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“Very.”
“Do you feel better?”
“I do.” I flashed him a wicked smile as I climbed into the back of the limo and changed from jeans, a t-shirt, and boots to a well-crafted suit and soft leather shoes.
Just another day of living my kind of life.
“Yes?” I answered a call as I secured my cufflinks.
“I thought you were going to take the meeting at nine via Zoom?” my father asked in his no-nonsense tone.
“My last meeting ran long.” I checked my hands and rubbed my swollen knuckles. I fished out some ice cubes and dropped them into a glass and pressed my knuckles against it. “Not to worry. I let them know, and we re-scheduled for tomorrow at two.”
“Oh, I guess my calendar didn’t update.” I heard some hard taps to his keyboard. “Cameron has a new client coming in, tomorrow morning at eleven. The guy owns Imalta Oil Industries, and Cameron wants you there since you’re so tight with,” he paused, and I heard him speak quietly to someone, “with Italy.”
“I’m sure Cameron does.” I rolled my eyes. “Is he aware I’m here in person and that it won’t be a video call?” I couldn’t help but grin at the thought that my unexpected early arrival would fuck with his head. Cameron Tame was a ruthless lawyer and had worked for our family for the past ten years. He’d come in just as I started to work internationally. Though he was great at what he did, we were oil and water, plus he sometimes forgot he worked for us and not the other way around.
“No, I figured it would be more fun to witness that in person.” He chuckled along with me. “But truth be told, son, we’re all looking forward to having you back permanently.” I knew he wanted to say more, but he knew it wouldn’t be wise.
“I am too.” I fixed my tie and thought how nice it was going to be to work from home. I’d been traveling so much over the past ten years, mostly in Mexico and Italy, that I was more than ready to settle into life in Vegas again.
“A lot’s changed since you left eighteen months ago, and Lord knows Knox wants out of dealing with your hotel build. That boy has his head in other places, and being in charge of building a hotel isn’t one of them.”
“Mm.” I rolled my eyes. My baby brother didn’t have much interest in any of our businesses. The only thing he enjoyed was spending the money they brought in. Dad thought since I had so much going on in Mexico that it might spark Knox’s interest if he took the lead on the project. The land was already purchased, but he would be my eyes and ears and make some of the early decisions with the developer on my hotel. I’d been skeptical but went with it. We both soon realized it wasn’t his thing, but at least he’d hung in there. I kept him going with constant contact and regular visits. The last stretch of time in Mexico had been long, and I knew Knox was happy I was on my way back.
Taking out the drug lord Martin Castillo had served me well. I could continue to move the highest quality drugs from Mexico through the US and straight to Vegas without his interference. It was incredibly important to make sure I could provide this for my guests. The alternative would open the gate for others to come in, and I’d lose that income. Though I had my thumb on many business opportunities, the drug trade was the most lucrative. Besides, any loss of control in one area would affect our bottom line overall, and it wasn’t in my nature to lose control of anything.
“Where are you now?” Dad broke my thoughts.
“I’m on the way to the plane. I flew into LA last night but stopped to help out Trigger.”
“And?”
“And it was a much-needed visit.” I glanced out the window and saw we’d arrived. “We’re at the plane now.”
“Do you see Leo?” I smiled as I saw my other brother Leo in the plane’s window.
“I do.”
“Good.” I heard him tap away on his keyboard again. Dad might be a ruthless businessman, but he sure as hell loved his sons.
“Dad, I’ll be home shortly. Can we talk then?”
“Looking forward to it.” He paused. “Remember to change into your jacket.”
“Already done.” I hung up and stepped out as the driver opened my door.
Cartwright filled me in as I walked toward the steps of the plane. “Jet is fueled. It’ll be a nice, short flight to Las Vegas. The skies are clear.”
“Great, thank you.”
He handed me my personal bag. “Safe flight, sir.” With that, he turned and headed up the stairs.
Just as he disappeared inside the plane, vehicles could be heard.
“Grim?” Jesse, my right-hand man, stepped quickly to my side as two blacked out limos approached. “Were we expecting company?”
“Yeah.” I gritted my teeth and tried to pull up the energy this was going to take. “Sorry in advance.”
