“Then it should be easy to resolve.”
He opened his mouth.
She continued.
“Withdraw the unsupported invoice and provide a written explanation of who commissioned the work.”
The developer stared.
The billionaire looked toward him.
“Can you do that?”
The developer shifted.
“I'll need to review the details.”
The billionaire's voice sharpened.
“Do it.”
For several moments, silence settled over the table.
Then the young woman spoke again.
“There's also the matter of the building.”
The developer sighed.
“Another objection?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
The billionaire looked at her.
She opened a third folder.
“This is the proposed hotel layout.”
The developer stared.
“Where did you get that?”
“From materials available through the planning and professional review process.”
She placed the drawing in front of him.
The proposed hotel occupied several adjoining properties.
Its underground service entrance depended on the disputed passage.
And its upper floors appeared to require alterations affecting the restaurant's historic structure.
The billionaire leaned forward.
“What am I looking at?”
The owner pointed toward the eastern wall.
“Your development partner's model assumes this section can be removed.”
The billionaire looked toward the drawing.
Then toward the developer.
“Is that part of our approved concept?”
The developer hesitated.
“It's an option.”
The owner nodded.
“An option that would destroy the original dining room.”
The billionaire turned toward her.
She looked up at the white lantern.
Then toward the Delft tiles.
“The room where you're sitting.”
The youngest American businessman stared at the walls.
The developer folded his arms.
“Historic interiors can be reproduced.”
The young owner looked at him.
“Some elements can.”
He smiled.
“Exactly.”
She continued.
“But reproducing an interior isn't the same as preserving the building and cultural history attached to it.”
The developer leaned forward.
“Sentiment doesn't pay construction costs.”
The owner smiled faintly.
“No. That's what a properly financed development plan is supposed to do.”
The older financial adviser made a small sound that might have been a suppressed laugh.
The developer shot him an irritated look.
The billionaire remained focused on the drawing.
He had believed the restaurant would become the elegant centerpiece of his proposed hotel.
Now he was discovering that the developer's preferred design might require demolishing the very room that made the restaurant distinctive.
He looked toward the young owner.
“Are you saying my project team planned to remove this dining room?”
“I'm saying the documents show an option that would require it.”
She paused.
“And nobody disclosed that option when asking me to sell the business.”
The billionaire stared at the developer.
The room became very quiet.
Then the young woman closed her folder.