Something about him made it hard to think too much of what I was going to say…it might have been his scent.
Alex eyed me cheekily, then he took my free hand, cradling it in his before he gently lifted it to his lips, and planted a kiss on the back of it.
“So am I, Kitten.”
He put my hand gently on his chest, smiling fondly at me.
Just then, one of the servers came to interrupt us.
There was a message from the Trievs. Apparently, they wanted to meet.
Chapter 33 - Alessandro
First impressions mattered the most. The first rule of business is that first impressions determine the success of every deal you’d ever make.
The Trievs’ first impression had been bull crap. A rancid madman trying to force himself into spaces he should never have looked at. Maxim had laid down a terrible reputation for the Triev as far as I was concerned. He kidnapped and tortured my wife and assaulted my father-in-law.
Not to mention causing me over forty million dollars in losses.
Now, we were negotiating a truce.
“…those are our terms,” the speaker for the Trievs, Dmitri, said and leaned back into his seat. “Now, you can state yours.”
The board room was divided in two, the Trievs and their people on one side, and me and my people on the other. No guns had been allowed into the meeting room, but the bodyguards each side had brought were standing like statues with eyes trained to catch any suspicious movements.
The real bodyguards with their weapons were outside in the corridor.
I cleared my throat.
Unlike them, I had a stable and well-defined reputation—Alessandro Sorvino was not somebody you wanted to be tangled with.
“First of all, you will pay me back the fifty million dollars owed.
“The cargo ship was worth forty!” Dmitri interjected with indignation.
“If I wanted to hear you shout at me, Mr. Triev, I would have arranged for this meeting at a bar.” His eyes narrowed at me, but he didn’t say anything. Good. At least this brother could learn. “You can think of the additional ten as a fee for interfering with my business in the first place. Compensation that is wholly inadequate considering everything Maxim did. I believe my father-in-law is still in the hospital.”
He was, but only because he was comfortable. Yuri had woken up just fine after a few days, he was still in the hospital because he wanted to be there. He had announced his retirement and was even thinking of going traveling.
Dmitri’s face mellowed. He couldn’t argue the point, making peace was the primary goal of this meeting after all.
Revenge was at the door, and he suddenly remembered how to call for a truce and negotiate terms.
Katya wasn’t in the board meeting, otherwise, she would have been watching them like a hawk, catching even the slightest change in expression.
“I also want the Trievs to take over the expenses of rebuilding my wife’s strip club. She already has the plans drawn and will have them delivered to you by the end of the day.” I added with a pleasant look on my face.
“Is that all?” Dmitri asked.
I looked pointedly at them before calling Katya in. “Kitten?”
She came holding something in her hand, draped over it was a dark red cloth.
My lips twitched into a smile as she placed it on the table.
She looked at Dmitri with the most innocent look on her face. “We will hand Maxim back right now if you watch my video. I’m trying out something new, you know, and I can’t trust my husband’s opinion.”
“I am very biased,” I confirmed with a severe head nod. The Trievs looked at each other, and Dmitri gave a single nod.