Marcus violently snatches Arturo’s wooden cane away and throws it across the trophy-room carpet.
/
Chapter 23 / 27
Chapter 23 - MARCUS RETURNS TO A BELLINI PROJECT
Marcus returned professionally at forty-eight.
Not as executive.
Not through family favor.
His outside development company won a competitive bid to consult on a Bellini hotel conversion.
The procurement committee disclosed his relationship.
I recused.
Independent selection.
Three bidders.
Marcus’s team ranked first.
Some relatives objected.
“We’re rewarding him.”
No.
A commercial contract.
With controls.
His misconduct had consequences.
It did not require lifetime economic exile.
Marcus performed well.
No boundary violations.
No family title.
Invoices clean.
Project finished on budget.
May you like
That mattered more than apology letters.
Trust is rebuilt through boring repetition.
