by Bart Key
I now had a staff of ten. It included two European analysts with experience in the global futures and commodities markets, a meteorologist and a young computer specialist. As planned, our office was high tech with up-to-date computer equipment and technology. Our policy from now on would be to update our systems regularly as the technology improved. Morale in the office was high and turnover rare. Part of the reason was that we paid better than many of the other investment houses. My investment company’s shareholders consisted solely of companies owned indirectly by Sur. I was the only one in the office who knew that.
Sur and I usually talked every business day usually at a time when convenient for both of us. More often now, he relied on me to make investment decisions on my own. Though my staff and I were very good at what we did, especially at the technical level, Sur was the genius when it came to recognizing significant trends and movements within markets and economies. He seemed to have a sixth sense for knowing when a given company was in front of the pack or falling behind. Putting it all together, the result was that our company was incredibly successful in its investing. Several years after our move, my back of the envelope calculation of the current value of the company’s investment portfolio would place Sur in the world’s extremely wealthy class. Virtually no one knew this because of the extreme care taken to protect his privacy. Sur himself never really took much notice of his great wealth except as a means to an end although he did enjoy a few perks like his Santa Barbara beach house, Wild Beach and his jet. But if you saw him on the street or the beach, he looked just like another face in the crowd.
As for me, I now could afford a few perks myself. I recently bought myself a nifty Mercedes sports sedan and a small luxury condo located a short bike ride from my office. Not long after moving into my new digs, I met Pierre, who was about my age and lived a couple floors above me. He was a young banker on his way up the ladder and we began to pal around together. One of our favorite activities was to attend the games of our city’s soccer team. The Red Lions were far from being the best team around but we became dedicated fans anyway, eventually learning all the players’ names and cheering wildly whenever the team scored.
Sur chided me occasionally for not taking more time off. I got the message and began spending time enjoying some of the cultural activities in Luxembourg City. I was amazed at the musical events which proliferated, anywhere from classical to hard rock. As I became familiar with many of the art museums and galleries in the City, I began wondering if I was now in a position to actually begin collecting art. After attending several art auctions, I bought some oils to display in my condo and our office. Pierre started attending some of the auctions with me and he got the bug too. With our confidences growing, we each started collecting art for investment purposes. As Pierre had use of his father’s jet when it was available, the two of us occasionally flew off to London, Paris or some other European city to check out an art auction.
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Having personally witnessed Sur’s incredible talents in Vietnam, I wasn’t the least bit surprised by his extraordinary business success. It was mind boggling when considering that he now owned businesses which, directly or indirectly, operated out of Ventura, Oklahoma City, Singapore, Hong Kong and Luxembourg City. Two of his businesses already had been sold for huge gains. Sur was one of those rare people who had boundless energy and never seemed to slow down. He was totally upbeat, confident and optimistic in everything he did although every now and then I knew he was deeply troubled by something which took him a while to sort out.
One thing that never changed with Sur was his attachment to the three of us. Jeremy had been a beach bum when Sur first met him. Now he managed Sur’s Ventura office and had important responsibilities. It all started when Jeremy taught Sur how to surf. To this day, when Sur is in the Ventura office and the surf is up, he and Jeremy will find a way to sneak off and hit it. If Cory and I are around, we’ll be right there with them.
Cory never attended a day of college but in time would attend a number of special courses related to his new job. He now travels with Sur on business all over the world as Sur’s personal assistant. Cory has responsibility for paying all expenses during their travels, arranging for ground transportation and being available to carry out any tasks assigned to him. Although Cory doesn’t speak a foreign language, he has become quite adept at learning how to minimally converse in each foreign place they visit. Cory also takes very seriously his responsibility for looking after Sur’s safety.
Then there’s me. After I left my Army career and joined Sur’s remodeling team, I was no more than a novice carpenter. Deep down though, I knew that someday Sur would tap me with new responsibilities and challenges. That began when he assigned me the responsibility for the remodeling of his Santa Barbara beach house. After that, while Li was still at Stanford, he had me snooping around Macau learning about the inner workings of the casinos there. When Li graduated and moved to Hong Kong, I was assigned to assist him in setting up the new office and getting situated. Now I visit him at regular intervals. Sur always includes me in his meetings with Li in Pataya.
Not long after David’s office moved to Luxembourg City, Sur decided he wanted his own place there. He asked me to accompany him when his real estate agent showed him various properties on the market especially since I spoke French and German, both spoken by most Luxembourgers. I had learned French in high school and German was one of my electives at West Point.
One of properties we looked at was a vacant and antiquated chateau located just outside the city limits. Sur became fascinated with the place as soon as he saw it. That evening at dinner we discussed the property’s potential for restoration. I knew then he would probably buy it. He did and assigned to me the responsibility for restoring and modernizing the place which took many months. When it was done, the exterior had been restored to its original façade. The entryway, dining room, living room and library also were restored to their original states with the remainder of the interior being finished and decorated in the modern style. The entire house was re-wired, re-plumbed and vented for both heating and air conditioning. Through all the construction activities, the mature landscaping was carefully protected.
