Chapter 22
22
Nick
I get up from the waiting area and walk across the lobby when I see my brother enter the revolving door to the building. Andrew checks in at the desk before joining me by the elevator. “Good morning,” I greet him with a handshake.
“You’re here early.”
“I’ve been up for a few hours, so I headed over to beat the traffic. It’s quite the nightmare.”
“I never was one for Manhattan. It’s a lot of people crammed into a small space.”
Shrugging, I punch the button to call the elevator. “It doesn’t bother me so much.”
He grins. It’s one I’m familiar with that’s been passed down from our dad to both of us. We get inside and head up to our meeting. He asks, “How’s Natalie?”
Okay, fine, I’m fucking grinning like an idiot. I play it off by looking down at my shoes. “She’s great.”
His laughter fills the elevator. “I would like this city a lot better if I had a girlfriend waiting for me. Did I tell you I texted with Dalen last week?”
“You failed to mention it.” My brother’s a good guy who’s made poor choices when it comes to dating. I could say the same about Dalen. So maybe it’s not so surprising that they’re talking again. A lot of life has been lived since they were in high school.
“I thought you’d give me shit for it.” He stares at the numbers lighting up above the doors. “She’s getting the implants removed.” When I don’t say anything, he adds, “Nothing to do with me. Just said she went through a phase but is tired of being judged by them.” He glances at me just as the doors open. “She has a sweet side.”
“She does.”
He walks to the receptionist's desk while I hang back to wait. When he returns, he says, “Jackson St. James.”
St. James. Natalie. My Natalie. “Funny. It’s never clicked before, even when I met with the Manhattan Financial lawyers, but that’s Natalie’s last name.”
“It’s pretty common here. I’ve seen it on two buildings this morning. Also, solid set of investments in Monopoly.”
“What?”
“Must be common here because that set of properties were New York Avenue, Tennessee Avenue, and St. James Place. I knew if I secured those, I’d kick your ass in Monopoly.” Interesting. Guess he’s right. I chuckle because Natalie would call it an East Coast thing.
“I can’t believe you remember those names. I only remember Boardwalk and Park Avenue.”
A man pushes through a door into the waiting area.
Under his breath, Andrew says, “That’s why you’re the lawyer, and I’m the investment broker.” He’s cackling when he walks ahead. Fucker.
“It’s good to finally meet you,” the man says, shaking Andrew’s hand and then mine. “I’m Jackson St. James.”
We introduce ourselves and then follow him back to the conference room where I pitched for our company. As soon as we’re seated, Jackson says, “Thanks for flying out to hand deliver the contracts. It wasn’t necessary.”
Andrew looks at me. “We had other business in the city and thought we’d take advantage to sneak in some personal time while we’re here. Explore a bit more. Secure a place to live.”
“You’re moving here?” he asks.
“Yes,” I reply. “I will be. I found an apartment in lower Manhattan.”
Jackson nods. “There are a lot of great buildings being built in that area. Nice views.”
“Very iconic.”
Andrew asks, “So you’re working with your dad?”
“And Mom. They started the company together and grew it. I usually work on some smaller accounts. It was a business incubator. We’ve successfully launched some from the program after securing our initial investment and some were retained for the remainder of the contract.”
Reminded of Natalie and how her small business is locked in a similar portfolio, I say, “That’s interesting. What’s been your role?”
“I’m more a numbers guy. I’m getting a finance degree.” He taps the table nervously. I think he’s trying to impress us, but we’re well aware that junior isn’t the deciding factor. He says, “There’s definitely some potential worth keeping an eye on, but we’ll go through everything with your transition team.”
Andrew shifts in the chair, getting more comfortable. “If we don’t see the same potential, can we cut the losses before the end of the year?”
Jackson leans forward on the table. “Of course. There’s a clause in the contracts, but I won’t be delivering that bad news. I may want to be a shark in brokering deals after I graduate, but I’m not looking for a death wish.”
“I’ve been curious,” Andrew starts. “Why doesn’t your dad hold on to the company a few more years and then let you take it over?”
“He’s a ‘learn from the bottom to reach the top’ kind of guy. He did it and wants me to do the same. My parents have given me a big head start by letting me handle actual cases. I can’t sign on them, but I understand the business.”
“Hopefully you get a cut to start your own company one day. I can tell you have a drive for financing.”
“I have a drive for money.” He’ll fit right in with the Wall Street types.
Chuckling, Andrew says, “That’s a good motivator.” He pauses and checks the time. “The team in LA will be traveling in later this week. In the meantime, do you mind giving us a tour of the company?”
“Not at all.”
