Chapter 77

After a rejuvenating conversation with Tanvi, Nick walked into the Loft in high spirits and ready to embrace the relative chaos of the fourth floor. As they passed through the city, they’d chatted about Nick’s trip and the goings-on at the Loft while he’d been gone. Nick learned about the New York Post story comparing the Loft to the Playboy Mansion and that several people had uploaded bootleg video of Emily’s debut at the Blue Rose to the Internet. Apparently, Emily and Tanvi had already discussed the matter and Emily had been unsurprised and unbothered. Also, Emily had inquired about adding dance poles to the gym and apparently roped Joseph into pleading the case for them as well.

The main room of the Loft was half full of friends Nick had left here in New York and half full of people who hadn’t been here when he left. He’d gotten about three steps out of the elevator before Tsugi Anzo was bowing in front of him and thanking him for his hospitality when Tanvi whispered in his ear who she was and how she’d gotten an invite. Nick half-knew some of the information, but was grateful for the refresher. He welcomed Tsugi and told her he looked forward to seeing her at dinner.

He got another six steps before Ximenia was standing in front of him. Nick held out his arms in a look-at-you gesture. “You made it!”

Ximenia hugged him. “This place is wild.”

Nick laughed. “As in the opposite of tame, certainly. Are you settling in all right?”

Ximenia gestured back towards the residential wing. “I’ve got a nice little room back that way somewhere and Zola promises to help me find it again if I get lost. Everybody’s been weirdly nice considering they have no idea who I am or why I’m here and I can’t really explain it either.”

Nick smiled at her. “There’s plenty of time for you to decide why you’re here. If you get a chance, you should meet my cousin Monroe and I’m pretty sure I saw Paige when I walked in. They’re both actresses or aspiring to be. I’ve got some things to take care of this evening, but come find me tomorrow or any time after that if you want to talk about things.”

“All right.” Ximenia leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

As she walked off, Tanvi leaned in. “Her background check hasn’t turned up much. If she’s spying for anyone, it’s probably Jesse. They go to school together and she’s been to his house for more than one party.”

Nick nodded. “All right. If everyone’s going to send spies after me, I’d like to encourage them to keep sending hot, friendly ones.”

“Do you think you’ll be sending Rosangela to talk to her?” Tanvi asked.

“Let’s give her a few days to see how she fits into this crowd.” Nick said. His last word trailed off as he spotted the red-haired woman striding across the room towards him like he was the guest and she was about to welcome him to her home. He laughed and called out, “Mack?”

At the sound of her name, she crossed the room in a run and hugged him fiercely. “Nick Coyle, you missed our date with the Canadian wilds this summer.”

Nick laughed and hugged her back. “My God, I’m so glad you finally made it down here. Welcome to New York.”

“Thank you for inviting me and for finally showing up in your own home. Your friends have been calling you my imaginary American boyfriend. Did you really never tell them about me after last summer?” asked MacKenzie.

“I told them about you. I just didn’t tell them everything.” Nick stepped back to get a better look at her. The last time he’d seen MacKenzie Roy, she’d been dressed in flannel and hiking pants and it had been five days since her last shower. Now, she was wearing high-heel boots, tight leather pants, and a white crop top that covered her chest and about half of her arms, but nothing else. “You look amazing.”

MacKenzie laughed. “I am waxed, plucked, and tweezed to within an inch of my life. I looked you up before I came down here and there was no way in Hell I was going to look anything less than my best when I saw the company you’re keeping these days. You’ve got to be terrible for global warming keeping all this hotness in one place.”

Nick laughed and hugged her again, glad to hear the joke. During their relatively brief association, Mack had spoken quite passionately about environmental issues and, whenever Nick worried that he wasn’t focused enough on potentially existential threats like climate change or thought about his own impact on the environment, his conscience sounded a lot like MacKenzie Roy. Seeing Max trying to sneak past him to get into the residential wing, Nick said, “We have so much catching up to do, but I have to meet with my seneschal before dinner.”

Mack gave him a broad smile. “All right. I’ll see you there.”

Tanvi watched her as she walked away then followed Nick into the residential wing. “Did you really score with that woman before anybody knew you were a billionaire?”

“Apparently I did. Honestly, I knew she was pretty, but I had no idea she would clean up that nice. She was ... very natural when I saw her last summer. God, I once called her Nell as a joke.” Nick laughed. “Man, I’m not sure her being here is actually going to convince anyone that she’s real. There are people on the Internet who are still convinced Ainsley’s an actress I hired to play my lawyer in public.”

