CHAPTER TWENTY
DREW
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The next morning, Igather my team in the executive boardroom to do a high level debrief on Open Leaf.
Gemma hasn’t rung or messaged to say she’s taking me up on my offer, but I’m happy to give her time.Then again, it’s only seven-thirty in the morning, and I might have set this meeting early on purpose.
Just in case she does show up.
Chloe is under strict instructions not to let anyone in this room.What’s revealed here today needs to stay in this room and certainly not be shared with Mrs.Ford.When or if she needs to know, I will be the one to tell her.
If my suspicions are right.
Which I’m confident they are.
“I’ll have the paperwork ready for the Dufort’s by midmorning,” Robin says after we finish discussing the Chicago store closing and the building being offered to Daniel.
“Add another three percent.Dufort Hotels really wants the property, and I know two other investors who would jump on this today, driving the price up with a multi offer.”I rub my chin, thinking.“Daniel knows it, too.Let’s not fuck around with this.”
“Got it.”
“We need to recoup our investment.We’ve taken enough time already.What other assets have we identified?”I twist slightly in my chair and lean on the arm.“Theo?”
He thumbs through a folder and pulls one out.Then clicks the button on a remote which connects his laptop, bringing a spreadsheet up on screen.
“Right.So, my team and I reviewed the market value of the other buildings owned by Open Leaf.There are fifteen.Twenty-five percent of the stores are located in buildings owned by the company.”
Higher than I thought.
“How many of the properties were owned prior to Anthony Ford stepping in as CEO?”I ask.
Theo glances at me, clicks through his spreadsheet, then says, “Seven.”
Jesus fucking Christ.
He purchased eight buildings across major cities in America over six years.Even for a property investor, that’s a large amount of real estate investment.
“Equity?”
Theo rubs his jaw.“Low.Shall I go through each one?”
I slowly nod.
It’s going to be a long morning.I know which ones are the big red flags, I’ve seen the foreclosure notices Gemma would have received—the documents which likely led her to selling.
