Page 43 of On One Condition

“Yes. I know about that. I assure you I’m more than thorough in my research before jumping into negotiations.” I pause for effect. “No stone is left unturned. It’s important to know what I’m jumping into before I make the first phone call to express interest.”

Yes, Hiro, I know everything about everything. Like his affair with his assistant. Like how he’s using some of the equity in the property we want to pay off his gambling debts.

Yes, I know he has no other choice than to sell.

His silence tells me my message was heard.

“I’m not in the business of lowballing people. This is a more than fair evaluation that he won’t get from anyone else.”

“Understood.” His voice is a little less steady now. It’s also more than bullshit that Takashi isn’t speaking to me himself. No doubt he’s standing beside him, listening to this whole conversation, too chickenshit to deal with me himself. Hiro clears his throat. “He’ll have a decision for you by the end of the week.”

“No. He’ll have a decision for me by the end of the hour or the deal is off the table. Talk soon.” I hang up without letting him respond.

Always negotiate from a place of power.

My father’s words come back to me. My smile is bittersweet, the pang in my chest still raw.

He was a hard man. Demanding. Unmalleable. He loved his sons with all his heart, but he definitely expected perfection. And for reasons I had no control over, he expected it the most from me. I was his firstborn. I was the most like him.

I don’t know the reason, but some days I loathed it, others I understood it. Regardless, it made me the man I am today, so I have to respect it.

And I’m not going to lie, the high I get from negotiating a purchase like this new project in Tokyo is pretty damn spectacular.

Even if it means my plans for the night to go to Connor’s and see if Asher is there were thwarted.

It’s not like you don’t know where she lives, Ledge.

I have an hour to kill waiting for Takashi to respond—and he’ll respond with a minute or two to go simply to let me know he’s in charge—and a bottle of whiskey in my desk drawer that was a welcome gift from the owner of Cedar Falls Outdoor Adventures to drink while I wait.

At least someone in this town is glad we’re here.

I stare at the bottle and then out the window toward the direction of Connor’s where I’d prefer to be, and then back to the bottle.

I’m two glasses in when my cell rings. Like I thought, Takashi pushed it till the last minute. I have half a mind to let it go to voicemail and make him sweat it out, but I want this deal done so S.I.N. can move forward.

And so I can cross another item off my list of things I wanted to accomplish: expand the S.I.N. brand into Asia.

“Takashi.”

“Sharpe.” He doesn’t sound happy. Not my problem. When you’re the golden boy of one of Japan’s biggest tycoons and are about to find yourself in a fire sale to cover your ass, you wouldn’t be either.

“I’m assuming you have an answer for me.”

His sigh is heavy, his distaste for me palpable. “Yes.”

“Yes?” Say it, fucker. Say, we have a deal.

Another sigh of reluctance. Or distaste. Either one is fine with me. “I accept your offer.”

I fist-pump into the empty room, but when I speak, my voice is controlled. “Congratulations, Takashi. I’ll have my counsel reach out to yours and get the details situated.”

“You gave me no choice,” he says.

“No. You gave yourself no choice. I’m just being a smart businessman. I’ll be in touch.”

I end the call, sit my ass on the edge of my desk, and just take a minute for the acquisition of Miyako-Jima Resort to sink in. Six months of negotiations. Three visits to Japan. It will all be worth it though. I fire off a text to Callahan and Ford to let them know the deal is done, but it’s late in New York, and I don’t expect an answer.

High from the adrenaline rush of clinching a deal that will potentially open the Asian market for S.I.N. investments, I swallow the rest of what’s left in my glass. Antsy and with too much energy, I grab my keys and head out the door of the resort.