“You do have an unerring ability to surround yourself with improbably beautiful women, don’t you, Nick?” Tanvi asked.

“Nice humblebrag. Did you see where Max went?” Nick looked around the empty hall.

“I believe he stepped into his own apartment. I didn’t think that was worth mentioning,” said Tanvi dryly.

“Ah, right. He’s probably girding his loins.” Nick smirked and headed down the hall to his own apartment.

Once inside, Tanvi stepped into his arms and accepted a kiss. “Nick, I do believe you are taking devilish pleasure in your friend’s discomfort at the obvious power imbalance between the two of you.”

Nick laughed. “It’s for his own good. If I make him super-uncomfortable once about wielding his power as seneschal within the context of a prank, it should help him be more comfortable using it for real next time.”

“That’s not a management technique I learned at SSCS, but I can see it working with the two of you.” Tanvi tapped her tablet. “Ainsley and Simon want to meet with you once you’re done with Max.”

“All right. Let’s do Ainsley first, then Simon,” said Nick.

“Actually, they want to meet with you together,” said Tanvi.

Nick’s face fell. “Oh God, what did Simon do?”

“I think I should let him tell you that. He’s been using his enhanced privileges with the security team,” said Tanvi.

“And that’s ... good?” Nick asked.

Before Tanvi could ask, there was a knock at the door. Nick quickly positioned himself in the leather recliner facing the room, as close as he had to a throne. “Enter.”

When Artemis strode in, he said, “You’re not Max.”

“I never had any desire to be.” Artemis strode over to stand directly in front of his chair. “Welcome home. I saw you in the main room, but you were gone before I could say hello.”

Nick rose and hugged her. She gave him a full-body, hold-nothing-back hug in return. Artemis was an excellent hugger. “I was afraid I would have to go back to school tomorrow morning without seeing you.”

Nick frowned. “I did invite you to dinner tonight, didn’t I?”

Artemis stayed close with her arms around his neck. “You did, but I understand there will be a half dozen other people there. I thought you might want some company before then.”

Nick gave an uneasy laugh. “I actually need to meet with people until then.”

“Oh.” Artemis gave a little pout. “Will you be free after dinner?”

Nick laughed again. “I’m afraid not, Artemis. A lot of people want my attention today.”

Artemis didn’t seem offended or put off in the slightest. She just smiled. “I noticed. And Kiki told me I might have to show some initiative if I wanted your attention. I hope I didn’t overshoot the mark.”

Nick shook his head. “No, I admire your initiative. I just ... can’t take advantage of it today.”

Artemis stepped away still smiling. “I have to go back to school tomorrow morning, but I’ll be back Friday night. Will you be able to take advantage of it then?”

Nick shook his head, still smiling. There was something very intoxicating about Artemis’s shamelessness. “It’s a date.”

Artemis turned to go. “See you at dinner, then.”

After the door closed, Tanvi said, “Maybe you should invite Kiki and Casey along on that date too. It might take all three of you to hold her down.”

“She is pretty bold, even for a Stone,” acknowledged Nick. When there was another knock on his door, he resumed his position in the recliner. “Enter.”

Max opened the door and looked in. “You wanted to talk to me?”

“Yes, sit down, please.” Nick gestured to the couch across from him.

Max hurried to do so. “How was New Orleans?”

Nick didn’t smile. “We can talk about that later.” He looked back over his shoulder, “Tanvi, could you excuse us, please? I think Max and I should talk alone for a bit.”

“A-all right. Should I ask Ainsley to join you once you’re done with him?” Tanvi asked ominously.

“Yes, please,” said Nick. After Tanvi left the room, he turned back to Max before his friend could say anything else. “You gave your personal trainer an apartment while I was away?”

Max shook his head. “She’s not my personal trainer. She’s our athletic director and she totally deserves it. She was working sixty hour weeks to keep the gym running the way we wanted it. I also hired her an assistant.”

Nick was surprised and pleased that Max had stood up to him in that moment. It ruined the prank, but showed that he really had embraced the role of seneschal. He decided to shift tactics. “Cool, I’m going to be home most of the time for the next few weeks. Maybe I’ll actually get to use the gym we built.”

