She paused by the concept model of the project that was now dead. She studied the display for several moments, not saying a word. Finally, she spoke. “This is quite the project. The scope is enormous.”
Wiping my mouth, I stood and crossed the room to stand beside her.
I ran a finger over the mock-up. “Was, you mean.”
“Are you going to sell the land?”
“If the offer is fair, I think so. There is no point in sinking more money into a project that hasn’t panned out.”
“Won’t you know who is behind the scenes once they start building?”
“No. I’m certain they’ll pass it all along to various companies they own, all numbered and anonymous, and finally, sell it to a holding company that will build. The layers will be too costly to peel away and figure out where it all started. Walking away makes the most sense now.”
“Is that your only option?”
“I could still build condo towers once the land is cleared. It wouldn’t be what I envisioned, but could still be profitable.”
She made a funny noise and scowled.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
I grew impatient. “Emmy, you obviously have something to say. Just say it.”
“How rich are you, Bentley?”
That wasn’t what I expected from her. She never asked or seemed to care about my wealth.
“Rich enough.”
“Are we talking millions?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Hundreds of millions, actually.”
“Huh.”
I narrowed my eyes. She was going somewhere with her line of questioning, but I wasn’t sure what point she was trying to make. “Huh, what?”
“Can you spend it all?”
I shook my head. “Only if I were an idiot. I have enough if I never did another day’s work I could live very well, as could my children and even their children.”
“So when is enough—enough?”
“What are you getting at?” I demanded, not understanding.
She indicated the design. “You said this was about making your mark first. Money second.”
“It is.”
“Then change your design.”
“What are you talking about?”
Maddox spoke up from the doorway. “This I want to hear.” He sauntered in, sipping his coffee, looking relaxed. However, I knew him, and I saw the interest in his eyes.
Emmy hesitated, and I squeezed her hand. “It’s okay. We want to hear what you have to say.”
“This piece. . .” She pointed to the end of the property. “It’s not developed yet?”
“No. It’s all trees and wild growth.”
“What if you built a condo tower here?” She indicated the land close to the road. “Then instead of adding a second one here, made it into a private park?”
“What? What good would that do?”
Maddox edged closer. “Keep talking.”
She worried her lip. “I saw something once, on TV, about a building where all the units face frontward; the only things on the back of the building were the hallways. If you designed it like that, then every condo would have amazing views of the park and the water, right?”
She kept going. “And if the park was private to the condo tower, it makes it even more exclusive. You could have woods, a playground, barbeque areas. Make it a real family kind of place.”
“Family?” I questioned.
“Even rich people have children too, Bentley. Think about it. Has anyone ever done something like that?”
Maddox set down his coffee cup. “No,” he replied, excitement filling his voice.
“No one has.” Aiden’s voice suddenly joined in the conversation as he appeared beside us.
I leaned forward, looking at the mini structures. “They could do the same thing.”
“They could, but we have the advantage,” Aiden mused. “They wouldn’t have the park. Or the views. They either look into the city or the back of our building.”
They both began to speak.
“With the bylaws, they can’t build higher than ten stories, so they’re screwed.”
“Even if they got it changed, we could, too. We could build higher.”
“We need to get the building designed, so it’s one of a kind. All front facing, individual towers with separate entrances, and elevators. Custom layouts for different sized families.”
“Single people would like it, too,” Emmy offered. “The park setting would be a huge draw in the city.”
“We’d lose revenue without standard sized units and plans. Expensive to build,” I ruminated.
“No,” Aiden said. “What we’d lose in the number of units, we’d make up for with the price on the uniqueness of it.” He chuckled. “I bet our profits go up. We add all sorts of amenities.”
“Underground parking,” Emmy offered.
“Two pools. Other family activities only residents have access to,” Aiden stated.
“Like a resort on a daily basis.” Maddox grinned.
“Let’s not get carried away,” I protested, but I had to admit, it was an intriguing idea.
Aiden winked at me. “Not billions, but we’d kill it.”
“And we keep it,” Maddox stated firmly. “BAM owns it. No investors. Just us.”
“Or I sell it and walk away.”
They looked at me.
“You could,” Aiden drawled. “This is an interesting concept, though. We can find other land to develop the original concept. Try something totally distinctive.”
“We could lose our shirts.”
Maddox shook his head. “No, Emmy is right. Lots of wealthy families love condo living. Give them the best of both worlds, and it will explode. I’m sure of it.”
“We would have to make the back of the building into something unique. Eye-catching.”
“Mosaics.”
I glanced at Emmy.
“Use stone, hire artists. Make it beautiful. A focal point.” She beamed. “Your mark.”
I returned her grin. She was glowing, her dark eyes excited.
“I can see it. A haven inside the city.” Maddox’s eyes combed over the model, nodding. “An escape without leaving home.”
Aiden pointed to the layout. “We could build up this area here, like an embankment. It would cut off noise from the road and offer even more privacy. Add trees and flowers to make it scenic.”
