He looked over at me. “Why aren’t you dressed?”
I looked down. “I am dressed!”
“You could have worn a suit.”
“Liam’s not wearing a suit,” I protested.
“Liam’s a failure. I expect better from you.”
“I call this meeting to order,” Belle said, banging her gavel on the table.
I grabbed food from the spread at the back of the room and joined Tess, who had two plates balanced on her knees plus a large glass of mimosas on the floor beside her.
“First we will discuss old business. As mentioned in the last meeting, because this tower is almost at its one-year point, I, as acting HOA president representing the investment company’s interests, will be stepping down, and we will be electing the new HOA president. Elections will occur during the next meeting. You can nominate a fellow resident or yourself up until and at the beginning of that meeting.”
Liam raised his hand. “I nominate Greg to be the president of the HOA.”
“Second,” my brother, Mike, said.
Belle’s face was a mask of ice. I shivered. She was not going down without a fight. I hoped Greg knew what he was doing.
“Fine,” she hissed. I could practically see the steam coming out of her mouth. “Greg is in the running for president.”
“I nominate Beck for treasurer,” Greg said.
“Second!” Carl called. “And I nominate Walker for secretary.”
“Why do I have to do it? Make Carl do it,” Walker complained.
“You’re going to have your entire family on the HOA board?” Belle asked, narrowing her eyes at Greg.
He stood up, adjusted his tie, then turned to the audience of seniors that were happily drinking and eating the food he had provided.
“Since my family has moved here, we have been blown away by the welcome we received,” he began, turning on the charm. He even had me almost convinced that he wasn’t a cold, conniving SOB.
“Friendships have formed, and fun has been had. We applaud Belle and her team for developing this wonderful showcase of high-rise living, and we are committed to making this tower the most exclusive residence of Manhattan. To that end, one of my first actions as president will be to raise the bar of entry for prospective residents. We can’t just let anyone in here.”
“That’s right!” Vera declared.
Greg smiled at her. “There needs to be standards, a more rigorous interview process, background checks, and references.”
“We follow the state laws for selling property,” Belle countered.
“With such an exclusive tower, Belle, you need a better vetting process.”
“You all wouldn’t have been able to purchase if we’d had a ‘rigorous vetting process,’” Belle retorted, using air quotes.
Greg pressed a hand to his chest. “You all were extremely lucky with us. What if it had been riffraff like the Richmond brothers trying to move into your tower? I’m just here to help. In my career in real estate,” he told the audience, “we have multiple exclusive towers in our portfolio. I am more than happy to lend my expertise to making 101 Park Place tower the best it can be and, of course, raising everyone’s property values. Please enjoy the refreshments.”
That earned him a standing ovation.
“Does anyone else want to nominate themselves?” Belle asked.
No one raised their hand.
“You have until next month’s meeting,” she reminded the attendees.
“You’re going to be on an HOA board?” Tess whispered to me as Belle moved on to the next agenda item.
