Alexander Diamond the Third was a young adventurous businessman, and California’s most successful young executive of 1987, and had received the award two years running. He was worth something in the order of several million dollars and had a substantial financial portfolio.
It was the summer of 1988. Alexander Diamond the Third sat on a sun lounge on the deck of his yacht contemplating his next move. Kaori, his beautiful wife, slipped out of her white satin dress, allowed it to slide over her rounded hips and jumped naked into the azure waters of the Caribbean, its shimmering surface flecked with shards of sunlight.
He smiled, set aside his rod and turned to watch his wife as she swam effortlessly through the water. She was so lovely, like a silken sea-nymph. Her strong, yet feminine physique shone like a bronze statuette. Her head popped out of the water a short distance from where he stood and laughing, waved. “Come on, Alex, darling…jump in. The fish will wait… besides, we have all day!“
He stood, saluted, stripped to his denim shorts, and soon joined her in the warm waters off the coast of Jamaica. “Beats fishing any day my sweet,“ he said sliding his hands over her sensual musculature, silky smooth and scintillating to the touch. She laughed and dove under the water and re-emerged behind him and splashed at him playfully. The happy couple lost themselves in their horseplay and soon grew tired and hungry and clung together blessing one another with passionate kisses before the yachts cook, Rochelle helped them aboard, handing each a large fluffy towel.
Later, they sun baked while Max Nephrite sat with Mimette Tyson -- a honey-blonde beauty from California -- discussing a corporate take-over, they’d manage to swing that same week.
“Okay guys, I want a plan. We have a new client. James Silver. We need to get our inside people on the stock exchange to set things up, if we’re to bring Eileen on board. Without her help, poor James’s goose is cooked.“ Diamond said, with all the command of a naval general. Like his father before him, he always got what he wanted. But Eileen Silver was a different matter. He didn’t want her, but her company. He desired a glitch free merger and would do anything to get it. He was a smooth operator, gathering large and small companies alike, recombining these to create a powerful cartel that could operate legitimately as well as handle his darker business ventures. “You know, they say, if you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas. But if you lie down beside me, you get up with diamond dust in your eyes…that’s when I get you.“
~*~
Alexander was a tall man, six feet three inches and his roman features gave him an imposing countenance. His white hair fell to the waist and his eyes were a deep blue. His white suit and ice-blue shirt and silver tie gave him an almost otherworldly appearance. He loved to ride horses, indulged in water sports, and was a brilliant chess player.
His wife, Kaori, was also an astute businesswoman. She was married to the most powerful man in the United States. She owned a series of software companies that dealt in future applications of computer entertainment and web design. She loved the fast world of business having taken a course in financial planning. In her free time, she loved building model ships, ancient buildings and monuments in miniature, and she was good at it, too -- having reconstructed a one hundred and fifty square foot miniature of Ancient Athens in all its glory, currently on display in the Exotica museum.
Like her husband, she also loved Manga, Japanese comics that were multi-paged delights of color with riveting narratives. She was part Japanese and Chinese and could easily pass for a Goddess of the moon or sun. But she had one flaw -- her fiery temper. She could be quite cruel at times, and even Diamond – certainly no bleeding heart -- winced at some of her statements, finding himself amused whenever she chose to unleash her ire on a poor unsuspecting victim, at a social function or conference room.
Diamond’s best man, life long friend and business advisor, Max Nephrite, was somewhat of a keen observer of the stars and student of the occult. He loved the more obscure mysteries in life and would spend hours with Diamond talking about the people they knew. Max, like an oracle, would read the futures of friends, family and others not so favored with the Diamond clan.
