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I don’t hide the way my upper lip lifts in disgust. “Maksim Giordano.” I drop his hand just as his hazel eyes shift to someone else in the room, and he scurries over to kiss more ass. The good thing here is that not every person in this boardroom is a member of the Syndicate. I can appeal to their nature as businessmen, and not a way to “keep it in the family.”While owning a good share of PresCorp would not only be good for my image, but to gain a bit more access into their world would help me… and Maverick.
While they have their own agenda, their own vendetta against the brotherhood, they hurt my wife. Even though it was only one man, they all need to pay.
“Mr. Giordano, you’ve surprised us by attending this meeting. Can we… ask what this is about?”
“Gentlemen, I won’t take much of your time. I know I’ve intruded, and I do appreciate you letting me into this meeting when you could have thrown me out.” I take a stand, walk over to the large windows overlooking the city, and turn. “It was brought to my attention that PresCorp will be going through a few changes, and I was thinking bringing fresh eyes and a fresh mindset would help bring about those changes. While I understand I’m not a part of a few…organizationsthat make up parts of PresCorp, I do know this city like the back of my hand. I know the ins, the outs. I know how to turn a… flailing business into a thriving one. You should know, you’ve tried to purchase the Romanoff Deli from me quite a few times over the years. Not to mention, my clubs generate the highest revenue in the states they’re located in.”
Honestly, I’m talking out of my ass. But I'm talking to their wallets. Not them. “I understand this meeting is about a lot of things. So, I’ll be speaking to Mr. Prescott directly.”
Eyes like crystallized glaciers meet mine. Red-rimmed. Pupils slightly blown. The guy’s high. Prescott makes a motion with his hand that tells me to continue. Of course he does, he’ll probably slur hiswords if he speaks. Then again, Niko did warn me the man has blown through quite a chunk of their fortune.
“You’ll be bringing an outsider into your business – someone who not only has never lived in the states but does not know how this city works, how it beats. He’s achildcompared to you and me.”
“Oh please, he’s a fucking mobster!” I hear from the furthest side of the table, proving my point.
“A mobster with a doctorate in business administration, Mr. Burton. A mobster who knows the market, knows the streets, knows what could rake in more money by listening to the people and tweaking it to see profit and fill pockets.”
“Then go for bloody Mayor.”
Hmm. Not a bad idea. There are worse people in office that don’t know their asshole from a hole in the ground. With my wife by my side, I know I could easily take office.
I keep my eyes on Prescott’s. “I have carried the weight and burden of four generations and turned profit after profit. I’ve seen what works and fixed what doesn’t, acquiring billions instead of thousands, even in this economy.”
Prescott's jaw works, freaky pale sky eyes scan over me, and finally, “Tell us how you’ve managed to do that.”
I grin. “I would, Mr. Prescott. But… I don’t work for free. If you can hold off on selling to Mr. Burton today, you and I can speak privately.”
“This is ridiculous! I am a fresh set of eyes! Iama new mindset! My father-”
Again, I keep my eyes steady on Jaxson. “That’s right, yourdaddysent you here, Burton. You sit on old money, and I createnew. Hush now, the men are speaking.”
Seconds tick by in the deathly silent room as Prescott seems to weigh my words. Then, ever so slowly, he nods and rises to his feet. “I’ll have my assistant reach out to you.”
David and Parker rise as Jaxson makes his way around the table, and we meet halfway. He shoves his clammy hand into mine, and we shake. “Do you have time for a coffee in my office?”
I dip my chin. “That works for me.”
“Meeting adjourned!” he shouts over his shoulder, then leads us through the hallways to what I assume, is the late Stephen Prescott’s former executive office. He shuts the door behind us.
An hour later, as soon aswe step out of the PresCorp Tower, Niko is waiting for us by the curb, biting into a hotdog with a grin as we all watch David practically run to the black Lincoln Town Car waiting for him and hops in.
“Take it things went well?” Niko says around a bite, his aviator shades covering those big blues of his.
I laugh, “I have no idea why he’s running away. The meeting went better than we thought it would… up until Prescott tried to serve us ‘fresh’ blow. I think he scandalized my father-in-law.”
Parker starts laughing. “It was in a candy dish. It had aspoon. It was like watching that scene inScarface.”
Niko chuckles, walking around to open the driver side door. “I love that movie.‘First, you get the money…’”
Parker chimes in to tell him he’s quoting the movie wrong while my phone starts ringing. I take it out of my pocket to see Jonny calling me. “Yeah?”
“Hey Boss…” His voice is in a low whisper, and he sounds clutched. It takes us no time to pile into the bulletproof SUV, my Bluetooth immediately connecting so we can all hear Jonny.
“Don’t mean to alert you or make you drive faster, but uh… your wife is here.”
I lift a brow. “What do you mean my wife is ‘here?’ Where is ‘here?’”
“She’s here, at Eden. At the bar…”