Stathis looked slightly uncomfortable. ‘I am just saying that if you wanted to introduce a woman into proceedings you might have asked my advice on that like you should ask for my advice on all your other interests.’
Kostas took another sip of coffee and slowly returned the cup to the table. ‘And if I had asked for your advice, what would it have been?’
‘You want me to be honest? As your advisor?’
‘Of course.’
‘OK, well, I would have said if you were going to bring a woman into this situation it would have been much better if she had been a whole lot closer to your age. I mean, what happened with the girl you spirited away in a taxi? I could have worked with that scenario. She was pretty. We could have gone down the “could this be a settling down, starting a family, solidifying your future in Corfu for the next generation?” route. It could actually have helped with the complex proposal. Perhaps it’s not too late. Has she blocked you yet?’
Kostas had known what was coming but he had wanted to hear Stathis say it out loud to see how the words made him feel. And it was worse than he had expected. A whole lot worse. Faye made him feel good. Better than good. Faye made him feel like he was a person worthy of existence, a better person just from knowing and being close to an exceptional person like her.
‘I have some other news, actually,’ Kostas said, moving the conversation on.
‘Worse than this article?’
‘Yeah,’ he said, nodding. ‘But I think you already know what it is. And I’m struggling to know why you would have done it without consulting with me first.’
‘You have lost me.’
‘Come on, Stathi. Tell me you haven’t made any big business moves on my behalf in the last few days?’
‘Kosta, what are you talking about? What was in that ice cream that’s now all over the internet? Has it given you some kind of brain freeze?’
‘You made an offer on this hotel! We didn’t formally agree we were doing that yet! We didn’t fix a starting price or what price we were willing to go to in negotiations. I know I let you lead a lot, but really? Without any discussion?’ He took a breath. Stathis had asked him a few days ago about making the offer and he hadn’t committed, couldn’t commit, had stalled.
Stathis looked at him, seeming confused. Or caught out?
‘Kosta, what is happening here? I don’t know anything about any offer on this hotel. We talked about it, you moved the conversation on, I presumed you wanted to take a minute. So, who told you I made this offer?’
‘It doesn’t matter who told me, just that the offer’s been made and I think the owner is going to accept it.’
‘OK…’
‘So, I think we need to talk about that, right?’
‘Well, yes we do,’ Stathis agreed. ‘Because I haven’t made any offer. Which means someone else has and that could fuck up everything.’ He got to his feet, hands to his head. ‘We need to know everything about this offer and more about the group behind it. Because what if they are thinking the same way you are thinking? We know someone has tried to do this here before. What if they are coming again, more prepared, have found a way around the destroying the habitat issues and the protests?’ He took a breath. ‘But surely the planning guy in Corfu Town would have told us if we had competition? Unless… I mean, competition is a benefit for some people, no?’
Someone else had made an offer to buy the hotel. That was far worse than Stathis taking the lead without discussion. Someone else was going to make a reality out of his dream. It couldn’t be possible, could it? Not when he was so close. Yet a tiny part of him was reacting in an opposing way, whispering that perhaps this was the universe’s way of slowing his progress until some kind of divine clarity arrived.
He stood now too, walked to the edge of the balcony and looked out over the bay view. The sea was glistening today, sparkling wave crests like necklaces of opal stones. The green of the opposing finger of land was jutting out into the blue almost obstinately.
‘Kosta, are you listening to me?’
‘No,’ he answered bluntly, turning to face his friend. ‘And I can’t talk any more about this now. There’s someone I have to go and see.’
43
THE GARDENS, HOTEL MARGARITÁRI, AVLAKI
‘Look! There’s a blue one!’
‘Keep nice and still, Saffron.’
‘But I want to take a photo of it.’
‘I know. But sometimes in life, it is better to keep the memory as a vivid picture in your mind instead of a flat photograph on your screen, no?’
‘Ugh, where’s my phone?’
