Chapter 3 – The Twist
James brushed off snow from his jacket and inhaled the cold stinging air. His goggles had fogged again. Damn it! Maybe they were too loose! He removed them exercising utmost patience and adjusted them as best as his cold fingers allowed.
His two children, however, were neither cold, nor showing any signs of needing to exercise patience. On the contrary, they were thrilled even after 2 hours of private lessons with a ski instructor, which lessons had been useful, he had to admit, as he now had been able to go down the green run a few times without falling. However, he could not share their hype from the morning, their loud voices full of excitement about 'going skiing', them talking over each other and simultaneously to either him or Teresa! All that when he had been trying to enjoy his breakfast after the bad night.
One look at Teresa's tired expression and puffy eyes was sufficient for him to figure out that unless he took the kids out, soon she would be developing a headache. She hadn't slept well, neither had he and it showed!
The best strategy had been to get out each other's space and to assign the anxious teen and the even more anxious 8 year old to a highly paid ski instructor for the next few hours at least, no matter the cost. He had himself been eager to try skiing in the hope that he would master it as easily as he had mastered the surfing, but after last night's encounter, his mind was everywhere else but on learning a new sport.
He knew Chicho had given him the morning to 'get the gist of it' and had promised to show in the early afternoon with his current girlfriend, who was a newbie as well, so that they could 'hit the hills' together.
James hadn't even bothered asking Teresa if she had plans to get on skis herself, as he knew the answer. He rushed the children to get in their snowpants and could read the gratitude on her face as she sipped her coffee and stared at her scrambled eggs. The chalet had a dedicated chef and thus breakfast had been ready in less than half hour after ordering it.
When Suzie inquired of her mother in an overly excited tone when she was planning to join them, James saw Teresa roll her eyes and promise with a half mouth that it 'could be later ...at some point".
He decided to give the green run one more try and then head into the lodge at the bottom of the hill for tea, hopefully not a virgin one, and leave the children to the ski instructor, who was overly eager to practice his English.
His mind wandered to the possible issues Marcel and Chicho's business was in as he sipped the aromatic herbal tea, generously fortified with rum. Teresa was meeting Marcel for lunch; she was bound to find out!
His cell rang and startled him. He pulled it out and was surprised to see it was Pote. The man's booming voice awoke him from his daydreaming: "Is it true, cabron?"
"Yes, it is!' James knew someone had spilled the beans, but doubted it was Teresa as he had been by her side the whole evening.
"Is it Marcel and Chicho? Cabrones! Really? After all these years?" Pote was excited himself. He had delivered them the cash Teresa had left for the development of the NOLA waterfront property and they had parted as best friends. Both men had helped Pote eliminate Boaz, and James was sure that hiding from them forever wouldn't have been Pote's choice.
Pote kept talking: "Tony texted me that some black guy spotted both of you on the plane... and then later met you with another Mexican guy for drinks…and that Teresita got so speechless and so pale that he thought she'd faint…Is it true?"
"Yes, it was quite a shock. No one expected it. She had a very bad night…ahh…we hardly slept…it's the emotions all this time would bring back to memory…she still feels guilt for sending him to jail", James took another long sip. "Didn't you talk to her?" he added.
"No, she is not picking up. She texted me she's busy with lunch, so she has no time for me…ha ha, so I figured you'd do!" Pote laughed.
"Well…she needs to come to terms with Dumas and the past. He talked to her yesterday one on one…I don't think he holds a grudge, but it's her…her mind…that needs to let her forgive herself!" James sighed and drank more.
"So, she won't be skiing?" Pote smirked.
"I guess not…she found an excuse to stay in the lodge…by the fireplace…the restaurant on the brochure was shown to have three huge fireplaces, man…it looks gorgeous!" James smiled himself. As long as Teresa could find peace and maybe enjoy herself, he would be glad! He didn't mind if it was in front of a fireplace or on a ski run.
They talked a little more about business matters, like the upcoming tournament at James's sports studio, the resignation of both the manager at the security company and at the Cantina, which coincidence was keeping Pote busy looking for suitable replacements, until Pote said: "So that you know, Kelly Anne is envious of you, guys!"
"Why?" James said.
