Chapter 16
AUGUST
“Where’s Theo?” Dominic asks.
We’re in my car, parked across the street from the main building of Baldwin Enterprises, doing the one thing we never thought we’d actually have to do—a hands-on approach to keep Phoebe safe and secure her inheritance.
I always thought coming up with a unique and mind-blowing marriage proposal would be our biggest challenge, yet here we are.
“He’s working on a project of his own,” I tell my brother. “He wouldn’t give me too many details, though.”
“Typical Theo.”
“In his defense, he always delivers.”
“True, but under the current circumstances, I’m kind of worried about what he’s going to deliver. I’m hoping it’s not Crystal or Georgina’s head on a plate.”
I chuckle dryly. “Maybe he’ll do us all a solid and deliver both.”
“We need to approach this from a different angle. Whatever Helen is pulling, I doubt it’s based solely on her so-called desire to preserve the Baldwins’ integrity.”
I glance at my brother. Every time our eyes meet, it’s like looking into a mirror.
We came into this world together, and we are rarely ever apart.
There’s an unbreakable connection between us.
Then Theo came along and fit right in, much like a missing piece to a puzzle, and suddenly, life made a hell of a lot more sense.
All we needed was a good woman to join us and we’ve found one. There isn’t a chance in hell that we’ll allow anyone to strip her of what she rightfully deserves. She’s as much a Baldwin as the rest of them. Hell, she’s more qualified to run the family business than her mother and sister combined.
“We need to figure out Helen’s day-to-day movements,” I say to Dominic. “There’s a pattern, but she’ll have to go off script somewhere eventually.”
“A woman like her has to have skeletons hidden somewhere. Nobody goes after their own child’s money with Helen’s tenacity unless she’s got something to lose. Something big,” my brother says. “I’ll bet Phoebe could figure it out just by looking through their financial records.”
“They’re not even letting her into the building these days.” I shake my head. “They’re steering the ship away from Phoebe altogether.”
“Which means they’re hiding something.”
Helen comes out of the building. She’s not easy to miss.
From afar, she is particularly striking, often wearing vibrant colors and always leaving her blonde hair loose—a cascading wave of silver and gold flowing over her shoulder.
Today, she chose a bright clash of turquoise and coral, which will make her easy to keep track of.
“There she goes,” I tell Dominic, then turn the engine on.
“Don’t tail her too closely,” he reminds me as he takes out his camera and starts snapping photos. We agreed to document everything in case we need to provide our lawyers with evidence in court.
“It’s early afternoon,” I mutter, watching Helen as she gets in the back of a town car. The driver pulls away and slides into traffic, leaving the giant steel-and-glass Baldwin building behind. “I figured as the CEO, she’d be working late hours.”
“Helen never struck me as the hard-working type.”
“Crystal, even less,” I agree with my brother.
“Crystal didn’t even come into the office today,” Dominic says. “They had a shareholder meeting just before noon, yet she couldn’t be bothered to attend. According to her Twitter account, she was shopping on Broadway for, quote-unquote, the perfect cocktail dress.”
I can’t help but groan as I pull out and follow her, keeping two cars between us, my eyes constantly scanning the area.
“Phoebe must be going out of her mind, not able to go to work,” I say.
“It’s not like she loved the marketing department, but it did give her structure,” my brother replies. “Last I checked, she was working with Penny, helping with her charity’s accounting. Apparently, there were some irregularities found.”
“That should keep our girl busy for a while.”
Dominic’s phone rings. He puts the camera down and checks the screen. We’re stuck in traffic, moving from one red light to another.
“Crap. It’s Dad,” he says.
A shiver shoots down my spine. I told Phoebe we don’t have the best relationship with our family and I wasn’t lying. But I didn’t exactly explain the depth of our strife nor the cause of our resentment.
“Might as well see what he wants and get it out of the way,” I grumble.
As soon as Dominic answers, my grip tightens on the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white.
Dominic sets the phone on Bluetooth so we can both engage. “How’s the weather in Florida?” I ask. “Not too hot, I hope.”
“What the hell have the two of you been up to?” the old man’s voice booms through the car like a whiplash from hell.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Dominic calmly replies.
“Don’t give me that bullshit! I’m in Florida, not space. I still get the news and the gossip out of New York. And Lord knows there’s been plenty of it coming in about you two and Theo. What are you trying to do? Completely tarnish my name?”
