"Furthermore," Carl continued, "only two of the luxury condos were sold, one to yourself and one to a young woman named Anastasia."
"I had foreign buyers lined up, but they were from Russia, China, and Brazil, and with the sanctions against those countries, the deals fell through. Some of the condos the feds are still sitting on because they froze the transactions. It's just bad luck," I said, "but this is New York City; we'll find buyers eventually."
"We don't have until the end of time," Greg said. "In real estate, you live or die by your pro forma. You are wasting too much time and energy on this tower, Jack," Greg said. "You're neglecting your real company, Platinum Provisions."
"I'm not neglecting it," I countered. "We are bringing in more revenue than ever."
"Be that as it may," Carl said, "the tax bill on Frost Tower is going to be due soon. And Svensson needs a return on our investment. I have a Canadian buyer who is interested in the tower as well as a Qatari buyer."
I looked to Liam.
"Just give him one more quarter," Liam said. "It's Christmas, and it's not like much is going to happen this month that would be ready to go in the first quarter."
"I just don't see how you can turn it around," Greg said, shaking his head.
"Look," I told them, launching into my spiel. "Frost Tower was well designed, though currently it comes off as a bit bland. It lacks character and a sense of place, but I think if I could find the perfect ground-floor tenant, like, say, a popular restaurant, it would attract the type of creative companies and pique the interest of residential buyers looking for new property next year. Gunnar's Romance Creative holiday production should help put Frost Tower on everyone's radar."
Greg rolled his eyes, and Carl smirked.
"Our half-brother is half crazy. I can't believe he and that Holbrook are filming a web show in your tower," Greg said.
"They're paying tenants," I countered.
"Are they?" Greg said, his mouth quirking slightly in disbelief.
"They will be," Liam assured him. "Jack's having the tower decorated for Christmas, and there will be nice establishing shots. The contestants were picked because they have huge Instagram and social media followings. This one girl, Chloe, has hundreds of thousands of very active followers. I had one of our marketing analysts take a look at her profiles."
Greg looked at Carl, who shrugged. "Okay, fine, you have another quarter," Greg said.
I walked out of the meeting feeling lighter than I had in weeks.
"Thanks, man," I told Liam.
"We'll figure something out," he said. "Maybe you can convince Starbucks to come into that vacant retail space you have."
"I just need a Christmas miracle," I said.
"Or you need a Christmas lay," my friend replied with a wink. "That girl, Chloe, is cute. You could dress her up in a sexy Mrs. Claus outfit."
That was a tantalizing thought. I could feel the heat rush straight to my groin.
"Or there's always Hartleigh," Liam said impishly.
I grimaced. At least my boner was gone.
I had hoped to avoid Hartleigh for the duration of the contest, but luck was not on my side. She was down in the lobby with Chloe and Nina. The space looked… well, it looked magical. I could appreciate how the décor might make this space more desirable. Chloe was snapping pictures, for her Instagram I presumed.
She jerked up when Hartleigh saw me and shrieked, "Jack!"
I ignored her and asked Chloe, "Are you quite finished spending my money?"
Chloe glared at Hartleigh, then she turned to me. She had bits of tinsel and pine needles in her hair and on her sweater.
"We're only partially finished, but I think it's coming along nicely. Aren't you feeling the Christmas spirit?" she asked, running her hand under her ample chest. Her tits strained against the sweater. Liam's words banged like a bell choir in my head.Christmas lay… Chloe in a sexy Mrs. Claus outfit.
It took me a second to register that she was not in fact implying that her tits were there for my Christmas cheer. Instead, she was referring to the blinking reindeer on her sweater.
"You know I hate Christmas," I told her. "Also, you have garbage in your hair."
