LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter Sixteen: The Tables Turn
The woman was taken aback by Ethan's sharp tone. For a moment, her confident smirk wavered, but she quickly regained her composure. "Oh, really?" she tried to sound amused. And what company would that be?"
"NovaTech Innovations," Ethan responded, his voice cold but steady.
The woman paused, expecting a joke that never came. She raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "NovaTech? Never heard of it."
"We're a startup," Ethan explained, his voice betraying his growing frustration. "That's why I'm here—to find an office space to rent."
The woman shared a look with her colleague, her amusement now mixed with a bit of confusion. "A startup, huh? Well, you should know, the spaces we handle go for thousands—sometimes tens of thousands—a month."
Her colleague grinned, "You might want to look at listings for student housing. You know, like those stories of big shots starting in garages or dorm rooms," he joked.
Ethan's patience finally broke. The condescending tones, the smirks, and the outright arrogance were too much.
"Why do you treat me like this?" Ethan asked, his voice low and intense, slicing through their laughter.
The woman and her colleague shared a look before bursting into laughter again, their amusement now tinged with mockery.
"Why?" she laughed. "Because you don’t look like someone who can afford anything here."
Her colleague added, still grinning, "Unless you’re secretly a billionaire, I doubt you can afford anything we have. And let's face it, billionaires don’t walk around in university tracksuits."
Ethan had had enough. Though his vision blurred with anger, he remained calm. This wasn’t the time for an outburst. Instead, Ethan pulled out his phone, tapped a few times, and opened his banking app. He then turned the screen toward the woman, making sure she saw the balance at the top.
$1,000,000,000.
The woman's laughter stopped abruptly. She stared at the number, her eyes wide, struggling to comprehend what she saw.
"W-what?" she stammered, voice trembling.
Her colleague, drawn by her silence, looked over and went pale, his jaw-dropping.
"That… can’t be real. It must be edited. This has to be a prank," he stuttered, his earlier confidence gone.
Ethan remained unfazed. "Do you really think I'd waste my time with that when I can make this amount in a day?"
Indeed, Ethan wasn't exaggerating. He could access such sums overnight, and his account would replenish to a billion dollars whenever he spent money.
"In a day?" The woman seemed taken aback, then chuckled nervously. "Even if that's true, people with that kind of money are usually clients of Premier banks. You don't seem like you'd be one of them."
Ethan arched an eyebrow, a slight smile appearing. "You mean something like this?" he asked, showing her his Premier digital card from Novan Bank on his phone.
The woman's complexion turned ghostly. "No way," she murmured.
Her colleague peered over, eyes bulging. "That has to be fake. There's no way you're a Premier client. People like you don't—"
"Call the bank if you're doubting," Ethan cut in, his tone serene yet sharp. "Ask them to verify Ethan Cole or this ID. Go ahead. I'll wait."
He continued, "If your agency can't verify that, then I'm afraid your services aren't worth my time or... money."
Having the upper hand felt good to Ethan, especially after being underestimated. He realized, though, that beyond having sharp retorts, he needed to address a significant oversight: his appearance.
"Am I just wasting my time for you to confirm it with the bank?"
"I—I’ve got a friend at the bank who can help confirm this," she said, trying to sound more in control.
The phone rang, and soon, someone answered. Ethan heard a woman's voice faintly.
"Hi, Suzanne!" said the agent, her voice shaky. "It's Sally from Skyline Estates. I need to check if a client, Ethan Cole, has Premier status."
After a pause, Suzanne sounded surprised. "Ethan Cole? You mean Ethan Cole is there with you right now?"
Sally glanced at Ethan, looking worried. "Y-yes," she stuttered. "He’s right here. Is there a problem?"
Suzanne sounded urgent. "Oh my God, Sally, please say you haven’t upset him! Is that why you’re calling? Did something go wrong?"
Sally felt a knot in her stomach. "I… uh…"
"Sally," Suzanne said seriously, "Ethan Cole is among our top 20% wealthiest clients in Novan City. You’ve made a big mistake if you’ve judged him wrongly. Do you get what I’m saying?"
Sally was stunned. She realized she had done precisely what Suzanne was cautioning against.
Without waiting for an answer, Suzanne continued, "I don’t know what you’ve done, but you must make it right. Immediately. You don’t want this coming back to haunt you."
Sally slowly lowered the phone, her hand trembling uncontrollably. Her usually sharp, confident expression had dissolved into one of pure disbelief.
The phone, which had felt like a lifeline moments ago, now weighed heavily in her hand as if the reality of what Suzanne had said had drained her strength.
Her colleague, who had been so full of bravado just moments earlier, leaned forward, his smirk replaced by a wary, expectant gaze. He searched her face for answers, but she seemed frozen, lost in the shock of what she’d just heard.
"What did Suzanne say?" he asked, his voice losing its playful edge and becoming quiet, almost whispering, as if afraid of the answer.
The office suddenly became eerily quiet, filled with soft chatter and muffled laughter.
The other agents, previously amused by Ethan’s presence, exchanged worried looks. It was becoming clear to everyone, and the tension in the room was thick.
Suzanne was well-known—not just another employee at the bank but a key contact for many.
She had always been the easiest to deal with at the bank, especially when a few extra “favors” were needed to get loans approved or documents pushed through.
Her reputation in the real estate circles was well-known. Still, no one expected her reaction to Ethan’s name being mentioned.
Sally, trying to speak, found her throat dry. Her voice was so soft when she finally said it was almost inaudible.
"She said…" she hesitated as if trying to process the information herself. "She said Mr. Cole is among the city's top 20% wealthiest clients."
Her words fell like a bomb, leaving a stunned silence in their wake. The mocking agents now looked like they wished the ground would swallow them up.
Watching their discomfort, Ethan felt a mix of satisfaction and a higher urge to leave it behind. He had proven his point; lingering on it would only be a waste.
Without a word, he turned and headed for the door, his steps echoing in the silent office.
"W-wait!" Sally’s voice broke through, desperate. "I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding, Mr. Cole. Please, let us make it right. We’ll show you any office space; just give us a chance!"
But Ethan didn’t stop, his reply firm. "I’m no longer interested. I don’t do business with people who judge by appearances."
He reached the door but then paused, glancing back over his shoulder, his gaze icy. The entire office seemed to hold its breath, the agents frozen in place as they waited for what he would say next.
"I don’t work with people like you," Ethan continued, his tone steady but firm. "But don’t worry. I’ll leave a review once my name is well-known in this city. And I’ll mention everyone’s name so people will not deal with you guys whenever you go."
The atmosphere in the room turned icy as his words took effect. Sally's complexion went pale, and her colleague appeared as if he'd been physically struck. They all grasped the gravity of the situation.
Imagine Ethan was already among the city's wealthiest 20 percent before his company took off. What would happen when he became well-known and expanded his network?
They could envision it clearly—clients would be scrambling to gain his favor, desperate to be seen positively by him. And if Ethan were to leave a negative review about their treatment of him?
The wealthy clients they served, none of whom had less than $20,000,000, would undoubtedly take his side. After all, aligning with a billionaire on the rise seemed smart.
The realization washed over them with overwhelming force, leaving their faces pale with fear. Their previous arrogance and dismissive attitudes were about to backfire spectacularly, and there was no way to prevent it.
Ethan didn’t glance back as he exited the agency; he walked confidently, with determined steps. The silence that filled the office seemed to echo after him, and as the glass door closed behind him, a serene calm enveloped him.
His intention hadn't been to make a statement, yet he had made one regardless. Now, he could concentrate on what was next—finding an agency to offer him the respect he deserved.