by Bart Key
Less than a year later after the Playa Oro opened, construction of the Playa Verde was completed at which point the Sea Breeze was closed for enlargement and modernization. It would open about a year later as the Playa Azul Resort. The entire development project had taken nearly six years. I was twenty-two when I moved to Guanacaste. Now at thirty, I was general manager of three resort hotels and a casino. Our shuttle service operated around the clock transporting guests to and from our casino. Though small by Las Vegas standards, it was buzzing most of the time mainly because of steady business from the guests of our hotels. Increasingly though, more and more business was coming in from the surrounding area which was growing by leaps and bounds.
Ward was invaluable in assisting me while the project was ongoing not only during the planning stage but also the construction phase. At planning meetings when he was present, I asked that the more important matters be discussed in English for his benefit. When he monitored activities at the work site, there was always an English-speaking foreman present to whom Ward could direct his questions or instructions. Because Ward was gifted in learning languages, he slowly but surely picked up conversational Spanish. And whenever he could not be present at the work site, Jeremy would take his place and was even more of a stickler for quality than Ward plus he had past experience in working with construction crews who spoke Spanish. Whenever either of them was around, he would stay at the Sea Breeze and then later at the Playa Oro while the Sea Breeze was closed for remodeling. I would always plan to have dinner with whichever one was around and Miguel would join us when he was available.
Back when our first hotel was hearing its completion, I made plans to move into it as Sur wanted me to manage the resort personally during its first year of operations. I also began interviewing candidates for the assistant manager’s position. After finding and hiring the candidate I believed to be the most qualified, she joined me in interviewing candidates for the remaining positions. When we began interviewing candidates for the casino manager’s position, Ward joined us. Having spent a lot of time in Macau learning how the casinos there handled security and cheating issues, he was indispensable in assisting us to ask the appropriate questions about an applicant’s experience in dealing with these types of problems. The person we ultimately selected to hire for the position was an assistant casino manager at one of the Province’s other gambling houses. While he was the youngest of those we interviewed, he appeared to be wise for this age and had more hands-on experience with these types of sensitive issues than the others.
Ward also served as my security consultant during the casino’s first year of operations. Following his advice, all applicants for security positions were required to pass an extensive security check before being interviewed. Priority was given to hiring otherwise qualified applicants who resided in Guanacaste and had prior law enforcement experience. In fact, as a matter of hotel policy we favored the hiring locals for all our positions.
After the last of our three hotels opened, Sur gave the green light for me to head up the development of the open lands between the hotels. His long range plans called for these lands to accommodate several large condominium complexes, an office complex and an open mall. The beach side of the open lands would be subdivided into large lots for the building of luxury homes.
I am still dumbstruck by the trust that Sur placed in me to head up his grand Costa Rican project. Not once did he show any inkling of doubt about my abilities to succeed. After the grand opening of our last hotel, I finally was in a position to slow down a bit and get back to having some kind of a life. That’s when I met Anita.
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It was not lost on me and, for that matter, many other single women around that Paco was that young, good-looking bachelor who managed the Playa Oro and its sister hotels. No one seemed to know much about his dating anyone. As a young reporter for the local newspaper, one of my assignments was to review and report on the entertainment currently playing at the various venues in the area. One evening while watching the latest show at one of the Playa Oro lounges, a waiter informed me that Paco would like to invite me to join him at his table. As I approached, he stood and held my chair for me as I sat down. After we ordered drinks, he took the occasion to thank me for the support that my paper had given to his hotels by its publishing of local entertainment reviews. I was a little lost for words in responding as I couldn’t take my eyes off him. When the show was over he asked if I would join him for a late dinner. I was delighted to accept of course. From that night forward, we began dating and became a couple. Any free time he had, he wanted to spend with me and vice versa. I learned that while Paco was by nature quiet and reserved, he was effective and decisive as a manager. And above all, he was driven to succeed.
Eventually, I moved in with him. His younger brother Miguel was around quite a bit and just grinned every time he saw us together. Paco and I didn’t doubt for a moment that marriage was in our future. So one evening, he invited my parents to dinner and, when my mother and I went to the ladies’ room, he asked for my dad’s consent. Dad was a little shocked at being asked and only too happy to give his consent if for no other reason than it would make my cohabitation with Paco legal. He was a little old-fashioned that way. Our small wedding purposely was a quiet affair. My mother, father and younger brother attended as did Paco’s brother, his boss Sur and his friend Jeremy. For a wedding present, Sur deeded to us one of the primo seaside lots in his new subdivision. For our honeymoon, we stayed at Wild Beach for several days. What a place. So private and quiet. Paco knew every crack and cranny in the beach house as he had been its caretaker when he was a teenager.
