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CHAPTER 34
LEO
Since he returned from New York, Leo was slammed with meetings with bankers, potential investors, and other non-profit meetings about the Rose Village project. Rumors circulated that the Walker Foundation would be announcing the winners of the grant any day, so in case they didn’t get it, he and Ben worked on a back-up plan for financing.
Cassandra had been busy too. At the last minute, she accompanied the repatriation team to attend a series of meetings with museum directors in Paris. She was back now, and he couldn’t wait to see her. They stayed in touch by phone and text. It was finally Friday, and he’d cleared his calendar for the weekend. Kissing her last Sunday hadn’t been nearly enough to satisfy his longing for her, and he intended on making the most of their time together.
After a morning answering emails, he went to the Rose Village site to meet with community leaders about design issues.
It was late afternoon when Leo climbed into his Land Rover. His phone buzzed with an incoming call from Malcolm. He could ignore it, but Malcolm was persistent. He’d keep calling. He slid the phone into its cradle and answered. “What is it?” he asked with impatience, buckling his seatbelt, and starting the engine.
“I have a question for you.”
“Ask.”
“I have a contact in Greece who monitors the transfer of property for me. Cassandra Papadakis is listed as the new owner of a parcel of land on Crete. What are your plans for the property?”
What the hell? “First, the land doesn’t belong to me. Second, since I don’t own the property, I have no plans for it.”
“She’s your girlfriend. I thought you were more persuasive than that with women.”
His pulse pounded with anger. Malcolm was deliberately baiting him. Well, he wasn’t going to bite. “This conversation is ridiculous. It’s not my property.”
“I know you’re coming after Sutton Properties, Leo.”
Anxiety rippled through him. Malcolm had found out Leo wanted to stake a claim for the company? He couldn’t discuss any of this right now. That conversation had to wait until the board meeting. Better to play dumb. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You’re planning on bringing Nikos’s daughter to Grandfather’s birthday party and pretend you’ve changed. And then you’re going to make your move for the company at the board meeting, but it’s not going to happen. I’m onto you, Leo. You’re going to use this property as leverage to influence the Board, and it won’t work.”
Malcolm was right about him making a play for the company, but wrong about using Cassandra’s property to do it. Her property had nothing to do with Leo’s plan. His anxiety lessened. Malcolm had no idea what was about to happen.
He laughed in relief. “You’re right, Malcolm. You discovered my plan,” he said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. “I’m using Cassandra to get her property and show Gramps I’ll be able to run Sutton Properties. Eventually I’ll take over Argo Construction from her father. I’m a fucking genius.” He ended the call and drove out of the parking lot.
He took a deep breath and his thoughts shifted to Cassandra. He would be with her in a few hours. Everything was out in the open now, and they were both free to be together.
