Page 15 of The Kiss Keeper
He sure as hell did.
Charlie ran Linton Holdings himself. There were no partners. Just Charles P. Linton, reigning supreme at the top of his empire. To become a full partner meant Linton Holdings would one day be his to control.
Jake Teller, the boy orphaned at thirteen who scraped his way through life, beating out others with higher pedigrees and unlimited resources, would control it all.
And more than money or sex or the thrill of closing a deal, the thing Jake craved most was control.
If convincing a couple to sell a few hundred acres of land in Maine was the price, then he’d suck it up, ignore the wounds of his past, and write the damn check himself.
It was time to lock away the memories and do what he did best.
“How high are you willing to go?” he asked his mentor.
Charlie’s hint of a smile was back. “Twenty-five. Thirty, tops. If you can scoop it up for twenty, I’ll give you the damn five as a partner bonus.”
Five million.
Sure, he had almost ten million sacked away, but to make a cool five with one deal was nothing to scoff at.
Charlie leaned in. “But you can’t mention Linton Holdings. This deal will need to be transacted under one of our subsidiaries. Use Lighthouse Investments if anyone asks.”
Jake frowned. “Is this that delicate of a deal?”
It wasn’t that uncommon for developers to remain anonymous, but that was usually for high-profile or controversial projects.
Charlie narrowed his gaze. “Think of what you want, Jake. Think of what closing this deal will mean.”
It would mean everything. An everything that might be able to fill the void in his heart.
He swallowed past the lump in his throat. “I’ll do it.”
His boss looked past him and nodded, a damn strange thing to do after offering up his company. But when Jake turned and found a man in a dark suit sporting a chauffeur’s cap heading their way, he shook his head.
“You old bastard! How’d you know I’d say yes?”
“Because you’re hungry, Jake, and you’re willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top. I know a thing or two about that,” Charlie replied, then waved the driver over.
The man nodded to Charlie. “Good afternoon, Mr. Linton. Mr. Teller, I picked up your bags from your suite and took the liberty to pack the additional items Mr. Linton had sent over from the Bergen Mountain Sports store in Denver.”
“Mountain sports store?” Jake questioned.
Charlie gave him a dry laugh. “You’ve been to Maine, Jake. We can’t have you trouncing around in five-thousand-dollar suits. I know the Bergen family and asked them to pull together some apparel for the trip.”
“I could have stopped by my place.”
While Linton Holding was a global company with offices all over the world, the headquarters were located in Denver. He had a loft downtown, a place he rarely saw the inside of thanks to all the time he’d spent traveling to procure and oversee the Linton properties. But he could have picked up what he needed. He had the right gear. You didn’t get abs like his parked in a conference room. He was an accomplished climber and could knock out a six-minute mile in his sleep.
Charlie glanced at his watch. “There’s no time. The next flight to Portland leaves in an hour.”
“You’re not fucking around on the timeline for this, are you?” he joked, but Charlie didn’t crack a smile.
“I’ve waited a long time to get this land, and if you hadn’t noticed, time isn’t something I have in spades.”
Jake held his mentor’s gaze. “Are you all right? Is there anything I need to know?”
Charlie waved him off. “I’ll be better when the deed to Woolwich Cove is in my hands,” he said, then glanced over at the blonde, still lingering in the auditorium. “I’ll take care of your friend over there, Jake. All your tall, dark, and handsome may work with the ladies, and I might not be as strapping as I was fifty years ago, but I’d be willing to bet that the nine zeros on my bank statement can seal the deal with that sweet piece of ass.”
Charlie had never married, so it wasn’t too out of the ordinary for him to go after an attractive woman, but something was off.
