Damien Ross: Wrath of the Warlord Chairman

06: “Don't Be Foolish, Girl.”

Laura staggered due to the unexpected hit and lost her footing, but James impulsively stretched his arms and got hold of her waist to prevent her from falling completely.

The hall buzzed with disdainful remarks against Laura and her like-minded folks. The twist of the evening event had the guests craving more. They wouldn't have imagined the Oceans heiress being slapped into a stupor.

Laura couldn't distinctly hear any words except an eerie, disturbing sound that crashed into her ears due to the hot slap.

Damien let out a subtle beam as he savored the entire humiliation episode and couldn't have been prouder of Ms. Miguel for putting forth a worth-watching show.

Laura stared into Ms. Miguel's eyes, her shoulders quivering in shock and disbelief. No woman had ever made her feel that little.

Ms. Miguel smacked her tongue with contempt and drank the last drop of the champagne:

“Don't test my patience, Ms. Ocean. I won't repeat myself.”

Chloe and James, with fallen countenance, winked at Laura. It was Ms. Miguel's world against hers, and from the look of things, she didn't have enough supporters to rock her world.

Laura suspected Oceans’ chance of still being in the race for the partnership contract was tied to her next action.

What would be her reaction?

Laura's heart shredded as her mouth gently widened. A thick cloud of shame flushed through her face, and finally, some hard words fell out of her lips:

“I-I’m so-sorry, Mr. Ross. I shouldn't have accused you of stealing the Dracula Valmont Ring.”

Laura's pride flattered as she wished the ground could crumble so she could fall inside rather than stand the shame.

Damien bit his lips in mockery, dusted his tuxedo, and took two steps further with a sly beam hanging on his cheeks:

“Ms. Ocean, did I just hear a stutter? Wow. I didn't know you also stammer.” His words tugged at sarcasm: “I'm sure most of the elites didn't clearly hear you. Could you speak louder?”

Ms. Miguel muffled a laugh at Damien's poking words and understood what exactly he was doing.

Laura's legs trembled, and she cursed Sheraton and Damien inwardly for the dreadful humiliation, with eyewitnesses keeping tabs on the twisted drama.

“Damien, I apologize for being rude. I shouldn't have indulged in slandering and would have gotten my facts right before accusing you of stealing.”

A smug grin made waves on Damien's face while he acted indifferent with a bored look.

Ms. Miguel flashed a mean stare at both Chloe and James, who understood her twisted look and went on with their apologies.

James would have phoned Mr. Smith for help, but he could tell how handicapped his father was with matters connected with NewYork Oil Gold Conglomerate.

The hall burst into mocking whispers from the prominent figures as they witnessed how little the Oceans and Smiths were.

Then Ms. Miguel mouthed with a dangerous tone:

“For supporting Eric Chester in harassing one of my staff members and accusing my honorable guest of thievery without any substantial evidence, just a mere silly assumption. I'm not sorry to announce that Ocean's Jewelry Expertise has been blacklisted from our partnership contract.”

While the hall whirled with indistinct excitement, she continued:

“You all have violated the partnership contract code of conduct in chapter one, subsection II, which prohibits any form of bullying, false accusations, slander, intimidation, and harassment!”

DING!

Cold chills ran through Laura's spine, her heart pounding with different octaves of palpitations, and she could no longer feel her feet.

Chloe's heart sank as Sheraton's brutal announcement hit her like a rock. She managed to hold Laura from falling off in shock.

James' countenance fell completely; he threw Damien a spiteful glare, widening his mouth a few times to talk, but no words came out.

Unknown to them, Ms. Miguel already got a hint from Damien Ross to blacklist the Oceans after she walked in, but needed them to apologize to him in front of everyone for the record's sake.

Laura's veins tingled in fury as she blurted out:

“This is unacceptable! Absolutely unfair. You had us apologize and still got blacklisted. Why?!”

Ms. Miguel let out a cold chuckle. “Did I ever mention your apology would save the Oceans from being blacklisted?” She stared at the socialites with a sneaky beam. “Did I ever say such?”

The prominent figures who were elated with the blacklist announcement screamed:

“You didn't! She assumed as always. Silly bitch!”

Damien scoffed at the elite's response, who were supporting Ms. Miguel’s announcement ‘cause Oceans, Smiths, and Chester's Enterprises' blacklist meant their companies had higher chances of being shortlisted in the final ten.

Laura shrieked, her face turned pale: “We won't go down without a fight. We'll file an official complaint with Oakland's Forbes on the unfair treatment imposed on our companies!

Ms. Miguel giggled even more: “C’mon, don't be so foolish, girl. Should I remind you that Oakland Forbes is an ambassador to NewYork Oil Gold Conglomerate? You should know what that means?”

“For the sake of clarity,” Ms. Miguel spilled, brought out her tablet, and showed Laura and her cohorts a document.

It was an official email from Oakland Forbes expressing their displeasure with Eric Chester's uncouth superiority over the lady, with the support of Laura and James.

Before Ms. Miguel walked inside the hall, she had already informed them with a five-minute video of evidence.

Their eyes popped out in dismay, knowing the implications of the document.

“You can still try your luck and file a complaint. We'd be glad to meet you in Oakland Forbes’ court.”

Laura's brow furrowed in rage, shooting Damien a deadly glare: “You’ll never be more than a lapdog to her, and when she realizes how worthless you are, you'll come running back to me, and I'll—”

Ms. Miguel didn't wait for her to get done with her degrading statement; with a calculated move, she stormed in front of Laura and struck her face with another dirty slap.

“Shut the hell up! Security, get these toys out of here! Now!”

Laura's eyes shut for a moment as all she could see were intensely sparkling stars.

With immediate effect, the security personnel rushed in and shoved them out like garbage.

Damien watched with his hands tucked in his pockets while he let out a wicked cackle. He hadn't even begun his revenge spree on the Oceans, and they were already peeing in their pants.

Ms. Miguel grinned and whispered into Damien's ear:

“Martial Fortress, it's an honor to finally meet you.”