Chapter 9: Power Dynamics!
last update2025-04-11 18:18:11

As Mr. Webb entered, a wave of submission swept through the lounge. Every head bowed. Employees straightened their backs, hostesses folded their hands, and the music lowered as if the walls themselves knew better than to offend him.

Carl Webb owned this place. Evergreen Lounge was his kingdom, and in his eyes, only the worthy deserved to be in his presence. His gaze was sharp, his stance unwavering—a man accustomed to power, to having the world bend to his will.

Raymond’s girlfriend was enthralled.

This was the kind of power she craved—the command, the respect, the fear. But a part of her wished this was Jerry Haas instead. If Carl Webb commanded this level of submission, she could only imagine what it would be like when Jerry walked into a room.

Carl walked up to Raymond, greeting him with a firm handshake, the kind exchanged between men who knew their places in the hierarchy. But his eyes barely lingered before shifting to the unwelcome presence standing nearby.

Jackson.

Carl’s face darkened.

How had this nobody even made it past the door?

Tricia and the other hostesses stiffened. They knew Carl’s type—men who saw themselves as kings, who despised anything that reminded them of peasants and paupers. Jackson was a stain on the room, a mockery of everything Evergreen Lounge represented.

It was a shame they had let him in at all.

Carl didn’t hesitate.

He closed the distance between himself and Jackson, scanning him from head to toe as if assessing a cockroach on his pristine floor.

Then—a slap.

The second slap of the night.

Jackson’s head snapped to the side, the sharp sting echoing in the suffocating silence of the room.

A barrage of insults followed.

"Miserable fool. Polluting my establishment with your presence."

"You should be licking the floor beneath my feet."

"Who gave you the audacity to confront a VIP? To even breathe the same air as my esteemed guests?"

Carl’s voice dripped with disgust, his words slicing through the room like a blade.

Raymond’s girlfriend was ecstatic.

She laughed, clapped, practically jumped with excitement. This was power. Raw, unfiltered dominance. She loved every second of it. But she couldn't help but imagine—what if it was Jerry instead?

Jackson held his cheek but didn’t flinch.

He simply smiled.

He had done nothing wrong. His entire life, he had asked for just one thing—to be treated like a human being. Yet men like Tyler, Linda, Jonah, Raymond, and Carl always found ways to remind him that, in their eyes, he was nothing.

He swallowed the pain.

He said nothing.

He would wait for Jerry Haas to arrive and finish what he came for.

But Carl wasn’t done yet.

He saw the way Raymond’s girlfriend was looking at him—like a god. And it fueled his pride.

Why stop now?

"Crawl," Carl commanded, his voice thick with arrogance.

The room stilled.

Carl smirked, turning to the exotic woman who was practically wrapped around his arm now.

"Apologize to the lady," he ordered Jackson. "On your knees."

The woman beamed.

This? This was a real man. Someone who could demand submission and get it. She held onto Carl’s arm, forgetting Raymond entirely, waiting for the moment Jackson would bow before her.

But Jackson didn’t move.

He didn’t even blink.

He simply scoffed.

Carl’s smirk disappeared.

This wasn’t just defiance—it was an insult.

His face twisted with rage. "Get him on the ground," he barked at the security team.

Immediately, the head of security and his men seized Jackson, their grips tight and unforgiving. They were just about to force him down when—

DING.

The elevator opened.

And everything stopped.

The music cut out. Conversations died mid-sentence. Glasses were placed down carefully.

A collective chill ran through the room.

Carl’s heart skipped.

He already knew.

Only one man could command this kind of silence.

Jerry Haas.

Jerry rushed out of the elevator, which was unusual, as he always walked majestically. His move this time could only mean one thing to everyone who saw him—there was trouble. 

Jerry Haas is the head of management at Sky Tower; he was two hundred million dollars shy from a billionaire. He was powerful and highly connected, especially since everyone knows he worked for the subordinate of the owner of Sky Tower. 

Also, he was highly respected by everyone.

Carl’s face tightened. He quickly signaled the security to keep things quiet. If Mr. Haas saw this mess, he’d be humiliated. Worse—he could lose everything.

The woman’s grip on Carl loosened.

Her eyes widened as she adjusted herself, hoping to look as irresistible as possible. This was her moment.

But Jerry wasn’t looking at her.

He wasn’t looking at Carl.

He was looking at Jackson.

Then, to the horror of everyone in the room—

He bowed.

A full 90-degree bow.

"Mr. Hart, I am deeply sorry for my lateness. Please forgive your humble servant!"

Continue to read this book for free
Scan the code to download the app

Latest Chapter

  • Chapter 292: The Breaking Point!

