Chapter 659: Resolute Rejection
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Clement frowned and asked rhetorically, “Isn’t it?”
“It’s really true.” Lucas raised his eyebrows and smiled faintly. “In that case, Mr. Cole, why don’t you call Bruce Hale and Damon Parker to ask if they’re friends with me because of the Coles?!”
He had a look of mockery on his face.
He had long guessed it. Clement indeed thought that Lucas had borrowed the Coles’ power in order to establish a relationship with the Hales and the Parkers. Just now, he even accused Lucas of taking advantage of the Coles, which was simply hilarious.
“Also, I hope that you won’t casually speculate on my intentions. I’m not interested in being your son-in-law, nor am I interested in the Coles’ assets. I only treat Alexis as my younger sister.
“As for my friendship with Mr. Cole Sr., this is a matter between us. You don’t seem to have any right to interfere, do you?
“Mr. Cole, like you said, you and I aren’t related to each other at all, so there’s no need for you to poke your nose into my business, right?”
Lucas finally understood that if he was polite with Clement, the latter would just think that he was afraid of the Coles’ power. In that case, he might as well not be polite and make things clear.
Indeed, as soon as Lucas said this, his words immediately angered Clement, who thought highly of himself.
“Bastard, how dare you speak to me with such a tone? As long as I make a call now and tell them to sever ties with you, I’ll see how you can still be arrogant in front of me!”
Lucas shrugged his shoulders indifferently. “Oh, go ahead and call then.”
Before Clement even reacted, Lucas walked directly toward the door of the room. “If you asked me to come here just to hear you utter nonsense, I think there’s no need for us to continue talking anymore.”
“You… you stop right there!” Clement hollered in exasperation.
Lucas turned a deaf ear to him and suddenly stopped when he reached the door. He looked at Clement with an almost sympathetic gaze. “To be honest, I really pity Mr. Cole Sr. for having a son like you despite having been respected all his life. Even though he’s sick, he doesn’t dare to hand the family to you. How pitiful.”
With that, Lucas pulled open the door and walked out.
Bang!
The door closed, but Clement was so angered by Lucas’s words that his body was trembling.
“Bastard! Brat! How dare you say that about me?! Who the hell do you think you are?
“Ah! This is so infuriating!”
Clement caught a glimpse of the bank card on the table that Lucas hadn’t even touched and snapped it in half to vent his anger.
Snap!
Clement slammed the broken halves onto the floor.
“Bastard, do you really think I can’t do anything to you? I’ll see what else you can do once I stop letting you leverage on the Coles’ reputation and status.”
Clement picked up his phone and called Bruce, who was in Orange County.
“Bruce Hale? I’m Clement Cole from San Francisco.” He reported his name immediately.
On the other end, Bruce was a bit surprised to hear Clement’s voice.
He had never interacted with Clement before, so he found the sudden call surprising.
“Hello, Mr. Cole! What made you call me all of a sudden today?” Bruce asked in a kind and gentle tone.
Strictly speaking, although Clement was a generation younger than Bruce, he was Edmund’s only son after all. So Bruce was rather accommodating toward him.
“I heard that the Hales have been very close to Lucas Gray lately, right? From now on, I want you to sever all ties with him and never provide him any help!” Clement ordered coldly.
“…” Bruce fell silent.
Clement waited for several seconds, but Bruce still didn’t reply, so he couldn’t help snapping at him angrily, “Bruce Hale, didn’t you hear what I just said? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Bruce sighed and said slowly, “Mr. Cole, I can’t promise you that. Mr. Gray is an honored friend of ours, and no matter what, we can’t sever ties with him. May I ask the reason for your sudden decision?”
The Hales already belonged to Lucas now, so how could they sever ties with him?
Clement’s request was extremely abrupt as well. Lucas was clearly on good terms with Edmund and Alexis, plus he was Edmund’s life savior. The Coles shouldn’t be going against Lucas all of a sudden.
Bruce thought about it for a long time and felt that it was Clement’s personal request, which was rather ridiculous.
Clement was shocked because he didn’t expect Bruce to reject him without hesitation!
“Do you know what you’re saying, Mr. Hale? You don’t have to be friendly with Lucas Gray for the sake of our family. I don’t mind telling you that Lucas Gray has offended me, which is akin to offending the Coles. You’re a smart person. You should know what to do, right?
“Also, if the Hales sever ties with Lucas, I can allow you to start cooperating with us and provide you help. How does that sound?”
Clement clearly stated his displeasure toward Lucas. In his opinion, Lucas managed to befriend the Hales entirely because he leveraged on the power of the Coles. As long as he made it clear to the Hales what the Coles’ attitude toward Lucas was, he believed that Bruce would draw a clear line with Lucas immediately.
He reckoned that Bruce would agree, especially since he had promised some benefits and extended an olive branch. Those wealthy families would eagerly agree immediately.
“Mr. Cole, I’ve already told you that it’s impossible!” Bruce’s tone became cold and harsh, with extreme determination and some anger.
“Regardless of what yours and the Coles’ attitude toward Mr. Gray is, the Hales will never sever ties with Mr. Gray!
“Mr. Cole, if you called me today just to talk about this matter, then we don’t need to talk anymore. I still have something important to do, so I’ll hang up now. I’ll visit Mr. Cole Sr. another time.”
With that, Bruce hung up immediately.
Seeing the ‘call ended’ words on the screen, Clement couldn’t come back to his senses for a long time.
“How dare Bruce Hale hang up on me?!
“How infuriating!”
What was even more annoying was that Bruce had adamantly refused his request.
Bruce seemed to mean that the Hales hadn’t befriended Lucas only because of the Coles. In fact, they even seemed to be stating that the Hales would never sever ties with Lucas even if the Coles made an enemy of Lucas.
“Is Bruce Hale out of his mind?
“Damn it!”
Clement cursed viciously. But he thought that there was another person, so he ignored the Hales for now.
He took two deep breaths to suppress his anger before calling Damon, the head of the Parkers.
“Mr. Parker? I’m Clement Cole from San Francisco, and I looked for you to discuss something.”
This time, Clement’s attitude was a little more mellow.. At the very least, he didn’t call Damon by his full name.
