Chapter 9: Goldy's story
The observation deck was located on a mountain sticking out of the water like an iceberg, about 500 meters high. Tourists, in order to get to the lonely mountain, as it was called by locals, had to overcome a couple of kilometers by boat. Guests with fat wallets were waiting for luxury yachts, on one of which the guys sailed to the foot of the mountain. On the pier they were met by a man who greeted them with a bow and escorted them to the panoramic elevator, which rose about 60% of the total distance to the observation deck. A staircase so skillfully crafted that it seemed carved into the mountain itself led the boys to a viewing area free of other tourists, arranged so that no extraneous sounds could be heard. A few chairs, a stone-covered place for a fire, a private balcony, and the hard-to-describe beauty, the splendor of nature, opened Cal's mouth and he froze in delight. Goldy made the call and in a few minutes they were brought flavored tea, not much fruit and matches. The time was nearing sunset and the boys lit a fire. Later, sitting opposite each other, Goldy interrupted the silence with the words, "Isn't it worth the effort," he gestured at the view in front of them.
- But that's not all I want to show you. Come on, look over there, you see those villas and that six-story house over there, and that beach restaurant, and the yacht we came on, and the two that are sailing nearby, look. You see it?
- Uh-huh. Yeah.
- It took me a little over six years, and I'm proud to say it's all mine. - Goldy said with a kind smile. - It was hard to keep it a secret, I wanted to tell you the day I got the permission to build the first villas, and when I sold them profitably, it was not easy to keep silent, but I wanted to show it all to you, to share what I had achieved with you. Here we are, brother.
- I'll admit I'm more surprised now than I was when I left the airport. But I'm not surprised at your success, I'm certainly happy for you. I'm surprised at my fear of your accomplishments, and I'm sorry, maybe I should have acted differently. Just give me a little time to digest. - Cal said seriously and as if ashamed, then immediately continued with a changed intonation. You're like a snowball in the middle of summer... ha ha ha ha. I know about you and your ambitions, but I'm on my back here bro, standing ovation. - Clapping a few times, Cal hugged his friend with congratulations. - Now let's get more details, and let them bring a couple of plaids and something to eat from your restaurant, by the way, what's it called?
- IG.
- Why not GI?
- Don't you have a question without a quip?
- Score, 1 to 1. Tell me already.
- What can I get you?
- Some light soup of your choice.
- Remember a long time ago when I worked for a construction company? In addition to my duties, I tried to learn more about the whole business. You were a hardware salesman at the time, and we'd cross paths from time to time and brag about how cool we were doing things. So, after working for basically nothing for about three months, I was hired. My duty was to sell secondary housing that came to us in exchange for a new living space as quickly and profitably as possible for the company. After a few months, I thought it would be nice to swing in a hammock on an island for a couple weeks, and that's how I got here. When I arrived I had no intention of doing anything, I wanted to learn to surf, speak different languages, try new things and almost everything was new to me. In the process of these two weeks I made a lot of different acquaintances from different parts of the world, an incredible amount of energy and positivity. Two weeks flew by like two hours and unfortunately I had to go back home.
- You should have come back, but you didn't?
- I did, and worked with the sole intention of making more money for the next trip. I liked this place so much that I started to think of it as home and the place I was born and raised in as a forced stopover. Imagine that!
- Next, next.
- Well, things were going well and at a company birthday party, I had to give a speech, a toast. I was neither the best nor the most important employee in my department, but I was the only one sober and my immediate boss forced me to give a congratulatory speech. It was a horror for me at that moment, the moment I was given the microphone in my hands and pushed forward. After the banal congratulations, which poured out in a river and no one gave a shit about them, for some reason I expressed my desire to live on an island in a villa built by our company. And I said, I have an island in mind. It all seemed like a joke, and it wasn't the best speech. Mmm...then, five or six days later, the founder of the company called me to his office, but I didn't know who called me and why. I just got a phone call from the head office, upon arrival I was escorted to the coffee shop on the first floor where his assistant was waiting for me, and the founder showed up a minute later. We didn't talk much, mostly I answered questions, or rather I only answered them. Questions like I was in a job interview. At the end he said, I like your villa idea, what island do you have in mind?
