Chapter 2 - The Closing Dinner
Ethan had always been predictable. He loved an audience, and he loved celebrating his victories before the ink was even dry.
That evening, he and Richard Sterling were hosting a massive private dinner in the penthouse suite of the Sterling building to celebrate the launch of their new development. The city’s top investors, zoning board members, and socialites were all in attendance. They were raising glasses to their own brilliance, to the billions they were about to make, and to Ethan's new life.
I didn't bother wearing the navy dress this time.
I wore a sharp, tailored black blazer, a gold watch I had bought myself, and a shade of red lipstick that Evelyn always told me brought out the fire in my eyes. I bypassed the security desk—Samuel had thoughtfully provided me with a copy of the building's guest list, adding my name as the primary landowner of their proposed project.
I pushed open the double oak doors to the penthouse just as Ethan was standing up to make a toast.
May you like
"To the future," Ethan was saying, raising a glass of scotch. "And to the Whitaker Resort. The crown jewel of Charleston."
"You might want to put the glass down, Ethan," I called out, my voice ringing clear and steady across the silent room.
