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Jayna had suspected that Sid and Emmaline were together, and having their relationship confirmed brought a wave of jealousy she had no business feeling.
With a deep, resigned sigh, she removed her slapfone from her wrist and sent a message to Emmaline. It took less than a minute for the reply to arrive. “Yes, the offer is still good. We’re excited to have you travel with us! A limo will pick you up tomorrow at noon.”
Chapter 10
There was something Sid found irresistible about the feel of paper and the scent of newsprint. He had a half-dozen screens at his disposal, but he chose to prepare for the day by leafing through the pages of his Artisanal Gazette. He imagined reading the broadsheet with his coffee each morning made him look like a Gilded Age industrialist, only without the heavy mustache and thick cigar.
He sat down at the small dining table in his hotel suite and flipped open the paper to find a full-spread image of Jayna gracefully leaping from the water beneath the headline “Bionic Mermaids to Invade Manutai.” He stared at the photo, surprised to see it on the front page of his paper. The Artisanal Gazette used proprietary artificial intelligence to curate a collection of stories specifically for him, and having an image of Jayna smack in the middle of his custom-printed broadsheet both delighted and concerned him.
He scanned the article, hoping to find some unpleasant detail that would put an end to his growing infatuation. But before he could get past the introduction, the door to his suite opened, creating a breeze that ruffled the corners of his paper.
Emmaline and Hazel had arrived for the breakfast meeting. Sid’s heart raced, and he quickly closed the paper, folding it over several times and tucking it under his arm. His face flushed as though he’d been caught doing something wrong.
But why wouldn’t there be a biopic about Jayna in his paper? She was the star of the Sirens of Atlantis show, which was part of the company he’d just purchased.
Emmaline approached the table with an armful of paper bags. Her hair was pulled up on top of her head in a tight bun that started pink at her scalp and transitioned to a deep violet—what she called her “flying unicorn” style.
“Still picking up the Artisanal Gazette, I see,” she said, nodding towards the paper clamped tightly under his arm. She set the bags on the table and took the seat to his left.
“I like starting my day with a newspaper. It’s more relaxing than any of the morning streams. And usually a lot more relevant.” Best to leave out the “Gilded Age Industrialist” part.
Hazel picked up a pastry and took a bite as she sat in the chair directly across from him. “Rosalind would be pleased.”
Rosalind Aria was the mercurial genius behind an array of artificial intelligence networks, one of which was at least partially responsible for the modern newsprint revival. “Her AI nets are good, but it’s our distribution model that’s made the newspaper business profitable again.”
“Her AI nets are more than good,” Emmaline said. “They’re amazing. That’s why none of the papers copying our distribution model have come close to matching Artisanal’s success.”
“We should have bought her lab when we had the chance,” Hazel said. “That way we’d own the AI net outright and wouldn’t have to keep paying royalties.”
“No,” Sid replied, a little louder than he meant. “For every good algorithm Rosalind has, there are a dozen bad ones. I’d rather pay extra for the AI nets we use and not have to worry about getting sued when one of her recipe generators sends someone into anaphylaxis. Now, let’s focus on the project at hand. We’ve all had some time to process everything we saw on our tour of Realms yesterday, and I’d like to revisit the transition plan.”
Hazel unrolled her tablet. “Before we do that, I thought you might like to review the information the ‘gators collected about the employee’s plan to buy the park.”
Sid's brow furrowed. “They already have a plan in place?”
Hazel nodded. “They do. And I have to admit, it’s impressive.”
“But how? I only agreed to this deal last night.”
Hazel scowled and gave him a disappointed look. “You said it yourself—if the Realms employees were going to buy the place, they’d have already tried. Turns out they did try. As soon as Carter Sterling inherited the park, a group of them put together a holding company so they could raise the money to buy it from him.” She shrugged. “They’ve managed to raise well over a million dollars so far.”
Emmaline added, “If Jayna wins the Manutai Merathlon, they’ll be close to two million.”
This revelation surprised him, but he quickly put it into perspective. “Two million down, 298 million to go. We don't need to worry.”
Hazel shrugged again. “They also have access to $100 million in guaranteed loans from the SAPP and various government programs.”
Sid’s mouth went dry. The employees were still far short of the required capital, but the idea no longer seemed so outlandish.
“But you’re right,” Emmaline said. “You don’t need to worry. If they somehow do manage to raise the money, you get your entire investment back. And your reputation score will see a significant boost.”
Sid’s concern eased just a little. Emmaline was right. He wouldn’t make any money off the sale, but he wouldn’t lose any either. And rebuilding his reputation was far more important than making a profit.
“Either way, I put this plan together assuming the park will be part of Hayes Corp for the long term.”
For the next hour, they hammered out a strategy to transition from the temporary executive team and current compensation structure to one that more closely matched Sid’s vision.
When they’d worked through most of the logistical details, Hazel said, “There’s one more thing. It has to do with your good friend, Mermaid Aaramere.”
