My throat tightened.
“Orion, Leo, Ares—” She gestured to where Orion and I stood. “These three men have built something extraordinary. The Olympus Royale isn’t just a hotel. It’s a vision. A commitment to excellence, innovation, and guest experience that no one else in Vegas can match.”
The crowd murmured approval.
“But more than that,” Tashi continued, her voice strengthening, “these men are fighters. They’ve faced conspiracy, sabotage, and attacks on their reputation. They’ve been accused of impropriety, corruption, and worse. And through it all, they’ve stood together. Unbreakable. Honest. True to their vision and their values.”
She looked directly at me, then at Orion.
“Don’t count them out,” she said. “Don’t believe the rumors or the speculation or the people who want to see them fail. The Kolykos brothers are here to stay. And anyone who thinks otherwise?—”
“Don’t do it, Tashi!”
The shout cut through the ballroom like a gunshot.
Everyone turned.
Daniel Wilder pushed through the crowd near the entrance, his expensive suit rumpled, his face flushed with alcohol or desperation, or both. He stumbled toward the stage, ignoring the security guards already moving to intercept him.
“Come home with me!” he shouted.
Tashi’s face went white. “What are you doing here?”
“I love you!” Daniel kept coming, pushing past guests who scattered out of his way. “I want to marry you! Please, Tashi, just listen?—”
Orion and I were already moving, cutting through the crowd to intercept him before he reached the stage.
“You need to leave, Daniel,” Tashi said into the microphone, her voice shaking but firm. “Now.”
“I can fix this!” Daniel stopped at the base of the stage, looking up at her with wild eyes. “Come with me and I’ll get my father to drop the charges against the Kolykos brothers. We can go back to New York. Start over. Forget all this?—”
Both Orion and I held our breath.
The entire ballroom had gone silent.
“You’re out of your mind,” Tashi said quietly. “Leave and don’t come back.”
“Tashi, please?—”
“I don’t love you anymore,” she interrupted, and I heard the finality in her voice. “You blew your chance with me when you walked away. Security, escort him out.”
Two guards grabbed Daniel’s arms.
“You’ll be sorry!” he shouted as they dragged him backward. “My dad will ensure that the Kolykos brothers are driven out of this town! You think you’ve won? You’ve won nothing!”
“Don’t be too sure about that,” Orion said coldly, stepping forward. “Let me show you the door.” He followed the guards, Daniel still shouting threats and promises as they hauled him toward the exit.
I climbed onto the stage and moved to Tashi’s side. “You okay?”
“No.” She was trembling. “But I will be.”
The crowd was buzzing now—phones out, recording everything, posting in real time. Daniel’s meltdown was already going viral.
And then a murmur ran through the crowd as uniformed members of the Las Vegas Police Department ran through the room and out again.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” I said into the microphone, trying to salvage the moment. “I apologize for that interruption. Our friends of the Las Vegas Police Department are taking care of a little problem for us.”
“What’s going on, Leo?” someone called out.
