Landlord Wars(66)

Gwen covered her mouth. “Oops.”

Jack’s eyes widened, and he hurriedly reached for a napkin off a nearby table. “You okay, Soph?” He handed me the napkin and then looked down my dress, concern filling his face. “Will that come out?”

No, it probably won’t, I thought but didn’t say.

I dabbed the spot and said, “It’s okay,” though the spot was black and obvious against the deep emerald of the finest thing I’d ever owned. A crushing feeling filled my chest. I would not cry. I would not let this woman get to me.

I should be fuming with anger. Instead, I was resigned. The more I was around Gwen, the more I saw her true colors. But I wouldn’t let her ruin this night. “Go on ahead,” I told Jack. “I’ll run by the ladies’ room and see if I can get this out.”

Gwen grabbed a reluctant Jack’s arm and tugged him in the opposite direction.

He held up his hand like a phone. “Okay, but call if you need me.”





Chapter Thirty





Max





Several of the City Hall antechambers at the top of the Grand Staircase were closed off by heavy, colorful curtains, and that was where my parents had asked me to meet them. But I was questioning my decision to do so more by the moment. The person from the planning department hadn’t shown, and all I could think about was Sophia. The last thing I wanted to do was sit around waiting for this guy.

Finally, a balding man in a sharp tux, with his glittery wife of a similar age, snuck past the curtains and into the antechamber.

“Max, this is Samuel Thompson and his wife,” my father said.

Though closer to my parents’ age, the man looked slick, and not at all like the workers I was used to dealing with from the planning department.

I’d been trying to reach the person in charge all week to find out how long Cityscape permits would be tied up. Normally, getting in touch wasn’t an issue, given my company’s reputation and past successful projects. But ever since news about my parents’ financial debacle was made public, we’d become family non grata. The only reason society wasn’t outright ignoring us this evening was because my mother had planned the entire event.

And it was for charity. San Francisco society had put their trash-talking on hold until after the charity ball.

I greeted the newcomers. After a few moments of casual chitchat, my mother engaged Samuel’s wife in a conversation about the charity, and I started to mention Cityscape—until my father interjected.

“Max has other projects coming down the pipeline too, including one called Starlight that would turn an entire city block into a work of art. It’ll become a destination for tourists and bring in more money than the city has ever seen.”

That was a vast exaggeration. Not to mention that Starlight wasn’t one of my projects.

I clenched my jaw. Other than tourists looking in from the outside at how the wealthy lived, Starlight would not be a part of the community, nor provide anything useful to them. And I’d made it clear to my father I wouldn’t be working on it.

I shot my father a glare that Samuel didn’t seem to notice.

“Well,” Samuel said, “that certainly sounds interesting. Though Cityscape is more manageable, as it would serve an immediate need. But there’s always room to review other ideas…” He looked at me hesitantly. “My understanding is that there’s a bit of an issue where the funding is concerned for Cityscape.”

“The funding is solid,” I said. “There is a rumor about my parents that doesn’t involve my business or my company’s liquidity.” Normally, I wouldn’t have put it so bluntly, but my father was pissing me off, and I’d lost all patience.

“Max,” my mother said, turning from her conversation with Samuel’s wife. “It’s so bourgeois to talk about money at a ball.” She smiled at Samuel. “Please don’t listen to everything you hear. There will be an announcement tonight that should make things very clear where our family stands in the pecking order.”

I sipped the champagne I’d been handed, forcing myself to not roll my eyes. Whatever my mother had to announce, I wanted no part of it. Sophia should have arrived by now, and I was eager to find her.

It was clear this meeting was never meant for Cityscape, and I was done here. I held out my hand to Samuel. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a guest waiting. My father can fill you in on his Starlight project, and I’ll reach out this week to discuss Cityscape.”

Samuel hemmed and hawed for a moment. “I’m not the one in charge. I can only pass along a word or two. With the right incentive…”

I didn’t allow my face to show emotion, though a sneaking suspicion took root. I glanced at my father, who gave me a short nod.

He’d bought this guy off? For Starlight?

Fuck. I hated this shit. It was why I’d refused to go into politics when my parents and their friends had suggested it. Enough dirty politics took place in business—present company a case in point—and it made me want to shower. Especially when dealing with those who claimed to care, when all they wanted was to line their pockets.

This man wouldn’t receive a dime from me. Either my projects were sound or they didn’t go through.

“Excuse me,” I said and stepped back. “I need to be somewhere.”