demand that much from him? Did she think she could get
anything she wanted merely by asking? The woman had
some serious cojones-he was impressed.
Then again, she was right-he could afford it. And he
had been wondering what to do with all his amazing
wealth. He'd already bought every big boy toy he'd ever
wanted: houses, cars, and even a personal jet. His financial
advisor suggested that he was rich enough to buy a small
island, and they had jokingly debated whether King O.E.
would be a benevolent or dictatorial ruler. Still the money
piled up.
He simply didn't know what to do with it all. Why had
he been blessed with so much money? Too many
philosophical questions invaded his thoughts these days.
Why me? or, lately, Where is she? Maybe a huge charitable
contribution would be appropriate.
Wait, am I nuts? A huge charitable contribution would
not be appropriate. Jeez, what was he thinking? He would
give his money to charity when it damn well pleased him,
not when Kay Samson goaded him into it. Also, he had no
intention of losing this wager. He knew he was attractive
and in great shape-all he had to do was find someone who
didn't know who he was. It'd be easy.
Kay continued her argument. "Face it, O.E. You'd
survive very nicely on nine hundred million dollars. You'd
probably even get your name in the news for a donation like
that. And there are all sorts of tax breaks for that kind of
charity, too." She leaned back and smiled, as though
challenging him to accept.
Me, a famous philanthropist? He'd like that. Then he'd
not only be the famous business whiz kid, he'd also be the
famous humanitarian. Could it be his destiny? For a tiny
fraction of a second, it sounded appealing. Strangely, his
reasoning brain continued to toy with the notion, evaluate
it, even respect it. He wondered if he was becoming
delirious.
Why am I considering this ridiculous bet? Did he have
too much to drink? No, this lapse in judgment was more
likely caused by an insufficient amount of alcohol.
Regardless of the cause, he was slipping fast.
Ultimately, O.E.'s foolish pride won the battle.
Something deep inside him needed to prove himself to Kay,
to show her that he could do anything he set his mind to.
He wanted to show off to his old buddy Dan, too.
Fine! I'll do it. He would hide his fame and money and
still find a woman to come with him to Malibu. So there.
O.E. sat a bit longer, eyes unfocused, wrestling with