Page 168 of What Goes Around

The emails. The payments. The lies.

I wasn’t in a hurry to use it.

There would be a right time to expose her.

Part IV

Chapter 53: Mr. Sinclair

4 years later.

26 years old (in her past life she died 27)

For the last four years, I had been moving steadily toward one goal.

Today was my first day at Sinclair Enterprises.

I had spent half a year quietly studying that company. Reading about them. Scanning their website. Watching their acquisitions. Tracking their hiring patterns. I had even sent out subtle feelers through professional contacts, trying to find out if they were recruiting. Nothing ever came back.

Then, to my surprise, they contacted me directly.

Months earlier, I had spoken on a development analytics panel in New York, representing Hawthorne & Vale. I talked about risk modeling. About killing projects before they destroyed capital. About how numbers never lied if you knew how to read them.

Apparently someone from Sinclair had been in the audience and was impressed. They reached out, said they wanted me on their team, and asked me to fly to Chicago for interviews.

Sinclair Enterprises covered the flight, hotel, transportation, and meals. That alone told me how serious they were.

The interview was with their Vice President, Marcus Harrington.

He asked what I was doing at Hawthorne & Vale. What projects I had led. Where I saw the market failing in the next five years. What kind of company I would leave for. What I wanted long term. What salary would make me walk away from my current position.

I answered honestly.

They weren’t just evaluating me.

They were selling themselves to me.

Marcus explained Sinclair’s portfolio, their risk appetite, their expansion plans. The culture. The expectations. The pressure.

Sinclair Enterprises specialized in luxury casinos, private clubs, and high-end entertainment complexes across major cities. They didn’t just develop them. They owned them long term, managed operations, and controlled every revenue stream from gaming floors to VIP lounges to underground members-only spaces.

Their risk appetite was aggressive but calculated. They were willing to lose millions on one project if it meant securing positioning ten years ahead. They valued data over instinct, modeling over charisma, structure over reputation.

Expansion plans were already in motion. New casino licenses in secondary markets. Club acquisitions in financial districts. Entertainment hubs built around tourism and corporate travel.

Then Marcus explained the culture.

Long hours. High standards. Zero tolerance for weak analysis. No ego protection. No hand-holding. You either produced or you disappeared.

The pressure wasn’t hidden. It was part of the attraction.

By the end of the conversation, he made me an offer.

It was above market. The bonus structure was aggressive. They covered all relocation expenses. Moving costs. Temporary housing. A relocation bonus for the inconvenience of changing cities.

They wanted me in Chicago.

I accepted.