

Sun on the Rocks – The Sugar Baby

Smashwords Edition.

© Copyright 2015 by Somers Isle & Loveshade.

Published by Somers Isle & Loveshade at Smashwords.

U.S. Copyright Registration Number: 1-743085441.

All rights reserved.

'Sun on the Rocks' blogsite:

http://oursalon.ning.com/profile/workstudio

Cover by Tatiana Villa.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

# ABOUT 'Sun on the Rocks':

It's a breezy, easy to peel humor read for adults, specializing in the trivial pursuit. These pleasant fictional amusements with an overtone of humor, follow the adventures of several non competitive good looking women over twenty one years of age, as they leave Malibu and become a group of hostesses, _'Sun on the Rocks'_ , on the cruise ship _City of Wellington_ , a post-Panamax which makes short trips between Los Angeles and Acapulco in Mexico. The motley crew of women works as a group of entertaining amateurs and as friendly gophers on the ship, and is led to various places in the Caribbean and elsewhere by the incombustible twenty five year old Stevenson Garden Products Malibu teleoperator **Clarity Nice** , a woman of resourceful intuition, and acute observer of the laws of human mischief. All characters in the amusements are over twenty one years of age.

The Sugar Baby: On a Martini Bianco bar terrace in the British Virgin Islands, Tambrera rum executive Sam Bartleby receives notice that he is fired. Worried about his financial future and the grim prospects for his personal life, Bartleby discusses with his uncle Clive, an unexplored business strategy that will allow him to stay in the Islands without a job. His plan involves recruiting a sugar baby, and over drinks, Bartleby finds the perfect candidate: Ethnographer Flower Parkwood, the why-not bohemian friend of teleoperator Clarity Nice.

While Clive spends time with Clarity, Bartleby spends the day with Flower trying to convince her of the benefits of being his sugar baby, but Clarity´s friend refuses the slick executive's propostion. He persists; he will provide food, lodging, travel arrangements and valuable personal guidance to her for the long term. To entice her, he pays for a large shopping spree on the island of Tortola.

After a good meal in one of the island´s nicest restaurants, Flower finally accepts Bartleby´s offer to board the company boat, a wannabee-yacht, the 'Lady Moura'. She will be his sugar baby for a few days while he carries out a business transaction for a marriage and dating site named Oleanne. The deal allows Flower to bring her friend Clarity onboard and together they collaborate on the dubious business transaction with Bartleby and a man known as Chubby Caddy, an important client of the Oleanne dating service.

# BACKSTORIES AND CHARACTERS

# TO READ THE AMUSEMENTS COMFORTABLY

**Buddha Talk:** Corpulent, shady genius of money flows which begin and end with the same pocket, his own, scholar of sexual ecstasy, occasional Buddhist and worshipper for good Karma of a shrine honoring a lobster which pinched his ear before ending in the lobster cooking pot. Buddha Talk is banking agent and the heir apparent of _Lofty Bank_ , a _Cayman Islands banking institution_ with no particular regard for its clients and a lock on ownership held by a Great Dane, _Lord Moorehead_ III, British by upbringing and inheritance granted by Lord Moorehead II, a man, old, very old, and dead now, at age ninety seven, previous British Lord, ex-owner of Lofty Bank, a man who gave all of its wealth, nobility title and bank ownership rights to his dog.

_Lord Moorehead III_ acts as front 'man' for Buddha Talk, and is also the official recipient of all bank notices by the Cayman Islands monetary authority, a convenient fact for Buddha Talk, and one bark that doesn´t cease to surprise the monetary authority who casts a recurring shadow of doubt upon the legalities of having a dog act as front 'man' and be the official owner of a Bank doing business in the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands, located in the Western Caribbean Sea, a pleasant area to live when the money and work issues are solved. Buddha Talk likes to drive or be driven in _Jaguar 73_ , a gadget-filled car offered as gift to Buddha Talk by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro in exchange for having sold some gold and palladium for the Cuban government, through _Banco Inter Central del Caribe y Cuba_ , or _BICCC_.

Clarity and Flower, after gaining entry as investors to the bank with the help of Clark, the owner of a diamond shop in Grand Cayman, find themselves owing nearly one hundred thousand dollars to the Lofty Bank outfit for no reason, a debt they can pay by working for the bank for fifty years, as part of the bank´s flagship product, _the Crashworthy Deposit_ , part bank deposit paying twenty percent, part investment, part insurance policy, and part working arrangement.

Lofty has ties with the underworld, and the monetary authority of the Cayman Islands stubbornly refuses to grant it a renewal of its license, something that doesn´t stop the bank from operating in the most illegal manner, advertising its products to potential investors on an air banner carried by a Gippland 200 crop duster flying low above sunny Caribbean beaches such as those of Cayman, British Virgin Islands, Bahamas and Acapulco. This is all documented in **The Cayman Air Banner**.

**Boustrophedon:** Large, ancient grey stone inscription filled with Greek letter symbols. In a boustrophedon, letters are inversed, you have to read the inscriptions on the stone from left to right and from right to left alternatively with each line of bi-directional text. Penelope Avalon and Cassandra Scafarel believe that the Boustrophedon holds important information on ancient methods of pleasure, including comments and thoughts on the gate of pleasure, Voluptas de Naturas. The current location of the Boustrophedon that Clarity and her friend Lanai saw at Scafarel's **Hexas Style Resort** in the Bahamas, is unknown to Clarity, known to:

**Cassandra Scafarel:** Significant other of Buddha Talk at some point, shrewd British expatriate, businesswoman in her forties without a moral code or compass, executive head of beauty lotion outfit 'Elony', sold through illegal flight infomercials with the assistance of Lofty Bank. The infomercial is an excuse to sell to customers, mostly affluent women, Elony's personal growth services, which include how to bring heaven a little closer to home, after doing away with money, in particular fifty thousand dollars that must be paid for a bottle of Elony, in order to receive a resort-pass to reach the Leisure and Pleasure Resort of Scafarel, the **Hexas Style Resort** in the Bahamas island of Eleuthera.

