Read Chapter 1 of Come Go With Me…

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(ENDS MIDNIGHT OCTOBER 16TH)






Chapter 1
Nick

As I sat in the Inferno Casino, one of my company���s recent projects, I could rest easy knowing another build was behind me. Hopefully after tonight, another one would soon be underway. Grady had asked me to meet him there with one of his business partners, a man who could possibly land me my next build.

���Here���s to another successful job and to having you back in town,��� said Grady as he lifted his glass. ���And to future prospects.���

���Thanks,��� I said, glancing at my watch. I called the waitress over to order another drink.

���Man, that���s pushing you close to double digits. I���m going to have to get my limo driver to carry you home if you don���t slow down.���

���Who���s counting?��� I asked, knowing damn well I���d never been one to put them away at the rate of my college buddies. Besides, it was only my sixth beer and hardly anything I couldn���t handle without being a sloppy drunk.

���I���m counting obviously. My friend should be here any minute. Why the sudden urge to get so smashed? Are you nervous?���

���Not at all. Should I be? He probably won���t even show.���

���No, he will. He���s on a tight schedule, but I think I convinced him. As for nerves, it���s cool. Santino is a nice guy. And if this job goes well, you might never have to work again.���

���So much for not being nervous,��� I said with a laugh. I wondered just how big of a job it could be and how wealthy the man was. Grady was already a billionaire. That didn���t intimidate me, but I had also shared a house with him in college.

���Just don���t overdo it,��� he said, shaking his head. ���Damn, it���s a strange day when I have to tell you that.���

I agreed with a nod. ���Relax. I don���t want to get wasted. I just want to loosen up.�� It���s been a stressful week.���

Grady chuckled. ���You get any looser, you���ll fall apart. But hey, don���t let me discourage you. I feel it���s about time actually. You have always been the saint of the group. And besides, Max is like ten now, right? It���s not like you have an infant at home.���

���You and Clay suck. You know that? Neither of you can ever remember how old my son is. It���s like you lack any real concept of time because you���re too busy living the good life.�����

Both had been prone to the party life, at least until Clay settled down. Grady was a different story. He had his entire future sewed up and had to fill the time somehow.

���My bad,��� he said, holding up his hand in defense. ���How old is he?���

���He���s seven. Or wait. He���s eight now.��� I stopped to realize I wasn���t sure which birthday he���d celebrated last. His mother was always much better at that kind of stuff, and since her death, everything had been one long blur.

Grady laughed. ���Sounds like I���m not the only one who sucks. You don���t even know how old your own son is. Seems like you���ve been too busy living the good life too.���

I peeled the label on my bottle. ���Fuck you. I���ve been working my ass off trying to keep things together.���

Grady belted a laugh. ���Come on, man. You���ve had great success. With this casino and the Williston project, don���t pretend your pockets aren���t loaded. That wallet is so fat you���re leaning to the right. Life can���t be that bad.���

I let out a deep sigh. ���I sold the house. We���re living with my mom and dad on the farm.��� Being that close with my parents again was not easy, and Max was doing his best to make matters worse.

Grady gave me a narrowed look as if he were trying to figure me out. ���Well, it can���t be for money, unless you���ve picked up a bad gambling habit.���

���I haven���t got a gambling problem. I���m too busy building casinos to gamble in them.���

���So, it wasn���t the money. You needed to get away from old memories?���

���Yeah, it���s not a financial thing. It was time for us to move on, and with me working so much, and usually in another state, I don���t have time for anything else and I was barely there. I decided that it was best to leave Max with my parents full time. Mom and Dad work the farm, and they can teach him things that he can���t learn anywhere else. Besides, we both needed to heal. The house was just too much of a reminder of Amelia and what could have been.���

���Do you think you���re ready to move on?��� asked Grady. I had told him and the others very little about what I���d gone through, losing Amelia. ���Is that what the booze is for? Liquid courage?���

���No,��� I said with a laugh. ���I don���t need liquid courage to talk to women. I actually thought I was ready to move on when I was in Williston, but I put that on hold. Coming home made me realize I have too much to do with work. Building the company is tough enough with a son, and bringing another woman into my life would just complicate things even more. I barely have time for Max, much less another person in my life who I���d no doubt neglect.���

���Well, I know I���m not a father, but you seem to be doing all you can. And after tonight, you���ll be set for life if things work out how I think they will.��� He made it all sound so easy. But what should I expect from someone who had become an overnight billionaire after a lengthy period of sitting around on his ass playing video games?

���I won���t hold my breath,��� I said, trying hard not to hold a grudge because I had to bust my ass to make it all hold together and he could still sit on his ass all day if he wanted.

���Max needs something I can���t help him with. He���s doing bad in school, and he keeps acting out. Disciplining him is making it worse. My mother is at her wit���s end with him, and I think she regrets us moving back home with her. She never gets a break.���

���Was Max angry you sold the house?��� It was a valid question, one I���d thought of myself before realizing that wasn���t the problem.

