The first heir novel (Master Yu Who Smokes)

The air in the bar right now was eerily cold and heavy.

All of a sudden!

One of Nino's lackeys ran over to his boss and whispered into Nino's ear, "Master Nino, Mr. Thomas' secretary, Mr. Thane is here. He says he needs to meet you urgently."

"Mr. Thane?" Nino immediately leaped to his feet, beside himself with excitement. "What are you waiting for? Let's go greet Mr. Thane!"

His lackeys opened a path in front of him.

Nino was clearly exhilarated.

After all, that was the Mr. Julian Thane, chief secretary to the richest man in the city, George Thomas.

It was quite the honor to have him here on Nino's turf!

There was a saying in Riverdale. Where Mr. Thane went, there went George Thomas's will.

However...

Before Nino could approach Julian, the latter had already walked into the bar with the young blonde-haired, blue-eyed secretary in tow.

Who would dare stand in his way?

"Oh my, Mr. Thane! It's been such a long time, how rare to see you here! What winds of fortune blew you here today? I'm quite honored." Nino instantly toadied up to Julian, his manner respectful, his back ben and his head lowered. He offered Julian a handshake, his smile as flattering as he could make it.

Nevertheless, Julian only gave Nino a cool and distant glance.

Before he headed here, Mr. Thomas had already instructed him to follow the young master's lead in everything.

That was why...

Julian did not even shake Nino's outstretched hand, walking right past him and into the club.

That made the corners of Nino's mouth twitch. He did not appreciate that, but he maintained the beaming smile on his face.

However...

What happened next wiped the grin off Nino's face. It left him standing there in shock, unable to formulate a single word! "Sorry I'm late, Young Master."

Julian walked briskly up to Philip and then gave him a respectful ninety-degree bow.

A deathly silence fell across the club!

The temperature plummeted!

Everyone was flabbergasted!

What the hell was going on here?

Mr. Thane was bowing to that pathetic waste of space and calling him "Young Master"?

Nino's face was spasming, and Dick was in an utter state of panic!

Anyone with enough experience with the world naturally understood what was happening here.

This was bad. They offended someone they should not have.

"Give him two hundred thousand," Philip said calmly, pointing at Dick who was standing next to them.

Julian did not hesitate for a second. He waved his hand and the young blonde secretary next to him immediately opened up the suitcase she was carrying with her. It was filled to the brim with money! She took out twenty stacks of notes and tossed them onto the coffee table.

Dick was in a right tizzy now. His knees felt weak, and he hurriedly said, his expression sheepish, "No, no, no, it's quite alright."

As if he dared to accept that two hundred thousand! That would mean signing his own death warrant!

Philip ignored him, fixing his gaze on Nino instead. He said calmly, "What do you think I'll do to you, Nino Gil?"

Nino was a gang leader, after all. He had spent so many years in the underworld, so of course he had his own connections and resources.

Naturally, he was not going to fall to his knees and lick the ground Philip stood on just because Julian Thane called him "Young Master".

Instead, he just chuckled, his attitude far less condescending than it had been earlier. With an air of coolness, he said, "Young Master Clarke, it was my bad for offending you earlier. I sincerely apologize for that. Shall we let bygones be bygones, then?"

Nino was not feeling particularly pleased right now. All these years, he had never bent his head to anyone like this.

Still, that was Julian Thane. He could not ignore Julian's position in society.

If Nino really did make an enemy of Julian's young master, that could only spell tragedy for him.

There was one thing Nino could not understand, though. If the punk really was all that, why did he act like he was broke and weak?

Was that a trend these days?

Unfortunately, Philip ignored Nino's olive branch.

The way he saw it, Nino had insulted his wife and cousin-in-law. That was not something Philip was going to let slide.

That was why he said perfectly calmly, "Did you forget what I just said?"

He was going to eliminate Nino from the city!

Nino's body gave a shudder, and he frowned deeply. His mouth spread into a vicious grin as he said, "Master Clarke, don't make unnecessary enemies. I'm not someone you can trample all over."

At his cue, his lackeys from all throughout the bar surrounded them, threatening to overwhelm Philip by sheer force of numbers.

However, Philip just watched all of this unfold, cool as a cucumber.

Julian and the blonde secretary were completely composed as they stood next to Philip too. They clearly did not see Nino as a threat at all.

These blundering fools may look like the tyrants of Riverdale to outsiders, but to them or to Master Clarke, Nino and his gang were no more than ants squirming on the ground.