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Lincoln
“Areyou humming that Bobby McGee song?”
I glared at Beau over the contract I studied. Of course I hadn’t been humming. I didn’t hum.
“I can’t get that blasted song out of my head either,” she said before I could respond.
DidI actually hum?
“The terms of this offer aren’t aggressive enough.” I set the papers on my desk.
Beau plopped into one of the chairs opposite me. “A two-day close isn’t aggressive enough?”
“I’ve dealt with this man a lot. He likes to feel like he’s the one gaining the most from the transaction.”
“Everyone likes to feel that way.”
I leaned back. Wasn’t that pure truth? But that was the fun of real estate. Figuring out the exact term I was willing to concede but made the other party feel like they had the upper hand.
“I don’t think we should move forward with this.” Beau propped her feet on my desk.
I’d missed her. On opposite shores of the Atlantic Ocean, together we’d built a real estate empire. We bought, sold, and developed both commercial and residential projects. And I’d missed the debates and strategy sessions that had taken our company to the next level. They simply weren’t the same on the phone or video chat.
I hadn’t figured out a way to keep her in the city, something I should probably recruit Teague to help with. But I dreaded when she went back to London. I knew my sister well enough not to say that or she’d be on the first flight out of here.
“What he’s asking isn’t a bad deal.” I glanced behind me at the gray Manhattan skyline. It matched my mood.
“I know.” She sighed. “But I didn’t like what we saw in the tour. There were some cosmetic things that looked all right on the surface, though I’m pretty sure they were just Band-Aids for bigger problems.”
I was impressed she’d noticed. Beau might actually be better at the real estate business than I was, despite that I had six years more experience. She’d made our UK office what it was single-handedly and created a fantastic portfolio of properties not only throughout Europe, but on a global scale.
“There’s room in the price to make repairs and still be profitable.”
She folded her hands on her lap. “I don’t have a good feeling about it.”
I trusted her instincts implicitly. In this instance, they didn’t matter. I was moving forward with this deal.
“It’s an opportunity to expand to a new area.”
“I agree we should explore the area, but this isn’t the property to do it.”
It was the best one I’d found on the market. There wasn’t time to pursue off-market options.
“We need to seize on what’s available,” I said evenly.
“Why are you so attached to this place?”
Leave it to my sister to see through my motives. “I’ve made an empire with my methods.” And because I wanted it now.
She narrowed her gaze. “We’ve made an empire.”
“Yes. We have.” I didn’t want an unnecessary argument with Beau. She was a greater asset to the business than I was. “My point is that this is how I operate.”
“I’ve worked with you almost fifteen years. I know exactly how you operate.”
“Not on an in-person basis.” Why was I engaging in this discussion? Had I not just thought I wanted to avoid an escalation? “Change the offer to include paying all closing costs.”
She dropped her feet to the floor. “Are we trying to give away the farm here?” She shook her head. “No way. That’s a generous offer. More than fair. We’re in the business of making money.”
