“Not at all.”
“So you’re saying you had possibly hundreds of thousands of visitors last year?” She writes on the pad.
“That’s what I’m saying.” His voice is cold now. “What is this Jack? I’m to answer this woman for information I’ve already sent you?”
“Yes, yes you are.”
“And you are alleging that all these hundreds of thousands of people stayed at your hotel.” She says loudly.
“I’m not alleging. That’s what I’m stating.”
“And how did they get there?”
“What do you mean? How did they get there? They didn’t walk on water if that’s what you’re asking. They flew.” He rolls his eyes and looks at me. “What bullshit is this?”
“I understand, there’s one charter flight that goes to Coconut Beach because it’s a private island.”
“Okay and your point is?”
“It flies out twice a day, and it’s a small plane. It looks like it fits—” she pulls out her phone. “It looks like it fits twenty-five people.”
“And?.”
“And so twenty times two would be forty people a day?”
“Yeah, smartypants, you can do math.”
“Forty people a day, going three hundred and sixty-five days a year, is not hundreds of thousands. Plus, you have to think that not everyone flying on these flights is going for tourism and to stay at your hotel.” She says smartly, and now Mr. Johnson’s face is a deep dark red.
“I don’t know what you’re saying, miss, but I don’t like the inference that you’re trying to?—”
“Also,” she adds, “you don’t have that many rooms. Isn’t it true that a number of your rooms are under construction?”
“Well, we are a hotel that prides?—”
“But haven’t they been under construction for the last three years?”
He presses his lips together at her question.
“What is this, Jack? What is going on here?” He looks over at me and jumps up. “Why do I feel like I’m in Court?”
“We’re just trying to verify which information was true and which wasn’t,” I say, staring at him through narrowed eyes. “I’ll have you address my employee here and treat her with respect.”
“I don’t really like what she’s trying to infer about me and my hotel. Everyone knows that to keep up with modern times, you have to do a little bit of construction here and there. That is not anything new to the work of hotels.”
“That is true,” she says, “but if you’ve been doing construction for three years, it seems like that’s more than just keeping up, Mr. Johnson.”
He frowns. “I don’t have to be talked to like this. I have several other businessmen who are interested in participating inthis purchase, and if you are no longer interested, I will just walk away. I will walk away, and you’ll lose the best deal of your life.”
“I don’t think there are many other people who are looking to invest in this hotel, Mr. Johnson. You and I both know that.” I stare at him. “And frankly, I could have you prosecuted for fraud if it turns out that the information you provided in this deal is incorrect. Do you understand me?”
“Prosecuted.” He looks over to his attorney, who nods imperturbably, and then he looks back at me. “I don’t really understand what you’re saying. There’s nothing that has been falsified. No numbers, no nothing. If perhaps some forecasts were added into the paperwork that were not one hundred percent accurate, that is not on me, but that is on?—”
“Let’s just be real here. How many people stayed at your hotel last year?”
He presses his lips together and doesn’t respond.
“You’re a numbers guy, Mr. Johnson. You’ve told me several times you’re a numbers guy. We both know hundreds of thousands of people didn’t stay in your hotel. How many stayed in the hotel last year?”
