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“Is that so?”
“It would be extremelyunfortunateif your resort suffered the same fate,” Mr. Russo continued, pausing to give me a meaningful look. “I’ve heard that you had some issues with the locals and a delay in the permits.”
I stiffened. “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Russo, but it’s nothing we can’t handle.”
Mr. Russo’s lips lifted into a sneer. “I’m sure that isn’t true, Ms. Gomez. I think you’ll find that staying in Miamiisn’tin your best interest.”
“And why is that?”
Mr. Russo shrugged and folded his arms over his chest. “It isn’t easy to operate a resort in Miami. It’s one of the hottest locations in the country.”
“I’m well aware of that, Mr. Russo.”
“So, you should also be aware that Mr. McIntyre has dominated the resort industry in Miami for some time now.”
“I am aware of that, yes.”
“Do you see where I’m going with this, Ms. Gomez? Mr. McIntyre doesn’t want to make an enemy out of Mr. Holt or his employees. We’ve steered clear of each other in the past. There’s no reason we can’t continue to do that.”
Not unless I wanted a very real target on my back.
And putting the employees who worked here in harm’s way.
Although I had heard the rumors about Howard McIntyre, and the allegations regarding his involvement with the cartel, I had tried not to give it much thought. Since our paths had never crossed, I had never been given a reason to worry.
Until now.
It was clear they thought we were moving in on their territory.
Russo was meant as a courtesy warning before shots were fired. Literally.
Unfortunately for him, I didn’t like strangers coming into my office unannounced and trying to intimidate me.
And I definitely didn’t like having my back against the wall by an enemy who was too condescending to do his own dirty work. The last thing I wanted was to return to New York with my tail between my legs and nothing to show for it. Not only would the company suffer a huge financial loss if we were to halt construction and hightail it back to the city, but I was also never going to live it down. While the board might be willing to forgive and forget, I wouldn’t be able to let myself off the hook.
I needed to up the security around the office and try to enter into negotiations with Mr. McIntyre in an attempt to please all parties. At the end of the day, we were all on the same page businesswise, and there was no reason Mr. McIntyre wouldn’t enter into a mutually beneficial arrangement given the right incentive.
I just needed to find out what would make a man like him back off.
“You and I will have to disagree, Mr. Russo,” I told him, with a tight smile. “We have every intention of going through with our plans for the resort, and we expect it to be a complete success. Many prominent guests have already expressed interest in staying here.”
“Youwillredirect those guests, Ms. Gomez.”
“Is that a threat, Mr. Russo?” I stepped out from behind my desk, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose. “Did you come into my office to threaten me?”
“Think of it as a suggestion. One I would strongly recommend you take.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t know what kind of people you dealt with before, Mr. Russo, but I am not like them. I am not here to be bullied or to take any kind of suggestions from you or anyone else in your company.”
“Ms. Gomez, I want to make sure you understand, this will be your one, and final warning.”
“I don’t thinkyouunderstand.” I came to a stop a few feet away, heart hammering wildly against my chest. “You can’t come in here and make threats and expect me to fall in line. That’s not how this works.”
You better hope to God that this guy isn’t trigger happy.
