Chapter 161: Chapter 161: Is Saying Thank You That Hard?
Warren Prescott still had a blank expression, but his gaze at Damian Ford was no longer like he was looking at air; it was back to how he used to look at him.
Damian Ford’s eyes lit up immediately, knowing that he had helped in the right way today.
He quickly waved his hand, "No, no, this is what I should do. I was just worrying about how to apologize to Miss Shaw, and then I stumbled upon this. If I didn’t step in to help, I wouldn’t consider myself human."
"Hmm." Warren Prescott’s expression was noncommittal, but his tone was noticeably less icy.
Only then did Damian Ford dare to continue, "By the way, that man who was just escorted into the police car is from our company. If necessary, I’ll have my dad fire him as soon as I get in the car."
"Up to you."
Up to him? That meant he could fire him.
"I understand." Damian Ford wanted to keep up his good work but caught a glimpse of Assistant Lowell looking like he had something to say.
With good judgment, he said, "If there’s nothing else, I’ll be off first. If you need a witness, I can come over anytime."
"Hmm."
Damian Ford managed a flattering smile and had just taken a step away when he heard Warren Prescott say, "Get someone to pull you into that group."
Damian’s footsteps paused; he quickly turned around and bowed.
"Thank you, Warren, thank you..."
"Don’t let there be a next time."
Warren Prescott’s voice came from above.
Smart as he was, Damian immediately guessed he was being told not to joke about Ashley anymore. He promptly raised three fingers to swear, "Rest assured, Warren, there absolutely won’t be a next time."
"Scram."
"Alright, alright." Damian bowed again, leaving with a spring in his step.
Thankfully, he stumbled upon this mishap.
He only came to Southgate District with a hope against hope, never expecting it would somehow cure his "terminal illness."
To think of it, he really had to thank Kevin Hayes.
It was just Kevin Hayes’s bad luck; whoever their family offended, why did it have to be Ashley Shaw? That’s as good as asking for death, isn’t it?
Even though he was the same, the Hayes Family wasn’t as lucky as he was.
...
Over there, Ashley Shaw was carefully checking Ariana Grant to see if she had any injuries.
Ariana Grant looked relaxed.
"With her skinny arms and legs, what can she do to me? Stop worrying about me. It’s you I’m worried about; is your head still dizzy?"
"I’m fine now, or would I have had the strength to rush up and help you otherwise?"
Ariana Grant thought that made sense and was about to laugh when her expression fell again.
"What about the diamond on the brooch?"
Ashley Shaw sighed, "Forget it! Let’s skip the hotpot tonight and have some spicy cold dish instead."
"Spicy cold dish? Great! I haven’t had it for ages... Wait, why are you talking about food? Think about what to do about the diamond first."
"Didn’t I already say? Forget it! We’re not really going to fish it out of the sewage tank, are we? Otherwise, we might end up losing the diamond and getting overwhelmed by the smell."
"Then..." Ariana glanced at Warren Prescott nearby, "Shouldn’t you go thank him?"
Ashley Shaw sighed.
It’s not just thanking him, an apology is in order too!
Although Warren Prescott only let out a muffled grunt from that punch and had no further reaction,
Her hand still hurt with numbness, Warren Prescott must be in no better shape than she was.
It’s just that he’s better at enduring pain.
"Go on." Ariana Grant nudged her, saying, "The battery on my scooter is dead, I’ll find somewhere to charge it. I think there’s a charging station nearby. Call me when you’re done. Or don’t worry about me and just treat him to a meal?"
"You want to come too?"
"I don’t want to go..." Ariana Grant waved her hands repeatedly.
Who wants to have a meal with an ice-cold, sulky guy? It’ll give you indigestion!
Ariana Grant’s face was filled with a "don’t drag me into this" expression, so Ashley couldn’t insist. She just said, "Okay, then you go charge the battery. If I don’t treat him to a meal, I’ll text you."
"Alright!"
Ariana Grant didn’t delay, dragging her scooter and heading out of the complex.
But she’d only taken a couple of steps when Warren Prescott’s bodyguard helped steady the scooter.
"Miss Grant, let us handle it."
"No, no, I can do it myself."
"No need to be polite, I’ll get someone to charge your scooter and then take you home first."
Ariana Grant still wanted to refuse, but another bodyguard showed up and directly took her scooter away.
She had no choice but to "reluctantly" climb into a spacious, comfortable luxury car that even had Perrier water available.
Ashley Shaw saw it and waved at Ariana in the car, indicating it was fine to leave her there.
Once the car disappeared from sight, Ashley Shaw braced herself and walked over to Warren Prescott.
It’s funny to think, ever since she went back to her student days, her first rule was to "stay away from Warren Prescott," but it didn’t work out; she ended up having more contact with him than she ever did at this time in her previous life.
Was fate deliberately messing with her?
Did she do something terribly wrong in her past life that she had to be punished in this way?
Somehow, she had already accumulated several big favors from Warren Prescott.
In the beginning, after the incident, she hated Warren Prescott so much that one look at him made her feel unlucky, and she wished him to repay her with a life.
But in the end, the human heart is made of flesh, and after Warren Prescott helped her several times, especially that time with the acid, it would be a lie to say she wasn’t moved.
Yet more than feeling moved, she was scared, scared of repeating the mistakes of her past life.
So every time she faced Warren Prescott, she had a guilty conscience that made her afraid to meet his eyes.
Just then, a deep voice with a hint of sarcasm reached her ears.
"Standing there pretending to be a telephone pole?"
Ashley Shaw finally snapped back to reality and realized Warren Prescott had already finished talking to Assistant Lowell.
At that moment, Assistant Lowell walked over to her and gave her a deep bow.
"I sincerely apologize, Miss Shaw, for not protecting you well. You can name a punishment, and I’ll accept anything."
Ashley Shaw was about to say no need, but then she saw the earnest plea on Assistant Lowell’s face.
She immediately understood; this was prompted by Warren Prescott.
Ashley Shaw paused for a couple of seconds and said, "Then... write a 500-word reflection."
Assistant Lowell thanked her repeatedly, "Thank you, Miss Shaw. I’ll write it up and send it to your email right away."
There’s no need to be this serious...
But Ashley Shaw still nodded seriously, "Alright."
"You can go chat with Mr. Prescott Jr. I’ll wait for you both in the car," Assistant Lowell said, quickly getting into the business car at the back.
Warren Prescott had come with seven vehicles this time; add a few more, and it could have been a wedding convoy.
Ashley Shaw braced herself and walked toward Warren Prescott, stopping about half a meter away from him.
She twisted her hands together, as if her fingers were tied in knots.
She wanted to say something, but for a moment, her brain felt like it was stuffed with mush and she didn’t know where to start.
"Is it so hard to say thank you?"
Warren Prescott suddenly spoke, giving Ashley Shaw a direction to start talking.