���No, it���s not that. But it���s getting harder and harder it seems. You know me. I barely got by in college, and book learning was never my strong suit, so there is only so much I can do.���

���You could hire someone to help. Like a tutor. A hot one. Some of those nerdy chicks with glasses are sexy.���

���Easy boy. I���ve actually thought about a housekeeper. Not a hot one, just a normal one. Not only for him but for my mother. Maybe someone who could do a bit of both. Maybe take some stress off of Mom.���

���Hire a hot one and let her take the stress off daddy.��� He gave a wicked laugh. ���Seriously, it might just be what the doctor ordered.���

���You���re impossible.��� I shook my head and laughed.

A tall man with a regal appearance and a salt-and-pepper beard approached our table. He smelled of money and wore a dark suit like someone in a spy movie.

Grady was ready for him, but I was busy chugging down the last of my beer.��

���Mr. Diallo, thanks for meeting us here,��� Grady said. ���This is my good friend, Nick Martin, owner of Martin Construction. Nick, this is Santino Diallo.���

���You���re the man who created all of this?��� Diallo asked in a thick accent as he gestured to the grandeur of the Inferno around him.

���Yes, sir,��� I said, offering him my hand. ���It���s good to meet you.���

���Call me Santino,��� he said. After a firm handshake, he pulled up a seat. ���I love what you���ve done with this place. The lights, the water features that look like fire, and not to mention the architecture of the building itself. I���m overwhelmed.���

Grady smiled at the man, and they seemed to have a pretty strong and laidback relationship already. ���I told you not to leave town until you checked it out.���

���I only wish I had more time to spend here,��� he said, still busy getting an eyeful of the place. ���The use of metal and reflection? It���s like stepping into a fire. That���s just the kind of creativity I���m searching for.�����

He seemed blown away by the aesthetics of the place, which was good because I was trying to build a reputation around just such features.

���Well, thank you, Santino. What do you have in mind?��� I was curious what kind of building the man needed. I had done so many casinos, a change would be welcome, but they were kind of my thing.

���I���m financing one of the largest hotel casinos in Monaco and I want you to build it for me.��� He certainly sounded as if he had already made up his mind.

���Santino already co-owns the world famous Palmero-Diallo hotel. He���s looking to branch out with a casino to rival all others. When he explained his concepts to me, I told him you were the contractor he needed.���

���I want it to be like an underwater paradise. I want the guests to feel like they are stepping into the ocean.�����

���That sounds like a big undertaking.��� I wasn���t sure if I could handle something else out of town.

���Oh, make no mistake,��� Santino said. ���It will be. And when it comes to budget, the sky���s the limit.���

That got my attention. ���I like the sound of that.���

���I will make no bones as I have a plane to catch,��� he said. ���I want to hire you. I haven���t found anyone else with your aesthetic concepts, and I must work with you.��� He didn���t seem like the kind of man to take no for an answer.

I nodded, liking the idea of working for someone with such deep pockets. ���I���ll think it over and be in touch.���

���That���s all I can ask.��� He passed me his card and glanced at his gold and diamond watch. And with an apologetic look, he turned his attention back to Grady. ���You never let me down, my friend. I���m so glad I came to check this out. But I���m afraid I���ve got to get back to the car. My plane awaits. Goodnight, gentlemen.�����

He got up, and after shaking our hands a final time, he left me there with Grady, feeling stunned.

���Wow,��� I said. ���That was fast.���

���Well, he kept insisting that he wouldn���t have time. But that���s how some of the best things happen in life. All at once. And let me just say, you���d be a fool not to accept. He���s going to line your pockets with gold by the time you���re done, and you won���t meet a friendlier man to do business with. Once you know him, he treats you like family.���

���What is he, some kind of mob man?��� That accent was either French or Italian.

���Not at all, but he is very powerful and wealthy. He���s worth more than I am.���

���Monaco? I���ve never been there. What state is that in? New Mexico? Florida?���

���Are you serious? Haven���t you ever heard of the Billionaires��� Playground?���

���No, is that a secret sex club or one of your high-roller cults?���

���Monaco is home to thousands of millionaires. There are over ten thousand in one square mile of the city.���

���But where?���

���Don���t you even look at a map? It���s in Europe, on the Mediterranean.��� He shook his head and laughed. ���Didn���t you get your college degree?���

���Yeah, but when it came to geography, I had Rylen do my work. I hated that class. The professor was such a dick.���

���Well, that dick might have taught you something.���

���Well, shit. I can���t go to Europe.���

���Why not? You go do this one job and you���d be set. Trust me. You can���t turn this down. You���ll be kicking yourself for the rest of your life.���

���I appreciate it, but I don���t know.���

���Hey, trust me on this. You want to do business with a man like Santino Diallo. And it might just be the change you and Max need.���

He had a point. But a whole other country? It seemed a bit extreme. ���I���ll think about it.���

���Well, as Santino would say, that���s all I can ask. But dude, seriously, if you say no, I���ll never hear the end of it with him.���

I didn���t want to put him on the spot or in a lurch with his wealthy friend, but this was a lot to process.

Grady snapped his fingers as if he had just had a wonderful idea. ���I���ve got it. If you do the job, I���ll fly everyone out to celebrate when you complete the job.���

I chuckled. ���Man, seriously, all I want right now is another beer before I have to get back to the real world.��� I took another swig of beer and wished the fun could last forever.��

But that only happened to some people.

 

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