Chapter 29: Watch Closely...

The manager arrived in under three minutes.

"Mr. Harrison. welcome, welcome."

Enthusiastic was an understatement. The woman greeted Stan with the kind of warmth usually reserved for returning family members, all smiles and deferential nods. She even personally retrieved a glass of chilled drink from the refreshment station and set it in front of him with both hands.

"Please, Young Master Harrison. Here’s something to drink. It’s a warm evening."

Leo stood off to one side with his mouth slightly ajar.

’Is this woman out of her mind?’

The level of enthusiasm was so far out of proportion to a normal customer interaction that it almost didn’t register as real.

This wasn’t the greeting of a sales manager meeting a wealthy client. This was the greeting of a sales manager meeting someone whose name had been flagged in advance by someone very, very important.

"Which unit have you selected, Mr. Harrison?" the manager asked, folding her hands politely.

"That one." Stan pointed to the villa on the model that Leo had been so confidently informed was not for sale.

"Excellent choice. That’s the prime plot in the entire development. elevated ground, east-facing, panoramic view of the landscaped reserve. Wonderful greenery, beautiful natural light throughout the day." She beamed. "How many units would you like to purchase?"

Leo’s brain stalled completely. ’What?! What is happening?!’

’Isn’t it not for public sale.’ He had said it himself, three separate times, standing right there. He had staked his entire gloating speech on it. It was apparently a well-known fact that even he couldn’t get a unit in that building.

And now the sales manager was asking Stan Harrison how many he wanted. like he was ordering from a menu.

Leo stepped forward, forcing himself into the conversation.

"Excuse me. I was told, very clearly, that units in that building are not for sale to the public. I distinctly remember this."

"That’s correct, sir. They aren’t."

"Then how," Leo pressed, voice rising, "how is he being sold one?"

The manager turned to him with a polite, unreadable smile.

"Young Master Harrison isn’t an outsider. He’s one of us."

Her voice was mild. Her phrasing was pointed. She had been given instructions that were extremely clear. whatever Mr. Harrison wanted, he got, no questions asked, no friction, no exceptions. and she wasn’t about to explain herself to some other customer just because he was standing nearby.

Leo’s expression twisted. ’One of us. Since when was Stan Harrison one of us?’

Some genuinely heavy piece of information had just slid into view, and Leo couldn’t quite make out its shape. Every assumption he’d walked in here with had been quietly rearranging itself for the past sixty seconds, and now the floor under his feet didn’t feel entirely stable.

The manager turned back to Stan with renewed warmth.

"So, Young Master Harrison. how many units did you have in mind?"

"One. "

Stan caught himself mid-word. ’Wait.’

He paused. Reconsidered. One villa to Sophie Youngs would absolutely do the job. Two million, maybe a little more, at a five-times rebate through the Supreme Rebate System would net him roughly ten million in returns. Solid math. Respectable play.

But the rebate wasn’t capped at one unit. The rebate scaled with the amount spent. Every dollar he poured into Sophie Youngs’s name was coming back multiplied. Stopping at one villa when he had nine figures in his account was, by any honest measure, leaving money on the table.

Buying one house for a girl like Sophie would barely register. Buying an entire building would not only make the rebate substantial. it would make the gesture itself unforgettable.

"No," Stan corrected smoothly. "Not one."

"Ha," Leo scoffed, mistaking the hesitation for a change of heart. "What’s the matter? Finally doing the math and realizing you can’t afford it? Don’t worry. Nobody expected you to, anyway."

Stan cleared his throat quietly.

"Watch closely," he said, meeting Leo’s eyes. "Watch closely and take notes."

"Oh ho." Leo folded his arms, smirking. "By all means. Please. Enlighten me."

Stan turned back to the manager.

"Has a single unit in that building been sold yet?"

"Not a single one, Young Master Harrison. The entire building is unoccupied."

"Good." Stan gave a small wave of his hand. "I’ll take it."

The manager tilted her head slightly. "Which unit, sir?"

"All of them. The whole building."

A silence settled over the showroom.

The soft background hum of voices at other sand tables cut out one conversation at a time, like lights switching off in sequence. Customers turned. Sales consultants paused mid-sentence. A man at a nearby table actually lowered his coffee cup without drinking from it.

"A-a building, Young Master Harrison?" The manager’s practiced composure slipped a fraction. "The entire building?"

"That’s what I said. The whole building." Stan’s tone didn’t change. "Is that allowed?"

"Yes. yes, of course. Absolutely." The manager recovered instantly, already reaching for her tablet, fingers moving fast. "Let me calculate the total for you, right away."

Stan shook his head once, almost to himself, genuinely regretful.

’Shame, really. If I had the budget I’d take a few buildings. One’s a little thin.’

It wasn’t a performance. He meant it.

For a man with his liquid cash on hand. for a man whose bank balance was about to multiply fivefold the moment the transaction cleared. buying a single building really did feel a bit cramped.

He turned to Leo and spread his hands in a small, almost sympathetic gesture.

"See, when you buy a house, you have to buy at least a full building. Otherwise it feels cramped. Just one unit, surrounded by strangers? What’s the point? Despite the quality and location, it’s simply too tight. No breathing room."

Leo stared at him.

Then, slowly, silently, he lifted one hand and gave Stan a thumbs-up.

"No, you’re right. I take it back. I misjudged for the second time."

He wasn’t being sarcastic anymore. The mockery had drained out of his voice somewhere between one unit and the whole building, and what was left behind was something closer to genuine, if reluctant, awe.

He had come here to crush Stan Harrison under the weight of a single two-million-dollar villa. Stan Harrison had responded by casually purchasing the entire flagship building of the most exclusive residential development in the city. a building Leo himself had been informed he couldn’t touch.

The math wasn’t even close. It wasn’t the same game.

"I give up. I concede. I’m not competing with this."

He said it quietly, mostly to himself.