Soon the cart took a turn and the first mansions appeared. A single road ran all the way from the gate to the tip of the Pointe, and homes lined the beaches on either side. A flock of rowdy children on bikes rode beside them for a few minutes before they disappeared down one of the mansion’s drives.
Everything looked a little too perfect, and Jo found the effect uncanny. There was no gum stuck to the sidewalks or patches of brown grass marring the lawns. The architecture was tasteful. The pools were turquoise and the tennis courts made of clay. It must have taken hundreds of people to rake all the yards and clean all the pools. Where were they hidden? And where were the maintenance vehicles? Jo wondered if the Pointe’s workers traveled around via underground passages like the ones beneath Disney World. Then the billionaires who lived there could pretend their world was always this way, and the sight of the sweating, aching humans who made it all possible wouldn’t ruin the illusion.
“It’s too beautiful,” Jo said out loud. She didn’t add that it was also creepy as fuck.
“Thank you,” said the kid at the wheel. “We feel very blessed to live here.” He was one of them.
“I suppose God chose this life for you?” Harriett asked.
Jo saw Chase’s spine straighten, but the kid didn’t get it. He hadn’t caught sight of Harriett’s smirk.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with flawless manners and zero irony. “My name is Archie. I’m one of Jackson Dunn’s sons.”
Chase instantly shot forward and leaned over the seat that separated them. “I thought I recognized you! I’m Chase Osborne. I do all the advertising for Little Pigs BBQ.”
“I remember, Mr. Osborne,” Archie said. “I’m a big fan of your work. My father says I owe my trust fund to you. I’ve got first dibs on marketing when my brothers and I join the company. Maybe someday I’ll end up working with you.”
“Call me Chase. If you’re ever interested in seeing how the sausage gets made, just ring me up.”
Harriett snorted with amusement to hear Chase shamelessly sucking up to his future boss.
“I’d love to,” the boy told him, “but I probably have a few more years of school left. I guess you could say I’m taking my time.”
“We offer amazing summer internships.” Chase may have been a mediocre copywriter, but he was a first-class snake oil salesman. “College students from all over the country apply.”
The kid’s big blue eyes appeared in the rearview mirror. “I’m not sure I’d be any competition for them. I don’t have much of a CV yet.”
“No worries,” Chase assured him. “I’m good at spotting raw talent. There’s a place for you if you want it. You can even work your own hours.”
“Thank you, Chase,” Archie said. “I appreciate the opportunity.”
“You totally deserve it,” Harriett added, aiming a wink at Jo.
Chase elbowed her angrily, but the kid hadn’t been listening. He’d pulled the cart up in front of an elegant house made mostly of glass. The structure’s walls framed the ocean like a piece of art. Jo could see all the way through to the beach. They said their goodbyes to Archie and got out of the cart.
“Howdy there!” A red-faced man in a cowboy hat clapped a hand on Chase’s shoulder. The man’s Hawaiian shirt was decorated with red hibiscus flowers and little pink pigs. Only a single button was fastened, as though he’d grown bored while getting dressed. “Did y’all meet my boy Archie?”
Jo would never have made the connection between father and son. In a single generation, the family appeared to have skipped several rungs on the evolutionary ladder.
“I certainly did,” Chase confirmed. “Sounds like he’s interested in the ad world.”
“That right? Must have dropped the poor fucker on his head once too often when he was little.” A pause followed before Jackson howled at his own joke. “Chase, my friend, I’m so glad you could make it. Lemme tell you, son, I just can’t get over that new campaign of yours. Goddamned brilliant. Really pulled a rabbit out of the hat with that one. And Harriett, I sure am happy you’re back again this year. Couldn’t let a genius like this one slip away, could you?”
Chase grimaced nervously as he awaited her answer.
“Yes, well, as you know, he grovels so sweetly,” Harriett said, and the man hooted with glee. “Have you heard I left the advertising business?”
Jo glanced over at her friend. It seemed out of character for Harriett to share personal details with a Neanderthal like Jackson Dunn.
“I believe I did hear something about that.” Jackson’s interest was waning. “What are you doing with yourself these days?”
“I’m a horticulturalist. I specialize in invasive plant species.” Just as Harriett seemed prepared to go on, she stopped abruptly and smacked her forehead. “And apparently I’ve been spending so much time with weeds that I’ve forgotten how to deal with humans. Jackson, I’d like you to meet my friend Jo.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Jo.” Jackson put a hot, sticky hand on her arm while his eyes took a tour of her figure. “You ever been out to the Pointe before?”
“I haven’t.” Jo stared at the fingers pressed into her flesh. In the three years since she’d left the corporate world, she hadn’t had to let a strange man touch her. She’d almost forgotten the hugs and the pats and the kisses that had once been part of her job. Now the thought disgusted her. She wanted nothing more than to peel Jackson Dunn’s hand off her arm. “Thank you for letting me tag along. This is a real treat.”
“Well, we’re lucky to have you.” Then he leaned in close enough that Jo could smell the alcohol on his breath. “No party ever has enough redheads, if you ask me.”
Jo felt the energy surging through her limbs. The man was one second away from finding himself flat on his ass when his grip suddenly released. A pair of buzzing insects shot through the air between them like bullets. Jackson yelped and stumbled backward, his glass slipping from his fingers and shattering on the ground. Jo watched with immense satisfaction as he danced around the lawn, waving his cowboy hat frantically in the air as two angry bees flew in circles around his head. Then, just as quickly as they had arrived, the bees were gone.
Jackson returned to the group humbled and panting. “Sorry about all that excitement. I’m allergic,” he said. “Nearly died once when I was a kid.”
“Yes,” Harriett said flatly. “I seem to recall hearing that.”
“Come on, let’s get you folks inside and pour you some drinks.” Jackson ushered them to the front door and up a flight of stairs to a vast, empty living room. Its glass doors opened onto a deck with a pool that looked out over the ocean. Jo was certain they were on the top floor of the house, yet there was a set of stairs leading upward.
“Now, if you ladies will excuse us for a moment, I want to introduce Chase to a few of the boys. All the fun is down by the water. I suggest you two grab a couple of cocktails, strip down to your bikinis, and start soaking up sun.”