Threads: The Island

"I have accommodation that I share with Lakshmi, one of the other Executive Assistants. It's just to the left as you go out the main house, but because of.... everything that's going on, I'll be staying in your suite."

Kyle cocked an eyebrow at that.

"If that's okay with you, of course?" She added. "Your suite has two en-suite bedrooms in it, as well as a dressing room, office and lounge area. Plus there's the balcony."

"Holy shit," Kyle muttered. "It's the whole floor?"

She nodded, smiling. "Taking a bit of getting used to?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

Ellen appeared with the ashtray for Kyle and two large glasses of fruit juice on ice, garnished with straws and orange wedges on the rim of the glass. Kyle sipped at the drink, finding it delicious and refreshing.

"Thanks, Helen," He said as she disappeared again, pleased when she turned and smiled. Having staff to answer his beck and call was something that seemed really bizarre to Kyle, so he was determined to know their names at the very least.

"Kyle," Patricia said, a grin on her face.

"Yeah?"

"Her name's Ellen, not Helen."

"Oh, balls." Kyle grunted. "So much for learning peoples names."

"If you want to do that we'll get the staff to wear name badges for a while." She suggested.

"That'd be helpful," Kyle nodded. "I suck at remembering peoples names, but the idea of having staff is.... odd. Know what I mean?"

"As the primary member of your personal staff the idea doesn't seem odd to me at all," She laughed. "Just try and relax if you can. Want to run through your schedule for the day? There's a lot to do."

Kyle nodded and sat down at a small table outside the bar. "Go for it."

"Okay, once we've seen your suite we're off to see Doctor Kerr, the Islands physician to give you a checkup and any innoculations you're behind on. If we have time after that we can get you in to see the Dentist too for a quick checkup. Margaret will want to fit you for a tailored suit and explain your wardrobe to you and then we'll get you down to the salon for a haircut."

"It sounds like I'm on Extreme Makeover," Kyle muttered.

Patricia chuckled. "It's actually all about getting you to look good for meeting your sisters." She gave him a pointed look then added. "For the first time."

Kyle frowned, not needing the reminder of her unworded message. "Okay."

"I've got about three hours cleared for you to get some sleep, assuming you're going to need it," Patricia continued. "Once Mister Crowler arrives then the three of you will be in a meeting with him so that he can read you Mister Tripps will, and then I've got time set aside with you to answer any questions you'll have."

"Do you know what's in it? The will, I mean."

Patricia paused, then nodded. "Yes, but I can't tell you what it says, Kyle. I'm not allowed, and anyway, it's only a few hours away."

Kyle frowned but nodded. "So what else?"

"Well, there's lunch and dinner too, and some time for you to chat with Kara and Katie. I can tell you that Mister Tripps was keen for the three of you to get to know each other, so over the next few days you'll be doing a lot together."

"A lot of what?"

"Briefings, meetings, activities, meals." Patricia shrugged. "Nothings firmed up yet for times and dates, but I'll be managing your schedule carefully to make sure you're not snowed under, okay?"

"And don't accept any meetings myself," Kyle stated, remembering her advice.

"Correct."

As Kyle stubbed out his cigarette he caught sight of Edwin on the balcony, beckoning him up.

"Looks like your suite's ready," Patricia said, rising to her feet.

"Okay," Kyle said, grabbing his glass and following her. She led him into the central building and up the stairs, back along a landing, and then he was up on the balcony overlooking the pool.

"Oh, wow," He muttered. "It looks even better from up here."

"As I said, Master Kyle," Edwin replied. "Wait until sunset. Now, this is your suite."

Kyle turned around and looked in. The glass doors had been folded back along the entire length of the balcony revelaing a bright, wide room. Several leather sofas sat around a huge TV on the left side of the room, and on the right sat several desks with computers and phones on them. The middle of the room was wide and spacious, more polished wood floors leading to a series of individual white walls, angled to break up the view of whatever was behind them.

"If you'll follow me, Master Kyle."

Edwin led them inside, ignoring the office area, but explaining that the sofa's were the winnings of a wager between Danny Tripps and Steve Jobs and the wooden coffee table between them was crafted by Harrison Ford as a gift. Kyle didn't quite know what to say, finding it all very surreal.

