2025-12-31 23:13:51
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“She’s been hostile from the start. She’s insulting management. She’s disrupting business.” Jenna’s voice shook for the first time—but only with restrained fury. “Standing my ground isn’t disruption. It’s not my fault you’re not used to hearing no.” Lana’s lips curled. “Unbelievable.” Max leaned in toward Jenna again, his tone low and cruel. “You really thought you were untouchable,” he murmured. “Look at you now. Still talking. Still powerless.” Jenna met his gaze, eyes blazing. “And look at you,” she shot back. “Hiding behind your girlfriend’s badge because without it, you’re nothing but a sore loser who can’t accept defeat.” That hit. Max’s jaw tightened. “Get her out,” he snapped to the guards. “Now.” Lana folded her arms, chin high. “I don’t want to hear another word from her. Drag her out if you have to.” The guards hesitated—just for a second—but Lana noticed. “What are you waiting for?” she demanded. “Do your jobs!” One guard reached out hesitantly toward Jenna’s arm
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Jenna’s pulse thundered, but her voice stayed level. “I’m here on legitimate business. If there’s a problem, I’m happy to resolve it professionally.” “Ma’am,” one of them said to Jenna while wanting to grab her, “we’re going to need you to—” Jenna raised a single finger. “Before you finish that sentence,” she said evenly, “you might want to check the guest authorization list for Conference Room A.” The guard hesitated. Max snorted. “Oh, come on—”Jenna didn’t even look at Max when he scoffed.“This,” she said sharply, finally turning her head, her voice cutting like glass, “is exactly what I’m talking about. This is an abuse of power.”Max opened his mouth to sneer—“Excuse me?” Lana snapped, stepping forward so fast her heels struck the marble like gunshots. “You don’t get to accuse anyone of anything in my building.”Jenna’s eyes locked onto her. “Your building?” she repeated coolly. “You’re a secretary, not a monarch. And what you’re doing right now—calling security because so
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Jenna’s lips curved into something sharp and unyielding.“We’ll see,” she said.The words came out steady—cool, almost bored—but beneath them her heart slammed hard enough to rattle her ribs. Fear curled low in her gut, cold and unwelcome. Security here didn’t ask questions first. Power decided outcomes. And power, right now, wasn’t standing with her.But she refused to let it show.She straightened her spine, lifting her chin just a fraction, meeting Lana’s glare head-on. If this was going to end badly, it wasn’t going to end with her shrinking.Max laughed—really laughed this time, the sound loud enough to turn heads, sharp enough to sting.“Listen to you,” he said, shaking his head like she’d just told a bad joke. “Standing there like you’re someone important. This arrogance—Jenna, it’s impressive, really. Especially considering you’re nothing here.”Jenna didn’t react. She simply watched him, eyes cold.Max took that as permission.“You’re puffing your chest out in a building tha
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Max’s grip tightened possessively at her waist as he smiled down at Jenna, eyes cold and triumphant.The message was unmistakable.Jenna’s fury snapped into something cold and immovable.“There is no way in hell I’m leaving this place,” she said, each word clipped and burning. “Not for you. Not for him. Not for anyone.”The woman whose name was Lana, stiffened instantly, her posture snapping straight as if insult alone could bruise her pride.“How dare you,” she said, her voice dropping into something sharp and offended. “Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?”Jenna’s lips curved faintly, but there was no humor in it. “Unfortunately,” she said, “I’m starting to get the picture.”Max’s grin spread wider, delighted by the friction. He squeezed Lana’s waist, his thumb pressing in as if to remind everyone who was standing where. “Careful, Jenna,” he said lightly. “You’re really pushing it now.”Jenna let out a short, humorless laugh. “Oh no,” she said flatly. “Am I supposed to be sc
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The words hung between them like live wires—and then Max moved.He stepped into Jenna’s space with deliberate arrogance, shoulder brushing hers as if she were nothing more than furniture in his way. His tone sharpened, each word designed to scrape. “You really don’t know when to stop, do you? That’s the problem with people who think a temporary win makes them powerful.”Jenna snapped. “Get out of my face.”Max smirked and leaned closer instead, voice low and venomous. “Or what? You’ll shout a little louder? Stamp your feet? You’re out of your depth, Jenna. Always have been.”Her fury finally boiled over. “You don’t intimidate me,” she spat. “You’re just a spoiled parasite riding on a corrupt name.”A few heads turned now. The air in the lobby felt tight, brittle, as if one wrong word would shatter it.“Oh?” Max laughed, sharp and condescending. “Funny. Because from where I’m standing, you look seconds away from losing what little control you have left.”Jenna’s hands were shaking open
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Jenna’s mind raced, connecting the dots instantly. Her pulse throbbed in her temples.“So,” she said, voice tight with barely contained fury, “you’re here because of your girlfriend? That’s your plan? To sneak in through someone else?”Max’s smile didn’t falter. He leaned casually against the polished obsidian floor, hands still tucked into his pockets. “Not sneak in,” he said smoothly. “Let’s call it… strategic oversight.”Jenna’s fists clenched at her sides. “Strategic oversight? Your family has already lost the match! The Hadel family won fair and square. You have no right to be here.”“Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong,” Max said, tilting his head, eyes glinting with amusement. “The Salers never lose entirely. You think a single disqualification erases decades of influence?”Jenna’s jaw tightened. “Your family cheated. Everyone knows it! And now you think you can waltz in and sabotage our deal?”Max chuckled, low and dangerous, like a predator enjoying the moment before the strike
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