KEVIN
“What the hell are you doing calling me on your vacation?”
“I need to talk with you, Owen. It’s serious,” I told my best friend and business partner.
“What’s wrong? Has something happened to the kids?” he asked.
“Gianni’s here. And he wants to talk business.”
“Gianni Russo?” he asked. “The Italian guy?”
“With the banking institution, yes.”
“W
hat the hell is he doing in Nassau?”
“I don’t know, but he caught me and we had a meeting yesterday.”
“What kind of meeting?” he asked.
“A preliminary meeting where he wanted to see what we had to offer as well as the outline of one of our basic contracts.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? This is huge, Kevin. You have to get this done.”
“But it’s during my kids’ spring break. I promised them no work.”
“So stretch out their spring break. Find a babysitter, close this deal, and then push their vacation out a week. They get more time in the new Caribbean house, we get our foot into the banking world like we’ve been trying to for years, and everyone wins.”
“I know, you’re right. I just hate disappointing them,” I said.
“I know man, but they have everything they could want there and if you get this deal done, you’ll be able to delegate more and spend even more time with them,” Owen said.
“Stay close to the phone in case I need you,” I said.
“I’ll be on standby to fly to Nassau. Kevin, I’m your right-hand man.”
“Yes, yes. I know. You’ll never let me forget that you’re the reason I’m a billionaire. Got it.”
“All I’m saying is I’m on standby for shit like this. I even have a damn bag packed in my trunk for all sorts of weather conditions. If you can’t get the kids taken care of, you call me and I’m on the next flight out to handle the pitch.”
“Thanks, Owen. I owe you.”
“Nope. You made me rich. We’re even on that front.”
I chuckled and shook my head as I heard my kids beginning to stir.
“Gotta go. The little devils are up.”
“Good luck,” Owen said.
I hung up as my kids stumbled into the kitchen. They climbed up into their seats as I began to pull things out for breakfast. I scrambled eggs with cheese and poured some milk to perk them right up, then I could talk to them.
Even if they weren’t disappointed in my working, I still didn’t have a babysitter. And I wasn’t going to put them in the hands of just anyone. I knew it would be weird territory, but I started wondering if Brooke would watch them again. I knew she was struggling to write and giving her more time on the island might prove fruitful in her venture. I trusted her with my kids and they really seemed to have taken a liking to her. She could find more inspiration and I would offer to pay her well. Maybe I could convince her to help me out if I pitched it as a mutual benefit.
“Hey kids, could I talk to you about something?”
“Okay,” Sydney said.