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I didn’t expect him to give in so quickly, but I was pleased. I didn’t show it, though. That was one of my negotiation techniques: never show emotions.
"Fantastic," Julian said, and I threw him a warning look. He composed himself, then said, "We'll tell legal to draw up all the papers. Have a good day."
"And you as well," Danielson said through gritted teeth. Though he couldn’t bethatpissed off. His company was going to make a lot of cash.
I walked out of the meeting room, and Julian came with me. The deal was applicable company-wide, but he and I sold the most booze, so we were in charge of this particular negotiation.
Back when Dad ran the company along with the grandfathers and grandmothers, they'd split these tasks among themselves. My brothers and I all interned in the company from an early age, so we learned the ropes without even trying. Now it came easy to us.
"I stand by what I said. You should somehow take over all the negotiations in the company," Julian said. "The guy was shitting his pants."
As we entered my office, I shrugged. "I like to make my position clear. But I always stay respectful."
"Exactly. You don’t even raise your voice. You're basically like a stoic wall. And all our suppliers are going to run headfirst into it. Xander is great at the making-a-deal shit too."
My younger brother was very focused and exacting—sometimes maybe even a bit too much. We all were, but Xander took the cake.
"Zachary excels at negotiations, too, when he wants to," I added. Zachary liked to say that he had multiple personalities and applied each according to the situation. Mostly he was like Julian—playing the good cop in negotiations and generally being blasé about everything else. But if there was an emergency, he was the one whose help I wanted.
He credited his ability to respond under pressure because he volunteered as an ambulance paramedic one night a week for the past few years.
"Right, I'll tell everyone about our new deal. I mean, it won't be a surprise. Anthony and Beckett all figured we’d pull itthrough." He scratched his cheek and said, "Actually, you know what? Let's all meet tonight at the bar. I've got a new jazz band starting tonight. We can celebrate, and you lot can give me your input."
"Sounds like a deal." Even though we owned multiple bars across the city—and even the Quarter, I knew exactly which one he meant. It was where Julian had his office too.
"Sarah is picking Bella up from school, I’m guessing?” Julian asked.
"Yes. And they’re going directly to her home."
I looked down from the window into the building’s outdoor courtyard. Even though I was on the third floor, I could still see what was happening on the ground floor. Scarlett was sitting at one of the small tables, sipping from a cup. What was it about this woman that drew me in so badly?
She tilted her head to one side, pressing her fingers on the side of her neck. Did she ache there? I could help with that. Fuck, I could help with anything she needed.
Yes, I'd almost kissed her. I couldn't explain what had gotten into me.
"Well," Julian said, "what do we have here?"
I glanced at him. I hadn't even realized he'd come to the window too.
"Scarlett caught your eye, didn't she?”
I cleared my throat, rearranging my cuff links. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Brother, you're not prone togazingout a window. Besides, the angle of your head was a dead giveaway that you’re looking straight at her."
"It's none of your business," I said.
He threw his head back, laughing. "You know, when you first told me about your celibacy idea—"
I'd never live that down. "Fucking hell. I'm never getting drunk around you again."
"On the contrary. You should get drunk more often. Helps you to get loose, share all of your grand ideas with us.”
“Julian—”
“Forget it.”
“See you tonight?”