Whenever I was in Luxembourg City during that period, I stayed in a small apartment and, when time allowed, I would take long walks around as was my habit. One day while wandering around in one of the seedier parts of the city, I happened upon a young German youth named Gustav who was living on the streets and doing what he could to support himself. Seeing someone who needed help, I bought him lunch and ended up hiring him as my assistant to run errands and do other tasks around the work site. I was quite impressed by his intelligence and diligence. When the work was nearing completion, I sent him off to a technical institute in Germany which offered a course on estate caretaking. After he had completed the course, I employed him as caretaker of the chateau and helped him move into the caretaker’s quarters located over the property’s large garage and gym area which previously had been the chateau’s horse stable. Together we prepared a schedule of maintenance requirements which he would be responsible for monitoring. I also made arrangements for him to begin taking lessons in English and also in French, which he could speak only brokenly. When Sur arrived for his first visit at his modernized European residence, he took an immediate liking to Gustav and never thought twice about inquiring into his background or qualifications. If I trusted Gustav, that was good enough for Sur.
Chapter 13
Paco’s Changing World
Attending college in the States was like moving to a new world completely different from the one I grew up in. My campus was far removed from the beach and I was now a lowly freshmen going through the angst of deciding what books to buy and where my classes were. The cafeteria food tasted bland and nothing like the spicy hot Mexican fare I was used to. Unlike my quiet village and Sur’s pad, I now lived in a dorm which was buzzing and noisy most of t
he time. The library was to become my refuge for studying. My Chilean roommate and I bonded quickly as we were both foreigners trying to adjust to American culture. But we had some differences too. He came from a wealthy family in Santiago while I a poor one in a small Mexican village. One commonality we definitely shared however was our fondness for girls. Gorgeous women were everywhere you looked.
Most of my fellow students were Californians totally in sync with the Los Angeles area culture. I had difficulties understanding a lot of their slang and local colloquialisms especially those which permeated conversations among many of the male students. Not understanding them could sometimes be an impediment to communicating. I found out from day one that discrimination against foreigners was commonplace especially if you were not white. While most of my male classmates tried to be accommodating and friendly, there were glaring exceptions. These were usually white males who marked me as Mexican who should go back home. I was amazed to discover however that many of the women students seemed to find me appealing regardless of my darker skin and country of origin. And it didn’t hurt any when they learned I was a surfer. Apparently here in America there is a certain mystique about surfers that turns women on. Works for me.
My class schedule was daunting. That first semester I took courses in economics, speech, sociology, math and principles of management. Thanks to Sur’s foresight in arranging for me to be tutored during the summer, I earned “B’s” in all my courses except a “C” in speech. As I became more acclimated and comfortable in my setting, I began earning mostly “A”s.
Over the Christmas break my freshman year, Sur arranged it so that I could fly home to visit my mother and little brother. That was the last time I saw her alive as she passed away the following year. Miguel and I were devastated as she was our rock. Sur and Jeremy were present at the funeral. Afterwards, Sur approached Miguel to let him know that he would support Miguel too in attending college in the States after he graduated. Miguel teared up upon hearing that, as did I. Until June though, he would be alone in the house and have to fend for himself. I was not too concerned about that as he still had his job as caretaker of Wild Beach and was at that age when focusing on girls takes center stage. From what little he had let slip, it was clear he was already sexually active, perhaps too much so. I should have that problem.
During my summer breaks, Jeremy hired me to work for him doing various tasks and Sur let me bunk in his Ventura beach house. He liked having the place occupied as he rarely stayed there anymore. In the evenings after work, I spent a lot of time hanging out at Jeremy’s house. Ward showed me how to use his weight set and, like the others, I became a workout devotee. Anytime someone was going surfing, I was always invited to go along. Having a lot more free time during the summer, I started dating whenever an opportunity came along. One of the guys was always happy to lend me his wheels and having Sur’s beach house all to myself was a mighty nice place to bring someone for some friendly frolicking. One summer, Miguel and I both bunked at Sur’s place. While I continued working for Jeremy, Randy kept Miguel busy with errands, chores and cleanup projects. With two of us in the house, privacy could sometimes be an issue when one of us had plans to spend the night with a special someone. It was an even greater problem when both of us had such plans. But we managed to cope.
After four years of college, I graduated with honors. Jeremy, Miguel and Sur were all in attendance. I was very proud of my achievement but also a little sad as Mom wasn’t there to see me in my cap and gown. At dinner later, Sur told us about his recent purchase of the Sea Breeze Hotel located on the Pacific Coast of Guanacaste Province in Costa Rica. The owner was nearing retirement and, as part of the sale arrangements, had agreed to stay on as manager for another year while he trained his replacement. Sur asked if I might be interested in taking on the job of the hotel’s assistant manager. I was speechless. Talk about your dream coming true.
