Chapter 2
JACOB
“But you don’t want to commute?”
“No,” I say. “Commuting is awful.”
“Even though you’re only in the office about two days a week?”
My realtor, James, stares me down with his icy blue eyes. He has this knack for looking at you like he’s looking directly into your soul. I guess that’s why he’s good at what he does.
“Look, Jacob,” he says with an apologetic smile.
“I’ll be honest with you. We’ve pretty much exhausted all Central LA options for you.
Living in the city is great, but you’re going to have to face facts.
I don’t think there’s anywhere I can find for you where you’re going to be able to walk to work anymore. ”
“I’ll take the subway,” I say.
“Will you?” He raises an eyebrow.
“I would. Or a cab. I don’t want to be traveling for more than twenty minutes to get there, though.”
He shakes his head. “I have some fabulous places in the suburbs. You can have a whole mansion to yourself.”
“But I like the city,” I protest. I know I sound like a petulant child, but it seems so unfair that everyone else who wants to live in the city should be allowed to, and I can’t.
“Maybe a change of scene would be good for you,” says James.
“Maybe,” I agree with a frown and no heart.
“Let me show you some of these mansions. They’re real nice places.”
He pulls them up on his computer, and he’s right, they do look really nice.
I can be beachside. I can look at the hills.
I can see the twinkling lights of the city.
Whatever I want, it’s just going to take me an hour both ways to get to work.
I’m rich enough. Shouldn’t I be able to afford not to commute?
“These are fine,” I say.
“But…?” James prods.
“But they’re too far.”
“You could work from home full-time,” he suggests, but I shake my head, shooting down the idea immediately.
“And go insane? I know I seem like a hermit, but I like going to work. I like socializing with my colleagues—”
“Your subordinates,” James interrupts to correct me.
I shoot him a dirty look but don’t comment.
“I like seeing how things are going in person. Hell, I’d love to have a social life.
I feel like I can’t because I can’t trust the stupid, normal people in the city to give me some peace and quiet.
” I sit back in the chair, dejected. “You’re telling me it’s hopeless? Mansion or nothing?”
“I could find you a penthouse in the city. I don’t want to make any promises that I can’t keep regarding commuting or visibility.”
“It’s not your fault everyone loves me.” I sigh.
He raises an eyebrow at that but doesn’t comment. “Let me show you one other thing,” he says. “You won’t like this idea. It’s a little way out of the city. But you want to be a recluse, right?”
“I guess.”
“You want somewhere you can, I don’t know, host parties, have girls over. Somewhere you can be free to be yourself without the pressure of other people.”
“You mean that place exists?” I scoff, disbelieving. He spins his computer screen around, types frantically at his keyboard, and then spins the monitor back for me to look at.
As far as I can see, it looks like a picture of a hell of a lot of grass.
“Okay,” I say slowly. “I’ll bite. What am I looking at?”
“You are looking at about three hundred square miles of beautiful island called Havenridge.”
“Okay?” I say, confused. “And?”
“It has a population of a few hundred people. It’s famed for its golden beaches, local fishermen, and seafood. It’s not a popular tourist destination right now, but even if it was, tourism can always be outlawed.”
“Okay. Why are you telling me this?”
“Well, how would you feel about a half-hour boat commute?”
“You’re trying to sell me an island?” I blink, not quite believing what I’m hearing.
“I am trying to sell you an island,” James repeats.
When you say buy an island out loud, it sounds ridiculous. But as I stare at the beaches and trees in the pictures, the idea of it grows on me. A tropical paradise. An island just for me. No people, tourists, no paparazzi. Nobody but me and anyone I actually wanted.
Complete security from the public. Complete isolation.
I take a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll bite again. How much?”
James quotes me a figure which is large but not quite as big as I would have expected. It’s enough to intrigue me. “So, say I did want to spend my money on some island. You said people live there. Natives?”
“Nobody natively lived on that island, but people do live there now.”
“And they’re okay with their land being sold?”
“They won’t have much choice.” James smiles brightly. “If you buy it, you can do what you want. And if you offer them enough money, I’m sure they’ll leave without much of a fight. Everyone has a price, don’t they? If you tell these people they have to evict, they’ll have to evict.”
“I wouldn’t want it to be messy,” I say, doubts sprouting in my mind. “I’ll pay them all a settlement and persuade them that they have to go. How hard could it be?”
“People are easy to win over.” James grins. “I can give you some time to think about it. I don’t think anyone else is interested in this place. A few people have tried to develop there in the past, but the locals have all been a bit too stubborn.”
I stare into the luscious blue water, my heart growing the more I look at it. I think I’m falling in love with this place.
“Don’t worry about it,” I say. “Developers are all idiots. I’ll assure these people I’m going to leave their beautiful island intact and tell them to pack their bags. How hard can it be? I’m more charming than any builder anyway.”
I say it, but I don’t quite believe it yet. If only things were as simple as asking nicely and people obeying. I have an uncomfortable feeling that this might be harder than I want it to be.
“I’ll set up a time for you to go visit.”
I nod slowly. “You know what, what the hell? Make the offer. As you say, when I own it, I can do what I want, and these people will have to go. That’s a later issue.
I can’t stay in my apartment here, and I don’t want to fall in love with the place only for someone else to snatch it from under me. Make the offer.”
Havenridge is going to be mine.