Chapter 8

Day 15 Saturday

Waking up with two naked beauties was something that I could do everyday. But after all the drinking the night before, I had to get up and get rid of some of it. The girls stirred and then rolled over and cuddled each other. I slipped on some faded jeans, a white t-shirt and a pair of loafers. I went to the lobby to get a US newspaper and some coffee. I had a brioche which is just a croissant with an Italian name. I had it while I was there at the cafe in the lobby but ordered three cappuccinos and three more brioche to take up to the room along with my paper. The coffee and the first one was just an appetizer.

The girls came out of the bedroom when they heard the door close. They had on hotel robes and sat down in the living room and started to have their breakfast. The smiles let me know that they weren’t unhappy about the previous night or waking up together in bed. I asked, “What would you like to do today?”

Tiffany said, “Marta would like to go shopping and help me pick clothes that were designed with my body type in mind. She’d also like to help you buy some clothes if you’re up for the adventure?”

“I guess if you really think that I need some, I could go but I don’t do all day shopping sprees. I can give you an hour to find and fit the things you think that I need.”

“I know the stores, the clothes and what needs to be done to make them fit you correctly. The hour doesn’t start until we get to the store. I’d hate for you to walk slow and steal all my time,” she said with a giggle.

Shopping was not fun but it was interesting and educational as Marta knew a lot more about fashion and fit than I ever thought was possible. She looked at color, texture, cut, my body type, and it seems like ten other things as she found me a nice blazer and a sport coat. (She had to explain the difference. I still am not sure.)

It was a good thing that Tiffany was with us and taking mental notes so she could help me as we traveled. We did stay at nice hotels and eat at nice restaurants so it wasn’t a bad idea for me to have some decent clothes. A couple pairs of pants to wear with either jacket and I now had four possible outfits or could pair either jacket with jeans for a total of six. She showed the tailor how she wanted the sport coat taken in for a more fitter look. When I looked at her she said, “Brad, you work out and look good. A woman likes to see a man that looks good so there’s no need to drape some over you when you can accent your fit body.”

My response was to look at my watch and let her know that she was running out of time. She said, “Tiffany and I will wait for the jacket and bring it back to the hotel. You’re free to go if you don’t want to watch us shop.”

That brought a smile to my face. It wasn’t painful and was somewhat educational but trying to understand cashmere vs worsted wool seemed pointless. Looking at architecture was more in my realm of things to look at and learn about. I was proud that my company preserved some of the buildings that would have fallen to ruin had we not spent the time and money to fix and preserve them.

There was a thought that maybe I should have gone with them as I sat at a sidewalk cafe with a cold beer and fresh sandwich. But then somehow knew they weren’t sitting or drinking beer and knew that I’d made the right choice. The scenery and people watching were fun and I was very comfortable by myself without conversation or even a book to keep me company. Growing up as an only child and traveling as much as we did, it just came naturally to me.

We all met back at the hotel and there were plenty of bags and clothes to greet me as I walked in. Tiffany was standing at an ironing board and Marta was doing her hair. Tiffany said, “We got you a new shirt to go with your new clothes. It had the fold marks and I didn’t want you to look funny so I had them send up an ironing board. Do you want to shower before we go to dinner and the party?”

“I’m going to sit down and watch you iron and then watch you give me a blow job. Then I’ll shower and dress. We can leave when I’m dressed.”

“I’m glad that I showered first before starting to iron. I’ll be ready when you are. I’m happy to serve you, Sir.”

She was a little sarcastic in her delivery but I just smiled and let it slide. The freshly pressed shirt was draped over a chair as she knelt in front of me and started to lick and suck on me. Marta came out and was surprised to walk in on the intimate act but I waved her over and she sat on the edge of my chair and watched. I rubbed her back and asked if she had a good time shopping.

“It was fun to help you and Tiffany find the right clothes. I bought one or two things for myself but they were small and didn’t cost too much.”

Tiffany was looking up with her eyes but didn’t stop performing her task until she was finished swallowing her prize. Petting her hair, I said, “Good girl. I’m going to shower and change into my new clothes. Lay out what you want me to wear. We leave when I’m ready.”

It looked like Marta was going to say something but Tiffany saying, “Yes, Sir,” got Marta back into the right frame of mind and hurrying off to get ready. We all looked very nice as we walked out to the elevator. We found a nice restaurant and had steaks and seafood. I had a surf and turf dinner. The girls had the cod with a side salad. I’d walked almost all afternoon and didn’t feel the need to worry about calories.

