I sank back into my chair. "These seats are great. This is the first time I've flown first class."
Carlotta nodded. "For me too. My brother Emilio set up my flights for me. I didn't even realize what he had done until I boarded the plane tonight... He shouldn't have done it, we really don't have the money for this, but I think he thought I would need the gift... He is so kind to me..." She sighed and leaned back in her chair, looking tired and closing her eyes.
It was late. We both tried to do a little reading. Carlotta soon yawned and decided to sack out.
I turned out my overhead light to help her rest. "Muchas gracia Gary..." Carlotta murmured, keeping her eyes closed. I smiled at her, watching her fall asleep. It would be a long flight for me too, seventeen hours including my connecting flight from Newark. But my mind was too excited for sleep. I gazed out my window at the blackness of South America below.
I was getting back to Chile more than three months later than I had planned. In early January I decided both the mystery of A'moth and my affection for her would never let me rest if I didn't pursue her. So I told the bank president at Santiago I accepted his offer and would start working February 1'st. At first, Carlos was overjoyed.
All hell broke loose at the New York office when I announced my intentions to permanently transfer to Chile. Unknown to me, the senior New York executives were having such great success with my industry modeling, they had decided to create a new hedge fund based on my model's predictions. Why they didn't tell me about their plans earlier, well, high-level mucky-mucks sometime move in strange and mysterious ways.
I told them my decision to emigrate was firm but they were not people who took no for an answer. They shocked me by pulling some strings with the Bank's board of directors in Spain. Carlos got a call from Spain at 6 AM Santiago time, pulling him out of a morning shower. He was asked to work something out with me, with the clear message to keep the New York heavyweights happy.
Carlos and I had a long phone conversation later that day. He's a very savvy guy. He pointed out to me that the New York executives were in a very vulnerable position, having just jumped up and down to the Board about how they needed me at any cost. Carlos told me he'd go to bat for me with the Board if I wanted to come to Chile right away, but he also suggested I take advantage of the opportunity, delay coming to Chile and milk the ticket for all it was worth. The New York execs couldn't say no without looking like a bunch of stingy idiots to the Board in Spain.
So that's just what I did. First I asked for another half million dollar bonus for staying an extra three months. New York made a counter offer to pay me the equivalent in restricted stock. I came back with accepting that in principle, as long as we had an absolute agreement I could be in Chile by May and be allowed to manage the fund from there. They also had to agree to my position for me getting a large share of the performance fee of the fund, and on a quarterly basis.
They balked over what I was asking. The fund's performance fee would be 20% of the profits, and I was asking for 30% of that, 30% of the gross fee, before any of the fund's costs. The bank wasn't used to having such a large percentage of the gross go directly to a single employee. But Carlos was right, I had a perfect position for the negotiations. I wasn't asking for something unheard of in the investment community, just something top of the line.
New York tried to negotiate me down, but I simply held firm. In the end they caved in. I also had the foresight to put into the agreement that they could insist I come back to New York for an emergency only once in any six-month period, and that any emergency would last no more than a week.
I thought setting up a hedge fund would be a fairly straightforward business, but what did I know? My background was in modeling and statistics. It was quite an education for me, learning all the fiduciary requirements for getting the project off the ground. Any chance for a quick trip to Chile, even for an extended weekend, disappeared. I've never worked with so many lawyers in my life. I found all the documentation work tedious and boring, but Banco Santander could get sued if we didn't fully disclosure all the test performance to the investors. And the rewards are fabulous. They're starting with $100M of venture capital from the fund's founders, and I think we'll make more than a 20% return for the year. That's $20M of profits, $4M in performance fees, and a $1.2M yearly payment to me, in addition to my salary. And once the fund starts to draw more investors... Well...
It's all set up now. New York certainly got their pound of flesh from me. The plane will be landing in Chile on May 31'st. My mind can finally switch from thinking of pounds of flesh to thinking about pints of blood. A'moth... Does she really exist? It's been eleven months since our encounter. One of my first action items in Chile will be to open my safety deposit box and do a reality check. Does A'moth really exist? And if so, how hungry has she gotten?
I pulled my eyes from the blackness of the window. Carlotta was fast asleep by my side, leaning in my direction, almost touching my shoulder. She told me quite a lot about her life, and with my empathy I understood a lot more than she probably realized.
She's twenty-eight years old, only a year older than I am. She married seven years ago and moved to live with her husband in a new country, Miami Florida USA to be exact. And then the problems started.
Carlotta's husband was a control freak, my words, not hers. He systematically began working to control her, how she spent her time, her interests, her access to money, most importantly, whom she associated with. None of this behavior was apparent to Carlotta during her engagement.
The saddest part was he was a master at control. He'd pick an issue and start working it, gradually building up the pressure until gentle Carlotta would decide it wasn't worth the struggle and cave in. He would back off the pressure for a while as a reward, but then move onto the next sick item of his agenda. Carlotta gradually lost all access to money, and lost contact with her neighbors, her friends, and finally even her family. It happened so gradually, she didn't see the danger. She was so determined to love her husband and make the marriage work.
Eventually her husband became abusive. I looked at her again, sleeping by my side, and admired the purity and gentleness of her soul. In sleep, all her tension and worries had left her face and she looked a lot younger. She was very beautiful, even her nose which was just the slightest bit crooked, from where her husband had broken it.
She had worked mightily for years to make her marriage work, but the physical abuse finally activated her maternal instincts to protect Isabelle. Her love for her daughter gave her the strength and courage to terminate her horrible, horrible marriage. She contacted her only sibling, an older brother, for the first time in years, and he threw her a lifeline. He offered her a job in Santiago.
And now here she was, sleeping by my side, leaving Miami for the last time. All the pains of the courts and lawyers were over, her divorce was finalized. Carlotta could finally put all the frustration and sorrow behind her and turn into her new life in Chile with her daughter.
I stared at her as she lay sleeping. Did I want to be a part of that new life? Carlotta was very open with me. She knew I was unattached, and we both knew we found each other attractive. When I replied I'd enjoy very much seeing a museum with her, she made sure I understood where she was, what her commitments and responsibilities were like. Touring a museum or two was a pure offer for friendship, nothing more. I nodded I understood. But perhaps, in time...
Should I be a part of her life? Where do my feelings for A'moth fit in with all this? A possibility with Carlotta, or some other woman, for a completely normal and satisfying relationship, versus... versus what? Does A'moth even exist? It seems so impossible, a sexy fairy story run amuck. Does A'moth exist? I suddenly felt very confused, and spent most of the night turning uncomfortably in what should have been a very comfortable chair.
Chapter 2.
Well, I've been in Santiago for almost two months now and my life is finally starting to feel manageable. Work has been fine but so hectic. I'm involved with a whole basket of interesting projects with the Santiago branch, and the hedge fund hit the ground running, racking up quick sharp profits; way beyond what I was expecting. The performance is attracting a lot of new money. We have $157M under management now and prospects for much more.
