Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
At least my brothers and I had each other. We’d grown up tough and understood the value of hard work if we wanted to get out of that hellhole. We worked our asses off at our jobs and school, which paid off when we each received scholarships for college. They didn’t pay for everything, so we all got jobs on local construction crews. Whatever was left after school and living expenses, which we kept as low as possible—meaning we shared a one-bedroom apartment and ate a lot of ramen—we stashed away.
We graduated in three years, each of us earning some kind of business degree. Then we put our experience in construction—which was how we made it through school—to good use. With the three of us busting our asses together, we launched a successful business flipping houses, making us all billionaires. We still flipped houses, but on a much larger scale—those projects were really about passion, though. We made most of our money by bankrolling the building of new developments, houses, business complexes, even skyscrapers.
And we’d expanded the business. Jason still ran the office in Wisconsin—where we'd spent our childhood. James ran our Chicago office, and I headed up the Los Angeles location. Although, James and I split our time between Wisconsin and our respective offices. All three of us owned multiple houses around the world, but for some reason, we always kept a home near where we grew up. And we made sure to connect with each other once or twice a month for a poker night with several friends.
When Palm Court hit my radar, I instantly wanted it. It was a dead-end road that jutted out into the ocean so that the properties on both sides had beaches. It felt like its own little world when you turned onto the street. The houses were older but had tremendous potential. I knew that if we could get our hands on every one of them, we could renovate them and turn the court into a tiny, luxury community, even installing a guard shack to create a sense of exclusivity.
Despite my better judgment, I went with my gut and began buying up the rest of the properties. However, the plan wouldn’t work without acquiring every single house, so Corbin Sage, the stubborn owner of the property right in the center of the rounded street end, was frustrating the hell out of me.
Then my luck took a turn for the better, and Mr. Sage’s lawyer called and told me that the old man was ready to meet.
“You really think you can convince him to sell?” Jason’s tone was dubious, and I scowled. “You aren’t exactly the most charming of the three of us. Maybe I should fly out for—”
“I know how to work a fucking deal,” I interrupted, making him laugh.
“Then how come you can’t seem to find a date to all those fancy galas you attend?” he teased.
I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair, staring out the wall of windows that overlooked LA. “By choice, asshole.” Then, with a mental shudder, I added, “You know I’m allergic to weddings.” The last thing I needed was a wife to deal with. “I don’t need a woman distracting me from my goals with their clinginess and penchant for emptying my bank account.” It would take a fuck of a lot for that to happen, but I was making a point.
“Touché.” He couldn’t argue since he and James were of the same attitude. But that didn’t mean we didn’t give each other shit over our monk-like lives. We were still brothers, after all.
“I told Hank to begin working on the construction permits for the other properties.”
“You’re that confident, huh?”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see it. “I won’t take no for an answer.”
“Mr. Sage,” I greeted the elderly man as I strolled into his home office.
“Corbin is fine,” he said as he waved me toward one of the highback leather chairs in front of his desk. He smiled, and though his eyes looked tired, there was a twinkle in them that seemed odd and made me wary. “Have a seat, Jeremy.”
I knew he’d just had a hip replaced, and while it wasn’t an overly worrisome procedure, it still took a toll on his body. However, I was impressed with how robust he seemed to be, despite sitting in a wheelchair and wearing a chain around his neck that had a fall alert button.
“I’m a little surprised you didn’t show up with both of your brothers. It would have been much more intimidating.” Again, the glint in his brown eyes made me want to squirm in my seat.
“I have a feeling that not much intimidates you, Corbin,” I drawled as I relaxed back into my chair, keeping my expression neutral. My brothers and I had years of practice hiding our emotions and exuding confidence. It was how we survived in our neighborhood. We were also damn good at making a point with our fists, but that technique hadn’t been necessary since high school.