"She said she wanted to ski…you know she's been skiing as a kid in Colorado…her family had a condo there…she told me she was quite good and had always wanted to ski in Europe," No wonder, James thought. Kelly Anne's family had been part of the Dallas cream of society, no wonder skiing in Aspen was part of her past.
"She can hop on a plane and join us any time... I'm sure Marcel would be glad to see her…she got him out of jail after all!" James signaled for a refill after having assured Pote that there would be no issue, whatsoever, of Kelly Anne joining them, and then had hung up.
Teresa opened the door and Marcel stepped in the warm villa bringing a chilly whiff of winter with him. She took his jacket from him and put it away still feeling nervous.
"How are you?" She stammered softly and her face could master only a little awkward smile.
"Look, Teresa" Marcel said as he followed her inside: "Life takes unexpected turns…We are adults more now than before…One just soldiers on…So, no need to be awkward around each other, okay?"
"Okay!" this time her smile was genuine.
Their reservation for lunch had been for an hour later, at the central restaurant of the Chalet complex, so they had helped themselves to coffee and cookies and had talked about their families.
Marcel was married to a gorgeous woman, as much as Teresa could deduce from the picture he showed her. Louise Dumas was a black beautiful Creole woman, native of New Orleans, who worked as a human rights lawyer with a successful private practice. Their daughter Vivienne was 10 years old, the age of Pote and Kelly Anne's second daughter Lupe. She went to a private French lycée in Baton Rouge and was her father's pride.
Marcel asked about her own family, about Pote and Kelly Anne, about everything and anything. When they finally were seated in the restaurant, after having chatted all the way to there, Teresa felt her chest a little lighter than it had been the whole morning.
"What about Chicho? It seems you two stayed together as business partners?" Teresa probed.
Marcel sipped from his wine and shook his head: "He…had some difficulties two years ago…when his wife left with their son…they have joint custody now…but it's very tough on him…he doesn't show it and …ahh…changes girlfriends every two months now…but he misses his boy a lot."
"I'm sorry to hear!" Teresa said. She truly was. Chicho had been a great member of her team. Every time she heard of a broken family; she couldn't help but send a prayer for the well being of hers.
"She isn't shy getting the alimony…and always wanting more…the mean cheater that she was…his ex...", Marcel shook his head: "…but making allowances when he needs to see Mateo, that's always a problem!"
"So, are you going to tell me anything more about this problem with this property you're developing?" Teresa sensed that it was Chicho who would tell her about his problems, when and if he so chose. On the other hand, she had been thinking that if Marcel had a business problem, and if she could help him, she might finally feel redeemed about her betrayal from years ago.
He inhaled and then exhaled slowly: "It's very complicated. We bought several properties for development into high end resorts, to go international…because we've only done work on new resorts and hotels in the US up until a year ago." He said and as the waitress came to take their order, he seemed like he welcomed the break.
Once she was gone, Teresa nudged him further: "So, what happened?"
"The venture capitalist who was financing one third of the project disappeared…never made the initial transfer…", Marcel looked more dejected with his last words than ever before.
"How is the rest of the project funded?" The issues were right up Teresa's alley, although her venture cap fund had been mainly financing transportation projects, but she could feel the buzz of excitement in her head.
"One third is us, Chicho and I, almost all we got…one third is a Swiss bank… and one third the venture cap, some fund out of London…We used our money and a decent chunk of the banker's loan to buy the properties and to start the development in Phuket, in Thailand...but once the purchase of the land was completed….the VC was supposed to transfer his portion, he poof…and disappeared…", and he drank a huge gulp of wine.
"There's four properties….on the water…great views…great potential... one in Phuket like I said... one in Fortaleza, in Northern Brazil...one in India, close to Goa... and one in Madagascar", he added.
"So, you own the land….but you don't have enough funds to develop it further…and you're planning to approach the Swiss banker for more money?" Teresa summarized.
"More or less, yes." Marcel nodded: "Just that there's a twist. The Thai authorities have put a hold on the construction as there's some unclear issues with the land quality now…I have a lawyer down there greasing palms to figure things out…But what's worse is that the Swiss banker advanced the repayment terms…So, I am not only unclear how I could possibly ask for more money, but I fear we may end up losing close to everything…if the bank pulls out of the deal!"
Teresa could see the internal turmoil written clearly over Marcel's face as the waitress arrived with their food and started serving it.