“So ... it’s okay? She can keep the apartment and the assistant?” Max frowned.

“Sure, I know people love our gym. I would love to have the time to love our gym. If Chesa is making that happen, she deserves help and a place to stay,” said Nick.

Max stared at him for a few seconds then laughed. “You fucking asshole, you were deliberately trying to make me shit myself for no reason, weren’t you?”

Nick burst out laughing. “And you ruined it by being all tough and standing up for your decisions. Well done, Mr. Whitman. You are turning out to be the finest seneschal this city has ever seen.”

Max glared. “I swear to God, the minute your back is turned, I am filling this fucking apartment with rubber ducks.”

Nick laughed so hard, his face started to hurt. “If you do, you’re going to have to explain the joke to Joseph. He’s going to be staying here for at least a few nights.”

“So, you did everything you could think of with women and decided to move on to Mormon boys?” Max asked.

“Joseph will be staying here alone ... unless he finds some company of his own or one of my girlfriends wanders in and decides he’s an acceptable substitute. I’ll be staying in the penthouse on Astor Place tonight and then playing Pied Piper in order to lure some of the children of the Loft out to 79 Jay Street in Brooklyn and address your little housing crisis here,” said Nick.

“It’s not my housing crisis anymore. Now that you’re home, it’s your housing crisis again. The seneschal rests,” said Max.

“No, he doesn’t. I just got through telling you I won’t be living here for a while. The Loft needs you, Max. Take your gun and your badge back,” said Nick.

“You’re not going to be living here at all?” Max frowned.

“Well, I’m not going to be sleeping here, but I’ll be working here, eating here, and using the facilities. Once we get enough people living in Brooklyn, I’ll take my apartment and any of the women he’s borrowed back from Joe, but in the meantime, I will be merely a face in the crowd. You won’t know me from the thousands who pass through those gates every day,” said Nick.

“I think I’ll have a pretty good idea based on which face in the crowd is buried under a big pile of strippers and lingerie models,” said Max evenly.

“I think we might all be buried under strippers and lingerie models before too long. How are things with you and Casey these days?” Nick asked.

“I had sex with her and Paige while you were gone,” said Max.

“So, nothing to report?” Nick asked.

“No, I had sex with Casey and Paige while you were gone ... at the same time,” said Max.

“Oh, is that new?” Nick asked.

Max laughed. “Fuck you, Nick. Some of us don’t have a permanent rotating cast of hot bisexual women parading through our beds two at a time. We have to earn our threesomes honestly through bribery and alcohol.”

Nick was so happy to be home. Seeing Tanvi had gotten him most of the way there, but it didn’t really stick until Max was swearing at him and calling him an asshole. Still, having brought up a potentially awkward subject, he didn’t want to shy away. “She and Kiki have been kind of plotting to get me into bed with the two of them.”

“Casey or Paige?” Max asked.

“I meant Casey. Don’t tell me Kiki’s gotten to Paige, too,” said Nick.

“Not yet, but it’s only Monday. This place has kind of turned my girlfriend into a raging nymphomaniac,” said Max.

“I’m ... sorry?” Nick suggested.

Max waved it off. “That’s just the official party line. I don’t think the Loft has really changed her much at all. But it is an effective scapegoat for everything she’s been getting up to. As long as she lets me throw her a bone every once in a while, it’s probably fine.”

Nick sat back and considered her old friend. “Wasn’t she hooking up with Hall and Cat for a while?”

“No, she was hooking up with Hall and Cat was hooking up with Casey who is also hooking up with Kiki and that girl I passed in the hallway ... Athena?” Max frowned.

“Artemis. She’s been hanging out with Kiki and Casey and was just about to eat me alive when you rescued me,” said Nick.

“I would say you’re welcome, but why wasn’t Tanvi rescuing you? She was in the room,” said Max.

“Tanvi knew I didn’t particularly want to be rescued. It probably gets old after a while, but I have to admit the glow isn’t entirely off the rose when it comes to having beautiful women march up to me and offer me sex,” said Nick.

“You are such a smug asshole, Coyle. And now you want to sleep with one of my girlfriends?” Max laughed.

“Or both of them if it will save time, but only one has offered so far,” said Nick.

“Yeah, fine. Go ahead. If Hall and Cat don’t have a problem with you and Casey, it’s certainly not my place to stand in your way and Paige could use the ego boost,” said Max.

