“These are fine,” I say.
“But…?” James prods.
“Butthey’re too far.”
“You could work from home full-time,” he suggests, but I shake my head, shooting down the idea immediately.
“And go insane? I know I seem like a hermit, but I like going to work. I like socializing with my colleagues?—”
“Your subordinates,” James interrupts to correct me.
I shoot him a dirty look but don’t comment. “I like seeing how things are going in person. Hell, I’d love to have a social life. I feel like I can’t because I can’t trust the stupid, normal people inthe city to give me some peace and quiet.” I sit back in the chair, dejected. “You’re telling me it’s hopeless? Mansion or nothing?”
“I could find you a penthouse in the city. I don’t want to make any promises that I can’t keep regarding commuting or visibility.”
“It’s not your fault everyone loves me.” I sigh.
He raises an eyebrow at that but doesn’t comment. “Let me show you one other thing,” he says. “You won’t like this idea. It’s a little way out of the city. But you want to be a recluse, right?”
“I guess.”
“You want somewhere you can, I don’t know, host parties, have girls over. Somewhere you can be free to be yourself without the pressure of other people.”
“You mean that place exists?” I scoff, disbelieving. He spins his computer screen around, types frantically at his keyboard, and then spins the monitor back for me to look at.
As far as I can see, it looks like a picture of a hell of a lot of grass.
“Okay,” I say slowly. “I’ll bite. What am I looking at?”
“You are looking at about three hundred square miles of beautiful island called Havenridge.”
“Okay?” I say, confused. “And?”
“It has a population of a few hundred people. It’s famed for its golden beaches, local fishermen, and seafood. It’s not a popular tourist destination right now, but even if it was, tourism can always be outlawed.”
“Okay. Why are you telling me this?”
“Well, how would you feel about a half-hour boat commute?”
“You’re trying to sell me an island?” I blink, not quite believing what I’m hearing.
“I am trying to sell you an island,” James repeats.
When you saybuy an islandout loud, it sounds ridiculous. But as I stare at the beaches and trees in the pictures, the idea of it grows on me. A tropical paradise. An island just for me. No people, tourists, no paparazzi. Nobody but me and anyone I actually wanted.
Complete security from the public. Complete isolation.
I take a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll bite again. How much?”
James quotes me a figure which is large but not quite as big as I would have expected. It’s enough to intrigue me. “So, say I did want to spend my money on some island. You said people live there. Natives?”
“Nobody natively lived on that island, but people do live there now.”
“And they’re okay with their land being sold?”
“They won’t have much choice.” James smiles brightly. “If you buy it, you can do what you want. And if you offer them enough money, I’m sure they’ll leave without much of a fight. Everyone has a price, don’t they? If you tell these people they have to evict, they’ll have to evict.”
“I wouldn’t want it to be messy,” I say, doubts sprouting in my mind. “I’ll pay them all a settlement and persuade them that they have to go. How hard could it be?”
