I took Luca’s hand. “She’s kicking us out, love.”
Edith’s eyes lit with delight. “Get out of here. You boys go enjoy your evening.”
Luca had been reluctant to leave, but when I promised we’d stop by tomorrow afternoon, he gave in. “Okay. You call me as soon as they show up. Okay?”
“I promise. Now go enjoy your evening. Turning the fan has already cooled it down in here.”
I pulled him by the hand until we were at the door. Luca didn’t let go of me, and neither did I. “Do you know who owns this building?”
He shook his head. “No. But I can find out. Why? Are you going to threaten to buy this one too?” He was joking, but it was definitely a possibility. “Not me. But maybe my company will. As of three days ago, I own 51% of the Covington.”
Luca stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “You what? Isn’t that the one your step-mother…”
I lifted my brows as he figured it out. “Not any longer. Now it’s mine.”
“How? That would take a vast amount of money.”
“Yes, and I have it.” I opened his door. By the look on his face, I’d surprised him. “I’m not just a pretty face. I’ll tell you on the way.”
Chapter 19
Luca
Axel was a genius. I shouldn’t have been surprised when he explained how he’d gone about methodically planning and preparing to purchase enough stock to give him the controlling interest in Covington Hotels. But I was even more enamored with his brain as we sat under the veranda by his new pool. He’d explained it so eloquently that I understood, meaning I had to have missed something.
“That’s why you chose Brooklyn.”
“Part of the reason. I wanted the opportunity to play in the NHL, and Brooklyn seemed like a good fit. Decker was already here, and it allowed me to handle both things simultaneously.”
Amazed, I shook my head. “Two years.”
“Yes. I’ve enjoyed the process more than I thought I would. More than just the end result. Watching my money grow and knowing what the outcome was going to be was quite fulfilling.”
“You had to have capital to start, right? Did you make that much playing hockey?”
The grin on Axel’s face was diabolical. “The money was good, but I left my trust fund untouched for years. I was determined I would never use a dime of his money. But what better way to use it than to ruin Mason’s tormentor?”
My mouth fell open again. “When are you going to tell them?”
“The board meeting in December. All they know is that an investment company has been purchasing small blocks of stock. I plan to tell Mason next weekend when they arrive for the weekend.”
“What are you going to do with the hotels?”
“Leave them as they are right now.” He reached over and took my hand. “You’ve inspired me to consider some philanthropic ideas to help people who need it. I want to reinvest in my new home. And I want your ideas.”
“My ideas? I don’t know anything about what you’re about to do.”
“Maybe not. But you know what people need. And Edith’s apartment building could sure use a facelift. Like another I’ve seen.”
We went back to our dinner as I mulled over how enticing the prospect of helping people could be. From what I knew, people with money ruled the world and rarely did anything to help anyone but themselves. Now he had even more money than I thought, and it was going to take me some time to wrap my head around it.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I tried to smile and finish my food, but I’d lost my appetite. And I wasn’t fine. “I’m just processing all this. That’s a lot of information.”
He narrowed his eyes and studied me. It was difficult to read me, and he did it well. “Everything is perfectly legal. There’s no corruption here.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure. I trust you.”
