“Good morning, Craig,” he said. “And how are you going to ruin what so far has been a nearly perfect half-day?”
“Aside from getting fall-down drunk, what are your plans for the weekend?”
“Florida. Geoff is flying Ursula and the baby down to Ocean Reef in your airplane. If you could tear yourself away from whatever war you’re fighting this weekend, you’re of course welcome. ”
“Wonderful!” Craig Lowell said.
“Why am I suspicious about ‘wonderful’?”
“And you’re going down when?”
“I was just about to leave for the airport.”
“I accept your kind invitation,” Lowell said. “I’ll fly down either tonight or first thing in the morning.”
“And why does that also make me suspicious?”
“Because you are insecure,” Lowell said. “I’ve told you that many times before.”
“What the hell do you want, Craig?”
“I just had a call from Jean-Philippe Portet,” Lowell said. “Mr. J. Richard Leonard of the Gresham Investment Corporation just called him, and wants to present their proposal to him tomorrow.”
“What’s that got to do with me?”
“I think he could use some advice in dealing with them.”
“He’s at Ocean Reef?”
“Yeah.”
“Why me?”
“Hey, Porter, you’re the one who’s been whining about not being able to properly express your gratitude. . . .”
“I meant, why don’t I bring someone—Hoover Daniel, for example, he’s our legal VP—down with me?”
“Christ, if you can’t negotiate a contract, Porter, what are you doing sitting at Grandpa’s desk?”
“I want the very best for Jean-Philippe, Craig, is what I mean.”
“Jean-Philippe will take your help as a friend,” Lowell said. “I think he might say ‘thanks but no thanks’ about Daniel.”
“Yeah,” Porter Craig agreed grudgingly. “What do I do? Walk over to his house and say I understand you need some contract advice and here I am, you lucky fellow?”
“I’m going to call him right back,” Lowell said, “and tell him you and I are going to be down there, and suggest he ask you to sit in on the negotiations. I think he’ll be grateful. If he isn’t, I’ll tell him what a dumb shit he’s being.”
[ TWO ]
33 Ocean View Drive
The Ocean Reef Club
Key Largo, Florida
1530 30 January 1965
“Where’s Jean-Philippe?” Lieutenant Colonel Craig Lowell asked when Porter Craig, in tennis whites, came into his home and found his son and cousin floating in truck tire inner tubes in the pool.
“Having a shower,” Porter said. “He will be here directly.”
“So what happened?”
“That will have to wait until I have my shower, and Jean-Philippe shows up,” Porter said. “Suffice it to say, for the moment, that I am going to stop by the kitchen and make sure there is champagne on ice.”
“It must have gone well,” Craig Lowell said to Lieutenant Geoff Craig. “Your old man is never that happy unless he has evicted a widow, or otherwise destroyed somebody financially.”
“We didn’t do too bad,” Porter Craig said. “I’ll tell you that.”
He walked off in the direction of the kitchen.
“I would now like to propose a toast,” Porter Craig said, raising his champagne glass fifteen minutes later. He was now wearing a short-sleeved shirt of many colors and pink slacks. Captain Jean-Philippe Portet was wearing a polo shirt and seersucker slacks. Colonel Lowell and Lieutenant Portet were still in their bathing suits.
“To our very good friend, Jean-Philippe, the new president of Intercontinental Air Holding, Ltd.,” Porter Craig said, “a Bahamas corporation which is going to make everybody a little money.”
“The translation of that is that your old man just screwed the CIA,” Lowell said.
“You remember Granddad always saying that it’s very hard to cheat an honest man?” Porter said.
“And God knows, he tried often enough,” Lowell said.
Geoff and Jean-Philippe chuckled.
“That’s not true, and you know it,” Porter said.
“Are you just going to stand there and smirk in self-satisfaction, Porter?” Lowell asked. “Or tell us what happened?”
“He’s entitled to smirk, Craig,” Jean-Philippe said. “He was magnificent!”
“What the hell happened, for Christ’s sake?” Geoff asked.
“I want you to hear this, son,” Porter said.
“Hear what?” Lowell egged him.
“The greatest advantages one can have in negotiations are for the other party to think (a) that your position is weaker than it actually is and (b) that your knowledge of the situation is less than his and (c) that you are not nearly as smart as he is. We had all three going for us.”
“Leonard showed up with a lawyer,” Jean-Philippe said. “A fellow named Eichold. He said he was there to help me explain the details of what they were going to propose.”
“How did you explain Chubby here?” Lowell asked.
“I told them I was his tennis buddy and down-the-road