"It's very much offensive that you care so little about your family after everything I have done for you," Hunter said, the expression on his face clearly broadcasting his disappointment.
Liam swore.
* * *
After Liamand I escaped the boardroom, Liam rubbed his hands together. "That went well, all things considered. Now we just have to find some tenants for your tower and select a ring so you can propose to Chloe."
"I'm not—" I sputtered. "I barely know her! We aren't going to marry each other."
Liam looked at me and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Jack, we have been friends since freshman year when you kept my drunk self from falling out a window. And you will never, ever find anyone else as good as Chloe. You need to lock that down. Girls love a Christmas proposal."
"She's not like that," I said. "She's not a gold-digger—she has ambitions. She doesn't want some guy to take care of her."
Liam snorted.
"You want to grab something to eat?" I asked, hoping to change the subject.
"Can't," Liam said. "I have to meet my brothers for lunch. Hunter brought a gaggle of the younger ones to New York City to go to a few museums. I think he assigned them reports."
"I don't know how you keep track of all your siblings. I only have five, and it feels like I never have enough time to spend any time with them," I told my friend.
When we arrived in the lobby, there were about two dozen teenage-and-younger boys. They had the same blond hair and grey eyes that Liam had. The younger ones were adorably cute, whereas the older ones were gangly, with big hands and feet. They hadn't filled out yet, though I knew that they would end up looking just like Liam and his other brothers. The Svensson male genes were strong.
"Did you have fun at the museum?" I asked, walking over with Liam.
The kids were visibly excited and chattered on about the dinosaurs they had seen. I could see why my parents might have wanted a big family. Liam's little brothers were noisy but fun, like puppies, just completely excited to see me. I also knew that Hunter sacrificed a lot to take care of his younger brothers and had a strict schedule and method of enlisting the adult Svenssons to watch out for and engage the younger half-siblings who were shipped to Harrogate every few months.
"It was so awesome! And we rode a train!" one of them said, bouncing up and down.
"A train," I said, crouching down to talk to him. Kids were cute; I liked them. I just knew I couldn't handle a dozen of them. Two kids would be perfect, though. Chloe could teach them how to cook, and I could teach them how to beg Chloe to cook, I supposed.
"I have another board meeting," Hunter said as he and Greg walked up. "I trust you have this under control, Liam." His tone implied that Liam had better have it under control.
The manager of the Japanese restaurant that was located at the base of the Platinum Provisions tower hurried over. "There is a gentleman here to see you about your tower," he said to me. "He's waiting in the restaurant and asked me to have you come over."
"Go make me proud!" Liam said.
As I followed the manager across the lobby into the low lighting of the Japanese restaurant, I wondered who it was. Was it Mark Holbrook? Maybe it was someone who had heard he was interested in Frost Tower. Wouldn't that be great? I could even rent everything out by the end of the year.
As I approached the booth, a tall, silver-haired man stood up and smiled at me.
"Dad. What are you doing here?"
"Sit," he said.
I ignored him. "I was told there was someone here to see me," I said flatly.
"Yes," my father replied. "It's me."
"I take it you aren't interested in the tower space," I said. I couldn't believe my father. "Aren't you supposed to be doing surgery right now?"
"I just finished with an operation," he said, sipping his water. "It took me thirty-six hours to do a spinal surgery on a premature infant. It was lifesaving stuff, and I used Platinum Provisions equipment, I might add. The surgery was very innovative. TheNew York Timesis doing a full-page piece on me," he bragged.
"Well, congrats," I said. "I have a business to run, so since you don't have anything of value to add, I'll be leaving."
"I did such a good job with you and your brothers," my father said in that self-satisfied tone that made me want to punch something. "It's too bad Belle didn't understand the value of hard work."
I wanted to throw the glass of water at him. How dare he insult Belle after everything he had done to her?