I was to learn very quickly that being an assistant manager is far from being easy. The hotel had about fifty guest rooms, a restaurant with attached lounge and a beach shack which offered food and drinks to patrons during the day. My initial responsibilities included dealing with guest complaints in the first instance, monitoring and having responsibility for hotel maintenance, resolving minor employee issues and, of course, being the perfect friendly host. The manager supervised me very closely at first but once I had learned the job, he began leaving me pretty much on my own. He and his wife were wonderful folks and often invited me to dinner knowing that a home cooked meal was a real treat for a young bachelor. When my manager learned I surfed, he cut me some slack and allowed me to take an occasional morning or afternoon off when the surf was up. While I had learned much in college about hotel management, I quickly found out that there were many things that could be learned only from hands-on experience. Lesson number one was how to be cordial to guests no matter what you may think of them personally. That was sometimes easier said than done especially when you were shocked or offended by their comments or conduct. Lesson number two is to forget about it and move on. Life’s too short.
After a year, my manager retired as planned and Sur made me the manager. I was just twenty-four years old. The job was a little intimidating at first but I had great confidence I could succeed. The first thing I did was promote my restaurant manager to assistant manager and then replace him with a restaurant manager I knew who worked nearby. Though it took a while, my employees began getting comfortable with their young boss and operations became smooth again. This allowed me to turn more of my attention to hotel finances. After instituting a number of cost efficiency measures, our profitability began to rise. Then I began concentrating on public relations which had never been one of my strong points. But I gathered up my courage and slowly began participating in some local functions and charity events.
After I had been manager for a while, Sur made one of his occasional visits. As was his custom, we first took some time off to hit the surf saving our business discussion for later. At dinner he related that he had just been in San Jose to consult with an architectural firm and a law firm about plans he had to develop the acreage he owned adjoining the Sea Breeze. There was more than enough space for the building of a new hotel on each side of the Sea Breeze. One of them was to have an attached casino. In two days he would be returning to San Jose for follow-up meetings and he wanted me to join him. The next day, the two of us walked his vacant lands so he could describe to me his vision in greater detail. That evening he hit me with the zinger. He wanted me to head up the planning and construction phases of the project. To say I was taken aback would be an understatement. All I could think of was how could he even think I was qualified to undertake such an assignment.
At our meeting in San Jose, we got right down to business. The head of our architectural firm who spoke good English started by passing around some very rough preliminary sketches of the planned development. He pointed out the location of the proposed new luxury hotel and attached casino to be located at the southern end of Sur’s lands which would have approximately three hundred rooms and suites. Moving north was the Sea Breeze which would be enlarged and remodeled and on the northern end would be another new luxury hotel also having about three hundred rooms and suites. Plans called for all three hotels to be linked by a private shuttle service allowing guests easy access to the casino.
It was fascinating to watch Sur direct the meeting. He always kept things moving along and asked very probing questions. The lead lawyer was asked to give her preliminary opinion as to what issues could be expected in acquiring the necessary permits, especially the gambling permit. She also spoke good English and started to give an historical account of Costa Rica’s regulatory regime. Sur very nicely interrupted her and asked her to just to give him her opinion on the probabilities of success. She was befuddled for an instant but quickly recovered and told him that, with the exception of the gambling permit, all of the permits should be obtainable fairly easily a
nd quickly. The gambling permit was a different story. The process could take as long as a year but the odds of it being granted were high in her opinion because of the large investment being made in the province. He thanked her and directed that her firm get started immediately with the permitting process. Likewise, he directed the head of the architectural firm to prepare for review a draft of a fully detailed plan of development. He and other members of his staff should plan to visit the site within the week. I would accompany them on their tour and answer any questions they might have. All future communications and correspondence concerning the project were to be addressed to me from now on. I would review and arrange payment of all invoices for services rendered.
Talk about stepping into it. I thought I was in hog heaven when I became manager of the Sea Breeze. But to Sur that was just the first baby step down the road. The trust that he was now placing in me now was humbling and scary to say the least. Here I was in my mid-twenties about to start managing architects, lawyers and contractors. But If Sur thought I could make his Costa Rican dream project come true, I would not let him down. Thank goodness he would be assigning Ward to assist me during critical junctures as the project came together.
Chapter 14
Macau
After almost three years in Hong Kong, I was feeling comfortably integrated into its culture and financial circles. Having an Asian look and being able to speak fluent Cantonese certainly had helped as did my growing reputation as being a successful young investor. No one seemed to hold it against me that I was an American probably because there were many Americans living in Hong Kong at that time. The only disadvantage I seemed to have was my youth but I refused to let that distract me from pressing ahead.