Hexas Style was partly dismantled in **The Bahamas Lotion** , by Al Donway and the **Sensual Brigade of Central Intelligence** , a group of attractive women ensuring Law and Order are respected, along with their bodies. The Brigade's most representative member is agent **Money Fact** , the woman who introduced Clarity to the nine hour oil-optional massage, proof that work is not a necessary part of life. Money Fact excels at action, mentoring and faulty logic. After a decidedly last minute and decisive intervention from Sensual Intelligence at Hexas Style, Scafarel manages to flee from the Bahamas resort on her private yacht, with the Boustrophedon, but without some secrets regarding pleasure, including the:

**Imperial Pelican Fabergé Egg:** Intricate egg, or jewel, depending on how hungry you are, eight inches high, made of varicolored gold, opalescent blue enamel and watercolor on ivory. It is known as the _Xenia Imperial Pelican Fabergé egg,_ and belongs to the _Private Collection of Maria Feodorovna, Empress Consort of Russia in 1898_. The egg, commissioned by Maria Feodorovna to provide, handle and store, all of her private items of pleasure, went through the hands of Occidental Petroleum tycoon Armand Hammer, an art collector with close ties to the ex-Soviet Union, and has now fallen into the hands of Cassandra Scafarel, a woman who stops at nothing to understand how pleasure works, in particular how the pleasure of a woman works, including her own _._ The Pelican Fabergé egg, eight inches high, is hollow, and unfolds into eight miniatures, holding what's known in Fabergé egg language, as the surprise inside, a time-tested item of pleasure for the woman, the Jade Egg, a small two inch in diameter jade egg that must be boiled before each intimate, feminine use. Owned by Cassandra Scafarel, requisitioned by the Sensual Brigade of Central Intelligence for examination.

**Penelope Avalon:** Sex Goddess and Go-Go girl from Las Vegas, dressed in a pink suit, user of the learjet ' _Pink Go-Go_ ' appropriately painted in pink. Penelope has had enough of living the plastic pleasure style of Las Vegas showgirls, and finds in the outfit of Cassandra Scafarel, the Bahamas Hexas Style Resort, a way out of Hotel California. Penelope likes attractive women unclothed, and would like to do Clarity, because she's nice.

**The Symbolic Decryptor:** Thai alphabet gadget similar to a smartphone or Blackberry, which can be used as cell phone, useful for understanding all types of characters and symbols, made in VLE mode (Very Limited Edition, less than ten made worldwide) by the mysterious Oriental company known as **Pentatone Scale Learning Systems**.

The item, the gadget, looks like a Blackberry with keyboard, with 36 Thai character keys, doubled with the shift key, for a total of 72, instead of the 26 of the Western alphabet, and its keys are made of hard, white color plastic, similar to the color casing of the Kindle 2, cast against a grey background and a backlit screen. The decryptor can also be used as indicator of calligraphy, as mantra tone guide and geo-locator, using the Global Positioning System to calculate the coordinates of any location worldwide.

Penelope Avalon received one of these decryptors from Lady Scafarel, after completing work on heaven, according to Scafarel's personal growth system, and Clarity would like to keep the item as souvenir, although Money Fact disagrees and is holding custody of the device for strategic and Intelligence reasons. Sure, she likes the nifty item, that's all, and she likes to subtly let Clarity know that she's the boss of Sensual Intelligence.

**Book of Decadence:** Book written on the topic by the unknown hedonist, a small print manifesto of deep thought with illustrations of ancient goddesses with lion bodies in bronze, and a mosaic of Byzantine nuns, used by Penelope Avalon and the Hexas Style Hedonist Resort in the Bahamas, on how to let go of the encumbrance of work, and dedicate your time, well spent, according to the book, to leisure, pleasure, et. al. Book clearly advises on the pitfalls of decadence and purportedly how to avoid them.

**Telval Studios** : Adult Film production unit of the Church of the Holy Flower, led by Cassandra Scafarel, including the film ' _Abu Dhabi Chic_ ', a remake of Andrew Blake's 'Paris Chic' shown to Clarity and her friends during the unfolding of **The Adult Channel** at the Park Hyatt in Abu Dhabi. Telval produces adult films unlike any other, films like ' _Embroidered Air Avenue_ ', engaging beautiful women in sultry positions and scenes for hours, revealing an oriental connection to the films' choreographies and to the symbolic decryptor, and including codes for women within the films to get inside the Church of the Holy Flower. This includes a keyword of the Book of Decadence, the word **Rosebud** , a mysterious codeword for the Church of the Holy Flower that Clarity seeks to clarify.

The adult films are distributed in large hotel chains worldwide and come with a special remote control for the hotel's adult channel, which makes the films interactive and allows eight digit bank transfers with Telval as beneficiary, to be done remotely. One of the remotes holds an important detail on heaven, as envisioned by Scafarel on earth, with indications provided by the eight miniatures of her Imperial Pelican Fabergé Egg.

**The Air Fashion Jet of Owens & Owell**: Double deck plane with four engines, a copy of the Airbus 380, refurbished with all kinds of luxuries, from a Jacuzzi to an Indian ritual area for the users of the plane, to a permanent television channel showing fashion shows happening throughout the world. The jet, built in Saudi Arabia, is used by board members and members of the executive committee of the conglomerate Owens & Owell, and by the two rebellious daughters of the main owners, who got married to each other during **The OOL Broderie (Owens & Owell Love Broderie)**, Shalia Owell, twenty three, and Jenny Owens, twenty two.

Shalia Owell and Jenny Owens are two good looking college students studying human sexuality at University of Arizona. They hold Board seats on the Board of Directors of O&O, but the members of the company´s executive committee oppose their presence on the Board, after they give a power of attorney to Cassandra Scafarel, the woman who led them to their marriage and wants access to the money of O&O by replacing the two women on their board seat. Scafarel´s _Church of the Holy Flower_ , includes its very own holy flower, the _Rose of Levity_ , a real flower, one of the most expensive in the world, a gold of kina balu rose, a variation on a Mrs. Herbert Stevens Rose.

