The Master They Underestimated

Chapter 2

Damon walked out of the Grand Royal Hotel, Tessa's cold expression still fresh in his mind.

  Three years. He had spent three years loving her, supporting her, and helping her build her company. Yet, when the time came to choose between him and another man, she hadn't hesitated.

  A bitter smile crossed his face.

  Perhaps he had been a fool to believe their relationship meant as much to her as it did to him.

  Damon reached the sidewalk and was about to call his driver when a black SUV pulled up beside him. The passenger door opened, and a man in a tailored suit stepped out, holding a bouquet of blue roses.

  The moment Damon recognized him, his expression hardened.

  It was Beckett Sloane.

  The very man Tessa had chosen over him.

  Beckett was the CEO of Sloane Industries, a wealthy young businessman whose family connections made him a familiar face among the city's elite. He had pursued Tessa for months, never bothering to hide his interest despite knowing she was engaged.

  Now, seeing Damon standing alone outside the hotel, Adrian couldn't hide his delight.

  "Well, well, if it isn't Damon Callahan!" he exclaimed, looking him up and down. "You look terrible. Did Tessa finally tell you that you were never good enough for her?"

  Damon ignored him and stepped aside, intending to continue on his way.

  However, Beckett moved in front of him, blocking his path.

  "What's the hurry? Don't tell me you're running away because you can't bear to look at the man who took your woman."

  Damon raised his eyes to meet Beckett's, already irritated by the direction the conversation was taking.

  "Do you need something? If not, move."

  Beckett stared at him before bursting into laughter.

  "Listen to this! The man who just got dumped still thinks he can act superior." He shook his head in mock pity. "Damon, I'm genuinely curious. What made you think a woman like Tessa would spend the rest of her life with someone like you?"

  Damon's expression remained unchanged, though Beckett's voice was beginning to grate on his nerves.

  "Have you finished?"

  "Not yet." Beckett stepped closer, a smug smile spreading across his face. "Three years together, and you still couldn't give her the life she wanted. All I had to do was show her what she was missing."

  He lifted the bouquet.

  "These roses are for her, by the way. I was hoping to take her out tonight, but I suppose she's still recovering from the embarrassment of wasting three years on you."

  Damon's eyes narrowed. "Watch your mouth."

  "Or what?"

  Beckett laughed at the warning.

  "Are you going to hit me? Go ahead. Do you even understand the consequences of touching me? My family could destroy whatever little life you've managed to build."

  He paused, looking Damon over with open contempt.

  "Then again, what life? You have no influential family, no business empire, and no money worth mentioning. You're nothing, Damon. Absolutely nothing."

  A few people leaving the hotel slowed down, curious about the commotion. Some recognized Beckett and quickly understood why he was so confident. Nobody wanted to get involved in a dispute with someone from the Sloane family.

  Damon noticed the gathering crowd but couldn't be bothered.

  He had spent years keeping a low profile. He had never needed strangers to recognize his name or applaud his achievements. Unfortunately, people like Beckett mistook silence for weakness.

  Tessa had made the same mistake.

  "You're quite proud of yourself," Damon remarked. "Tell me, Beckett, if you're such a catch, why have you spent months chasing another man's fiancée?"

  Beckett's smile disappeared "What did you say?"

  "You heard me."

  "Watch your tongue!" Beckett snapped, shoving Damon in the chest.

  Damon barely moved. He glanced at the hand against his chest before slowly lifting his gaze to Beckett's face.

  "Don't do that again."

  Beckett's face flushed. He had expected Damon to back down, not look at him as though he were an inconvenience.

  "Who do you think you are, threatening me?"

  He turned toward the two bodyguards waiting beside the SUV.

  "Get him!"

  The men immediately approached. Both were broad-shouldered, with the imposing builds of men accustomed to handling trouble on their employer's behalf.

  "Teach this idiot some respect," Beckett ordered. "I want him on his knees before he leaves this place."

  The onlookers exchanged nervous glances. A few moved farther away, unwilling to get caught in the middle.

  Damon sighed.

  He had only wanted to leave the hotel and put the night's unpleasant events behind him. Yet Beckett seemed determined to make trouble.

  The first bodyguard stepped forward and reached for Damon's collar.

  Damon caught his wrist before he could grab it.

  The man's expression changed as he tried to wrench his hand free, but Damon's grip held firm. Before he could react, Damon twisted his arm, forcing him off balance, then drove a fist into his stomach.

  The bodyguard doubled over. Damon followed with a sharp blow to the jaw, sending him crashing onto the pavement.

  The second bodyguard charged immediately, throwing a punch at Damon's face.

  Damon tilted his head to avoid it, caught the man's arm, and drove his elbow into his chest. As the bodyguard staggered backward, Damon swept his legs out from under him.

  The man hit the ground hard and tried to rise, but the pain forced him back down.

  Everything happened so quickly that the people watching barely had time to understand what they had witnessed.

  A woman near the hotel entrance covered her mouth. Even one of the security guards stared at the fallen men in disbelief.

  Nobody had expected Damon to take on two bodyguards alone, much less defeat them so effortlessly.

  Beckett stood frozen.

  These were trained men he had paid a fortune to employ. They had handled troublesome business partners, drunken socialites, and physical confrontations on his behalf.

  Yet Damon had taken them down in seconds.

  "What... what the hell are you?"

  Damon straightened his jacket and regarded him with mild irritation.

  "Someone who doesn't like being touched."

  Beckett's face reddened in anger, "You bastard! Do you know who I am? I'll make you regret this!"

  Damon turned away and began walking. He had no intention of wasting another second on a man like Beckett.

  "Stop right there!" He shouted behind Damon. "You think you can walk away after doing this to me?"

  Damon didn't respond.

  Humiliated in front of a crowd, Beckett clenched his fists. He had never been treated this way, especially not by someone he considered a nobody.

  He pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

  "Find out everything about Damon Callahan," he ordered as soon as the call connected. "His family, his background, his source of income. I want every detail by tomorrow morning."

  He paused, watching Damon disappear farther down the sidewalk.

  "And if he has anything worth protecting, find it." He added before ending the call, his expression darkening.

  Nobody humiliated him and got away with it.

  He had no idea that the man he had just ordered his people to investigate was someone he should never have provoked.