There was wine with dinner and cocktails before dinner. We arrived at the party on time and were greeted by the host, Franco and Luca came over when he saw us arrive. We were introduced, given drinks and introduced to a few people. Most in attendance were late twenties up to early fifties if I had to guess. Marta and I seemed to be the kids in the group. I was surprised when a man in his late forties came up to me and introduced himself.

“Hello, my name is Georgio Ricci. I was told that you’re staying in one of my hotels. I wanted to say hello.”

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Brad Johnson. You have a very nice hotel. Is it a single hotel or part of a chain?”

“I have ten but am thinking about getting rid of three.”

“Bad locations or too much work?”

“Neither and both. They’re doing well but are over in the US and I find it hard to manage them the way I like from here. I either need to expand and buy more or concentrate on Europe for now.”

“Well I may be able to help. If the price is right, I may be interested in buying them. Or if you wanted to keep them I could see about managing them.”

“You seem young to be able to manage three hotels in different cities.”

“I meant my company. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Kensington Collection. It was started by my great grandfather.” From there we got lost in stories, business discussions and potential sales, leases, partnerships or management opportunities. We were interrupted by a small Japanese woman.

“Dear, the party is winding down.”

Looking around there were only about ten people left. Tiffany and Marta were in a discussion with Luca, Violletta and Franco.

Georgio said, “Would you like to finish this discussion tonight back at the hotel or some other time?”

“I need to check on the girls and see what they’re up to.”

We walked over to hear them talking about fashion and Franco said, “We do have the pieces to start our own brand but it will take a lot of capital to launch. I love the concept and could sell it here and around the world.”

Luca said, “We invest in startups but don’t look at them until they have at least one year in business. We don’t have any fashion lines either.”

They all looked at me as I walked up. I looked at Tiffany. She said, “We were talking about fashion and about your jacket. How just a few stitches in the right places gave it a nicer look on you. Marta explained how simple it would be to design clothes that could be more easily tailored to fit many different people correctly. Almost like having six zippers and you can open or close any or all to get the perfect fit. It would all be hidden in the jacket and behind the liner but could easily be accessed and altered. Violetta started talking about marketing and Franco started talking about manufacturing and management. You walked up when they were talking about financing. Perfect timing.”

“I was just talking to Georgio about buying some of his hotels. Maybe he wants to fund the project.”

“Let me take care of the hotels first and then we can figure out the new fashion label. I don’t know how hard it is to break into that space. I know that getting the name out for my hotels took a lot of time and effort.”

Luca said, “I like the idea but let’s sleep on it and then maybe have lunch tomorrow. We can see if we really think it could work. A business plan would need to be drawn up and ownership would need to be figured out. Are you looking for a loan or selling ownership?”

Franco said, “There does seem to be a lot of people that all bring something to the table. How they all fit into the plan will need to be figured out. Can we meet here tomorrow for lunch? I’ll work on a business plan. A rough plan to see if it even makes sense to move forward.”

Marta said, “I can help if you want.”

“I can too,” said Violetta.

“Come back at 8am with your ideas.” He then looked at Luca, Georgio and me. “If you’re interested in investing, come by at 1pm and we’ll have lunch. Even if you don’t invest, it will give us practice on how to present to other potential investors.

Back at the hotel, I called my dad. It was the weekend but only about 8pm back in New York. I mentioned the names of the three hotels. They were in New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC. He knew of all of them and would be interested in buying or setting up a management agreement for his company or under the Kensington Collection or both. He said, “Brad, I know all of these hotels and they’re all well kept and well run. Ask about how much he wants for them all. If he’s under twenty million for all three we can tell him that we’re interested in discussing it further. If he’s under fifteen then shake on it and tell him that he just sold three hotels. Over twenty is too much and if he wants us to manage them, I can fly over or he can fly here and we can talk about what it includes and how much it will cost.”

“I’m meeting him in about eight hours for coffee.”

“Each of those cities we have high occupancy rates and high prices. The demand is there. If you can close this deal it will be good for us. If he wants to buy any, we have one that we got as a group we bought. It’s in Croatia and it’s a struggle for us to keep up with. It’s worth about three million and is called the “Wolford” in Zagreb.

“I’ll do what I can.”

