Rich People Problems (Crazy Rich Asians #3)(121)
No one knew the degrees of subterfuge he took to keep up appearances for the sake of his family and career. There were the ballooning interest payments on all their bank loans. There were ten credit cards that he had to play Russian roulette with month after month. There were the mortgages on his parents' hutong in Beijing, his flat in London, and the condo in Singapore. Last year had been the worst, when his mother had been forced to sell off the legendary T'sien jade brooch along with other family heirlooms in order to pay for unexpected medical expenses. The bills kept coming, and they were endless. And now Kitty was threatening to renege on her gargantuan decorating bills-bills he had signed off on. If he couldn't work a miracle and get Kitty her title, he knew his whole life, his family, his career, his reputation-all would come crashing down.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
TYERSALL PARK, SINGAPORE
Walking in to lunch the next day, Nick and Rachel found that the dining room had been transformed into a makeshift situation room. Rolling bulletin boards had been placed around the room, and the dining table was lined with stacks of documents and various brochures, and seven or eight young staffers huddled over spreadsheets on their laptops.
Ah Ling entered with another package that had just arrived and noticed the baffled couple. "Oh, Nicky, lunch is being served on the terrace today."
"Um … who are these people?" Nick whispered.
"They're from Uncle Harry's office. They're helping out with all the house offers," Ah Ling responded, giving Nick a look that clearly registered her disapproval.
Nick and Rachel went out to the terrace to find a much smaller gathering of relatives. The Aakaras had flown back to Bangkok earlier in the morning, while most of the Chengs had left the day before. The only out-of-town guests that remained were Alix and Alistair, since they were both shareholders in the property.
While Nick and Rachel stood by the buffet table arrayed with different dishes, Victoria spoke up as she looked over a prospectus. "This offer from the Far East people is an insult! Two point five billion, paid out over five years. Do they think we fell off the turnip truck yesterday?"
"Let's not even bother responding," Alix declared. She looked up as Nick and Rachel sat down at the wrought-iron table with their lunch plates. "Nicky, do you have any idea what time your father will be here? We have so much to go over with him."
"Dad's back in Sydney."
"What? When did he leave?"
"Last night. Didn't he tell you he was heading home?"
"Yes, but we assumed he would have changed his plans now that the offers are flooding in. Ugggh! That irresponsible boy! We're in the midst of a bidding war, and he knows we can't make any moves without him," Felicity huffed.
"Dad's become quite set in his ways, and he really missed the coffee from this café he goes to every morning in Rose Bay," Nick tried explaining.
"There are billions of dollars at stake here and he's complaining about the coffee? As if Folgers Crystals here aren't good enough for him!" Victoria scoffed.
Rachel jumped into the conversation. "Some people really can't function without their coffee. In New York, I have to grab my usual cup at Joe Coffee on the way to work or I won't be able to get through the morning."
"I'll never understand you coffee people." Victoria tut-tutted as she carefully stirred her cup of tea made from GFBOP* Orthodox leaves she had flown in every month from a special reserve estate in Tanzania.
"Call your father. Tell him we're in the middle of a heated bidding war and the house could be sold before the end of the week," Felicity ordered.
Nick looked at his aunts in surprise. "Are you all really intending on selling Tyersall Park that quickly?"
"We need to close the deal while the wok is sizzling! It's almost Chinese New Year, and everyone is feeling particularly prosperous and bold right now. Do you know that our top bid now exceeds three billion?" Alix excitedly reported.
Nick raised his eyebrows. "Who is it from, and how will they ensure that they will preserve the house?"
Felicity laughed. "Come on, Nicky, no one is going to preserve this house. The developers are only interested in the land-they are going to tear it all down."
Nick looked at Felicity in horror. "Wait a minute-how can they tear down the house? Isn't this a protected heritage property?"
Victoria shook her head. "If this was a Peranakan-style house, or a colonial Black and White, maybe it would have heritage protection, but this house is such a mishmash of styles. It was built by some Dutch architect that the sultan who originally owned the place brought in from Malaysia. It's an architectural folly."