Page 94 of Wrapped in Perfection

"Yeah, well, let's not jump the gun. Prepare but don't pull the trigger."

Sergey sighs loudly. "This isn't going to end well. I think waiting is a mistake."

"Do not make any moves," I reinforce. "Do I need Maksim to come slap you in the head a few times?"

"Shut up."

"Then stop being arrogant."

"Fine. When are you back?"

"Hopefully, tomorrow night."

"All right."

I hang up and shake my head at Boris. "Another ten percent drop."

Boris clenches his fists then cracks his knuckles. "He's looking for trouble."

I nod. "But we don't need it."

"His father has severe legal issues going on right now. Even with his connections, it's going to be hard for him to get out of going to prison." The governor and his mistress recently had a televised conversation recorded and streamed via YouTube about how the governor received illegal funds from Lorenzo Rossi's father. He skimmed money from the union workers' pension fund. "Lorenzo's going to take over. This isn't good. Dealing with this sooner rather than later is best."

"Maksim and I both agree we need to wait. You and Sergey need to cool it."

Boris looks out the window. "He's messing with the wrong family."

"Agreed. But we wait."

The car pulls up to a high-rise and parks. We don't wait for the driver to open the door, getting out ourselves. When we get to security, we give them our licenses and get badges to go through.

Another thing Tolik did was get us an appointment. We're at the finance company Mitch works for. Our meeting is with the CEO, president, and the rest of their investment team. It usually would take weeks to get them all together, but when we sent copies of a few of our current investment statements, along with our real estate holding portfolio, and told them we're meeting today or interviewing another firm, they made it happen.

But we aren't here to invest. They have another reality coming.

A red-haired woman greets us when we walk in and shakes our hands. "I'm Robin. Can I get you something to drink?"

"No, thank you." If I have anything, I might cough it up. Boris, on the other hand, orders a latte and checks her out, causing her to blush.

She leaves to get his drink.

"Seriously? We aren't here to get you a date."

He shrugs. "She's a sexy woman."

"Can we stay focused?"

"Don't worry. I'm on."

Within a few minutes, she comes back, hands Boris his drink, and shows us to a conference room. He reaches for the door before she opens it, and she nervously says, "Thanks."

He checks her out again until she's so red, I want to offer her some water. "No problem."

I want to knock him on the head for flirting, but there is no time. He opens the door. The wall across from us is all glass, and the brilliance of the city creates a spectacular backdrop. An oversized, expensive mahogany conference table with two dozen chairs around it is situated in the center of the room. A wall with a big screen TV and counter with coffee and mugs completes the setting. The room is already full of suits.

We take our seats after introductions and handshakes. The CEO, Robert Dwinton, sits in his chair with a greedy smile on his face. "We're happy you've decided to discuss—"

I hold up my hand. "We are on limited time. If you don't mind, I would like to show you something?"

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