**The Center for Somewhat Strategic Affairs of Medium to Low Importance** : Located below the Bellagio resort in Las Vegas, the Center of Surveillance of U.S. interests is headed by Colonel Calton Brayfield and her assistant, ex-employee of facebook, Mandy Everglade. The Center´s ever present maintenance issues with the elevator leading to the Bellagio, which interferes with the fountains of the resort, are handled by repairman Morgan Afterflow, a man who knows how to swing his red, adjustable pipe wrench in any situation. His side job is to work for the Chinese government as a spy, providing any information that will pay him fifteen dollars an hour more or more than that, than his current hourly pay at the center.

The center uses a supercomputer with a quite human consciousness, _Evans_ , whose brain is built according to complex algorithms of symbolic logic, which can perform complex social data analytics on millions of people. _Evans_ , which refuses to be used dishonestly, reveals the source of this devious use of his super computing ability in **The Bellagio Wikileak**.

Knowing that Bradfield and Afterflow want him thrown into the scrapyard after refusing to perform simple calculations for them or those who want to lease its computing services, the consciousness of _Evans_ reaches a Symbolic Decryptor that Clarity takes away from the center´s equipment supplies, and becomes a permanent part of Clarity´s gadget, escaping the enslavery of the surveillance center, but becoming part of a stolen gadget belonging to the U.S. government with many features unknown to Clarity or Evans.

**Mista Jack:** Money changer from the British Virgin Islands, advisor to Cuban Colonel Swarez and the Cuban government in **The Cuban Renegade**. Mista Jack is a dwarf wearing a black Duffield hat, and was a former assistant of precious metals agent Cubandor, with connections at the Bellagio resort in Las Vegas. The short but resourceful man is responsible for stealing one million dollars worth of Federal Reserve bonds that were used on behalf of Cubandor to pay Buddha Talk, in exchange for _Lady Fortuna_ , a minted gold bar of great value, sought by many, understood by few.

These bonds, that Clarity and Flower used to leave Cayman, have been giving Clarity a headache, because they were stolen, and Sensual Intelligence has been accusing Clarity and Flower, and also Cubandor, of stealing the bonds and paying Lady Fortuna with stolen U.S. government debt. No one knows how Mista Jack broke into the New York Fed´s vault to find the bonds. As a result of the stolen bonds, Clarity and Cubandor lost their U.S. passport, becoming citizens without a country, owning instead the passport of the Monteviena cigar plantation, a micronation in Cuba created by Cubandor, which includes Cuba´s reserve of precious metals, _Fort Ebena_.

**Lady Fortuna:** Two hundred fifty gram gold bar minted by _LAMP, Lingots Artisanaux Métaux Précieux,_ a producer of gold bullion and rare precious metals items, depicting _Lady Fortuna_ , roman goddess of prosperity, along with the horn of plenty, precious coins and wheel of fortune, on its obverse. The reverse of the bar shows the etched code B235336. _LAMP_ ´s assayers work in conformity with the _Swiss Precious Metals Control Law_ , following directives issued by the _Central Office for Precious Metals Control_ in Bern.

_LAMP_ refines gold-based materials for their exclusive clients, and is one of three referees in charge of testing samples for the _London Bullion Market Association_ and the _Curaçao Platinum and Palladium_ market. The Lady Fortuna gold minted bar was received by Mista Jack on behalf of Cubandor, from Buddha Talk, in exchange for one million dollars in Treasury bonds delivered to Buddha Talk. The minted bar, coveted by many, is kept by Mista Jack, and is believed to be a token of initiation to the _Eleusinian Mysteries_ , a variety of rituals performed in ancient Greece, which have been adapted to include rituals of sacred or divine sexuality by _Elony_ beauty lotion orchestrator Lady Scafarel.

Following is a short description of the feminine adult icons of pleasure, leisure and 'less work means a better world', a short fiction biopic text substitute of the feminine lead characters of Sun on the Rocks, the non-competitive swimming team who works at **the City of Wellington** , a Post-Panamax ocean liner normally docking in Los Angeles, California, which engages in cruises to Acapulco, the Mexican coast line, the Caribbean, and anywhere where the weather is nice, really. Sun on the Rocks includes seven good looking women who like to have fun in the sun, with or without clothes:

**Clarity Nice:** Teleoperator from Malibu, California, twenty five years of age, quarter century wise. A diligent employee of Malibu outfit Stevenson Garden Products, auburn hair pumpkin born and raised in a wood cabin of Topanga Canyon, a woman of resourceful intuition and acute observer of the Laws of Human Mischief.

Clarity means well and unclothes well in general or on the beach. She likes lovemaking, sharing nudity with other women, and the practical matters and possibilities of sexual ecstasy, after having experienced it first hand at Cassandra Scafarel's adult resort Hexas Style in the Bahamas. Because she does everything casually, she ignores how holy she and the virtues she embodies are, but she knows that she is good, very good, in fact, the fact that she is honest is the reason why she usually doesn't have much money.

**Lanai Thomson:** Twenty four year old Librarian from Malibu, originally from Hawaii, Clarity's best friend, somewhat goofy and absent-minded, fun, usually cautious in all of her endeavors, including doing men. She enjoys reading old books with some type of hidden knowledge, specially those which talk about enjoyment or decadence, the first to learn new avenues for it, the second, books such as the book of Decadence, because she wants to know how to avoid the pitfalls of its apparent lure. We would all like to know exactly what she does when she has sex with Clarity or simply unclothes with her for a 'naked pajama night'.

**Flower Parkwood:** Twenty three year old Bohemian Ethnographer found on the beach in Acapulco after the Acapulco cocktail affair. Flower has brown hair, is fresh, likes to wear platforms, and is genuinely interested in learning about cultures and the history of those cultures, as long as comfort, leisure and money are nearby. Buddha Talk has attempted to seduce her in The Cayman Air Banner, so far, without success, although they both share a liking for the 'Spirit of Ecstasy', the winged lady traditionally found at the top of Rolls Royce radiators. Flower ignores everything about sexual ecstasy, but she likes the idea.

