By the time Liam returned to the villa, the sun had already begun its slow descent.

The gates opened before the taxi reached them.

He stepped out, paid the driver, and walked up the driveway with his hands in his pockets. The grounds were quiet. Soft light stretched across the trimmed lawn.

Somewhere beyond the east wing, a heavy bag gave a single dull thud before falling still.

Jack wasn’t training. That alone was unusual.

Liam entered through the main doors.

"Welcome back."

Veronica stood near the entrance, clipboard in hand. She gave him a brief nod and returned to her work without lingering. Liam returned the nod and continued toward the study.

His phone vibrated before he reached the stairs.

Sandra. He answered.

"Liam."Her voice was controlled, but there was a sharper edge underneath it.

"What’s wrong?"

The industrial park changed the terms of the contract. Today? "This afternoon."

Liam stopped, one hand still on the banister.

"By how much?"

"Enough to make the agreement barely worth taking." A short pause. "I don’t think it’s a genuine renegotiation."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Why?"

"They knew too much. Our current margins. Reserve capacity. Even the cost of the spare truck we brought in this morning. I haven’t shared those numbers outside the company."

Liam was silent for a moment.

"Where are you?"Still at the yard.

"Wait for me." You don’t need to come.

"I know."He ended the call. Jack was in the kitchen, sitting at the island with a plate in front of him, eating like a man who had never heard of portion control.

He looked up when Liam entered. "Business?"

"Yes."Jack nodded toward the plate. "You want some?" "No."

"Your loss."Liam grabbed a bottle of water. Jack watched him for a moment, chewing.

"You’re getting blunt."

"Am I?"

"Yeah." Jack pointed his fork at him. "I’m serious. You’re not training, you’re not watching your weight, and you’re still eating whatever you feel like."

He looked Liam over from head to toe. "Meanwhile I spend half my life training, watch what I eat, keep my weight under control, and wake up sore every damn morning." He shook his head. "And somehow you won during our last match."

Liam opened the bottle. Jack leaned back. "That part actually pisses me off."

A faint smile touched Liam’s mouth. "You could always train less."

"Absolutely not." Jack took another bite. "That’s the problem. I can’t." He looked at Liam again, genuinely puzzled. "You just walk around living your best life.

Eat what you want. Sleep whenever you want. Spend half your day dealing with business or staring at women."

Liam raised an eyebrow.

Jack continued without shame. "And somehow when we fight, you’re still the one with the upper hand."

"You lost once."

"Exactly." Jack pointed at him again. "Once." He shook his head and muttered something under his breath.

Liam almost laughed. "I have somewhere to be." "Yeah, whatever man."Liam turned toward the door."Don’t get soft," Jack called after him.

Liam glanced back.

Jack grinned. "I still want that rematch."

"I know."Liam left. Jack watched the door close, then looked down at his plate.

"Still doesn’t make sense," he muttered, and went back to eating.

The industrial yard was louder than before. The evening shift change brought a fresh wave of noise across the bays.

Sandra was waiting near the main office when Liam arrived. She walked toward him with the tablet tucked under one arm.

"Thank you for coming."

"You said something felt wrong."

"It does."She turned and led him inside. The meeting room overlooked the loading bays through a wide glass wall.

Trucks moved below them. Forklifts crossed between containers while workers loaded pallets under the orange afternoon light.

Sandra placed the tablet on the table.

"The original agreement gave us a twelve-month contract with fixed rates."

Liam sat down."They’re offering six months now."

"And?"

"They want us to absorb fuel adjustments, maintenance increases, and delayed-delivery penalties."

"Which means?"

"We carry all the risk." She swiped to the next page. "They’re also demanding priority access to our evening fleet."

Liam leaned back. "That doesn’t sound like a negotiation.""It isn’t." She looked through the glass. "They want control of our capacity without paying for it."

"And you refused?"

"Immediately."A small smile appeared on his face. "Good.""I thought you’d want to know before I rejected anything permanently."

"You handled it correctly."

Her expression remained professional, but her shoulders relaxed slightly. "They’re meeting us again tomorrow."Then we’ll go together.

Sandra hesitated. "You’re sure?"

"Yes."

Alright.Liam stood. As they left the room, Sandra spoke again."There is something else."

He stopped. "What?"

"Their representative mentioned your company by name before I introduced you as the owner." She held his gaze. "He knew exactly who you were."

The noise of the yard seemed quieter for a moment. Liam looked through the glass at the trucks moving below. Someone had done their homework. That meant the contract had never been the real problem.

They returned to the main floor. Sandra stopped beside the loading bay.

"I’ll send you the complete file tonight."

"Do that."

She nodded and turned back toward the workers, already calling out an instruction to a supervisor before Liam had fully turned away.

He watched her for a moment.

The dark trousers pulled tight across her heavy ass as she walked. Full. The shape stayed on his mind longer than it should have.

She hadn’t asked unnecessary questions. She had been useful. Despite have that huge phat ass.

He walked toward the exit. The last of the evening light caught the rows of parked trailers as he crossed the lot.

His phone vibrated.An unknown number.

We should discuss the industrial park.

Liam stopped.A second message arrived.

Come alone.

He stared at the screen for a long moment. The yard’s noise faded into background static around him.

Then he smiled faintly, slipped the phone back into his pocket, and already started turning over how he would answer it.

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