He followed the old man through a gap in the walls, seeing a bedroom off to the right, and then it opened up to a large area at the back. Directly in front of him was a very large bed, a four poster draped at the corners with fine linen. To either side of it the white walls curved from the sides to the back, with archways in each.

"To your left is your en-suite bathroom, Master Kyle," Edwin explained. "Over on the right is your dressing room. Your luggage has been unpacked, although many of the items are being pressed and will be returned within the hour."

"This is my bedroom?" Kyle asked, looking around. A couple of big armchairs sat to the right with another TV on the wall, while the left side of the room was covered in bookcases.

"This is it, Kyle," Patricia told him. "My room is just over there," She added, pointing to the right at the bedroom he'd spotted as they came in.

"This is messed up," He muttered, feeling really awkward. He'd never been in such luxury in his life, let alone inheriting it. The idea of being an owner of this... paradise was overwhelming.

"Can you give us a minute please, Edwin," Patricia said quickly. As the old man disappeared, she took Kyle by the elbow and steered him over to the bed and sat him down. "Are you okay?"

He spread his hands, looking around. "This is insane."

Patricia frowned. "Maybe you should get some sleep, Kyle. You'll feel better for it."

Kyle shrugged, knowing he was exhausted but there was just too much going on in his head. "I don't think I could sleep if I tried."

"Try," She said firmly. "What's your usual sleeping habits?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you sleep on one side of the bed in particular? Do you wear pyjamas or sleep in the nude? Do you usually read, or watch TV, or just shut your eyes until you drift off?"

"Let's see. I usually sleep on the right side of the bed, and I don't wear pyjamas," He explained.

"You sleep in the nude?"

Kyle blushed a little, but nodded.

Patricia shrugged. "It's no biggie. Me too. What about before you drift off?"

Kyle grinned sheepishly.

"Okay," Patricia said immediately. "Probably time we had a frank discussion, actually."

Kyle sat upright, wondering where this was going.

"I worked for Danny Tripps for a long time. It's a demanding job, often with eighteen hour days, meetings, office days, social events, vacations, everywhere he went I went."

"Okay."

"You can't work that closely with someone without knowing a lot about them personally," She continued. "When it came to Mister Tripps I knew almost everything."

"Like personal stuff?"

"Very personal stuff," She nodded. "Intimate stuff. I can't tell you how many times I've seen him naked, or he's seen me naked. When you pretty much live with someone in hotel rooms, places like this, or you're getting changed in a limo between a meeting and a social engagement, it kind of makes personal modesty a bit of a nuisance."

"It kind of sounds a bit... above and beyond the job description," Kyle said, really not sure where she was going with this. The thought of seeing Patricia naked at some point definitely held a great deal of appeal though.

"Let me give you a hypothetical example," She said, grinning. "You lie down here and go to sleep, right. I come and wake you up in a few hours and you need to urinate. What does that mean?"

"I need to go to the bathroom," Kyle shrugged.

She rolled her eyes. "If you're asleep and you need to urinate, how does your body react?"

"Oh," Kyle said quickly. "I'd get an... erection."

"Right," She nodded. "So I've come in to wake you up, you're lying sleeping on your back with only a sheet covering you and you've got a bad case of morning wood." Patricia grinned. "Do you think I'm not going to notice?"

Kyle laughed. "Okay. So I won't sleep on my back."

She shook her head. "The point I'm making is that stuff like this is going to happen. At some point I'll see things, you'll see things, and it's important that you don't get all bent out of shape about it."

Kyle just shook his head. Another bizarre conversation amidst a series of bizarre experiences.

"Let me give you another example," She continued. "From time to time Mister Tripps would entertain... female company. I would sometimes make the arrangements."

"You mean hookers?" Kyle asked bluntly, frowning.

Patricia laughed and shook her head. "Do you think Mister Tripps ever had to pay someone to sleep with him?"

Kyle thought back to all the times he'd seen him in magazines or on the TV, often with a model or actress or singer on his arm. He was a common recurrence on the top 100 bachelors lists on a frequent basis.

"I guess not," He replied. "But then some people like that."

"They do," Patricia nodded. "If that's something you're into then I can arrange that for you too."

"Hookers?"

She nodded calmly as if it was like ordering a sandwich. "Sure."

"Not really to my tastes," Kyle said, shaking his head.

