Chapter 16 Maria
There was this great satisfaction, a surreal belonging in the act of dressing your man. I put on his coat as I imagined maidens put on the armors of their knight lovers in the old days. I adjusted his tie. I kissed him on the lips. I gave him a once-over.
He looked like a billion dollars, clean-shaven, fresh-faced, a self-confident smile on his face.
“Know what I see in the mirror?” I asked, standing behind him. “I see a winner. I see a powerful man. Do you see him?”
“All I see is the beautiful woman standing behind him,” he said.
I picked my half-full cup of coffee from the breakfast trolley.
It was heartening for me to see that Elio had eaten his breakfast. His appetite was functioning normally.
That was good. It meant that he had not let it all get to his head.
Or maybe our late-night activities had made him hungry.
Either way, the sales meeting would go better if he had eaten something.
“You sure you’re not going to take your pitch desk with you?” I asked as he walked toward the door.
“You ever wonder why yachts and not something else?” he asked, holding out his arm. We’d agreed that I should go with him. For moral support and whatnot.
“I mean, I’ve always wondered,” I said as the door self-locked behind us.
“Yachts were my thing growing up. Father hated them. Mother couldn’t get enough of them.
We had a yacht. I sold it after my mother died.
My father was furious. He wanted to know why I’d sold it.
I told him it wasn’t his. It was my mother’s.
And seeing that yacht made me hurt each time.
It was the one thing she and I would do on the weekends without any worry.
See, out there in the sea, she wasn’t a don’s wife, and I wasn’t a don’s son.
We were just mother and son enjoying the open air, the open seas.
I was never going to ever sail that yacht after Mother died.
So I sold it. I sold it for five times the price we’d bought it for.
And that gave me an idea. Seeing as how I knew so much about yachts, and how I’d sold one for a massive profit, I was like, let’s see if we can sell more yachts.
I lost sight of that yesterday. I failed to make them see the value of the vessels.
Today, I’m going to remember what I do best.”
“I have faith in you,” I said, squeezing his hand as we stepped out of the elevator. His entourage was all there, dressed in their suits, but none of them looking more handsome than him.
“Hey, look, it’s our newest reject,” James said, coming over, holding my arm, and giving me a polite kiss on the cheek. “I knew you’d show up. It’s good to have you with us. Maybe you’re the good luck charm Elio’s been missing.”
“Hey now, I’m more than just a charm,” I said, smiling at Elio’s friends. “What do you say we sell some ships?”
“Aye, aye, cap’n,” Ethan said, making a faux sailor salute.
It was raining outside. But I looked at Elio’s face and saw no worry. He was smiling, his mind definitely cooking up some kind of plan. When we reached the harbor, the Swedish businessmen were all standing there underneath umbrellas, most of them soaked.
“You are late,” Nils Wilmer said, staring angrily at Elio. “We were about to leave.”
“You must all be very cold,” Elio said, waving his arm at the yacht’s stairs.
“Come. This way. These stairs are non-slip, durable polymer. They’re not available in the stock option.
They are built on custom order. Reinhold was kind enough to oblige, along with several other custom modifications that I am sure you will enjoy.
See, gentlemen, this isn’t the base variant of the yachts.
This is the decked-out version that I’m willing to sell you at the base variant price. ”
He followed them up the stairs. Once they were all on board, all of us climbed on board too.
“Non-slip hardwood surface,” Elio said confidently, pointing at the floors. “Let’s come inside and dry ourselves, shall we?”
The yacht—if it could be called that—was massive, just shy of a mega-yacht, but glamorous in its own splendor.
As we all went inside, we felt the temperature rise and the soundproofing. I looked at Elio addressing the businessmen.
“Climate control in all rooms. That’s six rooms below deck, four of them bedrooms, the other two for your luxury—smoke room, game room, spa, whatever you want.
We already took the liberty of furnishing one of them as a spa and the other one as a sauna.
See, I know you love your saunas, and I thought to myself, what happens if it rains on the day I try to make my sale?
Well, we’ll adjourn to the sauna and heat ourselves up.
Our staff will prepare a full-course meal for you in the meantime. ”
The businessmen got comfortable in the main room, spreading out, admiring the yacht, drying themselves by the fireplace. A waitress brought them all strong drinks of their choice. She gave me a champagne flute and a wink as she left.
The yacht was big enough that even with twenty-four people onboard, it didn’t feel cramped. I followed Elio as he showed Nils around.
“For the next four hours, this place is your home. Treat it as such. Go change into something dry and comfortable. You’ll find that there’s a lot of variety of clothes in the cupboards. One thing you need to know about me, Nils: I come prepared.”
“We will see,” he said, heading into the bedroom.
“Are you worried?” I whispered to Elio.
He nodded at the sauna where several of the businessmen were eagerly entering, steam coming out.
“I got these guys right where I want ‘em,” he said, giving me a quick peck on the cheek. “Just you wait and watch.”