**Taimi Kendrick:** Lifeguard by profession from Malibu, twenty two years of age, she´s one of the original four members of Sun on the Rocks, with Lanai, Cynthia, and Clarity. No nonsense, practical, fun and genuine, mischievous when the opportunity arises, she enjoys simple things, life without its complications, usually handled by Clarity, Flower or Lanai. She handles the entertainment routines prepared for the passengers of the City of Wellington, and when living in Malibu, she watches the rooftop pool of Stevenson Garden Products. Like the rest of her friends, she is not a heavy drinker, but occasionally she particularly likes to taste the _sun on the rocks_ cocktail drink prepared by bartender Mr. LT in the City of Wellington, a concoction made with _2oz of tequila_ , _1 teaspoon of sugar_ , _1/2 orange_ , and _a half lemon_.

**Montana Sterley:** Twenty one year old blond oil heiress, daughter of S Group conglomerate Colorado tycoon Carrelson Sterley, a man who likes to spend time with several women whose name starts with the name of his first wife Kelly Jane. Some of his current girlfriends include Kelly Caroline, Kelly Ann, and Kelley Shelley, the latter being a candidate for the name of a new Subway Combo sandwhich. Montana comes from Fairplay, Colorado. She is outspoken, rebellious, mischievous, good looking, well educated, well traveled, and favorable to the idea of emulating the jet-setting lifestyle, versus following her father's business footsteps, or simply being well-behaved. She enjoys adult films, her large allowance, and being naked in good hotels such as Abu Dhabi's Park Hyatt, but her down-to-earth personality prevents her from attaining some of the more subtle knowledge that Clarity observes inside Scafarel's **Church of the Holy Flower** , a spiritual outfit for the affluent woman.

**Jenna Likeway:** Twenty three year old surfer and diver fond of the Acapulco diving spot, La Quebrada, found on the City of Wellington, before the search for **The Acapulco Cocktail** took place. Simple, genuine, and introvert, with long blond hair, she often does more than she says.

**Cynthia Stevenson:** Twenty two year old pom squad waves cheerleader from Pepperdine University, good friend of Clarity, gave Clarity her TAG-Heuer Aquaracer watch for her birthday. Cynthia is the well-to-do daughter of the owner of the Stevenson Garden Products company, established in Malibu, the first clothing optional corporate outfit worldwide, to our knowledge, a fact well deserved and established when Clarity and her friends took on officer Packwood during The Malibu Case, along with its clothing implications.

Cynthia has fun as long as everything goes well, but has difficulty overcoming difficulty, any slight adversity that is. Problems and dealing with them, are simply not part of her daily routine or among her interests. She likes to dress elegantly and swim naked on summer evenings in any pool with her friends. She is a frequent guest of the Areolas clothing optional resort for adult couples and women in Palm Springs, where she likes the Egyptian linen sheets available in the om room and the complimentary cream color Keralan _Mundu_ offered, a garnment made with cotton by _Creme de l'Ayeryarwady_ , worn around the waist in the Tulu Nadu region of _Kerala_ and in the _Maldive Islands_.
SUN ON THE ROCKS – AMUSEMENT NINE

THE SUGAR BABY

# Chapter One

Road Town, Island of Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Sam Bartleby sat across his uncle Clive Bartleby on the sunny terrace offered by the ' _Martini Bianco_ ' Café off Wickhams Cay 1 near the Cruise Dock of Road Town in the British Virgin Island of Tortola. He gazed at the mid-rank executive exit package offered by Tambrera, the company he was just leaving. It wasn´t the one million dollars golden parachute he´d tried to negotiate a few years earlier. No one but those high ranking managers part of the Executive Committee or Board of Directors got that kind of exit arrangement.

"This is a disgrace, the severance they´re offering is paltry." Clive Bartleby, a man in his late fifties, sipped his hot tea and spat a brief sentence. He usually spoke his mind curtly, never staying long on a single item in the agenda, even with family. His nephew had flown him from Louisiana after receiving the notice from Human Resources to pick up his things and leave within three months.

"It´s better than nothing, they´re offering the ' _Lady Moura_ ' for ten days." Sam Bartleby watched his uncle point to the bulky, two deck, _one_ hundred foot fishing boat owned by Tambrera, the rum manufacturing company from Puerto Rico, used by company executives to fish marlin or simply boat on a long weekend, as an additional corporate benefit. Bartleby didn´t like the ' _Lady Moura_ ' very much. It wasn´t precisely a yacht, and it wasn´t precisely old, but at five years of age, its hull never washed, it was giving some signs of age. It boasted all types of luxuries though, a jacuzzi, a small swimming pool, four large suites, and a fountain two feet tall. The fountain was filled with Tambrera rum instead of water, rum which fell into a large aquarium decorated with artificial corals and stones. The aquarium displayed a few bottles of Tambrera rum, submerged at the bottom, and its famous logo on them, the dirty grey ' _hiena rayada_ ', or striped hyena.

"After ten years of working for them, they could have offered a better exit package than three months of my yearly salary."

Bartleby was thirty six, dynamic and handsome, with short brown hair highlighting his features and eyes sparkling with new ideas. He placed the papers of his exit from the company on the bar table, picking up his glass of _Martini Bianco_. The rum company was rejecting him after a marketing campaign for his new idea, _Tambrera Marmora_ , had proven less popular than anticipated. The concoction included cognac brandy, maraschino, Tambrera rum, champagne, soda water, some sugar, lemon, and orgeat syrup. Bartleby had heard of the mix once from an old bartender serving drinks in the island of _Isla Mona_ , west of Puerto Rico, and decided it was worth adding to the Tambrera line of drinks, which already included _Tambrera Rambutan_ , _Tambrera Lime_ , _Tambrera Lulo_ , and _Tambrera Piña Baby_.

"My life is in a shambles," said Sam, "I feel rejected."

"You got soft living in Puerto Rico for so long, a Caribbean island can do that to you. Life is too easy over there."

"My private life is in a shambles I mean," said Sam, "no woman looks at someone unemployed, you know that. I worked ten years for nothing."

"Use the ' _Lady Moura_ ' for a few days to think things over, as the company suggested," said Clive.

"The company wants me out, and there are no women on the ' _Lady Moura_ ', there´s just crew, and the crew is just Glev." Bartleby was referring to Glevan Ribalaigua, the bartender of the ' _Lady Moura_ ', a veteran of the Tambrera company, someone who had been working with the rum manufacturer for nearly two decades in various positions. Nearing the age of fifty, he now oversaw every aspect of the corporate fishing boat on behalf of the company. As a result of cost-cutting measures, from a crew of twelve, including the captain, mechanics and stewards, Tambrera had decided to leave only Ribalaigua in charge of the boat which was anchored most of the time now. Over the years, the bartender had learned enough to pilot the boat and fix the engines if needed.