    Mr. Copper stood by the panoramic window of Sky Tower’s upper conference suite, his back stiff, his hands gripping the edge of the marble counter so tightly that his knuckles whitened. The skyline glimmered beneath him — cold, silver, and indifferent. Behind him, Jackson stood near the center of the room, his posture calm, deliberate, but the tension in his eyes betrayed the storm beneath.“I joined Project Atlas,” Jackson said finally, breaking the silence.The words fell between them like a crack of thunder.Copper turned slowly, disbelief flashing across his face before it hardened into fury. “You what?” His voice was low but sharp, each word a whip. “Tell me you didn’t just say that, Jackson.”“I had to,” Jackson began, but Copper cut him off, his tone rising.“You had to?” He stepped forward, his boots echoing against the floor. “Do you even know what that means?""Calm down Copper, and hear what I have to say." Jackson said, in an attempt to make him understand but Copper wasn

  • Chapter 291: The Closer He Gets!

    Lorraine lingered near the bed after Evans spoke. For a moment, neither of them moved, and only the faint hum of the heart monitor filled the silence, a fragile rhythm that somehow felt human in a room built for control.She placed the tray down quietly, arranging the glass and pills with careful precision. Her training told her to leave, to keep her distance and her conscience clean. But her heart — the one thing she couldn’t seem to train — hesitated.“Have you been able to remember anything?” she asked softly, almost against her own will. “Before the accident, I mean.”Evans blinked, the question seeming to reach somewhere far away. “Pieces,” he murmured. “Flashes. Faces that fade when I try to hold on to them. Sounds. Rain.” He paused, rubbing his temples as if he could coax the memories back by force. “And...”Lorraine tilted her head. "And what?"“Samantha,” he said it like a prayer."The lady that was here yesterday?" Lorraine asked."Yes, she'd the one." Evans replied, his voi

  • Chapter 290: A Touch of Warmth!

    Nurse Lorraine stared at the cold, pixelated face of Hayes until the image blurred into the reflection of the glass. The room behind her was dim—only the glow from the monitor cutting a pale square across her palms. For a long moment she simply listened to the hum of the encrypted line, the click of a heating vent, and the sound of her own breath. Then she nodded once.“Understood,” she said, though the word left a different taste in her mouth than it had when she first took the assignment. On the screen Hayes’ smile was all corporate calm—no tremor of conscience, no hesitation to match the order he’d given. Lorraine felt the order sink into her like frost.She closed her laptop with a soft snap and pushed to her feet, the floor creaking beneath her slippers. Her hands—trained to steady IV lines and check ailing pulses—felt suddenly clumsy in her pockets. For years she’d told herself she was just a cog: efficiency, discretion, loyalty. That logic had kept her safe. Tonight it tasted

  • Chapter 289: A Familiar Stranger!

    “Good morning, Evans.” Evans heard someone greet him that morning.He turned his head slowly. Nurse Lorraine stood by his bedside, adjusting the IV line with deliberate gentleness. Her hands were steady, her tone soft — the kind of voice trained to soothe agitation before it even began.Evans tried to speak, but his throat was dry, the words scraping out like gravel. “Are you the nurse assigned to take care of me?” He eventually managed to ask.Lorraine’s gaze flickered briefly to him, her expression warm but professional. “Yes I am. You know you’ve been unconscious for some weeks,” she said. “You were brought in badly injured. There was some internal trauma, a concussion. But I'm glad to see that you’re safe now.”Evans’ brows furrowed, his pulse quickening beneath the monitor’s steady rhythm. Brought in badly wounded? The words echoed hollowly. He tried to reach back — to remember the last thing he’d seen, the last face, the last voice — but his thoughts were a scattered puzzle, ed

  • Chapter 288: A Nation on Fire!

    For a second, after the Chief Security officer and the rest of the security personnel had left, the room seemed to tilt. President Jonesboro's pulse pounded in his ears as everything seemed to play before him again in slow motion.He sank into his chair, his mind spinning with a million possibilities that could have unfolded if what was inside the parcel wasn't a blood stained flag but something else like a bomb.Outside, the faint rumble of traffic and distant sirens filled the air, ordinary sounds that suddenly felt like the echo of something far greater — and far more dangerous — stirring again.Jonesboro glanced toward the tall windows, where the last rays of sunlight stretched across the floor like red veins.“The Red Echo…” he whispered, the name tasting like ash.The fear he had managed to keep buried for months rose again, coiling around him like smoke.And somewhere — far from the White House walls — someone was watching the news of the President’s reaction, a faint smile cur

  • Chapter 287: The Blood-Stained Flag!

    The heavy doors of the State Conference Room shut with a muted thud, sealing in the quiet hum of voices that had been rising and falling for the past two hours. The long oval table gleamed beneath the warm light, strewn with stacks of papers, half-empty coffee cups, and tablets blinking with reports and projections. President Jonesboro sat at the head of the table, his fingers steepled beneath his chin, his expression calm but weighed by fatigue.For weeks, the nation had waited in limbo. The total eclipse that had darkened the skies and sparked panic across several states had forced an indefinite postponement of the presidential elections. The streets had only just begun to return to normal, and yet the air in the capital still felt… unsettled. Superstitions, conspiracies, whispers about celestial omens — they hadn’t entirely faded.“Mr. President,” began Secretary Alden Pierce, his tone clipped but respectful, “the Electoral Committee has concluded their assessment. The infrastruct

More Chapter
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on MegaNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
Scan code to read on App