“Sure is.”I forced my gaze off him, turning toward my brother.“What’s the move?”
“You tell me, bossy.”
I rolled my eyes.Younger brothers were such a pain, even if they were only two minutes younger.Looking at Trojan, “Would you be opposed to beating someone up this afternoon?”
“It’s too bright out right now,” Trojan said.
“I love that you didn’t give me a firm no, you just wanted to reschedule the beatdown,” I replied.
Sebastian approached the three of us, pausing with an air of superiority.I’d only been in the same room as this man on a few occasions.We’d never formally met, but I sure as hell knew a lot about him.His reputation more than preceded him; it hogged all the air in whatever room we visited.I wasn’t sure he even knew who we were, much less cared.
“Can I help you gentlemen?”Cross asked.
“No.We’re just fine, thanks,” Archer responded.His phone buzzed then, and he swiped the screen.To me, he said in a quieter voice, “Offer was green lit.We got it.”
I tamped down my enthusiasm with Sebastian right there.Fighting the big bad developer typically involved nobody else in the room.I never planned on being so physically close to the head of Cross Developments while winning a bid designed to combat whatever plan he was cooking up.
Sebastian’s gaze moved over us in a calculating, methodical way, like a robot would assess the threats in a new scenario.
“You’ll need to move along,” Sebastian finally said.
“Why is that?”I countered.
Sebastian stiffened, his dark gaze settling on me with an unnerving intensity.I recognized something in his face, and I couldn’t place it.Probably because I’d absorbed so much of it on the news, online, damn near everywhere I turned in my industry.“We’re working.”
“Oh, is this your operation?”I feigned surprise, looking around at the workers.“I was just about to ask them to leave.”
“On what grounds?”Sebastian asked.
“Onourgrounds,” Archer shot back.
“Trespassing on our property,” I added.
Sebastian offered us a tight smile, clasping his hands in front of him.“A public surveying project is hardly trespassing.And since when do you own this building?”
“Does it matter?”
“It does, since anyone can rent a suit and play pretend for a day if they want to.”Sebastian dipped his chin, challenging me.“I’d love to see your credentials.”
The word tickled me, it truly did.I couldn’t stop the condescending laugh that erupted from me.“My credentials!That’s either an invitation to whip out my dick or show you the deed to the property.One is illegal and the other too huge to fit into regular underwear.You figure out which is which.”
Sebastian didn’t even flinch at my hilarity.What a turd.
“It’ll be easy enough to verify on my own,” Sebastian said, bringing out his phone.“What company are you with?”
“Our own,” I replied.
“Sorry, you’ll have to be more specific.”Sebastian’s smile was completely vacant, pure show.“You look like twenty other working-class professionals I’ve seen today.”
“Thank you,” Archer said, his voice extra sugary.“Nicest compliment we’ve ever gotten.”Archer leaned closer to me and said in a stage whisper, “I think he was trying to insult us.”
“Of course not,” Sebastian responded.He swiped at something at his phone, then motioned to someone further down the sidewalk.“Now tell me who you’re with.”
There was an edge to his voice that meant business.Trojan stiffened, reminding Sebastian of his presence.
“Come on,” I said, not ready to stop when we were so obviously bothering him.“Don’t you recognize us?We’ve been in the same room so many times, Sebastian.”
“First he calls us working class, then he doesn’t even have the decency to recognize us,” Archer added.