“And here I thought you were calling because you missed us,” I reply, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
“What are you doing, boning that Baldwin girl? All three of you? Seriously? I haven’t even properly vetted her.”
“Vetted her?” I laugh. “Dad, I think you’re forgetting an important chapter of our lives. Specifically, the one where we built our own business and reputation, our privacy and independence as far away from you as possible.”
“You both still bear my name!”
“And?” Dominic cuts in. “Who we spend our lives with is our business and ours alone.”
“On top of that shameful nonsense, now you’re picking a fight with Baldwin Enterprises. Have you lost your goddamn minds?”
I need a deep breath before speaking again. “Dominic just signed a 3.4-billion-dollar contract with GeoStone,” I reply. “It’ll bring in twice as much in revenue, and it drove our share price up by eight percent. We don’t need Baldwin Enterprises.”
“You’re still ruining my good name.”
“So, you just called to berate us over a non-existent problem,” Dominic sighs.
“Non-existent? I’m getting calls from the Baldwin family lawyers telling me they’re considering a lawsuit against you!”
“They can consider it all they want,” I answer swiftly. “It’s nothing more than an empty threat. They have nothing to sue over. They’re just muddying the waters and trying to stir shit up. You should know, you’ve engaged in similar tactics back when you were running your company.”
“We both know he’s still running his company. Dwight is just a puppet,” Dominic mutters.
“Your cousin stepped up because you refused to take your seats at the table when it was your turn. Don’t be bitter about him when you’re the ones who chose to walk away,” Dad says. “You wanted out. Besides, Dwight has been doing a great job.”
“We heard. Yet our company is the fastest growing in our market sector.” I chuckle before continuing. “We wiped the floor clean with Dwight at the last fintech conference.”
“August, Dominic, enough! You need to get your priorities straight. This whole business with Phoebe Baldwin has to end. You can’t see it now, but it will drive your company down. There are repercussions for your lifestyle.”
Dominic scoffs and shakes his head. “Well, then, thank you for reminding us why we chose to build our own business instead of falling in line like good little soldiers. At least we’re free.”
“You’re not as free as you think you are,” our father says, then breaks into a coughing fit that sounds a lot worse than the last time we spoke.
“You okay, Dad?” Dominic asks.
“I’m fine. You, on the other hand, are anything but!”
Helen’s town car takes a right turn into a slightly shadier part of the city. Nothing in this area should appeal to a woman like her. It immediately sets alarm bells ringing in the back of my head, and I motion for Dominic to end the call.
“Dad, as much as I enjoy catching up with you, we have to go. We have work to do.”
“August, for the love of God, get your priorities straight and cut the shit before you embarrass yourselves and me!”
“See ya, Dad,” Dominic replies and ends the call with one tap. “Fucking hell.”
“You heard him, right?”
“He’s getting worse,” he says with a deep sigh. “I’ll ask his doctors for an update. We might have to check in with them more often from now on.”
My stomach tightens under a torrent of grim thoughts.
Having a contentious relationship with our father was manageable until his health started to decline.
Having a contentious relationship with our ailing father has made our lives a tad bit harder.
We need to maintain tight boundaries without abandoning our empathy.
But the old man makes it twice as difficult with his attitude.
“Where the hell is she going?” Dominic asks, changing the subject. I don’t mind.
“This is the slightly more uppity part of Chinatown.”
“Shopping, maybe?”
I frown. “No. It’s mostly residential buildings ahead.
The Golden Lotus,” I say, recognizing the valet parking outside one of the city’s swankiest and most exclusive Chinese-cuisine-themed restaurants.
“Let’s assume it’s a business lunch, though I don’t remember Baldwin Enterprises dealing with anyone from China. ”
The Golden Lotus occupies the entire ground floor of a luxury hotel, known to host private parties and elite business lunches—mostly for high-end Asian guests.
Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai heavyweights from a variety of industries prefer this place to the usual Astoria or other five-star options across the city.
We pull over at a reasonable distance, our eyes peeled as Helen steps out of the car and is greeted by a tall and lanky man with short, brown hair and beady eyes.
“Who’s that?” I ask.
“That’s Perry Kang,” Dominic mutters, quick to snap photos.
“Why do I know that name?”