Emmy giggled, and I looked at her. “Like a ridge,” she explained. “You can call it Bentley Ridge Estates.”
I started to laugh, remembering her remarks the first day. “Where the living is easy.”
“That’s not bad. We could fine tune it.”
I shook my head. “It’s a joke.”
“No, Bent.” Aiden shook his head. “It could work.”
Emmy grabbed a piece of paper and sketched furiously. “If you made three separate towers with arches between them for the entrances and elevators, you could name them.”
“Name them?”
“Towers B, A, and M.”
Aiden grinned. “I like it.”
* * *
I looked around the room, only to realize Emmy was gone. She must have slipped out at some point.
Aiden followed my gaze. “I think she thought we needed some privacy.”
I shook my head. “This is her idea.”
“I don’t think she thought you’d take her seriously.”
“I think we should,” Maddox observed. “This is what we needed. Fresh eyes.” He met my glance. “She’s totally amazing.”
“She is.”
I glanced at my watch, shocked. It was past three. We had come into the den at ten. Where had the hours gone? I glanced around to notice the piles of paper, and notes we all scribbled, assembled together. It had been a productive planning session.
“You really think this could work?”
Aiden nodded. “It’s a great concept. We need the right architect and planner.�
��
“It would be easier to sell and walk away.”
“When have we ever done the easy thing?”
I looked back at the mock-up. Aiden followed my glance. “We can do that elsewhere, Bent. Let whoever bought the other land develop it without this piece. They won’t get the impact they wanted, and in fact they might end up selling and moving on. Whatever idiot develops around us can have the hassle of figuring it out. We can do this and sit back and relax. The more I think about it, the more I like it.” He grinned. “Think about it—this will piss off whoever thought they could get the better of you.”
I smirked at the thought. “Greg expects me to tell him to sell the land this week.”
“Too bad. Change of plan.” He tapped the pile of papers beside him. “It’s a good plan. A brave one. Something we can all be proud of.”
I nodded in agreement. He was right.
“This nightmare would be over. No more extra security. Back to business as usual.”
“I think I’d be cautious a little while longer,” Aiden advised.
“If I do this, if we do this—we won. I lost the battle, but I won the war. They don’t get what they wanted, and there is nothing they can do about it.” I warmed to the idea. “We go with the new plan, we get the best design and soak some serious cash into it, and go for it. They’ll want to sell to us.”
Maddox laughed. “Fuck them, right?”
I smirked. “Not interested. Unless the price is deeply discounted. Then I might take it off their hands.”
Maddox chuckled, but Aiden looked concerned. “Let’s not invite trouble.”
“What can they do? They can’t stop me from building, and they can’t touch the land.”
“They can touch you.”
I shook my head. “No. It’s over, Aiden. They pissed me off, caused some chaos, and they bought the land, but we came back stronger. We won.”
I stood and stretched. “I think you guys need to go start your weekend.”
Maddox chuckled and grabbed Aiden’s arm. “We’ve been told.”
Aiden frowned. “Emmy promised brunch Sunday.”
I waved him off. “Fine. But I want you gone until then.”
He made a kissy face, and I flipped him the bird. I walked them to the door, shutting it firmly behind them. I took the stairs two at a time.
I needed to find the girl responsible for the idea and thank her. I knew exactly where to find her.
She was in her favorite spot. Sunlight was streaming in the windows, making the room warm. Still, she had her shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Her head rested on the arm of the chair, a book open on her lap, and her full lips were pursed as she slumbered peacefully.
Bending low, I brushed a kiss to her tempting mouth, grinning as she pouted and stretched, then curled back up like a contented kitten in the sun. She opened one eye, peering at me.
“I was asleep.”
I ran a hand over her curls. “I know. You looked adorable and I had to kiss you.”
She sat up, yawning and lifting her arms over her head. Her shirt lifted, exposing a sliver of stomach, the skin soft and inviting. I wanted to kiss it, as well.
“Finished reconquering the world?”
“Thanks to your brilliant idea, I think we’ve regrouped.”
She shook her head. “It was simply a thought. You three jumped on it and created the whole concept.”
“It was more than a thought. You amazed me. You amazed all of us.”
She lowered her eyes, shyly.
“Hey.”
She met my gaze.
“Your idea was fresh, innovative, and helped us find a new path. I’ll be forever grateful. I was too pissed to look at it objectively. We all were.”
“So, you’re not selling?”
“Nope. Next week I’ll put my team on it, and when I meet with Greg, tell him to reject the offer.”
“Will he be pissed?”
I laughed. “No. He gets paid no matter what I do. He has no vested interest in the land, either way, so he won’t care. He’ll send me a sizable bill for his time, and we’ll move onto the next project.”
Her fingers smoothed over the edge of the cushion. “Why isn’t he a part of your crowd?”
“My crowd?”
“Your business. You have Aiden and Maddox. I’m surprised he isn’t part of the company. You must need a lot of legal advice.”