**The Silver Residence in Cherry Blossom County ILLINOIS**
It had been a hot day, almost unseasonable for this time of year. Eileen Silver sighed as she stood at the beautifully carved ornate French windows that opened onto a miniature Japanese garden and Celtic style grove that abutted the twenty-five acre property on the fringe of Cherry Blossom County. The sun was wholly generous and the birds sang with undiminished enthusiasm. But despite the lavish setting and though she loved this rambling country estate, her heart was heavy with sadness and insecurity. She smiled as past memories of the day when James, Serena and herself stood in this room. It was unfurnished and the aroma of fresh timber assailed her nostrils. Oh, how she missed those days. She ran a hand through her silvery gold tresses and began to cry silently to herself.
A short time later, she leaned forward to see if Serena was coming up the path with Ms Haruna, her teacher. The warm -hearted woman had kindly offered to drop Serena home each day as she only lived five miles down the road from their home. It was no trouble, Eileen, no trouble at all, she had said, ruffling the young mane of their beloved little girl.
Now things were not so wonderful on the home front. Eileen was almost certain James was in some kind of trouble. He had started drinking, and now he wouldn’t come home three to four nights a week -- now this -- she held the note in her trembling hands, a death threat against the entire family if he didn’t pay up. What had he gotten himself into this time? She asked herself reading the grimy thing, its cutout newspaper letters, crudely stuck to a cheap brown paper bag. She wiped the tears from her eyes, sipped her Napoleon Brandy and soda, moved away from the window, and collapsed into her favorite soft leather high back chair.
~*~
The sound of laughter, the clinking of champagne glasses and scent of exotic tobacco filled Alexander Diamond the Thirds living room. James sat on the edge of a pool table. Beryl in a low-cut red-silk dress that left little to the imagination uncrossed her legs and jumped off his lap to pour them each a drink.
“You’re such a bore, James, come on. Tell her it’s a business seminar. You know, one of those franchise things… We will even print up a kit, so she doesn’t give you the third degree.“
James rolled his eyes; the alcohol was slowly working on his system, his mind susceptible to Beryl’s unrelenting charms. She wanted him, and didn’t care how she got him. He was a married man with two young children and not a playboy. But foolhardy decisions and underhanded deals to bail himself out of his self-created nightmare had only ended in disaster. Diamond was his only avenue of help. After a series of fallen deals and gambling debts, he was desperate and had taken their toll. How long can I hold up before I have to sell?
Beryl returned, sitting on his lap once more, her perfume like a neurotoxin, working its insidious magic as he let her unbutton his shirt and massage his chest. “Beryl, please…
I’ve got to get back soon.“
“James, you spoilsport...just a little kissy...?“
After putting their drinks aside, she thrust her breasts against his chest and kissed him square on the lips.
James lifted her off his lap and set her on the chair beside the pool table. Diamond and Mike Sapphire -- an old school friend and general hood -- slapped James on the back.
“Fortune follows the brave, James old boy. She is more than you can handle, isn’t she?“
“That she is,“ he said, doing up the buttons of his shirt as Beryl snaked herself around his waist.
“I will talk to you tomorrow, Alex,“ he said, stubbing out his cigar, excusing himself and headed for the car park.
Beryl followed him. “You can run, James, but you can’t hide… Know this, you are mine, and when Eileen leaves you…I will be there for you!“
“Not going to happen,“ He snapped impatiently. But knew it was only a matter of time before he gave in to her amorous advances. Slamming the door of the Porsche, he gunned its purring engine to life. Beryl laughed as he drove back to the house.
Ten minutes later, Diamond stood before his living room mirror doing up his silver cravat, with its customary diamond studded clip and regarded his reflection thoughtfully. Kaori, his forth wife, stood behind him sporting a pure white bikini with tiny diamond sequins all over its skimpy fabric. Her hair dark, skin mocha after long weeks in the sun, gave her Eurasian features a lustrous glow. Diamond lost himself in her eyes, even as they looked back at him from the mirror. She was elegant, beautiful and a damned good businesswoman, and fulfilled all his other requirements, “I think we are ready to help poor James, what do you think.“
“He is a very nice man…you are right, my husband. I think he would serve us well. And in return, his family will be both financially and otherwise secure…a win-win situation all round, Alex.“ she said, straightening his cravat.
