He sat back.
His jaw was tight.
“We’re your family,” my mother said softly. “Family helps each other.”
“Family does help each other,” I agreed. “I believe that completely.”
There was a pause.
Then my father picked up the bread basket, set it to the side like he was clearing space, and placed both hands flat on the table.
“Maya, I’m going to be straightforward with you,” he said. “Derek’s firm has a relationship with the property group that manages the lease for this building. I happen to know the senior partner there personally. It would be very easy for a concern to be raised about the current operator’s suitability at renewal time.”
I looked at him.
“Lease renewals are discretionary,” he continued. “I’m just saying, as someone who cares about your success here, you should think carefully about what relationships matter.”
He held my gaze the way he always did when he thought he had leverage.
I took a breath through my nose.
I thought about Celia at the front desk. I thought about my housekeeping supervisor, Gloria, who had worked for me since the first month I opened and sent her grandchildren pictures of the rooftop every Christmas. I thought about the fourteen-hour days I had put in during the first year of this property, the corners I had refused to cut, and the reviews I had earned one guest at a time.
Then I said, “Dad, who do you think owns this building?”
He blinked.
“The property?” I said. “The actual building that the Aldren operates in. Do you know who holds the deed?”
He said nothing.
“I do,” I said. “I acquired the commercial property and the hotel operation as a combined asset eighteen months ago. There is no separate landlord. There is no lease to threaten. I own the building outright.”
