Lucas thought about it for a while and agreed, “Since you’ve offered, alright. Pardon me for disturbing you.”
Lucas had quite a good impression of Edmund. And since Edmund was a powerful figure of a top family in San Francisco, forming friendly relations with him would be beneficial to his future expansion of the Stardust Corporation.
Although he didn’t care to do so, he wouldn’t be so foolish as to vehemently push away those who had good intentions toward him.
Edmund was overjoyed to see Lucas agreeing to have a meal with him.
The reason he had rushed out of the hotel to meet Lucas was that he hadn’t even had time to speak to Lucas inside before he had been interrupted by various people and incidents.
At first, he had just wanted to contact Lucas to repay him for saving his life. But now, he was more interested in Lucas as a person.
The more he looked at Lucas, the more he appreciated him. To an old man like him who had met countless people, Lucas was a rare find.
Thus, Edmund happily asked Lucas to get inside the car while inviting Ethan and Flynn along. Together with his granddaughter, Alexis, they made their way to the Royal Lake Restaurant in a grand manner.
When the helmsmen of the top LA families rushed out from the hotel and learned that Lucas had left together with Edmund, their expressions became even more interesting.
…
In the large and luxurious private room on the top floor of the Royal Lake Restaurant, all the dishes had been prepared according to Edmund’s instructions.
After they took their seats, Alexis personally poured wine for Edmund and Lucas.
Edmund lifted his glass and grinned at Lucas with pleasure. “This is a toast to Lucas. Thank you so much for saving my life!”
Lucas lifted his wine glass and clinked glasses with him, after which both of them downed it all in one go.
“Haha, great!” Edmund wiped the wine stains on the corners of his lips with his hand and laughed out loud. “Mr. Gray, you really are a nice young lad! Young men like you who are brave enough to do a good deed to save others are rare these days!”
Flynn and Ethan had only heard Edmund say that Lucas had saved his life, but they didn’t know exactly what had happened and so asked about it.
Edmund didn’t put on any airs as he told them straight about the incident that had happened yesterday morning when he suddenly passed out from a heart attack on the road and had fortunately been saved by Lucas, who had helped him up and fed him the pill.
At the end, there was a trace of nostalgia in his eyes as he said emotionally, “But it’s no wonder that people are now afraid to do good. There are just too many con artists out there who have ruined society. Back in the day, when we were just soldiers fighting on the battlefield in Calico, people were much simpler! Even when someone knocked into you by accident, they’d ask if you were okay and needed help, not to mention save someone who passed out on the road. Such people basically don’t exist anymore these days!”
When Lucas heard the familiar words ‘Calico’ and ‘soldiers’, his hand shook slightly while holding his wine glass. “Mr. Cole, you served as a soldier when you were young?”
The proudest thing in Edmund’s life was not the great fortune he had created but his experience as a soldier in the state of Calico decades ago. So he was immediately enthused when he heard that Lucas also seemed to be interested in it.
“Haha yes! When I joined the army back then, I was only twenty years old, and I was a soldier who fought in Calico for more than ten years. I fought in dozens of battles!”
As he spoke, Edmund began to tell Lucas about the war affairs and anecdotes of his past as a soldier, the victories and accolades he had earned, and the sacrifices of his comrades.
While listening to Edmund’s recount, Lucas also seemed to have been transported back to the time when he was a zealous soldier of the military.
Although Edmund had not been in the Falcon Regiment, and the two of them had different experiences in different times, the desire to defend their country and the precious camaraderie in the military camp were all so rare and valuable.
Alexis had already heard about the history of her grandfather’s military experience countless times before.
She originally thought that Lucas would perhaps get bored and impatient from listening to her grandfather talk about these old stories. But she discovered that Lucas was listening very seriously, and as her grandfather recounted the past, he seemed nostalgic and emotional from time to time.
Alexis blinked, feeling even more curious about Lucas.
While the few of them were having a conversation about Edmund’s past in the army over the meal in the private room on the top floor of the Royal Lake Restaurant, there were more than ten people feeling uneasy on the first floor of the restaurant.
The manager of the restaurant was naturally aware that they were the helmsmen of the top LA families. Usually, it was rare to see any of them. But now, so many of them had appeared at once. Even Damon Parker, the helmsman of one of the two top LA families, was present.
The manager was overjoyed and hurriedly ran out to greet these distinguished guests to have them be seated in the luxurious private room on the top floor, but his offer was rejected.
“Okay, you go about your business. We’ll just stand here as we wait for someone.” One of the helmsmen impatiently dismissed the manager, who had offered his hospitality.
Thus, they became the focus of discussion.
“Wow! Guess what I just saw? The helmsmen of a bunch of notable LA families are all gathered in the lobby on the first floor, and they seem to be waiting for someone!”
“Wow! Is something big happening? Or is there some big shot coming? I saw the helmsman of the Parker family standing in the crowd on the first floor. Could the person they’re waiting for have a higher status than the Parkers?”
“For sure! Would the helmsman of the Parkers wait for someone with a lower status? But it doesn’t seem right. Why do they need to stand there and wait? Even if they’re waiting for a certain person, they can just do so in a private room!”
“I have a feeling that they’re in some kind of trouble. Look at their faces. They don’t seem right! Everyone looks worried and fidgety. I’m afraid something has really happened.”
…
There were quite a few people coming and going in the Royal Lake Restaurant, and the news soon spread like wildfire.
Many people speculated about the intentions of these big shots.
…
And at this moment, in the Owens’ villa in LA…
Callum was sitting on the couch and looking at the latest news about the stock market on his phone, but he seemed rather distracted.
His younger brother, Elijah, was resting his long legs on the coffee table. After taking a look at the time, he couldn’t help asking, “Callum, it’s almost time, isn’t it? That punk should have been crippled by the Parkers by now, right?”
“Well, probably,” Callum answered casually. Although things were going according to his plan, he somehow had a vague uneasiness within him.
Elijah asked with puzzlement, “Callum, why does it seem that you’re not in the least bit happy about this? Aren’t things going according to your plan?”
He moved his legs off of the couch and said with great interest, “Those fools from the Parkers all think that punk Lucas Gray killed Tristan and will definitely go confront him. No, actually, they’ve already gone and have definitely crippled him! In that case, even if that punk really has some powerful background, it will be the Parkers incurring his wrath and offending him. We just have to sit back and watch them fight. Once the Parkers’ power is weakened, we will become the greatest family in LA! Callum, you have a wonderful plan. What else are you still worried about?”