She smiled. "I didn't think so. That's good for me. However, if you're attending film premieres or public events, sometimes it will be good for your profile to have someone on your arm."

"A girl?"

"Yes, but more specifically a public figure. Actress, musician, model, TV presenter. We tend to steer clear of the reality TV crowd."

"So you arrange stuff like that?"

"Sure," Patricia nodded. "Sometimes it's only for walking the carpet, get a few pictures. Sometimes it's a real date. Occasionally it's a hookup."

"Holy shit. Talk about a different world."

"That's one of the million reasons why I'm here, Kyle," She reminded him. "It'd primarily business but I'm here to help you personally too. There's lots to learn and I'm here to help. Now, back to the topic at hand. Getting you some sleep."

"Yeah."

"I'm gonna be blunt here, Kyle. Sometimes it's the best way," She said, looking him in the eye. "Most people masturbate before they go to sleep. I take it you do too?"

Kyle laughed, unable to hide the slight blush that hit his cheeks. "And I thought all this was insane before."

"You'll get used to it. Incidentally, if I know this now then it means I won't be walking in on you midway through."

"Okay, fair enough. Yeah, I usually do." His thought flitted to Katie and Kara, the inspiration for many of his late night fantasies. He pushed those thoughts away, knowing that to think of that now was kinda fucked up.

"Okay. I'm more of a shower girl myself," Patricia added, shrugging. "Fair's fair, so if you tell me, I'll tell you."

"That's gonna mess with my head," Kyle said, grinning.

"You'll get over it," Patricia chuckled.

"You sure? In the last five minutes you've talked about me having erections, told me I'll see you naked tons of times and told me how you play with yourself. You do realise you're really hot, right?"

Patricia laughed. "Oh, I know where this conversations headed, and I'm telling you, accept right now that it's never going to happen, Kyle."

"What? Me and you?" The idea was tantalising, and maybe it was lack of sleep but Kyle decided to throw caution to the wind. "I think it's a great idea."

"It's never gonna happen, Kyle," She said, smiling. "It never happened with Mister Tripps, and it's not going to happen with you either. We won't have that type of relationship."

Kyle chuckled. "Well that's a bit depressing."

"Let me clarify something. You've seen your friends Ed and Casey naked, right?"

Kyle screwed up his face. "Why did you have to put that thought in my head?"

Patricia chuckled. "They're your friends, right? You sometimes see things with them, but it doesn't make it a sexual thing. You don't actively look, but sometimes you see stuff. Sometimes you even joke about it, right?"

"I guess."

"Well, think of me that way."

Kyle chuckled. "You know you're a woman though, and they're guys, right?"

"As I said, you'll get used to it. We don't cross that line though, okay? I can't do my job if things start getting weird... emotional, know what I mean?"

Kyle saw she was being serious and met her gaze. "I hear what you're saying," He said finally. "There'll be moments, but if we talk about it now, then it won't be a big deal when it happens and we can just move on, right?"

"Pretty much."

"You know you're hot though, right?" Kyle grinned.

"Oh, I know it. I know at some point you'll get drunk and make a move on me too, and I'll have to put you to your bed and mock you mercilessly for days about it. I know at some point I might even get a bit smitten with you, but I'll get over it." She shrugged. "The gist of this conversation? You can talk to me about anything. I'll help you out with whatever you want or need, no judgements, but there's a line. Fair enough?"

Kyle frowned but nodded. "I guess so. This couldn't have been easy for you to bring up."

Patricia laughed. "I've been planning this conversation in my head for two days."

"Did it go as planned?"

"Nowhere near it," She laughed. "But I think we're pretty clear on where we stand, right?"

"Yeah," Kyle nodded, actually feeling closer to her now as a result of it.

Patricia grinned. "And you know that it's not an invite to just walk in on me when I'm showering?"

Kyle chuckled. "Well, the temptation will be there, but I'll restrain myself."

"Good," She said. "Now try and get some sleep. And if you need some female company, just let me know. There's a very good masseuse who works on the Island, and she's certainly enthusiastic."

Kyle's eyes widened. "You mean?"

"I mean she was about to go into a career in porn because she's that enthusiastic."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope."

"So that's why she works on the Island?" Kyle asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Actually not at all," Patricia replied. "She's a first class massage therapist and a very good physio too. She just happens to have a very high sex drive and an open attitude about it."