“My thoughts exactly, my darling….“
~*~
Serena hugged her mother tightly; she missed her as always after a long day away at school. She just wanted to be with those she loved and of course, finish her homework so she could play and read comics. Serena was a vivacious eight-year-old with gorgeous blue eyes as wide as the sky, their fathomless depths filled with dreams. She kissed her mothers cheek, stopped and tilted her head.
“Mom, why have you been crying? Flower pollen getting in your eyes again.“
Eileen choked back the tears, hugged her daughter once more, and kissed the top of her head. “Yes, darling…it seems the flowers get me very bad this time of year. The worst it’s been, sweetheart.“
Serena skipped to the black marble bench and reached for the tissue box. She danced across the room and popped it in Eileen’s hands.
“Thank you darling, now go do your homework.“
~*~
It was well after eleven when James stumbled into the kitchen, having made his grand entrance through the back door. Eileen was waiting for him, sitting perfectly still at the kitchen table, the threatening letter in front of her. She sat in her nightie, wrapped in her mauve dressing gown with her hair tied in a long braid, hanging over one shoulder that fell over the left breast. She rested a delicate palm on the table, fingertips beating a rhythmic tattoo while sipping a Southern Comfort and lemonade.
“Well? Look what the cat dragged in… Sit!“ She shouted, uncharacteristically glowering at him as if he was a mass-murderer or something far worse, if worse, there could be than that. Her angry outburst wiping the smug, oh, please darling, its nothing, I’m fine, look off his face.
“Okay, I’m in deep shit. Why are you so pissed with me? “ He asked feigning innocence.
“Pissed, doesn’t even come close to an adequate description for what I feel at this moment,” she said, folding her arms in front of her chest, her eyes vacant of anything short of arctic fury. “What the hell have you been getting yourself into, and don’t lie!“ she hissed, pushing the letter at him as if it were a repulsive viper.
He read its contents slowly, slapped his hands over his face, and lowered his head into his hands and groaned. “Oh my god...! I’m so sorry, honey. I had no idea it would go this far.“
“What exactly do you mean, you thought you could rub shoulders with unscrupulous thugs and thieves and not get your hands dirty? Far be it from me to ask what my husband gets up to in dingy smoke filled rooms and deserted warehouses after dark! What am I supposed to make of all that-- pray tell! Its enough you stay out to all hours, drinking, gambling and whatever the hell else you get up to behind my back… I’ve said nothing, James until now, but only because I didn’t want to believe what they were saying about you, and feel as if I were a poor wretch with no idea what was going on. Yeah, I dealt with that and why… I had too much faith in you, didn’t I? More fool me!” Eileen said regretfully staring up into his blank face. She thumped the table with her fists and he sat bolt upright, raising his hands in the air defensively.
“I will fix it, don’t worry, its being handled!“
“Well handle this…talk! I want to know it all, the amount of money you owe and names, I want names!“ she demanded, like a detective out of Law and Order.
“What, and get us all killed! “
“So, isn’t this bad enough? Darling, “ she said sarcastically, and continued in a menacing tone. “If you don’t talk, I’m calling the police and have them kick your butt all the way to Cherry Hill police headquarters. If you refuse to come clean, my dear husband, I’m taking Serena and Sammy out of here, so we can live a normal life without the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads!“
He sighed, leaning back in his seat and stood up abruptly. “All right, come with me.“ she followed him to the study, without a word. He switched on the light, sat behind the desk, opened a draw, and turned on the computer. “It’s all here, the names and how much I owe and to whom. What are you going to do?“
“I am going to bail you out, my dear husband. But with one proviso, you will no longer have access to our joint operations that you’ve been sucking dry behind my back and you are going to repay every cent! I’m entering a new business venture, I’ve been offered. Since you can’t run your little software company without getting your family’s lives threatened, it’s up to me to fix it. Why I married you, I don’t know. Like a damned fool, I was young and naïve and fell in love with you… Hell James, why didn’t you come to me sooner with this? No, let me guess. Your male ego got in the way, am I right? Oh, and that underdressed and oversexed little tart, Beryl… tell me darling, is there any truth in those stories about you and her?“ Eileen was livid, and once started, she couldn’t stop herself. She hit him with it all: the frustration, shame, embarrassment and the sense of failure as a wife and as a woman. He was going to pay for that in many ways. Eileen continued to fire her questions mercilessly, one after the other. She had suffered long enough, the tragic lonely wife, faithful and beyond reproach, now kicking ass. But as much as she loved her husband of nine years, she didn’t know anymore whether she wanted him in her life and had to straighten out the mess and take time out for a while to think.