“He hosts private poker tournaments. High stakes, huge buy-ins, heavily secured. And entirely illegal. He’s got Triad lieutenants and Yakuza lords among his players.
He sends his ladies all the way out to Reno and Vegas to hook big whales for his games.
Theo and I attended a couple of events a few years back. ”
“Why didn’t I go?”
“You were studying for your master’s at the time. Theo and I had a short-lived rebellious streak,” Dominic replies. “We got bored waiting for you to finish.”
“Ahh, I remember now. You came back looking like shit.”
“Well, we both lost a lot of money,” he laughs. “Some lessons have to be learned the hard way, I suppose.” A frown casts a deep shadow under his eyes. “All that aside, why is Helen meeting with a guy like Kang?”
We watch the interaction unfold. Kang is warm and friendly, gently stroking her upper arm as they talk outside the restaurant. The town car pulls out and parks a few yards further down the street. A few seconds later, the driver steps out for a smoke.
“I’m not sure. But they seem to be cozy and comfortable around each other.”
Helen takes a green velvet pouch out of her Birkin bag. Click. Click. Click. Dominic’s camera registers everything.
“Looks big enough to hold cash. A buy in, most likely,” he says.
“Kang seems pleased.”
Pleased enough to escort Helen into the restaurant, which has my brain scrambling for a new plan.
“What do we do?” Dominic asks, likely picking up on my restlessness.
“We could sit here and wait,” I reply, but even I’m not buying that as an option. “Or we could go in and put your Texas Hold ’Em skills to good use.”
“I got my ass handed to me the last time I played in one of Kang’s tournaments. Did you not hear me just now?”
“We don’t need to win. We just need to play so we can be in there. I’ll bet he’s got multiple tables going. We’ll pick one that’s out of Helen’s line of sight. She doesn’t strike me as the super cautious type, gambling in the middle of a business day.”
Dominic exhales, running a hand through his hair. “I guess it’s worth a shot.”
Together, we get out of the car and walk up the street. Yet as soon as we reach the restaurant doors, a pretty young hostess in a red and black uniform rushes out with an apologetic smile.
“Welcome to The Golden Lotus, gentlemen. I’m sorry, but we are closed for the day,” she says in a heavy Chinese accent.
“Oh. That’s strange. One of our friends just walked in,” I reply with a polite smile.
“Sorry. It’s a private event.”
Dominic glances past her, and I follow his gaze through the restaurant’s double doors.
The glass gives us a decent view of Helen and Kang walking through the main lobby, then making a left turn into one of the main rooms. I spot waitstaff, dealers, and guests coming in and out with various missions.
“We’re well aware. We were invited,” I try.
The hostess doesn’t budge. “You’re not on the guest list, I’m afraid.”
“How would you know? You haven’t asked our names,” Dominic says.
She gives him a cold smile. “I know everyone on the guest list, sir. You’re not on it. I’m sorry.”
“She’s sorry,” I mutter as I look at my brother. “That’s alright. We’ll have to take it up with the friend who invited us then. Would you mind calling Mr. Kang?”
Dominic gives me a startled look. I offer a slight nod in return to reassure him. As expected, the hostess keeps a tight guard.
“Mr. Kang is busy. But if you’re friends, you can call him yourselves,” she says.
“What if we just go in? I saw him only a moment ago,” I insist.
The hostess looks back at the doors. Two burly bouncers in black, covered in Triad tattoos, emerge from behind the red velvet curtains adorning the entrance. They do not look like they’re here to make friends.
“Roger that,” I tell her with a laugh and step back. “We’ll give him a call then. Thank you.”
“Again, our apologies,” she replies.
Dominic and I walk back to our car, feeling their eyes on us the whole time.
“I’ll circle around the block and find another place to park,” I tell my brother. “They’re going to be watching out for us now.”
“That was intense,” Dominic says. “Tight security and then some.”
“You know they’ve got some dangerous people in there if the hostess knows every guest personally.”
“Helen Baldwin included,” he replies. “What the hell is that woman up to?”
“More importantly, what the hell is she doing getting involved with those kind of people? The Feds would have a field day raiding this place.”
One thing is certain. Whatever Helen is doing there, it’s not about the dumplings or the rare rice wine the Golden Lotus is popular for. The woman is a heavyweight gambler, at the very least.
It does answer some questions, though I don’t think Phoebe will like the answers.