Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Coulter approached Crawford’s table as the man started to walk away. “Hey, Gordan. Mind if I join you?”
The other man stopped moving approximately four feet from the table he’d recently shared with Alex. “Mr. Morris.” Crawford barely managed to hold back his surprise. “I was just about to leave.”
“I know.” Coulter smiled. “I’m assuming you were about to rush to Alex’s hotel to make sure she’s okay.”
A flash of confusion left the man’s dark brows dropping. “How did you—”
“Let me save you the trouble. Alex is fine. The phone call was simply a ruse.”
“A ruse?” The man growled. “To what end?”
“To get you alone since, when I called you earlier today, you refused to cancel your date to meet with me instead.”
The man’s tense stare held his for a moment longer. A muscle twitched in the guy’s square jaw. “Cole, I’m not sure why you’re here, but if this is about me and Alexandria—”
“It’s not. Like I told you last night, Alex and I just met. I admit to orchestrating her premature exit, but that was only because time is of the essence and you and I needed to talk.”
“You are the reason Alexandria left?” Crawford’s angered tone accompanied the man’s deep scowl.
“Guilty as charged,” Coulter confessed. “She mentioned having a sister back home, so I called in a favor. Made her think her beloved sister had been in an accident. She’ll be pissed, but she was planning to leave town tomorrow anyway, and it’s not as if the two of us have any real ties.
” He acted as if he couldn’t care less about Alex’s feelings.
“Listen, you can touch base with her later, but right now, I promise you, you’re going to want to hear what I have to say. ”
The man’s glare seemed to narrow. “I should have you thrown out of here for your arrogance, alone.”
“You could.” Coulter shrugged. “But then you’d miss out on the business opportunity of a lifetime. Of course, there are plenty of other men willing to pay top dollar for what I’ve found. Guess I can always take it to one of them, instead.”
“So that’s what this is about? I told you when you called me earlier that we could meet later this week.”
“And like I explained during that call, there’s an urgent business pulling me back to Manhattan earlier than expected.
It’s okay, though. If you don’t want to do this now, I’ll just call the next name on my list.” He turned, pretending to make a show of his intention to leave but stopped after only one step and looked back.
“I should probably warn you, though. If word gets out that you willingly passed up a chance like this one, your reputation for this level of sale will almost certainly take a hit.”
Coulter dipped his chin, silently bidding the man a good night while praying the asshole took the bait. He made it all of a single, broad stride before he heard Crawford’s hushed voice again.
“You have five minutes, Mr. Morris.”
He smiled to himself before turning back around to face his target. Thinking of the previous night’s conversation with Alex, he told the other man, “I’ll only need two.”
The other man’s chest expanded beneath his suit and tie as he filled his lungs with a cleansing breath. Releasing it slowly, Crawford returned to the table and motioned for the chair across from his. “Your time starts now, Cole.” He lowered himself into his chair. “I suggest you use it wisely.”
Oh, I will. Trust me.
And by the time he was finished, the other man would be eating from his proverbial palm.
Coulter took a seat and settled himself in. “Rafe Owens.” He dropped the name and then . . . he waited.
“Should I know who that is?”
Reaching into his suit jacket, he pulled out a photo from the inner chest pocket. “The man is former MI6.”
“British intelligence?” Crawford took the picture from Coulter’s hand. “Okay, but why would I care about him?”
“After leaving MI6, Owens started an elite, high-level hostage extraction team known as Tactical Operations, or Tac-Ops for short.”
“Four minutes, Mr. Morris.” The asshole reminded him that his time was running out.
“He has a daughter.” Coulter’s gut was tight as he handed the other man a picture. “Her name is Brittany.”
The woman in the picture truly was Rafe’s daughter, but her name was Alice, not Brittany. Though to Coulter and the members of Tac-Ops, the brilliant blonde was commonly referred to by her call sign—Shadow.
After his previous phone conversation with Rafe, Shadow had used her master hacker skills to create a digital trail for “Brittany”. If Coulter’s instincts were right, Crawford wouldn’t be able to resist the tempting bait.
“She is quite attractive, I’ll give you that.” Crawford nodded with appreciation. “But I still don’t understand what this man and his daughter have to do with me.”
“Brittany is blonde, beautiful, American, and most importantly, her father has garnered numerous enemies over the years.” Another truth.
“The guy has powerful enemies from all parts of the world. Ones who would love the chance to get their revenge and aren’t afraid to use an innocent woman to do it. ”
“If this is true, why haven’t these so-called enemies used the man’s daughter against him before now?”
“Because as far as the rest of the world is concerned, Brittany Owens doesn’t exist.”
Another partial truth.
Until recently, Shadow and Owens’ familial relationship was known only to them and Coulter. But after Shadow found herself mixed up in a dangerous situation, the members of Tac-Ops finally discovered the truth.
“Go on,” Crawford instructed.
