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Noah blinked “It’s a lot of money”

“You have the authority as well as a budget You’re responsible for real estate acquisitions in Asia”

“I enjoy hearing Uncle Theodore’s perspective”

Rafe also appreciated his father’s guidance Theodore ht not want any part of day-to-day anymore, but it was his view of the industry that had shaped Sterling for the last generation He ood at it “As I said, it’s on you if it fails”

“You need to stop covering for Uncle Theodore” Uninvited, Noah took a seat and propped his ankle on top of his opposite knee “I’ve been leaving hies for a couple of weeks And I stopped by the house on Friday If he’s not going to run Sterling Worldwide, he needs to be removed as CEO The attorney I spoke to—”

“Close the door on your way out”

“Listen, Rafe, even you have to admit—”

“Close the door on your way out”

For long, tense moments, Noah re to yield

Eventually, Noah stood “Consider yourself warned”

When Rafe was alone in the reverberating silence, he sighed Then he called his attorney

With the few details that Rafe outlined, Mercedes confir as Theodore was absent, uncertainty abounded Noah could file a lawsuit Mercedes would challenge it, and perhaps a judge would throw it out If not, Sterling Worldwide had a protracted, expensive mess in front of it The press would feed from the carcass for years

If Rafe wereit much more difficult for Noah to prevail in court

Rafe was trapped Hopelessly fucking trapped

Mouth set in a grim line, he ended the call, then pulled out the folders containing his bridal candidates With determination, he flipped each one open in turn

He glanced at the pictures and read the brief biographies that the women had written And he reached his decision None of the above He wanted sexy Hope Malloy