Then came Walker, who I worked with at Quantum Cyber and who liked to pretend that he was the reason the company ran so smoothly even though I did all the work. Mike, cofounder of Greyson Hotel Group with our half brother, Archer, was anal and logistics obsessed, always trying to optimize his business, his life, and mine. Then there was yours truly, who, in addition to making sure Quantum Cyber didn’t go off the rails, also helped my other brothers with their financials.
The oldest was Greg. Arrogant and self-aggrandizing, he was obsessed with money and power and amassing large quantities of each. He was the reason we were here today, and I could tell by the self-satisfied smirk on his face that he had another of his schemes in the works.
“Carl,” Greg barked. “Just go get Liam some water.”
“No, I want a cappuccino with chocolate sprinkles.”
Greg narrowed his eyes at Liam. “Chocolate. Sprinkles.”
“Dude, it’s a life changer,” Liam said, leaning back in his chair. “Way better than that health poison Mike is selling.”
“I’m not selling it,” Mike said in annoyance, looking up from his tablet. “We’ve partnered with an upscale juice bar to offer their cleansing juices at our hotel spas. They’re very popular.”
“It’s just overpriced lemon water.” Liam scoffed.
“No, there’s a special spice blend in it.”
“It’s cayenne, and it’s nasty,” Walker interjected, setting his bag down. “They sell it for like thirty dollars a pop. It’s criminal. I know why Archer thought it was a good idea. He’s a walking bag of terrible decisions. But why did you get suckered into it? Are you sleeping with the juice-bar founder?”
“You better not be,” Greg warned. “You all have the worst taste in women.”
“Unlike you,” I said nastily before I could help myself.
My younger brothers all sucked in a breath as Greg turned his ire on me.
“What are you implying?”
“Nothing.”
“If you’re implying that it’s because Belle has stolen not one but now two huge accounts from us, you would be correct. I did make a terrible miscalculation.”
I eyed him warily.
Greg bared his teeth at me. “But I have now found an opportunity to reclaim the throne, so to speak. And you all are going to help me. Carl.”
My younger brother tapped a button on his tablet, and the image of a tall, sparkling glass tower overlooking Central Park appeared on the screen at the front of the conference room. The tower soared over the skyline, crystal glass reflecting the blue sky and the green of the park.
“Belle’s tower is bigger than yours!” Liam said with a laugh.
Greg’s shoulders tensed. “Which is why it’s about to become my tower.”
The next slide on the screen showed several floor plans.
“These are the condos in the 101 Park Place tower I have purchased for all of you.”
“I want the biggest one,” Liam insisted.
“I’m older, so I should get the biggest one,” Walker shot back.
“How did you buy these without her noticing?” I asked Greg.
My older brother smirked. “Shell companies within shell companies, and then I hired actors to pretend to be the buyers. Belle’s not going to know what hit her. The plan, gentlemen, is that we will all have voting rights in the HOA. The tower hasn’t been filled up yet, and besides, hardly anyone attends those HOA meetings. We’re going to infiltrate the HOA then change the bylaws to make it even more difficult to buy a unit. Then when Belle and her firm are hemorrhaging money and the banks come and want a return on their loans, we will purchase the rest of the units for below market rate. Then the tower is mine.”
“This is devious and underhanded, even for you,” Mike said after a moment. “It also seems like a terrible idea.”
“I don’t expect little minds to comprehend my greatness.”
“She’s never going to forgive you,” I warned Greg. “You won’t have any hope of getting back together with her.”
