Page 21 of Shattered Throne
Kim appeared in my doorway with two cups of coffee. She set one on my desk and kept the other for herself.
"Thank you." I took a long sip. The sweetness helped. "What's on the agenda?"
"You have a meeting with Mr. Dubois at nine." She was already pulling out her phone, scrolling through something. "I sent the agenda to your email last night, along with the quarterly reports he'll likely reference. Also, a summary of the Southeast portfolio since it's still pending review."
I stared at her. "You put together a summary?"
"You seemed busy yesterday. I thought it might help. Is there anything else you need before the meeting?"
"No. This is… This is perfect. Thank you, Kim."
She nodded and returned to her desk.
I spent the next fifteen minutes reviewing her summary. It was good. Better than good. She'd anticipated exactly what Sebastian would focus on and gathered everything I'd need to respond intelligently.
At nine o'clock, I headed for Sebastian's office.
My brother's domain was everything mine wasn't. Immaculate. Organized. Every surface clean, every object precisely placed. The bookshelves held actual books that had actually been read. The desk was bare except for a laptop and a single folder.
Even the air felt different in here—cooler, thinner, like the atmosphere in a museum where touching anything would set off alarms.
Sebastian didn't look up when I entered.
A power play. Classic Sebastian. He continued typing, eyes fixed on his screen, while I stood there like a supplicant waiting to be acknowledged. I'd seen him do this to executives twice his age, watch them squirm while he finished whatever email was apparently more important than their presence.
It took everything in me not to squirm.
Finally, he closed his laptop. His eyes met mine, cool and assessing. "You've been scouting the hotels?"
I pulled out a chair and settled in. "The Southeast portfolio. I found three properties worth acquiring. Two in Florida, one in Georgia. I sent preliminary reports this morning."
Sebastian's eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch. "I saw them."
"And?"
"The Florida properties are overvalued. Anyone with a calculator could see that." He leaned back in his chair. "The Georgia one has potential, but the ownership structure is a nightmare. Three separate LLCs, multiple stakeholders, at least two pending lawsuits buried in the filings."
"I know." I'd found the lawsuits at four in the morning, buried in a footnote Kim had flagged. "I'm working on untangling it. I should have a clearer picture by the end of next week."
"There's something else." He slid a folder across the desk. "A deal I need you to handle."
I took the folder. Opened it. Scanned the first page. "Twenty million dollars." I looked up at him with wide eyes. "That isn’t chump change."
"No. The investor's name is Cole Matthews. He's interested in partnering on a new Miami development. It’s going to be like our other projects. Luxury hotel, high-end clientele, significant profit potential."
"Sounds straightforward."
"It should be." Sebastian's voice hardened. "But Matthews is difficult. A jerk, frankly. Rejected our last two proposals without clear reasons. Just says 'the fit isn't right' and walks away." He fixed me with a look. "Maybe your charm can loosen him up. God knows it hasn't been useful for anything else."
I ignored the jab. "You want me to close the deal."
"I want you to not embarrass me." He stood, signaling the meeting was over. "Don't screw this up, Xavier. Twenty million is real money, even for us."
I gathered the folder and headed for the door.
"Xavier."
I stopped. Turned.