I made myself at home in one of the upper deck rooms. From time to time I went out and checked on Elio and his friends as they showed the businessmen around the yachts.
“You may have noticed that we’re sailing.
That’s the Twin MTU 204 4000s engine with 8600 horsepower paired with a Naiad Dynamics stabilization system.
Even if there’s a big wave that comes our way, you won’t feel it.
And as with all things, this 200-foot yacht by Reinhold is custom fit with this engine and this stabilization system, perfect for long travels.
I challenge you to find a better built yacht on the market.
Let’s go to the bridge. It’s something out of a sci-fi movie. ”
The businessmen, all changed into their dry clothes, were much more pleasant now, talking amicably amongst themselves and with the rest of Elio’s team.
Ethan and Nathan were showing around a few of them.
James was talking to one of the older ladies, showing her the architectural details of the yacht, the fine wood finish.
Mercetti was at the bar, pouring a few of them drinks. It was all going surprisingly well.
I went downstairs and saw that some of them were immersed in the games in the game room, smoking their cigars, having themselves a merry old time.
Outside, the rain was relentless, the waves high, and the sky dark, but the yacht sailed on like it was nothing.
Finally, when the businessmen had all gathered in the conference room below deck with Elio’s team, it had stopped raining, and the sea had turned smooth.
“So, gentlemen, given that you’ve seen what this ship has to offer, I guess all that remains is your signature on the contract,” Elio said calmly.
“Not so fast, Mr. Romano,” Wils said, looking quite happy.
“You have personally pointed out every single thing that makes this yacht stand out from all the others we have seen. We are very impressed. But we’re worried about future purchases.
See, we Swedes end up using a lot of yachts.
Just last year I accidentally sank a yacht because its buoyancy was not optimal.
We like what we’ve seen. We’ll admit we’ve seen nothing like this before.
We have an offer to make, but it’s not what you think. ”
“Go on,” Elio said, smiling at me, holding my hand underneath the table.
“We would like for you to become the official supplier of the National Swedish Yacht Club. It’s going to require you to scale, Mr. Romano.
We won’t want just fifteen yachts like this.
We’d want somewhere around a hundred in the next year, and then a constant number every year.
Not just yachts, mind you. We’d also need other ships, too.
Cruising boats, fishing boats, performance boats, pontoons, bowriders, houseboats.
In Sweden, boating is huge. And we represent the top five percent of the buyers.
What do you say? If you can promise us this same quality with every single purchase, then we have no reason to look beyond you and your team of capable gentlemen…
and lady. All of you have shown that good old-fashioned salesmanship that we came to America for.
You have not sold us the product. You have bought our trust. And we love to do business with those whom we trust.”
“I only have one question,” Elio said, looking at them sternly, and then finally breaking into a smile. “Where do I sign?”
With the sun out, the businessmen, The Rejects, and the staff had all moved to the decks.
I stood here on the aft deck with Elio, unable to keep my hands off of him.
We kissed each other, arms around each other’s bodies.
Above, the sun shone in all its cloudless splendor.
Beneath, the bright blue sea was still in the calm after the storm.
Swedish music blared from the sound system as the businessmen sat on the deck, laughing, drinking champagne, celebrating their purchase. Not only had they purchased all the yachts that Elio had to offer right now, but they’d also put in the order for the Yacht Club’s next order.
“I always believed in you,” I said, letting go of him momentarily, but holding his hand regardless. “I knew you had it in you!”
“I love you, Maria Thurman,” he said. “I’m so in love with you I might as well propose.”
“Why don’t you?” I laughed.
“Not in front of the Swedes!” he laughed carefreely. “I’ll do it in front of my Father. Watch the expressions on his face as he seethes and realizes he has no hold over me anymore.”
“Or… we could go to the Bahamas as we talked about, do a proposal there, just you and me and the deep blue sea,” I said, smiling at him.
“Did you know this yacht goes up to 20 knots?” Elio said, grinning at me. “And we don’t have to give up its ownership for another month.”
“What are you getting at, Elio?” I asked, my heart skipping a beat at the thought of his suggestion.
“You, me, this yacht—we sail to the Bahamas from Seattle. That’s gonna take twelve days tops. We spend a week there. And then come back here.”
“Can we really do that?!” I asked, unable to hold my excitement.
“We can do that today, after all these guys get off this ship. Then we’ll have it to ourselves,” Elio said, kissing my hand. “What say you?”
“Are you kidding me!? Let’s sail to the Bahamas!” I squealed, and he wound his arms around me once more, leaning down to kiss me passionately.
I kissed him with freedom, with the liberation that he had brought into my life. I kissed him out of love and joy. I kissed him, knowing full well that this was the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with.
“Hey, guys! Get a room!” Wils called out, laughing from the top deck. “There’s a lot of them on this yacht, haven’t you heard!?”
Elio waved him off, smiling sheepishly. Then we walked back, arm around each other’s waists, both of us humming the theme song of Pirates of the Caribbean under our breaths.