Chapter 20

Brayden

Collin was standing next to the captain on the boat’s bridge. I was sitting in a side chair, pondering exactly what I was going to say. I decided to save it until we had some privacy.

We came into the Utopia dock and Collin was already at the dockside of the boat, ready to jump out. “Hey, Collin,” I called to him.

He was slow to look around, but eventually swung about to face me. “What do you want?”

“Why don’t you stick around and lets you and I have a talk?”

He looked at the captain and the security detail I’d brought with me. “Give me back my weapon. I’ve got a permit.”

They looked to me, and I nodded.

“Alrighty then, let’s do that.”

I nodded to the others and they filed off the boat and headed toward Utopia. One of the security guys walked about thirty paces, turned and stood, folding his arms across his chest. I let him stay.

“So, you want to tell me why you never told me about the girl?” Collin’s voice wasn’t friendly.

“Just exactly what were you going to do with her, Collin? You don’t have a home, you’re always off on an adventure and there’s a string of women in your past so long it would make a parade. She was just a little girl who lost her mom and dad. She needed, if anything, stability. I was the only one who could give her that. Ask yourself, did you really want to be saddled with a little girl to take care of?”

“Don’t bullshit me. You got something out of the deal. Maybe a nice little life insurance policy?”

I rolled my eyes, hardly able to believe what I was hearing. “You think I took her for money? Really? Have you looked around? Do I strike you as someone who needs money? Anyway, it was barely enough to bury them. I’ve been her support from the beginning.”

Collin was thoughtful. “I still think you should have told me.”

“Fuck, Collin, you’ve never been the warm and fuzzy type. I did what I thought was best for the girl.”

“Yeah, right.”

“So, why did you go out there?”

He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. “I knew you were holding out on me, and I wanted to see what it was. Before I leave town, I need to know who is holding which cards.”

“What you saw there and here, is mine. This morning, you sat in my office and I handed you the tools to make your own. What’s up with that, now? Just going to walk away from it?”

“Who’s walking away? Fuck, no. I’m taking it because it’s mine by right.”

I swallowed my words that threatened to choke me. “All right, if that’s how you want to think about it, makes no difference to me.”

“So? Where’s my ticket and the money to start with? I’ll have expenses, you know.”

I sighed inside but didn’t let him see it. I knew he was trying to start something with me and I wasn’t going to let him pull it. “Go on up to Cabana. I’ll be there in thirty minutes and have it for you.”

He nodded, dropped his cigarette onto the mahogany deck and ground it with the heel of his shoe. It was just one more in your face directed at me. I wanted to push him overboard but I was so close to getting rid of him. I let it go.

When he hit the dock, I leaned over the edge and puked my guts out into the water.

* * *

I spotted Collin at his usual table. He always liked the corner because his back was to the wall, the exit was immediately to his right and he could see everything and everyone who came into the lounge.

As I walked toward him, he jabbed at a young redhead with balloon knockers who was perched next to him. She looked at me, got up and moved away. Shit, he’s brought hookers into Utopia. I felt like I was part of some old Western scene where the sheriff approached and the bad guys scattered. Why did this all feel so lethal? This guy was my brother.

“Get your chores done, bro?” he greeted me.

I sat down and waved at the bartender, who sent over my favorite glass of Chardonnay. It was cool and tart on my tongue, and I tried to relax despite the hammering of my heart. I was about to place the biggest bet of my lifetime and the stakes were high; higher than I could possibly protect.

I reached into my inside pocket and placed an envelope on the table between us. Collin reached for it. “Not so fast,” I said, placing my hand over it. “We have a few things to agree to before. Call it an employment agreement, and it favors you more than me, actually.”

“What kind of agreement?”

I opened the envelope and withdrew a document, smoothing it out so I could read excerpts to him. I motioned with my finger and my attorney, Melborne, joined us from where he’d been waiting at another table.

“Collin, may I present Mr. Dean Melborne, my attorney and yours to ask any questions. Mr. Melborne, my brother, Collin Campbell.”

Collin’s face flushed. I knew he was angry and that was exactly what I wanted to see. It told me he was desperate and men in desperation often made mistakes. He badly needed what was in that envelope; there was no question of that.

Melborne sat and nodded toward Collin, but I lifted the document and summarized certain passages. “Collin, this document agrees that you are to be a twenty percent stockholder and manager-in-training of a new resort, to be called LaPetite. It will be located in Paris and the property has already been scouted and purchased. You and your staff will be accommodated at a nearby hotel and offices have been rented until such time as the resort is completed enough to provide what you need. The team of investors I represent will be seventy percent stockholders and have no representation other than me. I have to sign off on anything, including design, purchases, salaries, branding and marketing. When, at such time as I feel is appropriate, you are capable of handling these details, my supervision will end and you will become general manager. This point is to be determined by the investors. Also, at that time, your equity will increase to forty percent and the resort shall be self-supporting with no further backing by the investors.”

“Sounds fine,” he said anxiously. “I’m going to need some seed money for myself to get settled.”

“I know. This envelope contains a check from the investment company made out to you in the amount of five hundred thousand dollars. It’s expected that you guarantee to be on site in Paris fifty weeks out of the year and once the resort is complete, you will reside there and be on hand for the day to day operations. If you do not fulfill this participatory condition, your involvement with the resort will cease immediately, you will be expected to repay the five hundred thousand and you will agree to surrender any and all interests in the enterprise entirely. Can you agree to this? Do you have any questions of Melborne here?”

Collin was so intent on getting the money and getting out, he pulled the document from my hands, scribbled his signature, grabbed the envelope and got up to go. He never said another word.

Collin was gone. I looked at Melborne. “Do you think this will work?”

He ran a hand through his close-cropped gray hair and sighed. “I wouldn’t take odds but it’s the best we could come up with.”

“Okay.” I exhaled and stood to leave. “I’m going home.”