Page 142 of Keller

Silence.

I count three beats before he responds.

"The marquee table? Keller, we have Hamdan confirmed. The Singapore group wired their deposit yesterday. Senator Davies already?—"

"Cancel it."

"That's fourteen players across three continents. Two of them have already secured private jets to be here. The junior royal has handlers coordinating security as we speak."

I stand and walk to the window. The afternoon sun cuts through the glass at a sharp angle, throwing shadows across the floor. My reflection stares back, glasses catching the light.

"Tables are suspended until further notice."

"Until further—" West stops himself. I hear him exhale. "What's the reason? What do I tell them?"

"You don't tell them anything. You notify them politely and professionally. Game postponed until further notice."

"You know this is going to kill our momentum. It's taken us six months to recover after your dad—." His voice flattens.

"I know. It has to be done."

"Hamdan will want details. So will the hedge fund guy. Rothwell's going to lose his mind."

"Handle it, West. It is what it is."

The line goes quiet again. I can hear West thinking. Running the numbers and cataloging the damage.

"This is eight figures, Keller. Minimum. That's just the immediate hit. The political capital alone, the favors we've been building for years, and the access we can't buy back once it's gone."

"I know what it is."

"Do you? Because I'm standing here looking at the guest list, and I see a man who controls shipping lanes in the Pacific. I see a senator on the Armed Services Committee. I see someone whose family name appears on currency."

"West."

"These aren't people you reschedule. These are people who reschedule you."

"I understand."

West finally stops arguing. He knows me well enough to recognize when a decision is final.

"I'll start making calls." His voice shifts into operational mode. "Notifications go out within the hour. Deposits refunded by the end of business tomorrow."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. The fallout from this is going to be significant."

I end the call and pull up my messages. I type a single word to Ridge.

Done.

The phone vibrates almost immediately. Hamdan's assistant. Then a number I recognize from Singapore.

Then another.

And another.

Men who are not accustomed to closed doors are finding one locked.