After we were married, Paco was very supportive when I chose to continue my career as a journalist. Now that money was not an issue, I became a free-lancer and wrote investigative pieces on local issues. I was so happy now. Paco was my man and I had no doubts but that we would have a wonderful life together. And I loved to watch him and his crazy bunch surf. His little brother was always the entertainer around and had his own band. He and I hit it off from the very beginning. Who would ever have guessed what was in his future?
Chapter 19
Down The Road
It took a while before I became comfortable in my new position as Sur’s assistant and bodyguard. But before long, my traveling with him became routine and I became friends with the members of his jet crews. After selling the oil company, Sur’s international travels increased significantly especially to and from Thailand, Luxembourg and Costa Rica. His crews and I got used to his plans abruptly changing for one reason or another and became adept at adjusting. In Sur’s world, flexibility ruled.
Sur now had two jets. The newer one was designed for longer flights and required longer runways for takeoffs and landings while the second was for shorter flights so it could land on shorter runways like those on his ranch and the one adjacent to the town closest to Wild Beach.
Traveling by private jet has its advantages. When landing at most international airports, your plane usually is directed to a special area where an official is waiting to come on board and expedite immigration and customs clearances. Whenever we flew to places known to have clearance issues, Jeremy would arrange in advance to have someone connected with our travel agency present when we landed. In those instances, it was not unusual to find ourselves being waved through the clearance gates probably because someone’s palm had been greased. We were smart enough never to ask. Sometimes it’s just better not to know.
Jeremy also usually arranged for our ground transportation. A driver would be waiting for us holding up a sign with my name on it. Sur didn’t like limousines much because of the attention they drew. So, whenever possible, we opted for station wagons. Sometimes transportation arrangements couldn’t be made in advance for one reason or another. In those cases, I would be in charge of hailing a cab or renting a vehicle as appropriate. As I spoke no foreign languages, I relied on Jeremy to provide me
with commonly used phrases in the language of the country we would be visiting including ones useful for hailing cabs and instructing drivers where to go. When renting a vehicle, I would be the designated driver and always have a good map handy showing how to get to our destination. But every now and then, a situation would arise where we would find ourselves lost but usually only momentarily as Sur seemed to have a sixth sense of knowing where we were and how to get back to our planned route. I was always amazed with his sense of seemingly knowing where we were at any given time.
Another one of my duties was to pick up all the tabs. I always carried with me a couple of credit cards and a wad of the local currency provided to me by Jeremy. Sometimes he would also provide me with a letter of credit issued by a large international bank which could be used to obtain funds in less developed places like some in Indonesia and South America.
While travelling, Sur and I both dressed very casually but had nicer clothes available on board for use after we landed. Sur’s dressier clothes were tailor-made as were mine since Sur wanted me to look as good as he did when we were together. We made quite the pair walking into a fancy event somewhere wearing our classy attire. Even though I generally stayed in the background when he attended to his business, he always treated me as an equal around his contemporaries and didn’t hesitate to introduce me to those he was with.
Sometimes, we traveled to places I considered risky from a security viewpoint. Sur was always oblivious to danger. Whenever we checked into our hotel, if it was still daytime and the weather allowed, his usual first priority was to change into sweats and go for a run. Naturally, I always ran with him and there were times when we found ourselves in spots I considered unsafe like for instance downtown Bogota. Sur never gave it a second thought. It was almost like he knew there was a guardian angel looking out for him or something. He was equally aloof when we were aloft. Whenever we encountered unexpected heavy turbulence, I always got a bit nervous but Sur hardly noticed unless the plane bounced around so much that we had to quickly belt up. Fortunately, such incidents were rare as our pilots carefully planned smoother routes knowing that Sur liked to work while airborne.
Another perk of my job was that I got to stay in some of the best hotels in the world. Jeremy normally would reserve a small suite for Sur and a single room for me nearby. When Sur did not have other plans, he generally would invite me to join him for evening meals usually in the hotel’s dining room. I always tried to sit where I could observe everything that was going on around us.
I always knew when Sur wanted some private time as he would just tell me where he would meet me the next morning or give me the day and time when he would meet me back at the airport. It always bothered me that I would not be there for him if trouble arose or he needed anything. But he was the boss. To this day I don’t know if he was seeing someone or just wanted some time alone. On long breaks known in advance, Jeremy would arrange to book us into separate hotels. Sur hardly ever told me much of anything in the way of details about what he had been doing during these breaks.
When Sur bought the Bar 7 ranch, I fell in love with it instantly. When he realized that, he started bringing me along sometimes when he visited the ranch and I would sleep in the bunkhouse. Over time, I got to be friends with all of the unmarried cowhands. Eventually, while on our way back to Santa Barbara when Sur had no plans to go anywhere for a while, he would drop me off at the ranch. He would then pick me up on his next trip somewhere usually stopping first for a couple of days to ride his horses.
