightly moved his lips, but the smile did not reach his eyes.
"Are you in the group yet?"
So that’s what he was asking about.
Damian breathed a sigh of relief, restoring the smile on his face, "Not yet, I’m about to scan the code now."
"No need to scan the code."
Warren spoke slowly, word by word, "You don’t need to join the group."
After Warren’s words, the room fell silent.
Anyone with a bit of sense knew what "no need to join the group" meant.
It was as if a bomb exploded in Damian’s head.
Damian was being excluded from the "organization."
His face turned pale, and he stumbled two steps towards Warren but dared not move any further.
Because he could clearly feel the chilling aura and hostility emanating from Warren, making him too afraid to act rashly.
"Gulp—" Damian swallowed hard, his voice trembling, "Warren, I—I was just joking."
Warren remained smiling, still staring at him, but it was as if Damian no longer existed in his eyes.
As if he were already a dead man.
In that instant, Damian’s legs went weak.
But he knew, if he said nothing, there would be no chance left.
Being able to hang out with Warren was a huge help to him and his family.
If his parents found out he’d been excluded by Warren, they would definitely kill him!
Thinking of this, Damian disregarded his pride, boldly saying, "Warren, I really didn’t mean it, I was just joking. It’s illegal to do something like that; I couldn’t possibly do it. Even if I did, Leo wouldn’t agree. So I was just talking nonsense. Please, forgive me this time!"
He couldn’t be excluded!
Warren’s eyes slightly narrowed, and then he suddenly gave a low laugh.
"It’s just a group, no need to beg me. You can join a hundred groups if you want."
A hint of hope appeared in Damian’s eyes.
"What about this group?"
Warren smiled, speaking word by word, "Not this one."
His legs went weak, and he collapsed directly to the ground.
Everyone else looked at him, some with mockery, some with surprise, some indifferent, and others worried about implicating themselves, their faces solemn and silent.
Their relationships were both good and not good; they drank and karaoke’d together daily, practically meeting every day.
But ultimately, they were gathered around Warren as the center, radiating outward.
Once the center does not accept you, you’re excluded from the circle.
Damian’s lips started trembling.
He almost didn’t have the strength to stand up but closed his eyes, steeled himself, and crawled towards Warren.
Warren sat on the sofa with one leg crossed, looking casual and indifferent, half-smiling as he watched Damian slowly crawl towards him, his eyes showing no emotion.
Finally, Damian crawled to Warren’s feet.
He grabbed Warren’s pant leg, his voice on the verge of tears.
"Warren, I really know I was wrong, please forgive me this time!"
"Give me another chance. I’ll go apologize to Ashley Shaw... no, Miss Shaw myself."
"Please, Warren..."
Warren shifted slightly, making Damian’s hand clutching his pant leg fall away.
"Warren..."
Damian’s face was as white as paper.
He, a grown man, was now crying in fear.
"I don’t get it, Warren." He said, almost breaking down, "Weren’t you also not fond of Ashley Shaw before? Now I just made a small joke, why are you mad? I know I said the wrong thing; I’ll slap myself..."
With that, he raised his hand and slapped his own face twice.
The sound of the slaps was incredibly clear in the quiet bar, even echoing.
"Warren..." He forced a smile, asking, "Can you forgive me now? If you don’t, I’ll keep hitting myself until you do."
Warren raised both hands, lazily stretching his waist, looking at the others.
"Did everyone get a gift for Leo?"
Everyone called Xavier Quincy "Leo," but Warren didn’t need to.
Because a year ago, when the Quincy Family had an incident, Warren stepped in, having the Prescott Group help them through this crisis.
So even though Warren was two years younger than Xavier, he didn’t need to be cautious about addressing him.
Also, because the two of them were close, there was no need for the brotherly distinction.
But Warren saying this now was a clear signal.
It was to fully "abandon" Damian.
"Got it, got it." The others nodded in agreement, as if they hadn’t seen Damian still kneeling in front of Warren, one by one introducing what they had bought for Xavier.
Damian was completely ignored, filled with fear and anxiety inside.
Was he going to pay such a high price for just one offhand remark?
Just as Damian was about to give up hope, he turned his head and saw Cillian Xavier sitting there, drinking.