Page 39

Renee knew how this was supposed to go. Her job, as the youngest sister, was to identify his displeasure and set about soothing it.Yes, of course, Er Ge. I’ll clear my schedule. Come up to my office and I’ll get you some refreshments while you say whatever the hell you want to me.

She glanced at her phone. “You’re in luck. I’ve got a gap now, though we’ll have to wrap up before four thirty.”

Renee had never been good at managing her brothers’ feelings for them. It was one of the many ways in which she was a failure as a daughter and a sister, by the standards of her family.

Su Khoon’s face twitched. But he knew, just as Renee did, that their behaviour was under scrutiny. Neither could afford to lose points with their father, and they could trust that the other would not waste any advantage they gave away.

“It’s about Chahaya,” he said, with what for him amounted to patience. “We should talk in private.” He cleared his throat. “Can we go to your office?”

For Su Khoon, even this courtesy—making a request of his younger sister, instead of commanding her—amounted to a loss of face. He’d see it as a strategic concession.

Renee decided to take it as a good omen. Maybe they were going to be able to work together, after all.

“Sure,” she said. “Come on up.”

Su Khoon looked around Renee’s office with an expression of faint disgust.

“A little over the top, no?” he said.

This might have hurt Renee’s feelings fifteen years ago, but the one nice thing about her brothers trying to ruin her reputation was that it had made her indifferent to their approval. Anyway, she knew what Su Khoon’s office was like—a gleaming glass-walled room at the top of a skyscraper, with pictures of him shaking hands with various dignitaries and industry tycoons, looking like a dick.

Renee’s office was much nicer, no contest. Virtu rented a serviced unit on the top floor of a restored Edwardian property, so there wasn’t much she could do about the dimensions or layout of the space. But it had large windows, letting in ample natural light, and she’d painted the walls in muted pastels: mint green, blush pink, primrose yellow and hazy blue. Her room was furnished with vintage finds from antique markets and eBay, batik sarongs repurposed as wall hangings, nineteenth-century prints of Southeast Asian flora and fauna, and a thriving miniature grove of plants that was the bane of Louise’s life.

What obviously annoyed Su Khoon the most was the display of framed articles and awards, including a blown-up image of theVogue Singaporecover featuring Renee. She’d dithered over putting up theVoguecover, worrying it might come off as narcissistic, but Su Khoon’s jaundiced expression put doubt to rest. It was one hundred percent worth it.

“I’ll get to the point,” said Su Khoon crisply, turning so he couldn’t see the cover. “Dad’s getting old. If he was in his right mind he wouldn’t be giving you ideas about running Chahaya.”

“You don’t want a drink, then?” said Renee. She poked her head out of the office. “Louise, could I have a green tea, please? Lovely, thanks.”

“You don’t need to think it’s a compliment, what Dad’s doing,” said Su Khoon, when she’d got her green tea and shut the door. “He wants to test me and Su Beng, keep us guessing. After all these years, he’s still hoping to get Da Ge to shape up.” He looked down his nose at her, cold. “You’re only useful because Da Ge’s stupid enough to believe you’re actually in the running.”

Renee sat down behind her desk, not bothering to offer her brother a seat. He’d take one if he felt like it.

“That must be annoying for you,” she said. “Having to go through this charade, if you think Dad’s preselected Da Ge anyway.”

“Dad has his preferred choice. He’s traditional,” said Su Khoon. “But he’s not stupid. Da Ge’s going to mess up. Then Dad will see there’s only one person for the job.”

Renee sipped her tea while she considered her response.

Dad would want her to be discreet and accommodating, not say things she knew would piss her brother off.

But being herself had always been her best asset in business, if not in her personal life. Which meant saying what she thought. It was not an approach her family had ever appreciated, but she had to set the terms on which she was willing to engage with them, if this exercise was to be sustainable in the long run.

“Yourself, you mean,” she said. “That’s why you’re here. You’re confident about beating Su Beng, but you’re scared I’m real competition.”

Su Khoon scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. You think you can manage Chahaya? Your little fashion label’s all very well. I assume you’re not losing money if you can afford to fill your office with this crap.”

He glanced around the room again to show what he thought of it. Renee bit her tongue so as not to say,No, we aren’t losingmoney. Unlike some other people I could name. What was the cryptocurrency you invested in called again—IdiotCoin?

Squabbling with her brothers always reverted her to about age twelve.

“But Chahaya’s beyond you,” Su Khoon was saying. “You can’t take the stress. A little criticism in the newspapers and you ran away. The CEO of Chahaya has to be tougher than that.”

He lowered himself to the sofa, leaning forward and meeting Renee’s eyes.

“Look, I didn’t come here to fight,” he said. “You’re a sensible girl. You need to be realistic about what’s going to happen if you try to take over Chahaya. This isn’t about you or whatever you want to prove. Chahaya is about the family. If you mess up, it’s not only money or investments you’re risking. It’s our future—the kids’ future. They deserve to benefit from everything Dad’s worked so hard to build. True or not?”

This was a calculated blow beneath the belt, attempting to deploy Renee’s nephews and nieces against her.