“That’s all we can ask. Let me know what happens.”

When I made it to the bedroom Tiffany had a pillow over Marta’s face as she, later told me, relieved some stress. As I moved the pillow away from her mouth, I inserted my cock and gave her something to concentrate on besides starting a new business. She wanted to get up and work on a plan but I made her sleep.

Day 16 Sunday

It was just past 7am when I heard the shower start and as I felt around to find myself alone. Later I reopened my eyes to see Marta standing naked in the doorway to the bathroom wearing a towel in her hair. She asked, “Would you be more inclined to support my business if I came back to bed and woke you up properly?”

“Honestly, I’d think you were trying to entice me with your body because your business plan can’t stand up to scrutiny. If your idea is good then you don’t need to sell your body.”

“Well then Tiffany should be back up with coffee soon. You can use her body. My ideas will change the fashion market as we know it. Custom fit clothes at off the rack prices.”

“I like the slogan. Now figure out how to make it happen.”

She was bouncing and her tits were bouncing with her. Tiffany came in with coffee and Brioche. She set them down on the table and I told her to hurry up and take care of me because I had to shower and get to a meeting as well. She was taking off her clothes and moving towards the bed as she asked, “Which hole of mine would you like to serve you this morning?”

“Lower that sweet pussy on me and let me fill it for you.”

She rode me like a cowgirl. Her smile made me happy. I really didn’t want it to be something she hated but did anyway to fulfill her obligations. I could see just by looking at her that this adventure was something she was glad to be a part of. Marta said goodbye and was heading out as I was coming inside of Tiffany. It wasn’t long after that I was showered and dressed to meet Georgio in the lobby for our meeting.

We sat in a quiet corner of the restaurant and sipped on our drinks. I had coffee and he had his espresso. He said, “Here are the financials on the three hotels that I own in the US. I was looking at them last night and they were actually better than I thought. I seem to be always getting calls too late at night or on the weekends from those properties.”

“How much are you asking for them,” I asked as I looked at the financial statements.

“I’d like to get about sixteen for all three.”

“That’s not a bad starting offer. We have hotels all over the world and sometimes buy groups like we’re talking about now. In one group we picked up a hotel in Croatia. The Wolford. Are you familiar with it?”

“I have a hotel in Slovenia, but none in Croatia. I’ve heard of the Wolford and stayed there once about a year ago.”

“That’s the one hotel that we own that’s hard to manage due to its location. We have one in Florence and one in Rome but those are the only two in Italy and neither are close. Would you be interested in putting the Wolford into the deal for you to take over?”

“What would you want for it?”

“I was thinking the ones you were offering me are worth about 14.5 and the Worford is around 4 million so we could swap properties and pay you 10.5 in cash. How does that sound?”

“I think that as you said, not a bad place to start. Could you do twelve?”

“Why don’t we meet in the middle and call it eleven?” I stuck out my hand and said, “Deal?”

“I can live with that. What are the next steps?”

“My dad’s the COO and I’ll call him with the details. He’ll have our lawyers talk to your lawyers and it’s a done deal.”

“Here’s my card. I’ll be in the office all week. I wrote my home number on the back.”

“He’ll call tomorrow. Do you plan to get involved in this fashion thing today?”

“Maybe. My wife’s into fashion. She moved here from Japan as a model fifteen years ago. There’s a lot of money in clothing. There are countries around the world where people make literally a dollar or two a day. If someone can sew a hundred shirts a day then your labor cost is a penny or two. The cost of the materials is a quarter. With shipping sometimes the cost to the store is a dollar. It wholesales for five and sells for ten. When you add a designer name to it the cost doesn’t change much but the wholesale and retail can double or triple. It’s all about marketing and distribution.”

“I don’t think that Marta has the schooling but she knows fit and finish, style and design from being in the industry and working with the people that buy and wear the clothes. I’ll have to see what they have in mind and what kind of money they want.”

Georgio said, “I got a million more than I expected from the deal today so maybe I’ll take a gamble with it.”

“I spent a million less than I planned so maybe I’ll do the same.”

We both laughed. I said, “When we both think we got a good deal, that is the best kind. Mutually beneficial.”

“I’m going to go home and pick up my wife. I’ll see you over at Franco’s in a little while.”