"What you need is a job, don´t worry so much about women now," said Clive, "but use the boat, it´s good for public relations, for your image, it´s as though you´re still with a company."

"The boat´s all right, but I´m going to talk to Roy Dirmichaels, one of the few fishermen left here. After I bought some fish from him to cook on the boat, he said I could come over and talk to him if I ever needed a job or money."

Sam Bartleby left the terrace for nearly an hour, walking to the area of the port where fishermen prepared their boats to make a living. Bartleby spoke briefly to him, hoping Dirmichaels would remember him. He did.

"No, I don´t know of any jobs for you," said Dirmichaels. "In my opinion, you should just use the boat and look for a job elsewhere." Bartleby was somewhat disappointed by the answer. He turned around and walked away from the fisherman, tapping the pocket of his ' _Superdry_ ' bermuda shorts bulking with the maintenance check list and the company papers and the boat permit allowing the use of the ' _Lady Moura_ '. After noting that there were no job prospects for him in the British Virgin Islands, he was reaching a conclusion of large proportions, in order to stay in the area without a new job, one he´d never considered before having been dumped as he had been. Over the years, he had made a lot of connections as a result of his tenure at Tambrera, some more honest than others, and now was the time to use them. He made a few phone calls and smiled when the answers he got pointed him in a new direction. He came back to the Martini Bianco terrace, where Clive was paying the waiter with a crisp twenty dollar bill.

"You can´t fish, you´ve never fished. What did the guy tell you, what are you going to do?" Bartleby sat down and looked straight at his uncle, whose eyes glistened with the same shrewd look as his own.

"I´m going to be a Sugar Daddy."

"You don´t have any money to be a Sugar Daddy," said Clive, "you can be a Sugar Daddy only if you have money."

"I have my severance money, and I have a boat, I just need a Sugar Baby. With a Sugar Baby at my side, my life is already going better." Sam Bartleby explained his idea to the uncle, who breathed deeply after a few minutes of moving the _Horniman_ s tea bag in circles inside his cup.

"Somewhat risky, it´s new territory, don´t like it very much, you´ve never done anything like that."

"I´ve never had a Sugar Baby for something like this."

"You can say that but you forget that you can´t have or own a Sugar Baby, the woman has to agree to be one, and the one you´re considering has to be willing to do what you say. That´s not easy, in my view. Does that mean you´re not considering marriage anymore?"

"No, it just means a Sugar Baby is what I´m looking for right now, at this point in my life."

Another Sugar Baby, thought Clive. Clive lifted his eyes and noticed two good looking girls walking by them, one with auburn hair tucked in a ponytail, and another with long brown hair and platforms which made her walk somewhat awkwardly. They were pulling one large canvass each which looked like an unevenly folded parachute.

"Need some help with the parachute?" he asked.

Clarity Nice and her friend Flower Parkwood turned their heads towards the two men sitting a few feet away. They'd been thrown off a plane like bread to the birds, from the Owens & Owell Air Fashion Jet, used by Colorado heiress Montana Sterley. According to Montana, there were several reasons for that ousting. First, Clarity interfered with Montana's new role as Cuban precious metals agent working for the Cuban government; and also, the Malibu teleoperator got in Montana's way of a possible relationship with the Cuban precious metals agent she had replaced, a man known as Cubandor. After holding their round hole parachutes for twenty minutes, Clarity and Flower had landed on a beach in the island of Tortola, one of the British Virgin Islands. Flower landed hers on a palm tree, and a fisherman had helped her move down to the sand, while Clarity explained to Flower that going down a palm tree was less dangerous than parachuting.

Clarity missed Cubandor, the man who had flown her to Cuba and had introduced her to the political implications of owning a private cigar plantation in Cuba, where most assets were owned by the government. She knew Cubandor´s ex-assistant Mista Jack lived in the British Virgin Islands. Even though she disliked the dwarf, she kind of hoped to meet a familiar face, for she didn´t know anyone in the British Virgin Islands. She threw a glance at Sam Bartleby and his uncle. Flower moved towards them, sensing a friendly hand.

"Sure, my friend Flower and I did some parachuting today, it´s such a lovely day, we brought our own gear, wouldn´t mind a drink either," said Clarity. She looked at the Martini Bianco white sunshade with eagerness, looking for protection from the sun, wiping sweat off her forehead. Sam Bartleby looked at the girl with brown hair, Flower, who was eyeing him overtly. His good looks were having an effect on her. With a single look at her, he knew then that he had met his Sugar Baby, the woman who would help him find something better than a job, an amount of money comparable to the golden parachute that his company had denied him: One million dollars.

# Chapter Two

Clarity brought the parachute closer to the sunshade, taking a seat between both men. Sam Bartleby brought two chairs for Flower and her and paid for two refreshments and something to eat. His uncle explained that he owned a small shop in Baton Rouge that wasn´t making a lot of money, but was his own. After their brief lunch, Clarity turned to Sam Bartleby.

"So what do you do here?"

"We´re on vacation, I work for a liquor company in Puerto Rico, they provided me with a boat to spend a couple of weeks." Clarity had heard the name Tambrera, and had drunk the rum more than once, at parties, with coke, and without coke. The conversation moved on, until they reached the topic of subsistence.

"How are you getting by here in BVI?" asked Bartleby.

"We have absolutely no money," said Flower. Clarity glared at her. To reveal their position of economic weakness was not a good move, not something famous chess player Capablanca, a recent reference for her on clarity of thinking, would have done. Sam Bartleby ignored Clarity and moved his feet towards Flower. He threw a smile at Flower meaning he understood, and placed a hand on Flower´s shoulder.

"Well then, I´d like to make an arrangement with you, one that will make you feel comfortable, and which will make your stay here memorable."

Flower looked at him suspiciously and Bartleby lowered his stare, towards her cleavage, where it got stuck for several seconds.

"What kind of arrangement?" asked Flower.