"Sounds like the perfect girlfriend," Kyle laughed.

"Maybe in your old life," Patricia smiled. "Now you'll have to get someone more in line with your status. Once we get you in shape, of course."

"Oh yeah. The personal trainer," Kyle said, deliberately looking glum but kind of relieved to change the subject. He was all too aware that the conversation with Patricia was creating a little tingly feeling, but the thought of her arranging a casual hookup for him with someone who might work for him made him more than a little uncomfortable.

"When you've got a rippling six-pack and pecs that women drool over you can thank him."

Kyle shook his head. "Patricia, you seem pretty sure I'm going to get plenty women. I know that Danny Tripps was pictured with all these different hotties all the time, but I've never been successful in chasing girls."

He stood up, wanting to go outside to have a smoke. Patricia followed.

"Kyle, there's something you should understand about Mister Tripps," She said as they walked back through the suite. "I only put this together a few days ago, but in all the time I knew him I never saw him fall in love with anyone. He would date these beautiful women, but only for a few weeks at a time and then he'd withdraw. I don't think he liked letting people get close to him."

Kyle sat on a wooden armchair on the balcony and lit up, listening intently to Patricia talk about the man, not the public figure.

"People like Edwin or Mister Crowler became like brothers to him, and in some ways he treated us, me and the other assistants, like his family, but he was always that bit withdrawn, as if there was something he kept inside himself that no-one could touch."

"Okay."

"I think he loved his wife so much that after she died, when you and your sisters were born, it kind of broke him. I think he wouldn't allow himself to feel pain like that again, so he never allowed anyone to get close to him in an intimate way."

"Sounds like a shit way to live," Kyle said, meaning it.

"It sounds lonely," Patricia replied. "The thing is, he acted like he wasn't. Now I just think it was all a front, but I'm sure inside he was miserable. It would certainly explain why he was a workaholic."

Kyle sat for a moment thinking about that. "You know, he didn't need to give me up. Or Katie and Kara. He had the means to take care of us, and I get it. It must be tough to lose your wife, but other people do it and carry on every day."

"Actually, at the time he didn't really have the means. He was up to his eyeballs in debt for years, taking on as much as he could manage to grow the business as fast as possible. He was in a real technology race and couldn't afford to fall behind, so really, he didn't have the means back then."

"He could have managed," Kyle said flatly.

"Maybe," Patricia allowed. "The truth is we'll never know. You can find out a lot of information and make educated guesses, but the only person who knew the rationale behind everything was Danny."

"I suppose," Kyle shrugged. "Hey, what did you mean earlier when you said someone more my status?"

"Oh, that." Patricia said, taking a seat. "I mean that you can't just turn up at a black-tie event with some girl who works in the local Walmart and lives with her parents."

"Why not? Lots of good people work in Walmart," Kyle said, frowning.

"Because it's not what's expected of you. Because it's not someone you'll have much in common with, and because there would be this enormous gulf between you. You wouldn't be equals, or even in the same social circles."

"Different can be good though."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking down on people or being elitist when I say this, Kyle," Patricia explained. "Imagine a year from now what you'd have to talk about. She's just had a shit day at work because a customers kid peed in one of the aisles and she had to clean it up. You just flew into town from Hong Kong on a private jet, dumped your stuff in a nearby mansion and met with Giorgio Armani for lunch."

Kyle frowned. "It doesn't mean it couldn't happen though."

"No, it doesn't," She agreed. "But it would take a special kind of woman not to be intimidated or out of her league holding her own in a conversation at a dinner with three movie stars and a couple of millionaires while the media dig into her life for the latest exclusive scraps and scandal. No disrespect to the staff at Walmart or anyone else who works their ass off to put food on the table, but there aren't many people like that around."

"So what's my options then?" Kyle asked out of frustration. "It's not that I'm looking for a girlfriend, by the way. I think my life's complicated enough right now."

Patricia chuckled. "Yeah, I hear you. Okay, options. You can date athletes, actresses, musicians, socialites, anyone with the means to retire in their twenties, basically. Oh, and they have to be hot."

"Why?" Kyle blurted, not that he objected.

"That's a social profile thing. People will expect you to be confident, on top of your game, so you date beautiful women. It makes you look powerful and it's good for business."