We follow him around the offices, impressed by how different in style it is to ours in LA—brick and warmer brown tones. Our offices are bright whites and cool blues. The similarities lie with the loyalty of the employees, who we meet one by one. It’s good to know everyone when we want to keep the family environment.
After lunch is brought in and we finish, we’re escorted to the office of the CEO and Jackson knocks.
We’re led in to find a man, older than my dad, maybe early sixties, lines dug into his expression, but not so deep that he’d be mistaken for much older. Gray hair with a few strands of pepper still hanging on. He’s sitting behind a mahogany desk, and photos of his adventures and family line the console behind him.
Introductions are made and Andrew starts talking about the framed pictures. John St. James is polished in his mannerisms, and the New England accent makes me curtail my use of slang. He reaches behind him to grab a photo of his family.
My phone buzzes in my pocket before I have a chance to get the lowdown on his kids. When I slip it from my pocket, I look down at the screen. Standing, I say, “Excuse me.”
I don’t answer until I reach the door, and then I whisper, “Hey Mom, what’s up?”
“I was thinking about your girlfriend.” She’s not alone there. “Why don’t you invite her for a visit? You can stay at the beach, and we can have her over for brunch.” Although I thought it was an emergency, which is why I took the call, I’m not upset about it.
Smiling, I walk down the hall to find an empty office to finish the call. “I can ask her.” I wanted to last night but felt the bombshell of me moving here was enough for one night.
“Good. How’s New York, honey?”
I peek into the hallway. No one’s looking for me, but I should get back. “Busy. I need to keep this brief. I ducked out of the meeting with the CEO to take your call.”
“Oops. I forgot that was today. Your father just told me you were gone for most of the week. You know how vague he can be with the details. I didn’t get a report back on the apartment and if it’s going to work.”
Thinking about lying with Natalie on the floor after the picnic, I try to muddle my way through everything that happened with Natalie and if that’s an apartment where I’d want to live. I know Natalie approves, so that works for me as well. “It’s great. Location and inside.”
“Great. It’s a competitive market, and I don’t want it to slip through our hands if you approve. I’ll contact the real estate agent about putting in an offer. I know you’re busy, so I’ll let you go, but don’t forget to take deep breaths. It helps fight adrenal fatigue and will keep you in tip-top shape. Deep breaths, Nicholas.”
For show, I take a deep breath and exhale loud enough for her to hear. “See, Mom. I’m breathing. Gotta run.”
“Okay. Good luck and love you.”
“Thanks. Love you, Mom.”
When I return to the office, I meet Mrs. St. James and sit back as they go over the finer points of the contracts in detail.
Andrew studies one of the amendments and then says, “Yes, that’s not something we need to discuss right now. I’ll get the transition team’s eyes on the incubator program.”
Mrs. St. James says, “STJ remains for the duration as agreed.”
“Yes, and then will be transferred back into her name.” Standing up, Andrew reaches over the desk to shake his hand again. “We won’t keep you. We know you must have a lot to do before you get to enjoy your retirement.”
Walking us to the door, John, as he asked us to call him, says, “I hear you’re moving to New York, Nick?”
“I’m the lucky guy.” We move into the hall as a group toward the exit.
He adds, “Hopefully a move this big comes with a promotion.”
Andrew pipes in, “It comes with the perk of a girlfriend, too.”
I’m quick to interject. “That came out wrong. We didn’t hire one. I was already dating her when we signed the contracts.”
Everyone laughs, including me. John says, “A woman is always good motivation. I take it it’s serious?”
His wife scolds, “John.”
He shrugs and still looks at me to respond. I say, “It is.”
I catch Andrew’s attention with my answer, but he doesn’t say anything. John adds, “Maybe you’ll come for dinner once your move is done and you can bring your girlfriend. It’s always good to know a few people in a large city like this one when you first move. You’ve met Jackson, but I’m sure our daughter would be happy to show you around. I know I’d want the same for our kids if they moved interstate.”
“Thank you, John, that sounds great.”
I’m patted on the back.
“If she’s a catch, don’t waste any time getting her to the altar. We may have started later in life, but marrying Martine was the best thing I ever did. Having kids is ranked right there with it.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
After we leave the building, I’m tempted to punch Andrew. “Really? Did you really call my girlfriend a perk of the promotion?”
“Like you said, it came out wrong. But it was good for a laugh.” We walk to the street where we see a line of cabs waiting. “He was a nice guy. Smokin’ hot daughter.”
I check the time, hoping we’re done for the day. I wouldn’t mind surprising Natalie again. “No doubt we’ll meet her down the track. What are you doing the rest of the day?”