Nick forced his face to be serious. “Honestly, man, if me and Casey is going to bother you, I don’t need to go there.”

“Nick, she’s your Sylvanas Windrunner. You totally need to go there ... for the Horde,” said Max.

Nick blushed as he always did when someone mentioned the poster of Casey in full cosplay and body paint as the undead ranger from EverQuest that had been on his bedroom wall through most of his adolescence. “All right, then. I gave you a chance to object.”

In a flash, Max got serious as well. “Paige too if you’re interested. I know we’ve kidded around about it, but if you ever find yourself in bed with her, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t kick her out.”

Nick frowned. “You’re serious?”

Max gave him a look. “I know she’s only human levels of beautiful, not one of the goddesses you usually hang out with, but she’s really pretty amazing.”

“What are you talking about? Paige is gorgeous. I just ... wouldn’t poach her from you,” Nick protested.

“Why not? You’ve slept with Arwen and Emily. You had Shelby before Simon did. For that matter, Arwen and Pilar have slept together. I’m the only one of your closest friends you’re not sharing a woman with. It’s not poaching if you send them back when you’re done with them. It’s more like catch and release,” said Max.

“You’re really serious about this? You want me to sleep with Paige?” Nick asked quietly.

“Paige wants to be part of what’s going on here. She was joking about sleeping with Kiki the other day, but I don’t think she was kidding. I’m just pretty sure you two are going to wind up on a collision course sooner or later. When that happens, I’d rather you have sex with her than reject her,” said Max.

Nick felt like the future happiness of a lot of people rested on what he said next and he wanted to treat the conversation with respect. But, he was also talking to Max and too much earnestness would ring hollow. He split the difference, “Max, I promise you, if you hadn’t grabbed Paige first, I would have already tried to have sex with her by now. I would never reject her for her own sake. The only reason I haven’t done so is because she’s with you and I didn’t think you had that kind of relationship, but if you’re telling me it’s all right...”

“I talked her into sleeping with Hall,” said Max evenly.

Nick couldn’t resist. “Did that take a lot of convincing?”

“I think she might have done it anyway and blamed it on the Loft if I didn’t.” Max sighed.

There were so many things Nick wanted to say, but he wasn’t ready to say most of them. Instead, he settled on, “You know, Maxwell, there are a lot of women I’ve gotten attached to here in the Loft, but I don’t think I’d be mad at you if you slept with any of them.”

Max shook his head. “First of all, I’m legally changing my name to Makkusu. And second of all, that is definitely not true. What if I slept with Ainsley?”

Nick laughed. “She would eat your soul and leave you a withered husk.”

“Might be worth saving her for last then. How about Pilar?” Max asked.

“Not a problem,” said Nick evenly.

“Arwen?” Max suggested like he’d save the best for last.

That got a bigger laugh from Nick. “Arwen’s not even mine. Why does everybody think I’m still hung up on Arwen? You and Arwen definitely have my blessing.”

“Maybe everybody thinks it because you were completely hung up on her pretty much every day of your life until you got filthy rich. Have you really gotten over her?” Max asked.

“Max, I have gotten over her, under her, next to her, between her and Pilar, and between her and Kiki. I’m very happy for Arwen and Lev. I’m very happy for Arwen and whoever she’s with. I’m also happy that sometimes she’s with me, but I’m not hung up on her even a little. She’s a dear friend and, like many of my friends these days, I sometimes sleep with her, but that’s all it is,” said Nick.

“How about my ridiculously hot assistant, Luba?” Max asked.

“Her, I might be a little bit hung up on,” Nick joked.

“Seriously?” Max stared at him.

Nick laughed. “No, she’s gorgeous and I wouldn’t throw her out of my bed if she found her way there, but I don’t imagine having sex with her more than every time I see her.”

“Tanvi said I should have sex with her ... with Luba, I mean, not with Tanvi,” said Max.

“If you can do it, more power to you,” said Nick.

“She’s factotum tracked,” said Max.

“SSCS needs to learn that the factotum track does not run through the Loft. Agents who come here get up to all sorts of shenanigans. That’s the nature of the Loft. That’s always been the nature of the Loft. We have woken that which must forever sleep.” Nick intoned.

“I guess you read the New York Post article?” Max asked.

“Tanvi read me the good parts. I’m thinking about having the whole thing framed and put up in the entry hall when I actually build the next Playboy mansion,” said Nick.