“Rafe Owens is a smart, calculated man, and he didn’t get where he is today by being careless. He loves his daughter more than anything else in the world, hence his careful design to keep her identity hidden.”
“Yet you were able to find her,” the other man challenged.
“Owens is good, but me and my team are better.” Coulter leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table before him. “You, me, and my team are the only ones on the planet who knows this guy has a kid.”
“And you want to sell her to her father’s enemies?”
“I want you to sell her to someone willing to pay what she’s worth.”
Crawford’s initial reaction was to give a quick shake of his head. “I’m already in the middle of putting together another auction, as you well know. Why would I set a multi-product sale aside in hopes of finding a buyer for just one?”
“Because I can guarantee you’ll make a shit ton more money with this one product than all those others combined.”
The man across from him grew quiet as he seemed to consider all Coulter had shared. “Let’s say I agree to what you’re proposing and put my current plans on hold to focus on this one sale. What do you get out of the deal?”
“A finder’s fee, plus fifty percent of the winning bid.”
Crawford threw his head back with a full-belly laugh. “No one has ever taken half of what I’m owed, Mr. Morris.”
“That’s because one’s ever given you a product as valuable as the one I’m offering.”
It turned his stomach to refer to Shadow or any other woman in such a demeaning way. But the only way this would work was to speak Crawford’s language. Play to the audience and all that BS, no matter how sick it made him feel.
Crawford studied Shadow’s smiling image once more. “And how exactly do you propose going about taking possession of something with such value? If her father is who you claim, there must be safeguards in place to prevent something like that from happening.”
“You leave that part up to me.”
“And why would I do that? Why risk my reputation on someone I’ve never done business with before now?”
The man’s hesitation to get on board was far from unexpected, but as always, Coulter came to the table prepared.
“Because I’m the only one who knows how to find this woman, which means no one gets to her without me. You don’t want to do this, that’s fine. I’ll have no problem finding someone who will.”
“I don’t suppose you’re willing to share her location with me?”
Coulter’s shoulders shook with a chuckle. “I didn’t get where I am by playing my hand too soon. And before you think about having your people torture it out of me, you should know I already have a fail-safe in place for such a scenario.”
“And here I thought threats were beneath men of our stature.”
“It’s not a threat, Gordan.” He shrugged. “It’s called survival. I’m merely keeping myself and my men protected the best way I know how.”
Crawford dipped his head in a nod. “I suppose I can respect that, though I do have one question.”
“Which is?”
“Why not handle procuring and selling the product yourself? You know where Brittany is; you know who she is, and I bet you have people in your corner able and willing to set up the sale. Why bring me into the fold rather than keeping the profit all to yourself?”
“You’re right. I could do this all on my own. But with your name attached to the sale, more buyers will be chomping at the bit for their chance to be selected. It’s branding one-oh-one, Gordan. Your name automatically increases the interest and demand, which in turn will increase—”
“The value,” Crawford finished the thought with a solemn nod. “On paper, the plan makes perfect sense, but I’m sorry. No reality exists where I forfeit fifty percent. Twenty, perhaps, but that’s the best I can do.”
It was Coulter’s turn to laugh. “I wouldn’t pick up your dry cleaning for twenty percent.”
“Thirty, then.”
“Thirty-five, and I concede the finder’s fee.”
Come on, Gordo. You know you want this. It’s written all over your slimy face.
He came back with, “Thirty-five, no finder’s fee, and I have the final say on who’s allowed to participate in the auction.”
Bingo.
A victorious smile spread across Coulter’s face. He pushed himself to his feet and held out a hand. “I believe we have a deal.”
Crawford stood, as well, and the two shared a firm shake. After letting go, his new business partner attempted to return the pictures of Shadow and Rafe.
“Keep ’em.” He waved away the offer. “They’ll serve as a reminder of what I hope will be the first of many partnerships between us.”
“How soon do you think you’ll have the product in your possession?”
“Airline confirmation puts her in Charlotte two weeks from tomorrow. My men and I plan to be there when she lands. We’ll follow, survey the situation, and make our move at the earliest opportunity.”
“Charlotte, you say? That’s quite a coincidence.”
“How so?” he played dumb.
“That’s where Alexandria lives.”
Coulter pretended to think back before letting out a quick chuckle and a shake of his head. “Oh, that’s right. Wow. I guess it really is a small world.” Another flash of a smile preluded his bringing the meeting to a close. “Have a good rest of your night, Gordan.”
“I look forward to hearing more from you on the progress for this deal.”
“I’ll be in touch soon.” He dipped his chin before turning and walking away.
He didn’t rush from the table but rather kept his steps slow and steady, moving with confidence and swagger because he just closed what he hoped would be the deal of a lifetime.
Coulter’s smile grew as he stepped outside, and suddenly he couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel. He just hoped Alex didn’t try to kill him for not reading her in on his earlier plan before he had the chance to explain.