changed the rule,” she says. “Turns out the finishing touch on this place was Wi-Fi. The password is aster. I meant to Flash you when I got here, just to freak you out.”
“Whoa.”
“I know. End of an era.”
At the other end of the room, Roman Sr. is clinking a fork against his glass, trying to get everyone’s attention.
“We have a little while till midnight, but I thought I’d get the introductions out of the way early,” he says. “I’m Roman Riggs, and I’m thrilled to welcome all of you to the opening of Riggs Realty’s newest project. This business has been in our family for generations, and I’m excited to introduce you to my son Ryan, who can tell you more about how this latest iteration came to be.”
Roman turns and claps a hand onto Ryan’s shoulder. Lulu wishes that Christine L. Tompkins, of Beauty, Power, Danger, were here to see this—the casual way men hand off power from one to the next.
“So as some of you know,” Ryan starts, “it’s a tradition in my family to take on a project when we turn eighteen. Each of us is given a chance to prove that we understand how money works, and that we know what to do with it. That we’re ready to inherit our legacy.
“That’s a big word to put on a kid: legacy. My great-great-grandfather made a name for himself, and every generation since has built on that foundation. I’m grateful to be a part of the Riggs family tradition, but it’s also, you know, a little intimidating.” Ryan pauses for a murmur of laughter to ripple through the crowd at how charmingly honest he’s being.
“I was deeply inspired by my brother’s creation of Flash, which you should feel free to use tonight, by the way, hashtag TheFutureIsRigged”—another chuckle—“because it showed real vision, I thought. Roman didn’t just look at what our family’s past was; he didn’t do what we always do. He imagined, boldly, what our future could be. He radically re-thought what it meant to build something from the ground up.”
Ryan gestures to the space around them. “I went a more traditional route, obviously. I used to come here with my grandfather when he was still alive; the Aster had been closed for years, but this property was the source of some of his favorite childhood memories. I wanted to restore it to its glory days, even if he wouldn’t be here to enjoy it.
“But I also wanted something else.” Ryan scans the crowd. He looks at Cass, and then looks away. Lulu feels something cold start to settle over her, so faint at first that she mistakes it for the air-conditioning being turned on, or a breeze blowing through an open door. As Ryan keeps talking, the cold takes on weight, settling around her shoulders like a cloak.
“Because I was thinking a lot about that question of legacy, of what it means to build something that lasts. What can stand up to history? Is it buildings? Is it art? Is it family? The answer, ultimately, is nothing. A thousand years from now, probably, no one will remember our names. This hotel won’t still be standing.”
“I wouldn’t bet against the Riggses!” someone calls from the audience. More laughter; applause.
Ryan smiles and nods. “Thank you,” he says, “but the idea was actually freeing. I stopped worrying about legacy and started thinking, instead, about desire. What do I want right now? What do I want most of all? That’s the real genius of Flash. There’s nothing to it, really—it’s built on impermanence. It gets built and rebuilt every day, because people want to use it so badly.
“When my great-great-grandfather built this place, he wasn’t thinking about the real estate empire he would go on to create. He wasn’t imagining a great-great-grandson feeling the weight of the family’s name heavy on his shoulders. His concerns were far more immediate: He had a beautiful new wife, and he wanted to build a beautiful place for her to live in.
“And I thought, isn’t that what we’re after, when we build buildings, and take pictures and post them on Flash? Aren’t we just looking for ways to express and capture beauty?
“I thought, I don’t know a better legacy for my family than that. Maybe it won’t last forever, but it will make you feel something while you’re here.
“Upstairs, you’ll be able to see rooms as they’ll be set when guests arrive. But you’ll also be able to walk through the photographs I