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My back straightens as I tell her what I had been thinking while I was sitting with Shi Lei. "Renting a place where we can fit forty or fifty girls. Maybe a whole floor of apartments so we can keep them altogether and security will be easier. We'll keep the apartments we already have so that when the girls are ready to move out, they can move into these apartment before moving onto other places if they want with their friends.” I take a breath. "All this is going to take money."
Ananya sighs. "Money, money, everything takes money. We need more work. There’s just enough to go around right now, but not for another twenty girls. Not without getting more work from the casinos in Macau."
A certain blue-eyed blond's face grins at me inside my head and I wave a hand in front of my face trying to shoo him away.
Ananya frowns as she watches my antics. “What are you thinking about?
"I don't want to tell you."
"Why?"
"You're going to tell me it's a good idea, but trust me, it's not."
She resettles, folding her legs under her, her face filled with interest.
I'm about to regret what I have to do.
twelve
Kylian
Almost four years ago, my grandfather passed away leaving his entire 60% stake in our company to my three brothers and me. We’ve spent the years since his death getting situated in all the regions that Baxter has a presence: the Australia and Oceania region is headed by Damien, Kingsley in Europe, Matthias in the United States, and me in Southeast Asia. My grandfather made a deal with the company’s board before he died for Kingsley to take over as CEO once he turns 42 at the end of this year, just in time for the company’s centennial. For the time being, however, our uncle Gerald is interim CEO, as well as the utter bane of our existence. We know he's trying to find a way to oust all of us so that he can eventually be voted in as CEO instead of Kingsley. So far he's been unsuccessful, but there's no telling what plans he has.
Each Wednesday, the four of us have a standing appointment to check in with each other about any topic, business or personal. My brothers call it the "catch up" hour; I call it the "Pick on Baby Brother" hour.
But I still show up, every week, at 1 p.m. Hong Kong time, on the dot.
The secret room on the company's server shows that one person is already in there when I log in. There’s an image of an empty leather office chair and the sound of someone caterwauling in the background.
"Matthias! Seriously, grandfather did you and, frankly, the rest of us, a big favor when he pulled the funding on your singing lessons,” I yell, covering my ears.
Matthias's face appears, so close to the camera that I could count the pores on his nose if he didn't spend a not-so-small fortune on the esthetician he has based in Baxter's headquarters in New York. Matthias pulls back far enough to open his mouth so wide I can see his uvula, he’s the one who picked the time so he can't complain. As the biggest playboy out of the four of us, I guess he figured that by 1:30 a.m. he'd be done with his "business" with whatever the girl of the day’s name is, and he'd be hyper for another hour before bed.
"Myy heeeaaart willlll goooo onnnn," he croaks at the top of his lungs with a flourish.
Kingsley enters the chat with his hands clasped over his ears. "Dear lord, I thought torture had been banned by the Geneva convention of 1949. Who is skinning a live husky?!"
"I'm pretty sure the saying is "skinning a live cat,” Matthias stops shrieking long enough to say.
"Fuck that, no cat makes that noise. Only a husky can howl like that."
"We've got to be talking about Matthias," Damien says, the last to join the chat as usual. Time is an elastic construct in Damien's head. One that revolves around him.
"Hey, guys!" a sweet female voice with a slight Australian accent pipes up.
"My-Linh!" I say, waving to Damien’s fiancée, by far one of my favorite women on this earth. "Did you get the spices I sent you?"
"Hi, My-Linh," Matthias and Kingley pipe up just as she opens her mouth, cutting her off.
"Guys! Let the woman talk," I growl. Other than Damien, I'm her favorite Baxter and I don't take kindly to my other brothers trying to vie for her attention.
"Hi Matthias! Hi Kingsley! How are you two doing?” She says with a big wave. “And, yes, Kylian, I got the spices, and my mom sends you ahugethank you. It was exactly what was missing from her dish. The Szechuan pepper we get here just isn't as good."
"No problem, just let me know if I can send you anything else. Like me, for example," I tease her.
There's a distinctive Damien growl and he pulls her into his lap, glaring right into the camera. She giggles and wraps her arms around his neck, giving his cheek a big kiss.
I make a face and lean close to the camera as if telling her a secret. "I'm just saying, My-Linh, once you get sick of that buffoon, maybe you can move onto one of the more good-looking Baxters."