“I’m sorry honey, you’re right. I am a bloody fool. I thought I could handle it; I kept shifting money from our joint accounts and your companies to pay my debts. It was wrong.“
“Yeah, wrong because you got caught, or because you’re genuinely remorseful.“ She said, in almost a hoarse whisper and gulped down the last of her drink, setting the shot-glass down and slapped his face. “And that’s for lying to me…and consorting with that underdressed little hussy and let her put her filthy paws all over you at nightclubs, Casinos and exclusive bars and such.“ He was about to open his mouth to deny it all when she left the room, and returned moments later holding a manila folder in her trembling hands. She threw it down before him violently as he continued to rub his cheek in an attempt to soothe the sting from her searing slap. “Open it!“ she demanded. He gripped the envelope with both hands and pulled out a series of glossy color pictures of Beryl and himself in a number of compromising situations. The pictures showed her kissing him and gave no indication he wasn’t enjoying the amorous attention lavished on him -- remembering how drunk he was and felt his stomach sink -- her hands all over him. There were snaps taken with his hands upon her waist and one picture where he unconsciously cupped her breasts in its red-silk cradle, and to his horror, the sight of his unbuttoned shirt and her hands trailing through his chest hair. He paled visibly, feeling as if he would throw up at what this meant. But right now, he had a marriage to save and he knew it. Though the pictures didn’t show anything more than superficial fondling and foreplay mostly on Beryl’s part, but just the same, the evidence spoke for itself. He knew Eileen was well within her rights to divorce him. He would not blame her if that were what she wanted.
He hung his head low and murmured an apology. “I am so sorry, she means nothing to me… she practically stalks me. I tell her no. And no, I haven’t slept with her. I promise you that I’m telling you the truth. Please believe me!“
“I want you out of this house, James. When you clean up your act, and that means, cut the drinking, gambling, and your extra-curricular activities… And I expect you to work your butt off for six months getting your business back in the black. I will allow you back in the house if you clean up your act on the personal side of things and the business side! My god, till death do us part should mean something, but it seems it isn’t enough for the likes of you!“ She sobbed and ran from the room and left him wishing that a crack in the Earth would open up and swallow him.
~*~
It had been a pleasant morning. Serena and Sammy sat eating their breakfast as a monosyllabic conversation moved back and forth across the kitchen table between their parents in a staccato fashion. As much as they tried to put on a brave front in front of the children, it was impossible to fool them.
It was agreed James would visit regularly on weekends. If things improved between them, and James made up his losses to her financially, Eileen told him, he could move back in and sleep in the guest room while they tried to work things out. If there were to be any -- perhaps then, they would take a second honeymoon and start afresh.
They had sat together upon the porch swing talking at about five in the morning, the dawn, sending tendrils of magenta into the sky as Helios gathered his chariot in wait for the right time to hurtle into another summer’s day, accompanied by the throng of singing birds.
Unbeknownst to either of them, Sammy was hiding nearby behind the gazebo, taking in as much of the adult conversation as he could understand -- and that wasn’t much -- confused and scared, he shared what little he knew with Serena.