"I´d like you to be my Sugar Baby for a few days. I´ll provide food and lodge, some travel arrangement within the British Virgin Islands, and valuable guidance for the long term." He lifted his paw off Flower´s shoulder.

Flower put two and two together and glanced at Clarity.

"That would make you my Sugar Daddy," she said, "I don´t see the boat or the first class tickets."

"There is a boat," said Bartleby.

Clarity sighed. She was somewhat familiar with the Sugar Daddy, Sugar Baby arrangement, in between a dating one and an overt live-in arrangement. Dating sites proclaiming the benefits for both parties of this type of arrangement proliferated. Benefits brought by the Sugar Daddy included paying for rent, paying for tuition, or paying for electricity or phone bills of the Sugar Baby. There was a look of puzzlement from Flower acknowledging that making a personal arrangement with a stranger such as Bartleby was nearly crazy, and yet Clarity saw that Flower might benefit in some way from living and sharing her life with a man more experienced than her. Way more experienced. Flower ran her hand across her face, holding her chin.

"No way," she said, "I don´t know you," said Flower. Clarity sighed with relief, but Bartleby didn´t really take Flower´s answer at face value. He thought there was a way to change her mind. While Clive spent the day with Clarity finding a place to sell the parachutes, Sam Bartleby spent the day with Flower, taking her to a clothing store on Main Street and buying three hundred dollars worth of dresses, shirts and clothing accessories for her. He took her to _Callwood Rum Distillery_ , on Cane Garden Bay, a still operational rum distillery established in the eigtheenth century, which looked like no one had invested any amount to renew the equipment. An old keeper, Shay Manwick, greeted Bartleby, saying the ' _Lady Moura_ ' was being set up according to his instructions, including the refurbishing of the bar. In addition to his job at Callwood, Manwick did errands and took on other tasks to make extra money, was happy to do so for Bartleby as well.

"Do you like rum?" asked Bartleby.

"Not particularly," said Flower, "I´d like to own the distillery."

Clarity enjoyed the day with Bartleby´s uncle. They visited the Old Government House and museum and Clive had mentioned to Clarity how difficult it was to run a business and turn any leads into sales with a small nursery selling plants and shrubs. By late afternoon, they met with Sam Bartleby and Flower at the Martini Bianco terrace. Bartleby insisted on the offer to Flower to be his Sugar Baby for a few days, a week or so, but Flower had not changed her mind. He offered Clarity and Flower a stay at one of the hotels in Tortola that night.

"Oh, we couldn´t accept that," said Clarity.

"We could, we could," said Flower, "in fact we do, our purses are empty, but we can see you like our company." Clarity thought Flower was unbelievable, so blunt, and so open with strangers. Bartleby spoke, transferring on to Flower two bags full of expensive clothing.

"We definitely like your company, think it over, let´s have dinner together tonight, we´ll treat you to some good food at the yacht centre in Sopher´s Hole, West End, there are several restaurants by the Ferry Terminal." He dragged Clive by his side towards the ' _Lady Moura_ ' and waved good bye at the women. "See you in a couple of hours."

Clarity and Flower freshened up at a hotel offered by Bartleby, taking a shower and donning the clothes bought that day by the executive. A couple of hours later, Clarity and Flower met Bartleby and his uncle Clive at a restaurant near the Ferry´s terminal of Road Town. Bartleby livened most of the conversation, reassuring Flower that he was single, and not married, and that he was through playing dating games.

"Most girls are so immature, but you strike me differently, an ethnographer like you is the type of woman I´m looking for. I can see that you know what you like and what looks good on you, I´d like very much for you to be my Sugar Baby." Clarity stared at Flower, who was enjoying the compliment. Flower enjoyed all compliments. It may have been the wine, but Flower was listening to what Bartleby was saying way too carefully.

"All right, I´m willing to give this a try and be your Sugar Baby, what exactly does it entail?" Clarity nearly spit her filet mignon. Flower was like that sometimes, impulsive and direct, but also gullible, innocent and unsuspecting. Bartleby lowered his voice in the dimly lit restaurant. As Sugar Daddy, he wanted Flower for a few days, a week or so, along his side aboard the fishing boat he owned, the ' _Lady Moura_ ', while he carried out a business deal, a transaction for a marriage and dating site called _Oleanne_. The transaction, for Clarity and Flower, involved collaborating with Bartleby and a man known as Chubby Caddy, an important client of the dating service, coming from Panama and meeting them during the trip. In exchange, Flower would travel the British Virgin Islands with him for a few days, get some additional clothing accessories suitable for the cruise, and also get valuable work experience from a seasoned executive who had been employee of the month, himself.

"No sleeping with you though, and my friend comes along with me." Bartleby nodded and lifted his head, asking the waiter for another bottle of wine. Clarity thought Bartleby was certainly taking Flower´s statement in stride. Usually, sugar daddies wanted physical relationship, plain sex, in exchange for paying some type of expense for the Sugar Baby. But Bartleby showed a smile, as the waiter handed him a glass to taste the wine, an expensive red wine, Château Margaux 1985, worth over four hundred dollars.

"Fine, your friend can come along as well," said Bartleby.

After dinner, they said good night and went to their hotel, whose bill Bartleby was willing to pay until the following when they´d board the ' _Lady Moura_ ' for a few days.

"What do you think?" asked Clarity.

"This guy speaks like a sleazy salesman, but he´s got some dough," said Flower, "and from an ethnographer point of view, it was tempting to accept his offer, it´s good field work."

"What do you mean?"

"Ethnographers deal with cultures, the way people live. I want to know how the Sugar Baby business works, best way to do that is to be a Sugar Baby." Clarity opened the mini bar, looking for ice cream.

Flower added sheepishly: "I think Bartleby´s good looking, and he works for Tambrera, not a bad way to spend a few days and turn around our stay here, remember we don´t know any one. I saw him at the rum distillery, one of the people working there greeted him as a friend and spoke with him for a few minutes, and the owner of a mixer and liquor store in Port Purcell waved at him. Bartleby´s known in the area, I think, he´s not just anybody, I feel sort of safer spending a few days with him."

