"Listen, Charles." I switch the phone from my left ear to my right. "We've known each other a long time." My tone remains steady, calm, calculated. "And because of this, your indiscretions have become something I'm quite familiar with. Now, I'm sure you don't want to dredge up the past, but I can assure you, that building is going to be mine one way or the other. I'll give you two options. You can sell it to me for a fair market value, or I can take it by force. Up to you."
"You...you can't do that," Charles sputters through the phone.
"I can, and I will. What will it be? Do you want the media to find out what happened to your last mistress? Maybe I could call Darla, your adoring wife, and fill her in on your indiscretions. Perhaps little Suzannah needs a visit at that fancy private school you send her to."
"Please, don't." His voice is barely a whisper. "I can't lose them."
And because I'm an evil and twisted man, I know this was the right button to push to get him to fold. He might be a cheating fuck-bag but he's always cared about his wife and daughter...even if it's shown in the worst way possible.
"One hundred million," I say with that same even tone.
"But it's worth?—"
Alec pulls up behind a Rolls Royce in the valet of the hotel I'm staying at and creeps forward, waiting for a spot for him to pull into.
"I know what it's worth," I confirm. "You're lucky I'm offering you any money at all. Take it or leave it, Charles. What will it be? One hundred million dollars or the hard way?" I tap my free hand on my thigh and grow impatient with the theatrics of this entire conversation.
Finally, after what takes too fucking long, Charles exhales. "Fine, but it will take a few days to draft up the paperwork."
"Very well. I'll have my attorney contact yours. I'll be by tomorrow to get the employee manifest." I hang up without another word and hand Alec back his phone. So much for calling Dominic on the car ride over.
Alec accepts his cell reluctantly. "Did you just...buyThe Wellerton?"
"Yeah, I guess so," I admit, not just to him, but to myself, too.
At the first hint of Cora having an issue, my initial reaction is to drop a hundred million dollars on a building solely to fire one employee. Is it irrational? Yep. Is it effective? For sure. And I'd do it again if it meant making her life the slightest bit easier.
"Dude. That's...that's a lot of money."
I shrug. "You realize I'm a billionaire, right? I can buy whatever I want."
Fun fact about me, though, I'm actually a tightwad with my money, that's why I have so much of it. I purchase the things I need, and occasionally splurge on the things I want, but for the most part, I live a very modest life. It's not unlike me to invest in real estate, but to do so on such a whim is unlike me, yet I won't tell him that.
"Holy shit," Alec mutters. "I knew you were loaded but...fuck man, that's a lot of zeros." He puts the SUV into park and slips out the door.
I exit, too, not waiting for him to open mine—I'm perfectly capable of opening my own doors.
Alec does manage to get my bag before I can, and he hands it out to me once I'm firmly planted onto the sidewalk in front of the building.
"Damn, that's a nice ass car." He eyes the jet-black Rolls Royce behind me.
It's then that I realize who the car belongs to. One of our long-time rivals—a man I greatly fucking despise. Someone who has tried to work with us numerous times, only to be shot down. Rumor has it that his syndicate is going under, and he's desperate to make moves to bring it back to life. There's even word that he's auctioning his daughter to the highest bidder in an attempt to infuse his business with the influx of cash.
What sick bastard would do that to their daughter...
He's reached out to both JohnnyandDominic, knowing damn well that they're spoken for—going so far as to crack jokes that they could use a woman like her...agirl...who's been untouched.
I have half the mind to put him out of his misery for everyone’s sake, but a man like him still has protection and the means to ruin someone’s life, even in the wake of his death. He's been around long enough to have strong connections and even stronger allies, regardless of how decrepit his reign has fallen. Men like him, the ones that have been around the longest, have a strange sense of loyalty to each other that can't be broken. He's a fucking cockroach. He's untouchable.
"It's not that nice," I tell Alec as I reposition my bag over my shoulder.
"Shit...is that who I think it is?" Alec watches the overweight old man stumble through the revolving door and toward his car.
"Yep." I watch in disgust and consider strolling over there and slitting his throat in front of everyone just because I fucking can. This world would be a much better place without him in it.
But the two rather large security guards trailing him stop me from making a scene. Not to mention, we're on sacred ground. There is to be no violence on The Manor's property. That's why it's crawling with criminals of every kind. There aren't many places deemed safe for the likes of us, and this is one of the few. It's often a safe haven for discussing business deals and doing negotiations because violence of any kind is forbidden. That's why I'm staying here until my permanent residence is complete at The Wellerton. I hadn't meant to plant roots on the west coast, but with as much business I do here now that Johnny and Dominic have aligned, it only makes sense to have a permanent place to stay.
I don't necessarily enjoy crashing amongst these types of people, anyway. I understand I'm no different than them, and I've been in it both deeper and longer than others, but it doesn't change that they aren't good company to keep.I'mnot good company to keep.
