CHAPTER 3: THE PRICE OF BEATING ME
1499 Words
(Lucas POV)
Lucy Morgan. Who is this girl? This name lingers in my mind longer than it should have. The girl is too clean, efficient, and annoyingly good.
It was the way she structured the Riverside deal. She removed two major investors and cut them out completely. Most developers would never risk something like that.
I walked into Clark Holdings Group.
My world.
My employees spruced up as I walked past. It has always been that way. Power has a scent, and people either lean towards it or step aside.
Marcus was already inside my office as I stepped in. He didn't wait to be summoned; he predicted I needed him.
“Morning, Lucas.” I removed my jacket and placed it over the back of my chair.
“Update.” Marcus tapped the screen and slid the tablet across the table.
I didn’t look at the screen yet. Instead, I poured myself a glass of red wine from the crystal decanter beside the window.
Marcus didn’t hesitate. “Total development value for the Riverside Development project: two hundred and eighty million. Phase one begins next quarter. Morgan & Leeds secured the majority of the investor backing yesterday evening.”
“Morgan.” I finally picked up the tablet. “That girl is something.”
Marcus watches my expression carefully.
“We ran the background check you requested.” I leaned back in my chair. “And?”
Marcus hesitates slightly, which means he didn’t like the answer. “Nothing.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Nothing?”
“No financial fraud, questionable investors, or political leverage. Her accounts are clean.”
That irritated me more than I expected. “Dig deeper," I requested.
“We did.” Marcus taps again, bringing up another file.
“Her education, career path, financial records, property history, and business filings: everything checks out.”
An unusual silence settles in the room. I studied the documents slowly.
Lucy Morgan. She's twenty-seven. Senior partner at Morgan & Leeds Castle. Her career history is short but impressive.
What catches my attention isn't her success; it is the fact that she's very strategic. It is the way she handled deals.
Marcus broke the silence. “She beat us fairly.”
The words landed in the room like something heavy. I slowly looked up at him, and Marcus held my gaze without flinching. That was one of the reasons he still worked for me. He didn’t scare easily, but he chose his words carefully.
“That’s your conclusion?” I asked. Marcus nods once. “Her strategy predicted our bidding structure.”
I leaned back again, studying the screen. Lucy Morgan hadn’t just outbid Clark Holdings. She anticipated how we would move, and that required a rare and distinct level of observation, patience, and courage.
Most people in this industry didn’t play chess; they played checkers. Lucy Morgan, apparently, didn’t. I zoomed in on one section of the proposal. The timeline adjustment. That was the real trick.
She pushed the early development phase forward by three weeks. That was enough to secure government approval before competing proposals could challenge the permit. This girl is so smart. Very smart.
Marcus speaks again. “She doesn’t attend industry parties.” I glanced at him. “She doesn’t?”
Marcus shook his head. “She is rarely seen at networking events and has no public scandals or social media presence worth mentioning. She works late and leaves late.”
Interesting. She avoids noise. In an industry that thrives on it.
I stood and walked toward the window overlooking the city. “Marcus.”
“Yes?” he responded.
“Keep watching her," I ordered. Marcus frowns slightly. “Watching?”
"Yes," I replied. I picked up the tablet again, scrolling through Lucy’s development timeline.
“I want to see how she plays her next move.”
Marcus studies me carefully. “You’re not planning to challenge the contract?” I smile faintly. “Oh, I could.”
There were at least seven ways to slow her project. Permits. Suppliers. City inspections. Investor pressure. But none of that interested me anymore.
Not yet.
Lucy Morgan had just made a bold move on the board, and now I wanted to see if she understood what came next.
And something told me… She did.
Marcus was still studying me when the silence stretched too long. “You’re letting it go?” he finally asks.
I tapped the tablet once and locked the screen. “No.”
Marcus waits for my response. “But I’m not stopping it either.”
That answer clearly confuses him.
Most competitors in this industry would already be making calls. A project like Riverside could easily be buried under paperwork for months. I had done it before, and Marcus knew that.
“Lucas,” he says carefully, “if we move now, we can still pressure the zoning committee. The environmental board hasn’t finalized their review yet.”
I walk back to my desk and lean against the edge. “I know.”
“And the supply chain contracts aren’t finalized,” Marcus continues. “Two of the concrete vendors we normally use are already asking questions.”
“Of course they are,” I say.
Marcus crosses his arms slightly. “So why are we waiting?”
I watch the city through the tall windows behind him. Because something about Lucy Morgan doesn't fit the usual pattern.
“Tell me something,” I say.
Marcus tilts his head slightly. “Yes?”
“What are people saying about her?”
Marcus exhales slowly. "Depends on who you ask.”
“Start talking.”
He taps his tablet again and pulls up another report. “Developers respect her, quietly." That surprised me less than it should have.
“She negotiates aggressively,” Marcus continues. “But she’s known for closing clean deals with no hidden clauses or last-minute changes.”
She's Reliable. This is rare. “And her enemies?” I ask.
Marcus’s mouth curves faintly. “Also growing.”
“Why?” I inquire.
“She doesn’t play favorites. ” Now this interests me.
Marcus adds, "She's stepping on the toes of people who don’t like losing.”
My lips curved faintly. “I’m aware.”
Marcus studies me carefully. “You’re smiling.”
“Am I?” I act defensively.
"Yes," Marcus insists.
“Interesting.”
Marcus was about to say something else when my phone vibrated on the desk. Both of us looked down, and Marcus frowned slightly.
“That line is private.” It was, and very few people had that number.
I pick up the phone. “Speak.”
The voice on the other end is tight.
“Sir… we found him.” The temperature in the room seems to drop slightly, and Marcus notices immediately.
“Where?” I ask.
“At the port.” Of course it was the port.
“And?” I asked.
The man hesitated. “There’s… a situation.”
I didn’t like the hesitation. "Explain," I snap.
“Customs officers were asking questions earlier tonight, and a senator’s office has been calling the harbor authority.”
Marcus straightens slowly because that was new. Senators rarely cared about ports unless something expensive had gone missing. Or something illegal had been discovered.
“And the man you found?” I asked.
“He’s talking.”
Marcus swore under his breath. I close my eyes briefly. This means the problem has just escalated.
“How long?” I ask.
“Not long yet. But if he keeps talking—”
I open my eyes and stare at the skyline again, and the city lights flicker across the glass.
“Listen carefully,” I said calmly. The man on the other end went silent. “Clean it up.”
“Yes, sir," he replies.
“Before sunrise," I insist.
Marcus doesn't move. “No witnesses,” I continue.
The man inhaled sharply. “And the man who’s talking?” he asks quietly. I didn’t hesitate. “Make sure he never speaks again.”
The line went silent for a moment.
Then—“Yes, sir.” The call ended.
I placed the phone back on the desk. Marcus has been watching me carefully. “You want me to handle the senator?” he asks.
“Not yet.”
Marcus frowns. “If the port investigation expands—”
“It won’t.”
I walk towards the window again. Below us, the city was still alive and completely unaware of the quiet decisions being made above it.
Marcus spoke again. “Lucas.”
"Yes," I respond.
“You’re thinking about her again.” I smile faintly.
“Am I that obvious?” I ask.
“A little.”
Lucy Morgan had no idea what kind of world she had stepped into.
She was about to learn something important. Winning has consequences. And for a lady as sexy as her… Some wins were deadly.
- Writer