“We have a conference call with Beacon in Seattle in an hour. We can go back to the hotel and Dad will conference us in.”
“Damn, I forgot about that.” There go my plans of cutting out early.
At the hotel, we convene in his suite and lose the rest of the day and then some to a discussion about the buyout of a company in the Pacific Northwest and trimming fat from Manhattan Financial. When we hang up, Andrew says, “It looks like you have your choice of cities—Seattle or Manhattan?”
“What do you mean?”
“If we buy Beacon, someone from the family has to lead the transition. You know that. That was the consensus when we started the talks on expansion two years ago.”
“What did I know? I was at Berkley.”
“Well now you have a seat at the grownup’s table.” He stands and grabs a beer from the fridge. Holding it up in offering, I shake my head, not in the mood for this bullshit. The relocation. Maybe I need the beer. “I’ll go where I’m needed. Are you part of this family or?—”
“Fuck you, Andrew. I’ll take New York, and you can have Seattle.”
“I might not be able to. Dad’s been talking about me leading LA sooner rather than later.” That’s always been my brother’s dream. Am I going to be the asshole who takes that away from him? “Listen to me, Nick. You’ve done a good job closing Manhattan Financial so quickly.”
My dad always told me I’d feel a sense of pride from doing a job well and one that benefits my family is even better. I say, “Christiansen Wealth Management now.”
He chuckles. “I stand corrected.”
I walk to the door, feeling like I’m having to make a choice between what I want and what’s expected of me. Like my loyalty to my family is being questioned. I just made Natalie and me official, even told her I loved her. Was it said based on location—me being in the same city—or because I’ve reached a point where I don’t want to be without her?
I know the answer regarding my personal life, but what have I gotten myself into professionally? Andrew’s sudden change in my relocation is frustrating. Two weeks ago, he was sure I should relocate to New York due to the takeover. Now he drops Seattle into the conversation as if I wouldn’t have an opinion.
“There’s always room for you in management. You’d be able to buy that beach house like you want. Surf at sunrise, drive a Lamborghini, and have an office with a view of all of LA.”
With my hand on the doorknob, I turn back. “I’m not the same guy I used to be.”
He twists off the beer bottle cap. “Because you have a girlfriend? The Christiansen brothers could take the world by storm and grow this business internationally. What will it take, little brother? A Maserati instead?”
“We went from New York to me now moving around the world. That escalated in the blink of an eye. How about because I know what I want and will fight for it. I’m not going to be a pushover, and, Andrew, don’t become another LA asshole who thinks he can buy happiness.”
After taking a long drag from the bottle, he asks, “Now you’re an expert?”
“No, just your brother who wants to respect his elders.”
The cap is shot across the room and hits the door. “We’ll make a deal. I won’t be a douchebag, and you’ll consider Seattle if need be.”
Nodding, I take in the offer, and then say, “I’ll consider it. Later, because I need to go. I promised to take Natalie to dinner.”
“Before you go, I need you to sign an amendment to the Manhattan Financial contract. We gave them a heads-up about the change we want to make. There’s been a lot of back and forth with John St. James. It’s going to come down to agreeing or losing a large incentive.”
“I thought this deal was done?”
He goes to the console and takes a file from his briefcase. When he hands it to me, he says, “Garrett Stans helped pinpoint some smaller loans to clean up the books, and we’ve had Larson in corporate being the bad guy to keep our name off their tongues.”
I shake my head because that makes no sense. They aren’t stupid. “As if somehow, they won’t know a Christiansen, or three, had anything to do with it?”
“They made this deal look golden, and we signed the offer, but once we had more detailed access to all financials, there are some issues that need to be handled. We’re handling them by getting these losses off the books before year-end. But you’re still the point man on the deal from our legal team, so we need you to sign this amendment.”
Handing me a pen, he points at the line. “Sign here. Larson will handle the delivery since you’re traveling.”
“I could swing by and take them since I’m here in the city.”
“Good idea. Keeps it personal. The St. Jameses should like that. Maybe they’ll make this easy for us to move forward by signing.”
After scanning the amendment, I sign and wrap it up in the folder. “We’re good?”
“All good. See you in LA, little brother.”
“See you.” I leave his room and stop by my room down the hall to drop off the file. I can take it over tomorrow before I head to the airport. With Seattle weighing me down, I don’t bother changing clothes and head out to meet Natalie. I need to talk to her and hope she can talk some sense into me for even considering the idea of moving before we have a chance to be together.
I know her, though. I already know what she’ll say.
She’ll never want to stand in the way of something she thinks will make me happy. That means I have to make her realize that there is no happiness if I’m not with her.