“So, that’s not what 79 Jay Street is?” Max asked.

“I don’t think it would be practical to build a grotto in Vinegar Hill. Plus, that building is worth a metric fuckton of money. I can take up a lot more space for a lot less money out in Montana,” said Nick.

“Are you serious?” Max asked.

Nick shrugged. “It’s still in the pipe dream phase, but yeah - I’d like some place we can spread out, build a swimming pool and a decent-sized hot tub. Green Mountainside is gorgeous and I already own the whole fucking mountain, so it’s a logical choice.”

Max frowned. “What about in winter?”

“I still own the mountain in winter, Max. It’s just under a lot of snow,” said Nick.

“No, I just ... I had this idea that maybe we could travel to the southern hemisphere when it’s winter here so that you don’t have to deal with SAD. You have some property down in Brazil that looks really gorgeous. I thought I might check it out for suitability as a winter palace,” said Max.

“That’s ... not a terrible idea. I’ve been kind of assuming that the rosy glow of giant piles of money might cure my seasonal depression, but we haven’t had a chance to test the theory out yet. This year however, I will be spending at least part of the winter on Hawaii and Jayanesia. Tanvi’s invited me to her sister’s wedding and there’s going to be a Stone family conclave at the end of the year,” said Nick.

“That sounds like it could work,” said Max.

“Hell, maybe we can stay there for the whole winter. I have property out there that might work,” said Nick.

“When you say ‘we,’ do you mean just you and Tanvi or just you and all the hottest women from the Loft?” Max asked.

Nick shook his head. “I mean me and you and everyone from the Loft, asshole. We could just pack up everybody who wants to go and fly out to Jayanesia for a few months.”

“Jeez, Coyle. What do you think you are, some kind of billionaire?” Max quipped.

“I am definitely some kind of billionaire. Do you want to do the groundwork for my place on Jayanesia? I haven’t seen it yet and it can be hard to tell how a place lives without actually seeing it,” said Nick.

“Could I take the jet?” Max asked.

“Wow, you give a guy a little bit of power, he turns into a madman. Are you planning to come to Hamilton this weekend?” Nick asked.

“Definitely ... and before I forget, I told Anne she could bring Tucker to come see it. He’s turning thirteen on the day before,” said Max.

“You want to bring a sheltered thirteen year-old Jesus freak to one of our events?” Nick asked skeptically.

“When you say it like that, it sounds like a hysterically bad idea, but I just meant to take him to the theater. You’re not planning to start one of your drug-fueled orgies at the theater, are you?” Max asked.

“One does not plan drug-fueled orgies. They happen organically after you take a lot of drugs, I think. I’ve never actually been to one,” said Nick.

“I didn’t think you had, but it’s been like a week since we talked last. Can I borrow Emily after the show?” Max asked.

Nick narrowed his eyes. “That’s one hell of a question to sneak into a conversation about a thirteen year-old’s birthday.”

Max blushed. “I ... uh meant for Tucker’s actual birthday party. You’re throwing him one at Mama Leone’s after the play. I figured it could be a big boost to his popularity if Emily shows up at his birthday.”

“And the New York Post headline the next day will be ‘Billionaire Nick Coyle Throws Birthday Party for Thirteen Year-Old with Strippers,’” Nick pointed out.

“Emily’s not ... I mean, I guess technically she is a stripper now, but she’s still just one stripper,” said Nick.

“You’re not inviting Aunt Prudence?” Nick asked.

“Okay, so two strippers, but that’s my limit,” said Max.

“Pru will probably want to bring Rada. They’re pretty inseparable,” Nick deadpanned.

Max did a passable Monty Python impression. “Amongst our strippers...”

Nick made a brush-away gesture. “Fine, you are welcome to invite Emily to your new best friend’s birthday party, but try to keep the stripping to a minimum.”

“Cool, can I have sex with her afterward?” Max asked.

“No because I will be spending the evening with Cyrene Porter and it would be rude of me to blow her off in order to have sex with Paige,” said Nick.

“I, uh ... yeah ... Are you planning to have sex with Connie’s daughter?” Max asked.

“Not specifically, no. As far as I know, Cyrene being my date is just so we can be seen in public together because she thinks it will help with the New Model Army,” said Nick.

“Oh, yeah. I did ask you to do that, didn’t I?” Max asked.

