From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 372

Chapter 372: Made An Enemy?

Max ended the call with a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. He remembered the name Anton Stable all too well. It wasn’t as though Anton had done anything that left a deep wound or lasting scar, but Max never forgot faces or slights. At Sheri’s graduation celebration, Anton had been the one who brazenly raised his hand against him, striking out not out of necessity, but out of petty pride. The blow hadn’t even landed properly; Max hadn’t been hurt. Yet the insult lingered. Why, Max reasoned, would he ever lift a hand to help someone who had already tried to humiliate him in public?

The answer was simple, he wouldn’t. That was why Anton’s name had been etched into his memory, tucked away like a note underlined in red ink. Max had expected he might cross paths with the man again, someday in the distant future. He had not expected that day to arrive so soon.

Darno, meanwhile, sat at the reception desk with the receiver still buzzing faintly in his hand, staring at it as though the words he had just heard couldn’t possibly be real.

"Did he just..." Darno thought, his brow furrowing as he tried to piece together the order. "Did he just tell me I can beat up this guest if I want to?"

The idea was absurd, almost laughable. In all his years, through every job he’d held and every fight he’d been part of, no employer had ever explicitly given him that kind of permission. Security work meant restraining drunks, holding down troublemakers, keeping violence at bay. Yet here, in the polished halls of the Billion Bloodline headquarters, Darno had just been told he could unleash his fists if he deemed it necessary.

Across the desk, Anton was tapping his polished shoe impatiently against the marble floor. His smug grin hadn’t wavered; if anything, it had grown sharper, as though he sensed victory just waiting for him.

"Well?" Anton snapped, his tone dripping with irritation. "Have you asked them? Are they coming? Or do I need to stand here all day before you finally do your job?"

Darno slowly set the phone down on the desk, the faint grin returning to his lips. He rose from his chair with a casualness that belied the tension crackling in the air.

"I asked," he said, stretching his shoulders as though loosening up before a sparring match. "And unfortunately, the answer’s no. No one wants to see you right now. In fact, I was told to tell you to leave the premises... and never come back." He let the words linger in the air, his smile widening into something sharp and amused.

"What!" Anton’s voice cracked with disbelief, echoing off the high ceiling of the reception hall. "That’s ridiculous! Did you even tell them who I am? Did you mention my name? Did you tell them I brought a gift?"

"I told them," Darno replied with a shrug as he leaned back into his chair. He raised one finger and, with exaggerated laziness, dug into his nose. "And if anything, that’s exactly why they don’t want to see you."

"That’s impossible!" Anton’s face flushed a deep shade of red as he slammed his palm against the desk. "You didn’t make the call properly, did you? You’re incompetent! Look at you, you don’t even belong at this desk. What are you doing here, sitting around, pretending to be a receptionist when it’s obvious you can’t handle something this simple?"

Darno tilted his head, his grin never fading. Beneath the desk, his knuckles cracked as he flexed his hands.

"I never thought I’d meet one in person," he said, his tone mocking. "A male Karen. This is going to be fun." He straightened suddenly, his posture sharp and his eyes narrowing. "So let me ask you one thing, and depending on your answer, I’ll know exactly what to do with you next. Are you refusing to leave?"

"Of course I am!" Anton barked, his chest puffing up as though his bravado could shield him. "I refuse to leave until you bring someone competent to speak with me. I want to see the manager, the chairman, anyone, just not you!"

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