As soon as the aircraft levelled off Jasmine unbuckled her seat belt. "Fancy a drink?"
Mark shrugged. "Sure.""Well, get comfortable. We're going to be here for a while. How does a Mojito sound?"Mark gave her a thumbs up and unbuckled his seatbelt, then reached down and unlaced his new boots, bought earlier that day, then slid them under the seat. He pulled out his phone and checked his emails while Jasmine was in the galley.Nothing from Sam, but an email from Ant, so he opened it up.Hey fucker,Sam says you've fucked off on a business jaunt for a week. WTF, dude? We're meant to be poon hunting this weekend! Anyway, where the fuck are you? And how much dick are these director fuckers gonna make you suck?Ant, Esq.Mark shook his head. Ant had the subtlety of a wrecking ball sometNo matter how tired Markfelt, he couldn't seem to shut his brain down and his usual trick of reading it into unconsciousness didn't work. He was quite surprised when Captain Greyre-appeared to wake Jasmineand let them know they'd be landing in thirty minutes."Did you get any sleep?" She asked as she sat up and rolled her neck, easing out the kinks."Nope," Marksaid, tapping the side of his head. "Too much going on up here.""Make sure you let me know when you feel tired and I'll see if I can get you an hour or two," Jasminereplied. She yawned. "Mind if I dive in the shower first?""Sure." Markturned back to his book but then changed his mind and went to the galley to brew some coffee. By the time he'd got it figured out Jasminere-appeared, dressed now in a pair of beige linen trousers and a white vest top with a white linen shirt over the top."Is that coffee I can smell?" She asked, ru
Jasminelooked out the window and turned back to Markwith a smile on her face. "Welcome to Guadeloupe, Mark."He looked out the window, seeing the jet about to touch down on a runway. To the right he could see a small housing estate and beyond that the blue waters of the Caribbean sea. The sun was just starting to come up and it cast everything on the ground in amazing shadows."Wow.""Exactly," She replied.With a gentle bump the jet touched down and after a couple of minutes it pulled up at a small building where a black four by four waited with a couple of serious men in suits outside it. A local official waited to one side, probably to check their passports."That's our ride," Jasminetold him. "They'll take us to the boat.""Boat?""Yeah, it'll take us to the Island," She explained. "It's very cool."Markshook hands with Captain Greyand thanked him for the flight, then followed Jasmineacro
"So I need to talk to you about Security, Mark.""Okay," Marknodded. He figured that there was bound to be some security on the island, so he was about to get a briefing on it."From this point forward, and in many different ways, you're going to be a target," She said flatly, taking him by surprise.He blinked. "A target?""Yes. In many different ways. Because you're worth a lot of money, you'll be a high-level target for kidnappers, people will try and con you, the media will pursue you, women will try and seduce you, politicians will try and court you, basically you'll be sought after in many different ways."Marklaughed, drawing a frown from Jasmine. It wasn't the reaction she'd been expecting, but it was one particular line in there that made him laugh."Women will try and seduce me? I think you can chalk that one off as a non-existant threat," He told her.For all Mark's life he'd been the pursuer, and not particular
The Island came into view and Markstood up at the windows for a better look. It was gorgeous, a tropical paradise of palm trees and beautiful white sandy beaches. The cliffs that rose up out of the water to the east and west were natural and rugged and the structures he could see seemed to enhance the natural beauty rather than detract from it."It's better than I imagined," Markadmitted."I know," Jasminesaid, standing beside him. "I love it here."Markcould feel the nerves building in his stomach again as the boat approached the pier and all too soon it was alongside it, the crew tying the Betsy against it. He could see several people waiting at the end of the pier and he took a deep breath, then let it out slowly."What's the Island Manager guy's name again?" He asked."Henry," Jasminereplied. "It's the guy there with the white hair and the black shirt. He always wears black shirts.""Why?" Markasked, m
As Henryled them inside Markcould see wooden staircases on the far corners of the room leading to the floor above and wide doorways under them leading to the flanking towers."This place is amazing," Marksaid, his eyes continually roving around the room. Photographs of the Island were dotted around the walls, along with vases of flowers and plants in pots. Baskets of fruit sat on the coffee tables and as they walked out the other side of the house Marksaw the pool area.The two flanking towers had buildings behind them, he saw, two story rectangular structures that enclosed the main house right to the edge of the cliffs, sheltering the pool area on three sides, the other side opening to the ocean. Deckchairs and sun-loungers lay to the right and left of the large pool and a canopied area with tables and chairs sat to his immediate right."Welcome to the main house, Master Mark," Henrysaid, turning to face him. "I'll just
"Do you know what's in it? The will, I mean."Jasminepaused, then nodded. "Yes, but I can't tell you what it says, Mark. I'm not allowed, and anyway, it's only a few hours away."Markfrowned but nodded. "So what else?""Well, there's lunch and dinner too, and some time for you to chat with Myraand Maddy. I can tell you that Mister Moorewas keen for the three of you to get to know each other, so over the next few days you'll be doing a lot together.""A lot of what?""Briefings, meetings, activities, meals." Jasmineshrugged. "Nothings firmed up yet for times and dates, but I'll be managing your schedule carefully to make sure you're not snowed under, okay?""And don't accept any meetings myself," Markstated, remembering her advice."Correct."As Markstubbed out his cigarette he caught sight of Henryon the balcony, beckoning him up."Looks like your suite's ready," Jasmine&nb
"So you arrange stuff like that?""Sure," Jasminenodded. "Sometimes it's only for walking the carpet, get a few pictures. Sometimes it's a real date. Occasionally it's a hookup.""Holy shit. Talk about a different world.""That's one of the million reasons why I'm here, Mark," She reminded him. "It'd primarily business but I'm here to help you personally too. There's lots to learn and I'm here to help. Now, back to the topic at hand. Getting you some sleep.""Yeah.""I'm gonna be blunt here, Mark. Sometimes it's the best way," She said, looking him in the eye. "Most people masturbate before they go to sleep. I take it you do too?"Marklaughed, unable to hide the slight blush that hit his cheeks. "And I thought all this was insane before.""You'll get used to it. Incidentally, if I know this now then it means I won't be walking in on you midway through.""Okay, fair enough. Yeah, I usu
"I suppose," Markshrugged. "Hey, what did you mean earlier when you said someone more my status?""Oh, that." Jasminesaid, taking a seat. "I mean that you can't just turn up at a black-tie event with some girl who works in the local Walmart and lives with her parents.""Why not? Lots of good people work in Walmart," Marksaid, frowning."Because it's not what's expected of you. Because it's not someone you'll have much in common with, and because there would be this enormous gulf between you. You wouldn't be equals, or even in the same social circles.""Different can be good though.""Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking down on people or being elitist when I say this, Mark," Jasmineexplained. "Imagine a year from now what you'd have to talk about. She's just had a shit day at work because a customers kid peed in one of the aisles and she had to clean it up. You just flew into town from Hong Kong on a priva