A friend?
Damon left with Maddox and Axel in order to attend meetings with other Alphas in the packhouse.
Neither of the three men was willing to leave.
Damon wanted to stick close to Talia, and Maddox and Axel wanted the same, for different reasons.
Both Maddox and Axel had their agenda why they wanted to get close to Talia, yet Damon showed up and hogged Talia's attention during the whole lunch.
Maddox and Axel understood that if they want to get close to Talia, they need to remove Damon as a variable.
Mindy was not eligible to attend the meeting because she is not an Alpha (or a future Alpha). She didn't want to linger in the boring packhouse when there was a festival going on, so she stayed behind.
When Damon took the trophy, Talia also gave him the bag with the jersey and pins. The only thing she kept for herself was the insulated bag that Stephanie prepared for her. Talia was confident that she will get to eat that food, eventually.