We shook hands and went our own ways. It was still only about 10 am in Milan or 4am in New York. I could wake my dad but why do that? I’d wait until after the meeting with the fashion group. Tiffany was painting her toenails when I walked in. She was only wearing a thong and looked sexy as hell.

I walked over and just stood in front of her and watched. I told her to keep going. When she finished her last toe, she looked up at me. I put the cap on the bottle and then sat next to her and then pulled her on my lap with her freshly painted toes over the end of the couch. I leaned in and just kissed her. We were soon like two high schoolers just kissing and smiling. My hand did slip down to rub her breasts as our tongues got to know each other intimately.

We were alone, had no place to be and just relaxed with each other, kissing while her toes dried. When I stopped she said, “I wasn’t expecting that. I really enjoyed it. It’s nice to be used by you and nice to be delighted by you. I cherished the way we just spent time together.”

“I enjoyed it also. I guess I can’t always be the big bad wolf. Sometimes I can be prince charming.”

“You can be very charming. I don’t hide what we are to each other and when people like Marta hear my story they’re skeptical of who you are but when they meet you, they wish they were me. You’re charming, caring, handsome and sexy.”

“I’m glad you feel that way. I was attracted by your picture and captured by your words. That’s why you’re here. Before we go over to Franco’s place, what do you know and what are your thoughts on this idea?”

“I know that Marta is pretty smart when it comes to fashion and has an eye for how clothes should fit different people to make them look their best. I don’t think she has the business sense or negotiating skills needed. Franco has those things but doesn’t have the marketing skills. Violetta has that and the connections to make things happen with the brand. As a team they’ll do well. If they try to go it alone I don’t know that any of them will make it work.”

“Those are the same concerns that I have. We’ll see what they want and what they’re willing to give up to get it.”

I was hungry and grabbed a bite on the way over to Franco’s place. We were let in and the last ones to arrive. We said our hellos and sat down to hear what they’d come up with. Marta spoke first with her vision and passion for her styles. She talked about making people look and feel good. She talked about how clothes gave people confidence and added another dimension to their personality. I was buying what she was selling.

Violetta talked about marketing, shows, writers, price points and demographics. Franco talked about management, manufacturing, sourcing, logistics and finances. He talked about the industry and how brands failed, were bought out or became big success stories. Then he looked around and said, “We have what we need but don’t have the funding to make this a big success right out of the gate. We need to have more working capital to build inventory to fill orders. Much of our discussion was about how much we’d need and how to get it. Should we sell shares and give ownership or should we borrow?”

Luca said, “Where I work we do both. We look for more established companies that have the products and the orders but don’t have the money to produce the items that need to be made. This investment would carry much more risk to the investors. I don’t have enough to cover the entire need but would be willing to invest.”

Franco said, “I can see the next 12 to 18 months with no real income just because of the time it takes to design, manufacture, sell, deliver and collect on any real volume. We’d have to cover all costs during that time frame. I think we’ll need two to three million dollars. The return on that investment could be double or triple in the next three years. Future years would need to be paid for but the original investment shouldn’t need to be added to if we use profits to expand.”

Georgio asked, “You want three million, what do you offer for the three million?”

“We talked and all wanted to own a good portion of the company. We also know that it makes sense to give up a part of that to get the company started. We’re offering 40% ownership.”

Luca, Georgio and I just looked at each other. They were valuing the company at 7.5 million. I said, “You’re valuing the company at 7.5 million and you’re saying that your contributions are worth 1.5 million each.”

Franco said, “Yes and no. We propose that the ownership of 40% is for the capital. We’ll all take salaries that are in line with industry averages. We won’t get any dividends, bonuses or raises until your capital investment has been repaid. You’ll still own 40% and we’ll each own 20%. After your capital has been repaid, we’ll share in the dividends based on ownership percentages.”

“So the 40% gets you started, up and running but really is in lieu of interest or growth on the money while invested here. That seems more in line. It may even be a little high on our end in the long run but you’re asking for a lot of money for a company that doesn’t even have a legal entity status at this point.”

Georgio said, “I like the idea but would want my wife to be involved and collect a salary. She’s worked in the industry for a while and knows a lot. Like we didn’t sign any NDAs or non-competes when we came in and could steal the ideas and compete against you. She knows factories in India, China and Taiwan that make fabrics and sew clothing. I don’t do this for any reason but to help the company and protect my investment. She won’t take a share of ownership except through me and will take a salary that’s average with the industry.”