Senior Year Box Set

“That might work. I realize it’s not something we can set up yet, but I wanted to plant the seed. I can see you someday involved in marketing or sales. If I could afford you, I would hire you today to be a sales rep for me. You’ve already proven you can be a rainmaker,” Adrienne said.

“I’m not sure I deserve that title just yet.”

“David, I’m serious. Do you have any idea of how hard it is to find someone like you? Someone who isn’t afraid to go up to a complete stranger and ask them if they need a product or service?”

“I’m sure there are a lot.”

“You’re probably right, but there aren’t that many who do it as smoothly as you do. Your dad did you a great service when he taught you how to work a room. Most people aren’t productive while doing it. I know many social butterflies, but they couldn’t get their foot in the door if their life depended on it,” Adrienne pointed out.

“I guess.”

“Please, just think about it. All I’m trying to say is if I can’t get you to model for me, I still want to do business with you.

“I’d like that. My life is going to be crazy for a while, so I don’t know when I’ll see you next, but let’s stay in touch,” I said.

“I plan on it.”

On my ride to the airport, I replayed our conversation in my head. It made me wonder if I might combine a solid business education with an emphasis on sales and marketing. It would fall into the wheelhouse of my strengths of leadership and people skills.

◊◊◊

On the flight home, I had Cindy sit next to me in first class. The rest of my crew all got to sit in ‘the cheap seats,’ as the saying goes. I wanted to talk to her about why she was on the trip: the design of my condos.

“I agreed to sell the condo in Monte Carlo, so I guess your work is done there,” I started out.

“But you’re getting two new condos out of the deal. I can help you with the design of the new units,” Cindy offered. “Have you decided if you will combine the two or not?”

“Talk to my mom about that. Before I make any decision, I’ll have my people figure out if it’s better financially to sell them individually or combine the units for sale. And I’ll want the same information for renting, too. I need to view this as a business deal rather than a personal one.

“No matter how much I may wish otherwise, I can’t see when I would be able to get back for a vacation in the next several years. I have a hard time justifying tying that kind of money up for something I’ll not use. Besides, I can just stay at a hotel like everyone else for a visit,” I explained.

“What about the one in Greece?” Cindy asked and then added her opinion. “When I was out, a lot of people told me that other parts of Greece were much cheaper and just as nice.”

“I heard that, too,” I agreed. “I’m leaning towards selling that one.”

“That leaves New York.”

“I’m going to rent it to Adrienne to use for her younger models. It makes sense to have a house mom to watch over them. She said you have some ideas?” I asked to prompt Cindy to show me.

She got up, grabbed her carry-on bag from the upper storage, and pulled out a sketch pad. In the back half of the unit, she’d added a second floor where four bedrooms would be. These would be used by the models.

Downstairs, there was a master bedroom for the house mom, as well as a kitchen, a dining area, and a small office. The twenty-foot-high front half of the unit, with its large, loft-type windows, was kept as an open living area. It looked perfect for New York.

We talked about our trip and how much fun Cindy and the rest of my travel-mates had had.

“I wondered why you didn’t spend more time with us,” Cindy said.

“Did Ashley or Scarlet say something?” I asked.

“They told us yesterday. That’s messed up.”

“What is?” I asked.

“That Scarlet was worried about you seeing her with Paul. Poor Kevin thought this trip was going to be one orgy after another with you leading the charge. He seemed to think it would be more like what he and his football team get up to. I kept trying to tell him that you really weren’t focused on sex all the time.”

I did want to dig deeper into why I was excluded for almost the entire trip. In particular, the stated concern about me seeing Scarlet with Paul didn’t hold water, if you asked me.

The reality was that at this point, what was done was done. In the end, it had turned out for the best. The trip had opened my eyes to how Scarlet and Ashley really saw me, which was as a kid. In the future, I would rather hang out with my friends and family.

Instead of pouting about being left out, I’d been confident enough to strike out on my own. I would be very willing to bet I’d had more fun on my own adventures than they’d had spending the majority of their time in clubs or recovering from them. I’d be able to club all I wanted while in college. For me, swimming in a hot spring, playing tourist, cave diving for treasure, and the newer aquatic sports were more in line with what a vacation should be.