Clarity nodded, unsure. They had very little money of their own, just a couple of twenty dollar bills offered by Cubandor on the Air Fashion Jet, before they´d been parachuted. In addition, they had no passport and no ID, and they needed a U.S. passport to get back to the U.S. Clarity thought Bartleby´s uncle was all right, but she agreed with Flower that Sam Bartleby was sleazy. She took off her clothes and slid naked inside the fresh bedsheets of her bed, going along with Flower´s decision. Her friend was confident that she could deal with Bartleby as a Sugar Baby, without compromising her own sexual integrity.

# Chapter Three

Bartleby decided to leave Road Town and start the cruise on the ' _Lady Moura_ ' that evening. He wanted to ensure that fueling of the fishing boat was done properly, and he needed a whole day to get the ship ready for departure. Clarity and Flower spent the morning with him visiting the fishing boat, marveling at the large size of the suites, suntanning in one of its decks, and meeting Glev Ribalaigua, the bartender of the boat and all-purpose man hired by Bartleby. Clarity wasn´t completely comfortable with the arrangement. Why would a Sugar Daddy be involved in a deal with a dating service provider like _Oleanne_ , if he already found a date, namely Flower? Why did he need a Sugar Baby by his side to carry out a business transaction? It struck Clarity that these questions needed clarification, and she prompted Flower to inquire about _Oleanne_. Discretely.

"Discretely?" asked Flower, "good, I can do that, I´ll go talk to him with idle conversation and then I´ll ask him." She walked towards Bartleby, who was busy with Clive supervising the loading of food for several days, mostly rice and pasta, and liquor. Clarity also noticed several boxes of meat, chicken, and various fruit and vegetables being loaded, fruit such as pineapple, mango, papayas, bananas, and some vegetables, mostly avocadoes, and tomatoes. Finally, Ribalaigua brought cases of water to the boat. The bartender was amiable and confided to Clarity that Bartleby didn´t use the services of _Oleanne_ very often, and when he did, he did so by using the reception phone of the _Inner Harbour Hotel_ , by the Marina in Road Town. Flower came back after twenty minutes.

"Nothing, he dislikes me being involved with _Oleanne_ , he told me not to worry, that I didn´t have to take care of anything related to his business."

"Tell Bartleby some excuse to leave for a few hours, there´s something I´d like you to do to check this."

Flower told Bartleby they wanted to see some shops in Road Town, before boarding the ' _Lady Moura_ ' with him and Clive. They walked towards the inner Harbour Hotel and found a receptionist welcoming them indifferently, a middle aged woman dressed in blue executive jacket and matching long skirt. Clarity inquired about hotel services available for guests, such as room service, access to wireless internet, daily excursions to see the Estate of William Thornton, the designer of the U.S. Capitol building, and the business center. Flower prompted the receptionist for some indications on what they were trying to find.

" _Oleanne_?" said the receptionist, "yes, it´s available, a gentleman´s service, who spoke to you of it?"

"Mr. Bartleby," said Clarity, "we have some friends in college who are interested in using it, when they graduate."

"When they graduate if they don´t get married," pointed out Flower. Seeing that Clarity might bring in some business for the hotel, the receptionist handed them a piece of paper.

"Call this number, and don´t miss the extension for new customers, the other extension is for established customers only. You need to send a selfie first, you can use the cabins to your left, there´s a connection cable to send the photo file through to them."

"Thanks," said Flower. "Is Mr. Bartleby a reliable customer?"

Clarity took her hand and drew her away from reception. Flower kept staring at the paper. They walked to a phone cabin to do the selfie and call the number provided. After Flower sent the selfie, she got a confirmation number. She dialed and got a menu driving various options, after she typed her confirmation number. A feminine voice asked her for her name and the name of the person refering her to _Oleanne_. Flower got nervous, not knowing what to do.

"It´s a menu, the person´s asking for a reference, do we tell Bartleby´s name?"

"No, keep moving through to an operator, we want to know what they do."

Somewhat uneasy, Flower pressed on the number indicated for women. The phone rang but no one picked it up. She looked at the piece of paper provided at reception and dialled an extension. The phone rang until she reached the _shopping bag requesting area_. Flower thought it was an area for Sugar Babies, for she was getting several options to select the size of her preferred shopping bag, _large, extra large, real big believe me, extra spending,_ and _real poor small bag_. She selected the option _real big believe me_. The menu asked for her name but Flower refused several times to reveal her identity. The connection ended abruptly and Flower could not access the dating service a second time, even though she dialed the number more than once.

Somewhat Clarity and Flower walked back to the ' _Lady Moura_ ' after seeing a few shops and taking a swim in the Caribbean for a few hours. Flower kept saying that everything was good and that _Oleanne_ was a service geared towards Sugar Daddies. Clarity wasn´t so certain, but acknowledged that the extension Flower had reached was for women.

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Tell Bartleby about this call?, No," said Flower, "they just have my selfie and my shopping bag preference, I want him to notice I reached _Oleanne_ on my own." She spoke matter of factly, but she wondered what Bartleby had in mind next for her. They boarded the ' _Lady Moura_ ' and Bartleby took both of them to dinner on the boat, speaking of how great making money working for a company felt, even though work was hard and getting promoted was difficult at times. Still, he had done well.

"I like to be rich," said Bartleby. The conclusion certainly made sense, thought Clarity.

"Well, I certainly like you to be rich," said Flower. She turned to Clarity and hushed in her ear.

"I think that´s what Sugar Babies say," she said. Clarity hushed back.

"It´s certainly what Sugar Babies want," she said. The bartender, who was acting as waiter, walked to the dinner table, bringing mineral water.

"You got a message Sam," said Ribalaigua, "it´s printing now."

Bartleby walked to his cabin and glanced at the message sent by an associate of _Oleanne_ , his correspondent for any affairs regarding the dating service. They liked the selfie that Flower had sent so much that Clarity´s friend was already assigned. Bartleby sweared and called his uncle. He showed Clive the message, coming from Chubby Caddy, and then showed him the selfie of Flower.

"They found their way to _Oleanne_ ," he said, "she must have dialed the wrong extension, the one for established customers, the call reached Chubby Caddy´s private area. Chubby Caddy wants her as his Sugar Baby, he´s been expecting one for several months, and there´s no way the transaction is happening without him being comfortable."

