I pick up the phone and hit ten on my speed dial.
“Quinn, I was just about to head up.”
“I need to cancel lunch, Ash,” I say to the head of my contracts and planning team.
“Oh, okay. But we need to get the Denver deal done and dusted. The consortium is getting angsty that we keep postponing.”
“Blackwood is backing the project seventy-thirty. Let them wait.”
He sighs. “You pay me to give you advice so here it is: if there’s no legitimate reason for stalling on this deal, let’s just get it done. Fostering bad blood just for the hell of it may give you a momentary high, but it’s not worth the aggro we’ll garner down the line. If your father were here, he’d say the same thing.”
I hit the speaker button and set the phone back in its cradle. I don’t answer until I hear him fidget. “Ash?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re fired.” I kill the connection.
The knock comes ten minutes later. Five minutes later than anticipated. Perhaps he made a detour to the bathroom to change his soiled pants.
“Come in,” I say without raising my voice.
A pale-looking Ash Langston enters, palms already outstretched. “Look, Quinn, I know you don’t make idle threats or…” he takes a deep breath, “or fire people just for laughs. I was just trying to smooth things along, do what you hired me to do.”
“And you think I’m being irrational for stalling on the Denver deal.” I eye him as he paces the front of my desk.
“Not irrational, no. Just…look, I’m sorry. You want to wait, we wait. You’re the boss.”
I don’t reply. My gaze drifts to the silver antique clock on my desk, silently willing the time away.
I want to see her again. I want to confirm if that spark is real.
Before me, Ash tries to keep his composure, but the man is unraveling. I bet he can see his quarter of a million gambling debt rushing at full speed toward him. Or perhaps it’s the potential loss of the SoHo loft where he stashes his mistress that’s making him sweat.#p#分页标题#e#
“Do you know that two of the consortium members indulge in underage sex? Or that the head has squashed four counts of domestic abuse brought by his wife in the past two years?”
He stops pacing and his mouth drops open. “No! Jesus, I had no idea, Quinn, I swear to you. We did all our due diligence, used the investigation firm we always use.”
I shrug. “They were good at covering their tracks, but I’m better.”
Ash nods. “I…of course. I’ll stall for as long as you want me to. Or we can tear up the contract. I’m sure we can find a loophole that’ll protect us. Failing that, we’ll tie them up in court for years.”
“No. I’ll handle the consortium.”
His face turns puce as if he’s about to hurl. Sweat drips down his temple. “Quinn, I’m begging. My twins are about to go to Yale. I’ve remortgaged the roof over their heads just to pay for tuition. I can’t lose this job. Give me another chance.”
He’s lying, of course. He remortgaged his house to pay for his mistress. His wife is paying for his kids’ tuition with her inheritance.
I stand and round the table to perch against my desk. “You want to save your job?”
“Yes!”
“Tell me, what are the top five properties my father still keeps his eyes on. His pet projects.”
Ash looks uneasy. “But…you’ve taken over his portfolio.”
I deliver a ghost of a smile. “I know he calls you once a week to check on some of the deals we’re working on. Top five. I need the names.” I harden my voice.
His Adam’s apple bobs. “I, uh, there are two in Boston—Blackwood One and Blackwood Two, the condo project in Miami, the stud farm in Montana your stepmother insisted he buy last year, and a building that houses the junior philharmonic orchestra in Philly.”
I wasn’t aware of the stud farm, but the rest are as I guessed. I hitch my thigh over the side of the desk and cross my arms. “How much did we give away to charity last year, Ash?”
“I don’t have the numbers to hand but I can check for you.”
“Ballpark it.”
“Uh…possibly in the region of a quarter of a billion.”
“How much of that was recouped in tax breaks?”
Another dribble of sweat makes it way down the side of his face. “All of it.”
I nod. “Here’s how you get to keep your job, Ash. By five pm today, I want an iron-clad contract ready for me to sign, together with a press release.”
“I…sure, just give me the details.”