"WHAT DO YOU mean he has a business going on with Nicole?" Maxim snarled. "You heard me right," Lucas said, crossing his leg. He adjusted on his beer keg, trying to find a comfortable sitting position, "Why the hell did you pick this place?" He muttered to himself. "Look around you," Maxim said, "Does anyone here pay you any attention?" He asked and answered the question himself, "No. This place gives us – you – that privacy and secrecy you need." Lucas nodded. It was true. "What type of business are they starting together?" Maxim asked. "Well, you stopped Jon's plan of venturing into the waters, so he is going into the air now," Lucas said. "They're starting an airline company," Maxim chuckled dryly, "My God! That is one smooth move." He gave a dry laugh, "Your stepbrother…" He wagged his finger at Lucas, "He is one smart bastard…" A side of Lucas's lips tilted slightly, "It was not really Jon's idea. Your Nicole was the one that approached Jon." Maxim cursed inaudibly under
"I WANT IT," Jon said. "Um, maybe we can make – build another one for you," Gale said helplessly, "I have this amazing team of different engineers. We would build one exactly like this and –" "I want that one… now!" Jon said, coolly, "350 million dollars," He added. Gale was distraught, "But Mr Stone, it has been sold…" He said in a tight voice. "And I want to buy it for almost triple the normal price, what do you say?" Jon asked. "Don't put me in this type of position, sir," Gale said, "I beg of you," Gale pleaded. "I am not putting you in any position, Mr Gale," Jon said, "All it would take was some papers for me to sign and a transfer to you. Simple as that," Gale looked at Jon, "The previous owner won't take it lightly," He said. Jon smiled, "You said 'previous owner'. That means it doesn't belong to them anymore." "That w-was slip of, um, tongue," Gale stammered, "It was a slip of tongue." "Right," Jon muttered, "So what do you say?" Gale still looked cut between. Jon
JON TOOK A deep breath before he pushed open the door and walked in. Maureen was in her rocking chair, knitting, but she looked up as she heard Jon walk in. She used her finger to point up to signify that Lucas was waiting for him upstairs. Jon nodded and went up the stairs, taking it in twos. He entered his room to see Lucas standing in the middle of the Persian rug. He turned when Jon entered. "What's up?" Jon asked."You kept me waiting," Lucas said. "I was nowhere near here," Jon said, "And I was not with my driver." Lucas scoffed and said, "You should always go out with your driver and even bodyguards. Your father taught me that."Jon rolled his eyes, "Yeah right," He muttered, "Why did you text me. It sounded urgent." He sat on his bed. "It is urgent. Did you, by any chance, do any incriminating thing at your party in Illinois?" Lucas asked cryptically. Jon was confused and his face showed it, "incriminating? What do you mean?" "Did you do anything that can be used again
THE FIRST THING Kimberly noticed as soon as she stepped out from the plane was that New Jersey had a clearer sky than Illinois. Ideally, she whipped out her phone and took a series of selfies with different facial expressions. She immediately shared them on her social handles, and added the location as "New Jersey." And captioned it, "New City. New Adventures. New Jersey – eye-boggling emoji. Head blown emoji. Blowing kisses and hearts emoji. She headed out of the airport's departure and flagged a taxi down. She showed the address that Maxim Ivanov had given her to the taxi driver and he nodded before putting the taxi into gear and driving off. After almost half an hour, she was dropped in front of an old stone building. She stepped out and cross-checked the address on her phone with the small chrome address written on a brick. "Yeah, this is it, alright," She muttered, looking up at the one-storey building, "This doesn't look as impressive as what I read about him on Google," She
HALF AN HOUR later, after washing and dressing completely in expensive suits, Jon and Lucas had breakfast together. Maureen smiled as she saw the two brothers getting along. She did not have much love for Lucas, as she saw that his mother had come and replaced her beloved Grace but Lucas and his sister, Poppy, were adorable most of the time. A young maid served them pancakes, eggs and bacon. Just as Jon finished and stood up wiping his mouth, the door swung open and someone came in. Jon peeped through the door of the dining room and sighed, "Poppy is here," He said to Lucas. Lucas looked up from the newspaper he was reading and raised his eyebrow, "What is she doing here?" He asked, "She is not supposed to be here until Friday…" Jon shrugged and walked out. She was giggling at something on her phone as she entered the grand foyer. She looked up and gasped, "Jon… you surprised me," She said, dramatically holding her chest like she almost had a heart attack. "Hello, Poppy," Jon sa
THEY STAYED IN the air for close to an hour, Jon had no idea where they flew to or the route they took. But he was very satisfied with the sound of the engine. He drank his champagne slowly as he mulled over thoughts in his head. He tried to figure out what Maxim was up to and the part that that dumb Kim had to play in it. He knew Kim was nothing but a puppet in the grand scheme that Maxim had. He thought of texting Kim and asking to meet her, but he knew that it would arouse suspicion and possibly blow Lucas's cover and he did not want that. He still needs Lucas in that circle of his enemies. He needed the information that his stepbrother got from Maxim. "Penny for your thoughts?" Nicole's voice brought him out of his reverie and to the present.He smiled, "Even thousands of dollars can't buy my thought," He said. Nicole chuckled, "You just bought yourself an aeroplane. One of the biggest in the world… you should not let anything bother you except pride. You should be proud of yo
"HE DIDN'T LOOK so enthusiastic to be here," Kimberly said. "Lucas is always glum," Maxim said. "That was not it," Kim said, shifting closer to Maxim, "This was more. As you talked on the plan, he kept his gaze on me." "You are a very pretty lady, you should have gotten used to the stares." On closer relations, he realized that Kimberly Berkley was not a shallow person. She was a bit superficial at times but had something deeper to offer. She sometimes came up with good ideas and had smart opinions on some matters."It was not a lustful stare," Kim said, "I can't place a finger on it." She moved closer. Maxim pushed her off and said, "It's nothing. Lucas is down for this. He doesn't like Jon." "Okay, if you say so," Kim said. She sulked for the next 2 minutes until Maxim said, "Tell me the plan," She brightened up and replied, "I'll call Jon tomorrow and set up an impromptu meeting in his office.""And?" "He can't refuse because he's always had a soft spot for me." Kim continue
THE FLIGHT FROM New Jersey to Jew York took only 35 minutes. Jon was still half asleep from take off to touch down. But he was in a light mood after the talk with Lucas. Their private jet touched down and Stefan and Jon walked out and into the black limousine that was waiting for them. Stefan spoke in low tones to the Bluetooth earpiece inserted in his ear. He had been on the serious call since before they left New Jersey. The limousine drove slowly through the gates and out a back way into the parking lot and out into the main way. Jon looked out the window at New York City. This was his first time here. "Okay, I will talk with you later," Stefan said and ended his call. He sighed and reclined back into the soft leather of the car. "What was the call about?" Jon asked, "it sounded pretty serious." Stefan waved it aside, "Don't give it any worry. A certain senator is giving me a hard time." Jon's eyes popped, "You were on call with a senator?" Stefan chuckled and reached for a