Chloe rested her head against the glass. “You said Tyler was the perfect guy, and look how that turned out.”
“This time it will be better. I promise.”
Chloe wasn’t so sure, but she reluctantly agreed. What other choices did she have? Internet guys? No, she wasn’t ready to go down that road. Maybe Blair’s next choice wouldn’t be such a disaster.
Chapter Ten
“Mr.Campbell,Mr.Vandersluishas arrived for your meeting,” Annabelle, Theo’s assistant, announced.
“Thank you.” Theo shrugged into his suit jacket and made his way to the boardroom.
“Andrew,” Theo greeted as he entered the room and extended his arm, “good to see you.”
Andrew shook his proffered hand. “It’s been a long time.” Andrew glanced around the elaborate room with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Central Park. His face screwed up with distaste as he took in the mahogany table, black leather chairs, and Marc Chagall painting on the far wall. “I see business is doing well for you.”
“I can’t complain,” Theo said, taking a seat. He gestured to Andrew to do the same.
It wasn’t a secret Andrew Vandersluis held a grudge against the Campbell brothers. Their business had skyrocketed, making them millions, while Andrew’s was nose-diving fast.
Blake joined them in small talk as Annabelle poured coffee. When she left the room, Andrew leaned back in his chair. “I don’t think you’ve called me all this way for a chat. What is it I can do for you?”
“I’ve heard you want to sell your building near the Javits,” Theo said, cutting to the chase.
Andrew lifted an eyebrow. “Who told you that?”
Giving a shrug, he said, “Word gets around.” He had people scouting locations and gathering information on properties in New York. There wasn’t much Theo didn’t know about Manhattan.
Andrew’s face hardened. “I’m gathering you’ve called me here because you’re interested in buying.”
Theo placed his elbows on the armrests of his chair and steepled his fingers. “Only if the price is right.”
He nodded to Blake, and his brother slid a folder to Andrew. “You’ll find our offer in there,” Blake said.
Andrew paused with his hand on the folder, staring at Blake and then Theo before opening it and flicking through the pages inside. Andrew’s face grew red. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“It’s a fair price. Because I know what state the building’s in. I know there’s a lot of work to be done to bring it up to scratch and up to code. And I know you’ve paid forreportsthat smudge over the truth about what it’s really like.”
A vein ticced at the side of Andrew’s neck. “If you think there’s something wrong with it—”
“Iknowthere is.” Theo gave him a hard stare. “And I know you do too.”
Andrew shifted in his seat. “Why are you interested if you know it’s in such poor condition?”
“It’s a good location. We can do a lot with it,” he said with a shrug. It was the truth as far as he was willing to admit. There was no way he was going to tell Andrew that his building near the Javits was sitting atop prime bedrock. “Are you going to sell to us or not?”
Andrew opened the folder back up, pulled out the piece of paper with their offer written on it, and scoffed. “You couldn’t buy the ground floor with this amount.”
“Our offer is more than generous.” Theo hooked an ankle on top of his knee, awaiting Andrew’s inevitable temper tantrum.
“If you accept our terms, we can have our lawyers settle the sale within two months.” Blake added. “Plenty of time to pay those sharks circling you after that Atlantic City deal went bust.”
Red mottled up Andrew’s cheeks. “I’m not accepting this.” He flung the folder, sailing it across the desk. “You might have fooled my father into selling this place to you for next to nothing, but you’re not dealing with an old man. I don’t intend to sell to you.”
Theo had expected this and had prepared for this eventuality. Spearing Andrew with a steely gaze, he said, “You won’t get a better offer, I promise you that. But I’ll give you time to think it over.” He paused. “But don’t even attempt to try to pull one over on me. It won’t work. You won’t like the result.” Theo pressed a button on the intercom. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you. I’ll have Annabelle show you out.”
“I can find my own way.” Andrew pushed himself out of the chair and stomped from the room.
“That went well.” Blake blew out a breath and kicked his feet on top of the shiny table. “He’s a fool if he rejects our offer. Selling that property is the only way he’s going to avoid losing everything.”