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But here in this investor package, there were some really good ideas. The zinc is mined with other minerals, one of which is used to make the solar panels that could power a fleet of drones. Though this presentation is only three or four years old, drone technology has actually advanced quite a bit. It seemed like a bad investment at the time, but we could use some of this going forward.
I slide the presentation to the middle of my gleaming ebony desk, happy that I found it and at the same time, keenly aware there is no one I can tell. It’s funny, but there is no one I can share my successes with, or even my failures. It’s a peculiarity of my position. I feel like everyone is watching me, and I still can’t reach anyone. Now that my father is gone, I can’t just call him up to chat, then drop it into conversation. And my brother is no longer an option either.
But still, I know there is something here. A sprout, a seed. I can feel the idea pinging around the inside of my head like a tiny green Superball. The more it bounces, the more it picks up speed. If I just let it knock around in there for a while, something will grow.
I feel energized. I feel like… Veronica pops into my head. Specifically, Veronica’s cleavage. Tanned and professionally nestled in a ridiculously expensive brassiere, the image of her handful-sized tits flickers through my forebrain, reminding me just why I kept going back to that well, even when I knew it was poisoned.
My hand finds my cell phone and slides it to my ear. “Siri, call Rinaldo.”
He picks up almost immediately. “Good morning, sir.”
I’m practically halfway to the elevator already. My team glances up to watch me walk, curious why I am leaving the office before lunchtime.
“Do you have time for me?”
I can hear the smile in his voice. “The ring is at your service, sir,” he answers immediately.
“Excellent. Ten minutes.”
Now, instead of Veronica’s enhanced tits, I’m picturing Rinaldo in protective headgear and the action of my right hook. I can almost feel the spring of the boxing ring mat under my feet. That’ll do it. That will be good. It’s just what I need to work off some of this energy.
Chapter 4
CAL
Breakfast starts with a lavish spread of tropical fruits and pastries baked on-site, along with crêpes and flutes of imported champagne. The warm ocean breezes ruffle the linen canopy as staff dart in and out of the enclosure, their striped cotton uniforms as bright as candy canes.
“Champagne, sir?” Carmela asks me, handing over a flute before I can answer.
“The answer is always yes for you, Carmela,” I smile.
She casts her eyes down shyly and blushes as she pours another flute for the man to my left. Rocco sidles up, scratching his big, hairy belly, tanned as a buffalo hide and tight as a drum.
He groans and sucks his teeth as he takes the champagne from Carmela begrudgingly, downing it in a single gulp before thrusting the flute out toward her for a refill. She does it promptly and without complaint, but without the smile she reserves only for me.
When she politely pivots toward the other end of the table, Rocco coughs in disdain.
“You could use a staff trainer,” he announces too loudly. “I have a girl. Antoinette. I got her from Branson. You know Branson?”
I nod into my sparkling wine. Everybody knows everybody. People don’t usually say it, is all.
“Hi! Yeah, really pissed him off. Antoinette came with me when I left for Dubai. Didn’t even put up a fight!”
“Hmm,” I nod as though this is interesting.
He picks up his stubby hand and pokes the air with it, indicating three or four of my staff all at once. Women only.
“They’re okay. Don’t get me wrong, they havepotential,” he yawns lavishly, arching his back. “But they’re nottrained. Antoinette can train them. For service, you know.”
“Sure, service,” I repeat.
He follows me to the table at the edge of the hot tub, I’m surprised to say. I guess we are dining together. With a groan, he plops himself into a chair and lets his plate clatter on the table surface. This guy sure does make a lot of noise.
Blueberries pop noisily between his teeth and he seems to be talking to himself around his chewing. Wow. Can’t say I have ever seen anything like this.
I like breakfast. We have a wonderful room service here, even though the resort is not complete by any stretch. It opened in the last decade, then quickly went defunct. But it is adequate for investors. And converting the ballroom to a “vision space” seems to have been working out well. People understand what this island could really be.
It is not currently five stars. The billionaires who have been here so far have generally been more circumspect about pointing that out. Rocco doesn’t seem to have a problem sneering at everything he sees.
