Page 82 of Protection (Mobsters + Billionaires 2)
MADS
I takevideos of some of the family reunions in the hotel and send them to Rand.
Rand: These are the people we had in that terrible place, aren't they?
Mads: Yes.
Rand: It's not enough to rescue them, is it?
Mads: No, it’s not.
Rand: Let’s bring Ford in on the chat.
The three of us go back and forth a little more and Ford, in his thoughtful way, sends us a link to a vlogbrothers YouTube video1. John Green, the YA writer, shared what he’d learned about helping during a crisis. The big takeaway is that if you only help during times of crisis, the crisis will always come back. But if you stay and do the hard work, you can maybe affect the systems which caused the crisis to begin with.
That strikes a chord with all of us.
By the end of our back-and-forth, we decide an ongoing fund for human-trafficking survivors needs to happen, but more importantly, we need to see it through, in part by talking to survivors themselves.
In my brief, horrifying Google search, many of my initial assumptions about modern slavery practices are blown up, specifically that it isn’t a big problem in developed countries. Further reading indicates this belief to be, at its core, a colonial mentality.
Given India’s history with colonization, I shudder as I connect the dots my money has blinded me to. I never knowingly hurt others to obtain my wealth, and while I can feel pretty good about that fact, it’s not enough. Only someone with my amount of wealth and power can actively combat those who allow their wealth and power to excuse their inhumanity.
Before we say goodbye, we all agree to no longer do business with vendors who employ indentured or enslaved labor at any point in the supply chain. I worry it’s an impossible task, but Rand reminds me that when huge companies begin to demand changes, the supply chain adjusts.
He agrees to reach out to the big-name athletics companies, Ford will work out the cash flow, and I agree to reach out to the tech giants and see if we can maybe do the same.
I’m still Googling when Anthony comes to me, quiet. “Mads, it's time to put down the phone.”
He's right, of course, but it's hard to set the issues aside once you’ve seen them. “I will. I’m sorry. I didn't realize how bad it really is.”
“True or false: when you came from India to the United States, what was your first thought?”
“That I would be able to make my own money and become a billionaire, and one of these days, my father would have to come groveling to me for money.”
“Okay, well…that's honest,” he says, chuckling. “But you thought, hey, I can make some money. Was it your intent to injure people while you were out making your billions?”
“Of course not. You see the way I run my company. I’ve run it that way from the beginning.”
“Exactly. Because you intrinsically understand the need to keep a healthy ecosystem within your company. Unfortunately, that makes you the outlier, but people are coming around to the reality that you don't need to be heartless to be rich as fuck.”
“I think you just gave me a new tagline,” I say, popping my brows.
I put my phone down and let him gather me in his arms.
This is my favorite feeling ever. I mean, yes, clearly, the sex is chef’s kiss, but it’s not the most important thing. The stoic man everyone else sees is a mask, and I'm the only one he lets in underneath it all. It makes the weight and heat of his arms around me more meaningful.
“So,” he says, kissing my hair. “We know Charlie and Pio have things well in hand here, which is fantastic. We can stay here if you’d like. Jakarta is a beautiful city, and there are lots of things we can do to relax. But Ford’s family house in Phuket will be a great place to lie low for a week or so.”
I grin up at him and accept his kiss. “Ford said the villa is right on the water, and the beach is, quote, ‘very private.’”
“I love that region and can’t wait to get you naked on the beach,” he says, kissing me.
“When were you in Phuket?”
He winks at me. “I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. And considering how mushy I've gotten over you, that’s a no-go.”
“I can't tell which I like better: hardass Edgerton or mushy Anthony.”