My parents were pleased with how my life had progressed since graduating from high school. My dad, a veteran himself, was very proud of my service in Vietnam as a squad leader of an elite jungle patrol. Both Mom and Dad were supportive when I decided to move to Ventura and begin my new job working on a remodeling crew. When I told them I had learned to surf they were kind of shocked as I had never shown any inclination in that direction. Much later, when I told them I was the assistant and bodyguard of a wealthy boss who traveled all over the world in his private jet, they were in near disbelief. I sometimes have problems believing it myself.
•
In the back of my mind, I knew that if I persevered, one day Sur would start relying upon me in a major way. When that occurred, it was like a dream come true. Now, Sur calls upon me frequently to be his representative and advisor in many of his business projects.
While Ventura is technically still my home, in reality my home has become where I am at any given time. My favorite assignments are those where I get to work with one of Sur’s lieutenants. All of them treat me like a special friend whenever I work with them on a project. They’re always anxious to hear my advice and take it into consideration when making their decisions. I have learned never to take offense when one of them chooses to do something contrary to my recommendation. Sur wants his lieutenants to have complete discretion when managing his business affairs and they are all masterminds in their business arenas.
Thankfully, one of my benefits was being able to use one of Sur’s jets for my travels when available. Sometimes I fly commercially particularly when wanting to avoid anyone’s making a connection between me and Sur or one of his companies. Whenever I travel to Luxembourg City now, Sur insists I stay at his chateau which not only is an incredibly comfortable abode but allows me the opportunity to catch up with Gustav and Hans with whom I have become very close.
Like Cory, when I have a bit of time off especially in the summer or fall, I love to hang out at the Bar 7. Being an avid fly fisherman, I have scouted out all the best spots for trout fishing on the ranch. Sometimes Cory, Luke or members of Luke’s family will go with me. When Elizabeth comes, she invariably catches the biggest fish of the day. Her sons can never believe it and are very envious. And of course she lords it over them. It’s fun to watch.
My personal life remains on hold except for an occasional visit to see my parents or being with my buds. In the back of my mind though, I leave the door open for that changing someday. All that matters to me right now is being available to do Sur’s will.
Just as he did for Jeremy, Sur reserved for me one of the beachside lots near Casa Sur but I declined his gesture. Instead, I bought a classy ocean launch and keep it moored at a marina close by. It’s large enough to live on when I’m around and great for deep sea fishing. Jeremy keeps an eye on it while I’m on assignment and has use of it anytime he wants.
•
In my remotest fantasies, I would never have guessed that one day I would be an office manager with a support staff. Arranging Sur’s travels and paying his bills sounded simple enough until I learned what all was entailed. For one thing, his flight crews would report to me for administrative purposes. I was responsible for coordinating their work schedules and for payment of their salaries, benefits and work related expenses. Add to that my responsibility for seeing to the maintenance of Sur’s jets in coordination with his crew captains. And now that Sur owns his own hangar at the Santa Barbara Airport, I have responsibility for both its upkeep and security.
Paying Sur’s personal expenses wasn’t a walk in the park either. His lifestyle and frequent traveling resulted in a mountain of bills arriving each month. My job required that I review them in detail before authorizing payment. Whenever I discovered something questionable, I’d check with Cory, Ward or Sur as appropriate to confirm its legitimacy. When I found an irregularity or overcharge which was pretty obviously intentional, I’d pass the word on and usually no more business was done with the wrongdoer. To this day, Sur has never once asked me for any kind of accounting. He just makes sure that the account I pay from is always adequately funded.
As our office became computerized, my job expanded. With several computer courses now under my belt, I am the “go-to” guy for questions which can be computer researched. Hardly a day goes by now when I am not asked to research something and report back. One day it could be something as simple putting together
a list of consultants with a particular specialty or digging up financial information on a particular company. Cory is constantly barraging me with travel questions. Over time the two of us have put together files on each of the countries Sur has traveled to. I’m now pretty proud of how adept I have become at computer research. Once again, Sur somehow knew that, given proper training, this was something I would be able to excel at.
Although Ward and Cory are away a lot now, my social life otherwise has not suffered. I still manage to hit the surf fairly often and hang out with some of my fellow surfer friends who, like me, are now getting older. Every so often I will still encounter a special someone who wants to have fun with no clothes on. As I’m usually the only one home now, there are no more complaints about too much noise coming from my bedroom. When Karen is in town she continues to invite me to lunch and invariably we end up at her motel afterwards. Later I will usually take her for a quiet dinner somewhere and then it’s over to my place for another go at it. When I arrive at the office the next morning, no doubt looking haggard and spent, the members of my staff just look at each other and roll their eyes.