- I hope you were expecting him to ask that.
- I knew I was here for a reason, but my confusion after that question a blind man could see it. I started to correct myself, sat down straight and said the island is called so-and-so, more precisely the union of islands, I was on vacation there for two weeks, the place is visited, the local authorities are friendly, there is a lot of land, we are building and in the process of construction we are selling. He is sitting there, looking at me intently, silent, and I'm done and I think bliiiiiin, something must be added, why doesn't he say anything? So I added bro, I said think about it, if I had the money, I would have done it already. He looked at his assistant, then extended his hand to me and said okay, we will create a new department for you, building villas only, hire employees and in a year and a half I want to see your success. That's what he said bro! At that moment I thought, oh noooo, what have I said what a year and a half, what is going on. After all, when he asked me about the timing of construction, obtaining permits and so on, I thought it was just a question, not leading to anything and answered roughly, based on their not much knowledge, but it turned out that everything is serious and it is not a joke. I couldn't come to my senses for a couple of days, I walked like a mute, I didn't talk to anyone, I kept replaying our conversation in my head, remembering what I had answered, in general I was very worried. You eat, the food will get cold.
- Let it get cold, - Cal waved, - what's food got to do with it, when it's not a story, but a movie with you in the lead.
- Ha ha.Yeah! That sounds like fun, but I didn't laugh at the time. It's like if someone came to you and said, we want to buy 10,000 electric kettles from you, and you only have five.
- Yeah, it's both happy and sad. So tell me, what happened next?
- Well, I got a job as a traffic cop, saved up until you got here and organized this whole thing to prank an old friend. I hope the prank was successful?
- It's been a while since you've gotten soup on your head, bro. The funny thing is, you made me believe it without a doubt. Now you're making me believe the opposite, the only possible conclusion is that your intelligence has increased significantly. So, what happened next? I said!
- In general, I stand on the track, catching luck and a few days after talking to the chief, I get a call from his assistant asking when I can give him a plan of action on paper. I don't have anything ready, I haven't even started. So I said I'd call him tomorrow. Tomorrow comes, I call him and ask him to arrange a business trip for me, here on the island, for the purpose of final market analysis and preparation of a business plan, which I will submit to them for approval. He asks the size of the budget for my trip, I did not count, and there was no time for it, I said as it is, let it be open, perhaps on the spot will have to solve some issues in urgent order. You know the law is not the same for everyone, and opportunities run fast. Surprisingly, everything came together like a game with of code for immortality. In a couple of months I already had the land, a building permit, several contractors to choose from, all that was left was to approve everything by design, and then connect the whole scheme and run it. Of course the main thing was to make a profitable sale, but I hadn't thought about that yet. That period was amazing, I did everything on the fly, time seemed to be running out, at that moment I didn't try to remember anything at all, and as it turned out I remembered everything in detail. Maybe then I felt for the first time what it means to live, to be in the moment as they say in advertising. It's very interesting, it's like the brain and the heart stop opposing each other, have you ever had that?
- Maybe I have, but I can't remember now. I've been a mess inside and out lately, which is probably why I came here. Finish your story.
- The story has just begun bro, and as for the first villas, I sold them in the initial stages of construction. Then, having safely completed the deal, I asked for 10% of the net profit from this and subsequent projects and pledged two more years of service to the company in my current position. Of course my request was granted.
- 10% is how much?
- The net profit was a little over 6 million, plus I had a salary, but I didn't even think about it.
- You meet the deadline?
- I managed to finish two months ahead of schedule. It took a long time to do the landscaping, there were some other delays, but overall it wasn't bad, but it could have been done even faster. Now I have a couple ideas, maybe you'd be interested in working with me?
- Sounds appealing, but let's talk about it tomorrow. Let me enjoy the ambiance without thinking about business.
- Yeah, you're right. That's a bit harsh. I'm telling, I can't wait.
- If the mountain master permits, we should get going, we've had a great day, thank you.
- Master of the mountain! Sounds bold, it may well be so soon bro.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone