CHAPTER NINE
ADRIAN’S POV
Hong Kong was loud in a way I didn’t respect. Too many people. Too many lights. Too much noise pretending to be important.
I adjusted my cufflinks as another executive finished speaking across the glass conference table. Something about expansion projections or about numbers that didn’t matter. I stopped listening after the third slide.
“Mr Romano,” one of them called carefully, “your approval is needed for the Southeast Asia merger strategy.”
I exhaled slowly.
“Proceed without me.”
A pause.
“Sir?”
“I said proceed.”
That ended the meeting faster than it started. Good. My assistant trailed after me as I left the room.
“You have another meeting in forty minutes.”
“I’m aware.”
“And dinner with investors after that.”
I stopped walking.
“No.”
A blink.
