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hing happened with Megan last year. She kept getting frustrated with the hours I worked. She actually threw a hissy fit at a business dinner I threw. I broke up with her that night after the dinner.”
“Cold.”
“I think that’s when I realized that I was attempting too much,” I said. “Juggling a new relationship and a fully-fledged empire is not easy. I had to choose—and my empire won.”
“I hope you didn’t say that to her.”
I laughed. “She’s the type of woman who throws things when she’s angry, so no, I didn’t say that to her. In any case, casual flings are just more convenient.”
“Amen for casual sex,” he agreed.
I laughed. “Anyway… How’s the family?”
“They’re doing great,” he replied. “I’m with them at the moment actually, down at the parents’ house for the weekend. Mom’s busy with her book club and her charities, and Dad… Well, you know Dad. He’s still working like he’s in his twenties. Molly’s here, too.”
Molly. It had been years since I’d seen her. She was Jason’s younger sister and one of those timelessly classical beauties. She had sultry blue eyes, soft features, and the simple elegance of a 1960s movie star. In fact, she looked very similar to a young Grace Kelly.
“How is Molly?” I asked, trying to keep my tone light and innocent.
“She’s…okay,” he replied.
“You don’t sound sure.”
“She’s a little upset, to be honest,” Jason replied, with a sigh. “She just got laid off.”
“What?” I said, in surprise. “She’s amazing at her job.”
“The company went through a major downsizing…bad management, apparently. They let go of over two thousand employees and only the senior members of staff got priority. Since Molly’s only been working there two years, she got the boot.”
“Fuck, that’s terrible,” I said.
“She got a decent severance package,” he told me. “It should hold her for a few months, but she really loved the job and the people she worked with. So, she’s disappointed.”
“Of course,” I nodded sympathetically.
I wondered what Molly looked like now. The last time I had seen her, we had both been closer to kids than adults. Had she changed very much or was she the same shy young girl I remembered? I wondered. I realized that I had frozen her in time and created one brilliantly clear image of her in my head that never wavered. It was the image of her in a white dress, standing under streams of holly.
“I have an idea,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.
“Uh… What?”
“Why don’t you send Molly down here?” I suggested. “Since you’re not going to be able to use that plane ticket and suite on offer, Molly may as well make use of it. It might help cheer her up. And who knows? There could even be a job in it for her.”
“You’re offering my sister a job?”
I hesitated a moment, wondering if there was a hint of suspicion in Jason’s tone. I decided I was simply over-thinking. “Well… I still have a few staff positions I need to fill. I need a head of human resources, and I know Molly’s great at her job.
“But, of course, there’s no pressure. It would be up to Molly to decide if she wanted to take the job or not. She can spend a few weeks in Oahu, relax and unwind, and see if she likes the atmosphere. If not, she’s got a free vacation in Hawaii. It’s a win-win, right?”
I wondered momentarily if I was overselling a bit.
“Fuck,” Jason breathed. “That’s a great offer, man. But…you know you don’t have to do this for me.”
Of course, Jason would assume I was making the offer because of our friendship. It was obvious that Molly had kept silent about what had happened between us all those years ago.
“Hey, what are friends for?” I said. “Besides, what’s the point of owning a luxury resort if you can’t help out a friend every now and again.”
“Geez, you’re a fucking star, dude,” he said. “I’ll pass the offer along.”
