After Alice and the others went to the restroom, only William and Walker remained.
William sipped his tea, and Walker suddenly asked, "William, have you ever thought about doing sothing different?"
"What kind of thing?" William looked up at him.
Walker said, "For instance, following . I'll lead you to the pinnacle of life."
Feeling a bit playful, William asked, "Like what?"
Walker replied earnestly, "First, we unify New York's underground factions. Then we start a company, go public, and stand above the rest."
"Interesting plan," William nodded, "What would I need to do?"
Walker grinned, "Be my little bro! You'll do as I say."
"That does sound intriguing," William reflected. He had once been a beggar, so being soone's sidekick didn't seem that outlandish. Moreover, he found young Walker quite entertaining.
Walker smirked, "Then from now on, you're my guy."
"I haven't agreed yet," William said, taking a sip of water. "Do you really expect to believe you can unite New York's underworld? And in this day and age, is there even such an underground scene?"
"Heh, you've only seen the glossy side of society. Where there's light, there's shadow. After dinner, I'll show you," Walker said with full confidence, utterly convinced of New York's so-called underworld.
"Alright," William thought the city seed rather peaceful, with folks living leisurely everywhere. Where could this supposed underground faction be? He pondered if small-ti thugs like those that hung around Joshua's bar even counted.
By the ti Evelyn arrived, Lila and the others had already returned. This ti, however, Lila chose a seat at the opposite end of the table, clearly not wanting to sit near Walker. It wasn't about being polite anymore; she genuinely had grown to dislike him.
When Evelyn arrived, Alice promptly seated her to William's right and began ordering. Lila and Evelyn, having attended the sa school and having t once or twice, exchanged smiles as greetings.
"Evelyn, let introduce you. This is Lila," Alice said, then turning to Lila, "And this is Evelyn, William's friend and also a good friend of mine."
A friend of William and a close friend of Alice?
Lila was taken aback. It was one thing for soone like William to have friends, but for Alice to call soone a close friend? That was news to her.
As dinner comnced, Walker chattered away about his secretive training on a mountain and shared amusing anecdotes from his life. William listened quietly, not interrupting. Lila, wary of Walker's unpredictable nature, chose to stay silent, fearing any remark might trigger another of his outrageous comnts.
Dinner, overall, was relatively harmonious.
After the al, Walker proposed taking William out for a night on the town. The three won went their separate ways, each returning ho.
"I'll take you to the riverside for so fun."
After William and Walker left the restaurant, Walker put on an act as if he were a major gang leader, intending to show William the underground factions he had spoken about.
Walker hailed a cab, and to William's surprise, they ended up on a street he was very familiar with. Soon, they stood outside the Moonlit Harbor Pub.
William stood at the entrance, feeling conflicted.
Why were they back at this bar?
Were they looking for trouble?
Walker glanced at William and said, "I heard you worked at this pub before and got fired. Is that right?"
William inquired, "Who told you that?"
"I have my sources," Walker grinned, "Today, I'm taking you here to get back at them, redeem one's previous disgrace."
redeem one's previous disgrace?
William actually felt a bit guilty towards the owner of the Moonlit Harbor Pub.
However, since Maria had already sold her shares, William didn't feel quite as remorseful about the situation.
Walker patted William on the back, chuckling, "Don't worry! Today, big brother's gonna show you what real skill is."
As they entered the pub, the waitstaff imdiately recognized William, and soone promptly inford Joshua.
"What are you looking at? Bring the drinks!" Walker confidently chose a seat and motioned for the bartender to serve them.
The waiter had received instructions from Joshua, stating that as long as William didn't cause any trouble in the bar, he should be treated as a regular patron. Joshua would join them for a drink shortly.
When William left last ti, he had made ands by apologizing. If William, relying on his martial prowess, decided to cause a commotion, then the waiter's only option would be to call the police.
In the end, he considered himself an honest businessman. He might have had so disagreents with William in the past, but once matters were settled, there was no need to escalate to life-threatening situations.
The main goal of running his bar was just to make money.
"What would you gentlen like to drink?" The waiter, not wanting to provoke any trouble, smilingly handed them the drink nu.
Walker took the nu, glanced at it, and said, "We'll start with ten bottles of the '96 Lafite, and then just surprise us with the other wines. Also, bring so fruit plates and snacks."
Ten bottles of '96 Lafite right off the bat?
That was quite a bold move!
While their bar didn't have the '82 Lafite, the '96 version wasn't cheap either. At $2,888 per bottle, ten bottles amounted to nearly $30,000.
"Will you be paying with card or scanning a code?"
The Moonlit Harbor Pub is a sizable establishnt. Their policy here is to pay for the drinks upfront before serving. Given the constant influx of custors and their limited number of staff, how could they keep track if a patron left without settling the bill?
"You expect to pay before we even finish our drinks?" Walker's eyes widened, and he scoffed coldly. "Maybe you should get your boss to talk to . I don't want to make things difficult for a hardworking waiter like you."
He had co today with the intent to stir things up; he wasn't planning to pay.
$30,000? He didn't even have that kind of money on him.
"Alright, gentlen, please give a mont," the waiter responded, nodding before walking away.
Most of the bar staff knew about William's previous issues with Joshua. For William to co in with soone like Walker and imdiately order ten bottles of Lafite without intending to pay, it was clear they were here to cause trouble.
Upon hearing the waiter's report, Joshua chuckled, grabbed a bottle of Lafite, and approached the table.
"William, about our past differences, I believe we've settled them, haven't we?" Joshua said, placing the bottle on William's table. "This bottle of wine is on . Let's keep things amicable. I don't want our relationship to take a drastic turn."
William was known for his combat skills. Joshua had visited the hospital to see the two n William had injured: one had a detached retina and a moderate concussion, while the other suffered three broken ribs. Both were seriously injured. Joshua certainly didn't want to antagonize soone like that.
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