“Yes - after you promised Connie that she and her daughter could come to the first Hamilton weekend with all of my rich cousins. Do you know if they actually made it to any of the parties last week?” Nick asked.

“I’m not sure. I haven’t talked to Connie much lately and I was kind of busy for a lot of the weekend,” said Max.

“So, you’re going to be here this coming weekend and I need the plane the weekend after that. Do you think you could deign to fly commercial this once, Mr. Seneschal, sir?” Nick asked.

“I could or I could just go tomorrow and be back in time for Hamilton and strippers,” said Max.

“Ah, that could work. I thought you might want to go on a weekend so you could bring Paige,” said Nick.

“Someone will keep Paige warm for me, I’m sure,” said Max.

Nick shrugged. “Take the plane with my blessing, then. Will it just be you and your ridiculously hot assistant, then?”

“I could invite Casey,” said Max.

“Please don’t,” said Nick.

“Just me and my ridiculously hot assistant in a tropical paradise, then. I have no problem with that,” said Max.

“Neither do I. I think you’re going to have a really good time,” Nick said ominously.

“Any chance you’ll pop in to Tucker’s party yourself for a few minutes?” Max suggested.

“Hard pass. If I didn’t have a million things to do that day, I would invent them to not go to a party full of twelve year-olds,” said Nick.

“All right, I’ll just tell Anne you hate her kid,” said Max.

“She’ll know you’re lying. On days that she doesn’t believe I’m Satan incarnate trying to tempt her to wickedness, Anne thinks I’m an angel sent by God,” said Nick.

“But you do hate her kid. You hate all kids,” Max reminded him.

“There’s a small chance I don’t hate her kid. Some children actually become people by the time they’re thirteen, but a whole roomful of tweens? That’s like a Carnival Cruise with Kathy Lee Gifford singing nothing but Christmas songs,” said Nick.

“You could be Lucifer,” Max suggested.

“Come again?” Nick asked.

“Lucifer, Bringer of Light, fairest of God’s angels, cast down into the Pit for rebelling against the Throne of Heaven. If you were Lucifer, you could be both an angel sent by God and a tempter,” said Max.

Nick didn’t have Max’s love of mythology, so he just shrugged. “I’m just Saint Nick. And I always hate to cut our banter short, but I still need to meet with Ainsley and find out what Simon’s been up to while I was out of town.”

Max rose. “He’s still walking around a free man. Who knew Lev would be the first of us to go to jail, huh?”

Nick walked him to the door. “Lev had a righteous cause. Simon, I’m more worried about how much whatever he did is going to cost me.”

“Any chance we can have Simon’s excoriation before I leave for Jayanesia? I would hate to miss it,” said Max.

“You can videoconference in. Excoriations have gone very high tech,” Nick offered.

Once Max was gone, Nick went to his refrigerator and brought out a bottle of cold brew coffee. With hours to go still before he slept, he used it to chase down a couple of NoDoz. The caffeine spike would probably make him jittery, but it would be better than yawning at the wrong moment and appearing disinterested. He texted Ainsley, “Bring him in when you’re ready.”

Nick kissed Ainsley on the cheek as she and Simon entered. “Have a seat and tell me what’s going on.”

They sat. Ainsley said, “We’ve found a spy in the organization.”

“Is it Maria?” Nick asked.

Simon exchanged a confused look with Ainsley, then asked, “The girl from the winery?”

Nick nodded. “Yeah, she’s probably spying on me for Threnody. I’m going to confront her after dinner tonight and see what she says.”

“Quinn Quartermain is spying for Arthur Black,” said Ainsley.

Nick sat back and scowled. “Seriously? Do I have a big sign around my neck telling people to send me their worst possible spies?”

“Arthur may be limited in his choices. He resigned from Black and Stringer on Friday,” said Ainsley.

Nick felt anger boil up inside himself and had to take a moment not to shout. Even though he spoke in an even tone of voice, he doubted either person in front of him missed the warning in his voice. “You assured me he would never do that, Ainsley.”

Ainsley sat up a bit straighter and met Nick’s eyes. “He shouldn’t have. Black and Stringer has a structured payout system for senior partners that incentivizes either retiring at fifty or staying on indefinitely. Leaving now is the equivalent of an animal gnawing off its own leg to escape a very comfortable trap. Everything I knew about Arthur suggested he was motivated first, last, and always by money. I got this one wrong.”