Page 55 of Sail Away
“You could save me the time and energy and just sell me your half.”
“I could, but I don’t give up that easily.”
“No. You don’t. And neither do I.” Preston snagged a different set of papers. “We started our company because we wanted to make products so we could almost die but not quite. We create the illusion of safety in an industry filled with idiots who have death wishes.”
“Are you describing yourself?”
“You know I am, only I want to live to tell about it. I get off on pushing my body to the extreme. The extremist is a rare individual. But there is an entire group of people who—”
“Here we go again.” Reid flipped through the pages of the proposal with Hans. “How many times are you going to lecture me on theme parks, rollercoaster rides, and how to capitalize on that market? Because we’d be spreading ourselves too thin.”
“This isn’t a lecture. I’m telling you what’s going on with Hans. Why we’re really having this meeting.”
A couple of the team members strolled by in swim trunks. They waved but knew better than to stop and chat. They climbed into the hot tub with their backs turned.
Milia appeared through the main salon doors holding a pot of fresh coffee. “Can I get you boys anything?”
“You can certainly freshen me up.” Preston held out his mug.
“Me, too.”
Milia nodded. “Will you be ready for breakfast in about a half hour?”
“Sounds wonderful,” Preston said.
“Captain Jim says we will be pulling up anchor after lunch to head to our next spot. Until then, it looks like the deck crew has all the toys out so if there is anything you need, just let us know.”
“Thanks. You all are great.” Preston set his mug on the table.
Reid continued scanning the paperwork. His heart pounded so fast he couldn’t tell where one beat ended and the next one started. He’d really been in la-la land if this is what his business partner had been up to. “Jesus,” he whispered. “When Darcie and I broke up, you told me to take all the time I needed to get my shit together. You acted like you actually cared about me. But you didn’t. You just wanted time to do this.” How stupid could he have been?
“I saw an opportunity.” Preston reached out and tapped the documents. “That’s a solid plan.”
“It’s not what our company is about. And last night, you went off half-cocked, using Erin’s death as a motivator to get me on board with taking the fire-resistant material to manufacture when that’s only one very tiny part of this deal.”
“It’s the part that makes us look really good in the eyes of the consumer. The cost is minimal to make the resistant fabric.”
“You don’t know this. We haven’t tested… Jesus. You had Hans do it already, didn’t you?”
“He’s been working with a different company for years. They upped the prices last year, and the quality isn’t as good. Hans has eight new casinos opening in the next two years. He wants some kind of extreme sports booth at each one. We can also run extreme sports expeditions out of some of the locations using all of our equipment, brands, employees… you name it. This isn’t just about getting into the flame-resistant business. And it’s not contingent on the fire suits with the fire department, though that’s what opened the door. This is about building an empire. Don’t you see the beauty in it?”
Reid stood. Taking his coffee, he waltzed to the shoreside of the boat. Below, Darcie tossed a line from the tender to one of the other deckhands. Two more of the team hopped onto the back of the motorboat to go skiing. Reid had to wonder what, if anything, those boys knew about the issues between him and Preston. If they knew Reid wanted nothing to do with the likes of Hans or his greed.
“Actually, I don’t,” Reid said. “And I don’t understand what is driving you. Is it really money? Because you’ve got more than enough. And fame? You are well known in this industry, so I don’t get why you’re doing this.”
“I don’t get why you wouldn’t,” Preston said, joining him at the railing. “We’re thrill seekers. We have been our entire lives. It’s what we were born to do, and we can bring it to anyone who wants to give it a go. Isn’t that what our company does? Isn’t that what we started?”
“Yes.” Reid couldn’t deny that’s what they did and would continue doing. “But this plan you have going with Hans, it’s not our vision. This is all about taking people’s money. It’s not about giving them an experience.”
“It absolutely is. And I plan on doing it as safely as possible, which is our bottom line.”
“You’re really blurring the lines.”
“No. I’m not,” Preston said. “It’s all pretty simple. It comes down to the fact that I’m doing it with or without you. It’s your choice.”
“You’ve broken our articles of incorporation as well as our partnership agreement, and I’m guessing since you’re about to go to bed with Hans, you’ve broken a law or two also.”
“So sue me. Or leave. Again, your choice. I’m just tired of this game we’ve been playing. I thought it would be easy to fall back into it. Hell, I was even having a little fun with you, but I’m seriously over it. We’re not friends. We haven’t been since you got tangled up with my sister. I don’t want to work with you anymore, but it’s not that simple to cut you out of the business.”
