Alexander Drakos ate another forkful of moussaka and finally looked at the dossiers in front of him.  He thumbed through them briefly, but didn’t seem interested enough to actually read the thick files.  His assistant, Priska Rahm, stood beside him at his desk with a video clicker in her hand.  “Those are our final three, sir,” she said.  Then she clicked.  “Our number one prospect is this man: Jake Greene.”

Instead of looking at the three dossiers on his desk, he looked, instead, at the wall-sized screen in front of him.  A picture of a big, middle-aged, white man appeared.

“He, I feel, is an excellent prospect.  Fancies himself as the poor man’s McDonald’s.  Licensed fifty franchises before the age of thirty.”

“How many does he have now?” Alex asked.

“Two hundred and ten.”

“Are they managed well?”

“Very well managed, sir.  I would put him at the top of our list.”

Alex wasn’t as sure.  “Next?” he asked.

Another middle-aged white male appeared on the big screen.  “Donovan Borowski.  Another whiz kid in the franchise space.  Everything I said about Jake Greene’s numbers are doubled here.”

“But?”

“Not very well managed,” Priska said.  “But he has to be on the list because of his vast experience.”

“But a bad manager in charge of one of my companies?  Forget it.  Next?”

“But he was having some issues at the time, sir,” Priska suggested.

“Next,” Alex said, and picked up another forkful of moussaka.

“Yes, sir,” Priska said, knowing not to get in the way of Alex’s temper.  She clicked again, and this time a woman’s photo appeared on the big screen.

Alex glanced up as the photo appeared, and he looked back down at his forkful of food.  But then he quickly looked back up.  “Who is that?” he asked.

“Katrina Gabrini,” Priska said.

Alex sat down his fork and leaned back.  A life-sized picture was displayed on the big screen.  She wore a low-cut white dress, with her long, sexy finger beneath her elegant chin, and her long, thick hair flowing around her gorgeous face.  Alex was immediately taken by her look alone. 

“She’s our number three contender,” Priska said.

“What does she own?”

“A clothing boutique called Champagne’s.  But unlike our other two competitors, she’s relatively new to the franchise world.  But she’s extremely successful in that space.”

“Extremely so?”

“Yes, sir.  Everything she seems to touch works out.”

“How good of a manager is she?”

“She’s good,” Priska said.  “She’s excellent, in fact.  One of the best managers out there.  That’s one of the main reasons she made the cut.  She’s efficient, she’s smart, and she keeps her overheads at a bare minimal.  She’s quite impressive.  She has a partner, but she tends to do a lot of the day-to-day.”

Alex stared at Trina for a long time.  So long that Priska looked at him.  But he continued to stare at Trina.

After several minutes of staring, he finally spoke.  “She has one of the most successful models of the potentials?” he asked.

“Yes, sir.  She’s perfected the concept.”

“Then she’s exactly who I want to be the face of my new brand.  I’m sold,” he said.

Priska was astonished.  “You’re sold?” she asked.  “On her, sir?”

“That’s what I said,” Alex said, as he continued to stare at Trina’s photograph.

“But sir,” Priska said.  She knew Alex had a weakness for black women.  A serious weakness.  But to let that interfere with his business decisions was new to her, and she’d been with him for many years.

“Where is she located?” Alex asked.

“In Las Vegas, sir, but she isn’t nearly as safe a choice as Jake Greene in my opinion.  She has major issues around her.”

Alex looked at Priska.  “What issues?”

“Her husband, for one thing.”

Alex’s felt his excitement began to wane. “She’s married?”

“Married with children, yes.”

“A good marriage then?”

“Well, no, sir.  But according to our investigators, her marriage is quite rocky.”

Alex inwardly smiled.  He was hopeful again.  “That’s all?  Her marriage is rocky are the issues of which you speak?”

“There are also allegations that her husband is very unfaithful to her, although the investigators could not independently verify that fact.”

“Is she unfaithful to her husband?” Alex asked.

“Well, no, sir, not that we could find.”

“That would be the issue, don’t you think?  Not the husband’s infidelity, but hers.”

“But there’s more to it than that, sir.”

“What more?”

“Her husband, sir.”

“Again, the husband.”  Alex looked at Priska.  “What about her husband?”

“He’s the owner of the PaLargio, sir.”

That surprised Alex.  “Oh.  She’s Reno Gabrini’s wife?”

“Yes, sir.  You know him?”

“I know of him.  He’s a major businessman in this country.”

“But our investigators found out much more than that.”

“Such as?”

“He’s a major businessman, yes, but he also has major mob connections.”

Alex was still staring at Trina.  “Yes, I’ve heard.  But I’ve also heard that’s in dispute.”

“Yes, sir.  But the fact that his now-deceased father was a mob boss isn’t in dispute.”

“What does any of that have to do with Mrs. Gabrini?”

“The baggage, sir.  Are you sure you want all of that baggage that comes along with her?”

“No,” Alex said.  “I don’t.  But as you said, they appear to be headed to divorce court.  She’ll be rid of the baggage.  Get her office on the phone.  Set up a meeting.”

Priska looked at him.  “You’re certain she’s the one you want, sir?”

Alex looked at Trina once again.  “Yes,” he said.

In more ways than one.