The billionaire became still.
The developer's expression changed.
The older financial adviser leaned forward.
“May I see that?”
The young owner slid another page across the table.
It contained a summary prepared from financing materials disclosed during due diligence.
A highlighted paragraph described the passage-access arrangement as a near-complete component of the proposed development.
The adviser read it carefully.
Then removed his glasses.
“Who approved this wording?”
The developer frowned.
“It's a projection.”
The adviser looked toward him.
“That's not what it says.”
The room grew quiet.
The billionaire stared at the paragraph.
For the first time that evening, he stopped looking at the young woman as though she were an inconvenience.
He was beginning to realize she might know something his own team had failed to explain.
She watched his expression change.
Then calmly placed another document on the table.
“And gentlemen, that's only the first problem.”
The second problem concerned a company nobody at the dinner seemed eager to discuss.
Several weeks earlier, Het Blauwe Huis had received an invoice from a property-services firm claiming one hundred and sixty-eight thousand dollars for redevelopment planning, structural evaluation, and related consultation.
The young owner had never authorized the work.
Neither had her general manager.
Her attorney searched for a signed agreement.
There wasn't one.
Her accountant requested supporting documentation.
The company provided a project outline referencing the proposed hotel redevelopment.
When asked who authorized the expense, its representative referred to the billionaire's development partner.
The young owner preserved the correspondence.
Now she placed the invoice in front of the men.
The billionaire frowned.
“What is this?”
“A bill my company received for services it didn't order.”
The developer leaned forward.
“Those are preliminary coordination expenses.”
She looked at him.
“Coordination for whose project?”
“The redevelopment.”
“Which isn't mine.”
The developer's jaw tightened.
“The restaurant benefits from the planning process.”
She nodded.
“Perhaps. But benefiting from somebody else's planning doesn't automatically make us responsible for paying for it.”
The billionaire glanced toward his attorney.
“Was this authorized?”
The attorney examined the invoice.
“Not through the acquisition documents I've reviewed.”
The young owner turned another page.
“This is our written request for the service agreement.”
The billionaire read it.
She continued.
“This is their reply.”
The developer looked increasingly uncomfortable.
“And this,” she said, “is a second request asking them to identify who within our company approved the work.”
The older adviser leaned forward.
“Did they answer?”
“No.”
The billionaire placed the papers down.
The real-estate developer laughed dismissively.
“It's a routine commercial misunderstanding.”
The young owner looked at him.