Chapter 2 - THE BIRTHDAY PARTY WAS A CLOSING PARTY
I ended the party without making a speech.
That disappointed Ryan.
He wanted either submission or spectacle.
I gave him logistics.
I found the event manager and told her the property owner was ending the gathering.
“Ryan is the owner,” she said.
“No.”
She blinked.
“I’m sorry?”
“Ryan is my son.”
I gave her the property manager’s number.
“Guests can finish their drinks. Music ends in twenty minutes. Transportation stays available.”
Ryan appeared behind me.
“You cannot shut down my party.”
“Apparently I can.”
“Dad.”
“You wanted me to act like a guest.”
I looked around.
“Guests don’t usually control the catering contract.”
Vanessa rushed toward us.
“Leonard, please.”
The word please interested me.
Five minutes earlier, she had watched me get slapped.
“What is Mercer-Vale?”
Her expression closed.
Ryan answered:
“A project.”
“Whose?”
“Mine.”
“Then why is my house in the bank email?”
“Because the residence is associated with the family.”
“Associated?”
Ryan looked away.
I had taught him better vocabulary than that.
When people used vague nouns around money, it usually meant the specific ones were inconvenient.
Vanessa said:
“This isn’t the place.”
“Correct.”
I looked toward the terrace.
“So everyone leaves.”
By midnight, the mansion was quiet.
Ryan and Vanessa remained.
I had not yet asked them to leave because I wanted documents before emotion.
My attorney, Samuel Greene, arrived at 12:38.
He had represented me since Ryan was in middle school.
Samuel looked at my cheek.
“What happened?”
“Family governance.”
“Your sense of humor remains unfortunate.”
He turned toward Ryan.
“Did you strike your father?”
Ryan crossed his arms.
“It was a private argument.”
“That was not the question.”
Vanessa said:
“Samuel, we’re all exhausted.”
“I’m sure.”
We moved into the study.
I showed Samuel the bank email.
He opened his laptop.
Western Pacific had attached a verification request.
Borrower:
Mercer-Vale Hospitality Group LLC.
Guarantors:
Ryan Mercer.
Vanessa Mercer.
Proposed guarantor net worth included:
Beverly Hills residential interest — $18,400,000.
Ownership:
100%.
Samuel stopped.
I laughed once.
“At least he went big.”
Ryan slammed his palm against the desk.
“It is not what it looks like.”
“Then tell me what it looks like.”
Vanessa stood behind him.
Ryan explained.
Mercer-Vale Hospitality Group was a venture he and Vanessa had formed eighteen months earlier.
Luxury short-term residences.
Private event properties.
Boutique membership clubs.
The Beverly Hills mansion was supposed to become its flagship.
I stared.
“Supposed by whom?”
“We talked about it.”
“No.”
“You said I needed to start thinking bigger.”
“That is not a property conveyance.”
“You told me the house would eventually be mine.”
I looked at him.
“Did I?”
Silence.
Vanessa stepped in.
“Leonard, everyone knows Ryan is your successor.”
“At my company?”
“In the family.”
“Those are not interchangeable.”
Samuel scrolled farther.
The financing amount:
$9.5 million.
Initial advance scheduled:
Friday.
Four days away.
Purpose:
acquisition of two hospitality properties and restructuring of existing obligations.
“Existing obligations?” I asked.
Ryan rubbed his face.
“Startup debt.”
“How much?”
“Dad.”
“How much?”
Vanessa answered.
“Around four million.”
Samuel looked up.
Ryan glared at her.
I sat back.
Four million dollars.
My son had spent the evening posing beside a Rolex while a four-million-dollar hole sat behind the party.
I asked:
“Why did the bank email me?”
Samuel pointed toward the corporate records.
LMM Residential Holdings remained the registered owner.
Someone at Western Pacific had finally compared the ownership file with Ryan’s guarantor statement.
The bank wanted a signed confirmation that transfer documents were pending.
Ryan whispered:
“They were supposed to be.”
I looked at him.
“What transfer documents?”
May you like
Vanessa answered before he could.
“The ones you promised to sign after Ryan’s birthday.”
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