Julian Sterling didn't say another word. He stood up, his face a pale, waxy mask of suppressed fury, and walked out of Box 1 without looking back. The heavy door clicked shut, leaving a vacuum of silence in his wake.
"He'll crack," Marcus said, breaking the quiet as he leaned back and took a slow, deliberate sip of his drink. "He's a narcissist. He won't let Sterling Infrastructure sink just to spite us, even if it means handing over the Meridian keys."
"Don't be so sure," Adrian countered, tapping his fingers rhythmically on his knee. "Men like Julian sometimes prefer to burn the whole house down if they can't be the ones holding the deed. He's weighing his ego against his bank account right now."
Leon snorted, leaning his shoulder against the window frame. "He's an old dog. He'll bark until his lungs give out, but he knows we've got the leash. He just needs a few minutes to realize how much it's going to hurt when we pull."
