Page 98 of Dark Island: Rescue
"You should put together a business plan," Margo suggested. "Present it to Kian—he's the boss here. He might be willing to loan you startup capital if he likes the concept."
"Kian?" Angelica frowned. "That sounds like a guy. I was under the impression that a goddess was in charge of this place. Edgar's been going on and on about her, saying that I have to meet her."
"Annani is like the queen," Frankie explained. "She's the figurehead. Kian is like the prime minister. He handles the actual day-to-day operations. He's a genius businessman. Anything he touches turns to gold. I also heard that he's great with investing. Besides that, he also handles security, logistics?—"
"Stop!" Angelica put her hand over her chest. "Youhad me at gold and great investing. When can I meet him?"
"Once you've prepared a business plan," Edgar said.
Frankie tugged on Angelica's arm. "Come on, let me show you around. You need to see the village before making business plans."
They headed toward the bank of elevators, Edgar trailing behind with Margo, who shot him an amused look.
"Angelica has always been super goal-oriented," Margo said. "She was like that even as a little girl."
Margo, Frankie, and Mia had been childhood friends, and Frankie had always been close to her many cousins, but chiefly to Angelica.
"That's one word for it." Edgar chuckled. "Angelica doesn't do anything by halves. She is so full of energy that I have a hard time keeping up, and that was true before she turned immortal. Now that she needs less sleep, I won't be able to keep up at all."
Margo chuckled. "Is that why you waited so long to induce her?"
Edgar's smile faltered.
Everyone was asking him that with an undercurrent of accusation, and he was tired of having to defend himself.
So he wasn't perfect. So he had insecurities after being dumped by Jasmine. So what.
"Angelica is not intimidated by any of this," Margo murmured. "I can't believe that she's already planning her business expansion instead of still processing the shock."
"She processed it by throwing things at me," Edgarsaid dryly. "Once that was out of her system, the practical side kicked in."
As they stepped out of the elevator into the glass pavilion, Angelica stopped and gasped. "Oh, my gosh! Look at this place! It's like a fairy tale!"
She followed Frankie out the sliding door and took in the village with sharp, assessing eyes.
"This is so freaking beautiful," Angelica gushed. "How many people live here?"
"About eight hundred," Frankie said. "The village was built in several phases, and you can't see all of it from here. It's larger than it looks. Also, not everyone here looks human, so be prepared to see some people who are different."
"The Kra-ell." Angelica scanned the area, probably looking for one. "Edgar told me about them. Tall and skinny with bug eyes and fangs. Scary looking."
"I didn't say they were scary looking," Edgar protested. "They just take some time getting used to."
"The best place to look is in the playground." Margo pointed toward the village square. "Let's start at the café, though. It's the social hub of the village. Next to it is the office building and the clinic."
Angelica pursed her lips. "I don't see a place suitable for a nail salon, but I guess it could be done from a residential home if that's permitted."
"It is," Frankie said. "The Perfect Match development department, where Margo and I work, is housed in residential homes. Do you want to take a look?"
"Sure, I would love to."
As Frankie redirected them from the café toward herworkplace, Angelica turned to Edgar. "You said you would take me flying on the simulator you helped design."
He wrapped his arm around her middle. "It would be my pleasure, Angel. But we will need to put our names on the waiting list. There is a long line."
Angelica chuckled. "That's because it's free. The owners need to start charging for it."
Frankie rolled her eyes. "You are such a capitalist."