~*~
“Have a good day at school, guys!“ James said, hugging each of his children, and in turn, Eileen did the same. Serena, kissing her father one last time and hugging him fiercely before running out the door, James looking after his little eight-year-old daughter and then it hit him -- How much of a fool he had been as a tear pricked the corner of his eye.
~*~
Eileen sat behind her desk, and accepted the call from the CEO of Diamond Corporation at eleven o’clock that morning. They spent a few moments engaged in idle chitchat before getting down to business. She was impressed with Diamond’s style, the company’s portfolio, and wanted in.
Hanna Seitz, her financial advisor and life-long friend, sat in front of her desk, long legs crossed – palmtop at the ready – she wore a charming white thin cotton pantsuit with pastel pink trim, her long raven-black hair tied in a glossy plait that fell to her waist. Leaning forward over her keyboard, she put on her glasses and read the prospectus on her monitor.
“They’re quite a solid company, with a market value -- net worth something in the ballpark of, two hundred million in the US and over eighty million dollars in stock holdings in the futures market. This operation is run independently of their many other interests. In property and plant, they are worth around one point three billion US and have substantial assets abroad. All up, they’re close to three billion worldwide -- block, stock and barrel – cool I’d say, girlfriend!“ Hanna said, with an exaggerated wave of the hand as she took a deep breath, held it for a second or two and released it slowly. She pushed her glasses back on her slim nose and the two women chuckled.
“Impressive indeed….“ Eileen said, sipping her coffee. They talked for ten more minutes, between Leone the caretaker, who entered the office clearing away the coffee mugs and performing his other duties, telling the two women his latest jokes as he watered the indoor plants and stuck up new posters on the glass partition adjacent to the door leading to Eileen’s secretary’s office. Then the phone rang. Eileen nodded, and Hanna straightened. Leone waved them a fond farewell, making himself scarce as the call was patched through to Eileen’s desk.
“Hello, Mr. Diamond?“
“Yes, I am… Hanna and I are going over the figures as we speak.“
“I’d like that; and of course, Hanna loves Chinese. Do you mind if I ask Buddy Rodrigo along, our IMF expert? We intend to set up a futures operation, and trust for my children, and wish to include your company amongst those we wish to invest with. “
The conversation continued for a while, and satisfied, Eileen put down the receiver and clapped her hands together and laughed, “Well, not only do I get James out of the shit, but I get our corporation a solid foothold within one of the worlds most dynamic transnational cartels into the bargain.“
“What about Emma Holdings?“
“Leave those out of this arrangement; I plan on having the children run it when they’re of age. If this corporation ever suffers a serious stock crash, or heaven forbid, a terrorist attack on home soil, collapsing society and sending the markets on a slide, I want the children to be secure. No, Emma and those smaller interests on the green lists I want kept out of Diamond Corp.“
Hanna thought this wise and believed Sammy and Serena would do her mother proud in the years to come. They spent the next hour drawing up the contracts and documentation to set the wheels in motion. Upon Serena’s twenty-fifth birthday -- an age when she would have settled career, and hopefully consolidated her personal life, she could either balance home and family, or go solo for a few years and marry in her thirties if she so desired – Sammy would take his holdings at the same age. Eileen was determined to protect her children. James, she had thought, felt the same way, but after what had happened, she cut him out of these and other joint ventures. She would change her will to make her children the central beneficiaries, but felt this could wait until the fall. She was hurt and felt betrayed by her husband’s actions. He had cooked the books, and so close to committing fraud and in breech of any number of corporate regulations. I didn’t bare thinking about.
“Lets do lunch!“ Hanna suggested, interrupting her thoughts. Hanna then removed her glasses and stood up, slinging her bag over one shoulder after putting the palmtop away. The sound of clicking high-heels echoed throughout the atrium as the two friends waved to Shalala Wilkins, Eileen’s secretary, who also waved cheerfully as the lift doors closed silently behind them. Then Shalala set to work on the letter to Alexander Diamond the third regarding the acceptance of the venture, and hummed a tune from a Broadway musical.