“We have a legal consultant in the company. Greg had always been a lone wolf—never wanted to be a partner in any company, even right out of school. He went at it alone and earned his reputation. He has never expressed any desire to be anything other than what he is, and the one time I made him an offer, he turned me down. His company is his life. He’s put it above everything else—including his failed marriages and countless relationships.”
“Would you consider him a friend?”
I thought before I responded. “I think so. Not like Aiden and Maddox, but more a business friend. We have the occasional drink, sit together if we’re at the same function, but we don’t spend time together as personal friends.”
She nodded and hummed.
I crouched in front of her chair. “Now, do you want to keep talking about my lawyer, or can we move on to something else?”
Her eyes glittered in the sunlight. “Such as, Rigid?”
Pulling her knees apart, I slid between them, yanking her body close. “About your reward for being so fucking brilliant. And sexy.”
“Oh, a double reward?”
“I promise double.” I slipped my hand under her shirt, touching the skin that had tempted me earlier. “Since I owe you for breakfast too, if you play your cards right, I think you should get triple the reward.”
“Oh,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around my neck, her breath hot on my skin. “I fold.”
I had her out of her clothes fast, and mine disappeared thanks to her nimble fingers. I made sure to drape her shawl around her shoulders. It always shocked me how she reacted to temperature. She felt the cold so easily, so the shawl kept her back warm while my mouth and hands warmed the rest of her. Her nipples perked under my tongue, her head falling back as she moaned my name. I explored her curves, tracing them with my knuckles, making her squirm in my arms, her heat pressing on my cock trapped between us. I teased her clit, stroking and circling it, then slid two fingers inside, hitting that spot that drove her crazy with lust. She cried out, her muscles fluttering and tightening around my fingers as I wrung out her pleasure.
“That’s one, baby.”
She leaned forward, fusing our mouths together, her tongue sliding sensuously along mine. She lifted her hips, and guided me to her, then slowly sank down, inch by inch until our bodies were flush, the tightness and heat of her enveloping me. I grunted my approval into her mouth as she began to move. She used the arms of the chair as leverage, making her movements fluid. Dropping her face to my neck, she began to nibble at my skin, small bites that she eased with a touch of her tongue, driving me insane with need.
Need for her.
I gripped her hips, pulling her down harder as I rose to meet her, our skin slapping against each other, the sound of our joining filling the room, and raging in my head. She arched back, and I bent to worship her full breasts. Her fingers slid into my hair and yanked on the strands as she whimpered and shuddered.
“Coming!” she gasped. “Oh, God . . . Bentley. . .”
She cried out, stilling as I kept working her. As my orgasm hit me, my balls tightening, the pleasure surged through my body as I emptied deep inside her. With a low groan, I yanked her to my chest, both of us shaking, quiet, and sated.
“Two,” I murmured.
“Not sure I can handle three.”
“Maybe a dip in the warm pool will change your mind.”
She snuggled closer, her head tucked under my chin. “Or maybe we can stay here like this for a while. I like being in your arms.”
Her words bled into my chest.
&nb
sp; “You’re far too easy to make happy.”
“You make me happy—that’s all I need.”
Tenderness only she could make me feel, filled my heart, causing it to beat faster. I tightened my arms, making sure her shawl was in place.
“Whatever you want, Freddy. Today, tomorrow, the rest of the weekend. Ask me and it’s yours.”
“Hmmm.”
“Did you want to go away? Get out of the city?”
“No, I just want the time with you. Us, alone all weekend.”
“Then that’s what you get.”
“At least until Sunday.”
I chuckled. “At least until then.”
* * *
I glanced through the papers Greg handed me, noting two things: the numbered company and the offer. Surprisingly, it was near market value, but considering how long I had held onto it, and my new plans, I wasn’t interested.
I shook my head. “No.”
“You want to counter?”
“No, I’ve decided not to sell, no matter the offer.”
He paused, tapping his pen on the desk, his words measured. “To this company or in general?”
“It’s not for sale to anyone.”
Greg stared at me, the office filled with stony silence. “What are you playing at, Bentley?” he finally asked.
“Playing at? Nothing. I’ve decided not to sell the land. I’m going to develop it with a new plan in mind.”
“And what plan is that?” He threw his pen on top of the papers.
“A new concept.”
His fingers drummed on the desk. “That’s not what you said when you left here last week. You were done with this project. You were damned vocal about it. I could hear you cursing in the elevator.”
I shrugged. “Things changed. I calmed down. We regrouped, and we’ve decided to keep the land, and we’re going to build on it ourselves. I already have my team working on it.”
“Why?”
I leaned forward. “I don’t know who these people are, but I am not bowing down to them. They fucked with the wrong guy. They’ve been fucking every deal I have tried to make the past while and I am done with it. They could offer me double what the land is worth and I wouldn’t sell it to them, even if my life depended on it. They can develop, sell, or do whatever the hell they want to the rest of the property around it, but I’m keeping it.”
Vested Interest Box Set Books 1-3 Page 16