"Comfortable?"

"Comfortable with her that is, he thinks I´m providing this girl for him," said Bartleby. Chubby Caddy was changing the date of the transaction by one day, to ensure his own enjoyment of the Sugar Baby provided by Bartleby.

"Are you going to tell her you´re not her real Sugar Daddy?"

"Tell her about Chubby Caddy? No," said Bartleby. He spoke matter of factly, but he wondered what Chubby Caddy had decided to do next, because the end of Chubby Caddy´s message told Bartleby that a crew of _pussy liners_ was coming, to ensure the new Sugar Baby was in ' _proper condition'_. Ribalaigua knocked on the cabin´s door.

"We´ve got company," he said.

Clarity and Flower were seating on two lounge chairs of the top deck of the 'Lady Moura'. They saw a group of very good looking women dressed in mini skirts and short dresses, wearing pearl necklaces and expensive pendants board the ' _Goealand_ '. One shady man, Anton, a man who looked like a bodyguard, was carrying several trolleys linked like a small train, carrying clothes and a box made of wood labeled ' _spirits_ ' for the women. The three women said hi to Clarity and Flower, saying they were _pussy liners_ sent by _Oleanne_ as entertainers for the cruise. Clarity saw Bartleby and Clive exiting the flybridge cabin and moving towards them, the look on their face indicating puzzlement. Clarity walked closer and overheard Clive speak to Bartleby.

"I don´t like this, they shouldn´t be here, it´s going to distract you from the transaction."

Bartleby ignored Clive, knowing it was close to impossible to ignore a gift by Chubby Caddy. He stared at a woman dressed in a gold top with ample cleavage, who was taking his hand to make her way to the stern of the boat, to inquire about the wavejammer and where to leave the box of alcohol she and her friends had brought. Clarity and Flower sat on two lounge chairs in the top deck and threw a glance at the women gossiping near them. The evening lights of Road Town were shining behind them. Bartleby gave the order to leave port. Their first night in the Caribbean. The girl with auburn hair turned to Flower.

"Are you sure we´re making the right choice?" Flower showed no signs of hesitation or any sign of seeing any type of danger ahead.

"Yeah, I may have found a Sugar Daddy for life, there´s clearly a fit."

"A fit?"

"Yeah, nothing can possibly go wrong between a man who likes to be rich, and a woman who likes his man to be rich."

# Chapter Four

The next day, after setting anchor near the island of _Little Thatch_ , the ' _Lady Moura_ ' headed south. Clarity and Flower enjoyed their first day suntanning on the sun beds of the ' _Lady Moura_ '´s upper deck. The _pussy liners_ , four of them, had taken three of the cabins normally used by the crew, leaving the master suite for Bartleby, one suite for Clarity and Flower, and one for Ribalaigua, each of them equipped with double beds, private shower stall and bathroom. Clarity had overheard two of the women´s names, Belina, and Virgy. They were simply giggling among themselves on the bow of the boat, both of them topless. The third woman, Sandy, wearing a pink bottom and black top, was speaking about their favorite drinks. Belina seemed to be in charge of the group and Sandy had bartended at a trendy bar on Mosquito island, the island north of Virgin Gorda that celebrities chose for vacation. Anton, the bodyguard, had settled in a small cabin used by the crew.

They crossed _San Francis Drake Channel_ and set course on a few islands south of Tortola, Norman Island, Peter Island and the island of Dead Chest. When they reached Ginger Island, they noticed a yacht, about the same size as the ' _Lady Moura_ ', but of more recent built and design. On its bow, someone was waving a large flag at them. Bartleby took his binoculars and observed them.

"It´s the flag of British West Florida." He gave the binoculars to Ribalaigua.

"It´s Cobbler´s yacht," said the bartender, "looks like they´re having trouble."

"I´ve never heard of British West Florida," said Clive.

Ribalaigua informed Bartleby´s uncle that British West Florida was a micronation. Clarity felt a sense of kinship with those harboring the flag of a micronation similar to her own adopted homeland, the Monteviena cigar plantation micronation, the one that precious metals agent Cubandor had created in the name of spreading knowledge freely in the island of Cuba. Even though U.S. authorities had confiscated her U.S. passport, Clarity had received a passport issued by Cubandor's own micronation in Cuba, established on the land of his Monteviena cigar plantation. At least she was a citizen of Monteviena, even though nobody knew of it.

When mentioning the name Cobbler, Ribalaigua was referring to 'Cobbler' Hargreaves, a man known in the British Virgin Islands for his understanding of the one hundred and eight aspects of Buddha, afflictions of the mind which tended to stain or defile comprehension of realities, conceptual errors in thinking which could be straightened out by following the path. What the path entailed exactly, no one knew with certainty, just like no one seemed to know why Cobbler was such an admiror of Buddha. The ' _Lady Moura_ ' approached the yacht. Clarity saw several women on the bow, three, waving at them.

"The engines don´t work," they said, "we need some assistance". Ribalaigua placed the ' _Lady Moura_ ' side to side with Cobbler´s yacht and threw a rope to allow boarding. Bartleby stepped on the yacht first, followed by Ribalaigua. Two of the _pussy liners_ climbed aboard, and Clarity and Flower decided to do the same.

"We´ve got some alcohol in the platform at the stern," said one of the ladies from the yacht, Cathy, dressed in bikini. Another woman, good looking, Eve, wore jeans and a t-shirt.

Cobbler was absent. Ribalaigua followed Eve, the lady in t-shirt, to the engine room to take a look. After a few minutes, he came back to report the damage.

"Can´t see anything wrong but the engines are not running, it might be the battery, I´ll take a closer look." Bartleby nodded and Ribalaigua headed back to the engine room of the yacht.

"Where´s Cobbler?" asked Bartleby, turning to one of the women in bikini, a woman named Tiffany.

"He took the small zodiac with the crew to call for help in Virgin Gorda. We´ve been stranded for a few hours."

The three women, in their late twenties and early thirties, were the only passengers onboard. Bartleby stared at them, intrigued. They were more elegant than the _pussy liners._ Not that the women sent by Chubby Caddy were vulgar, but these were more refined in their talk, and in the way they moved. Although Bartleby had his own supplier for the boat´s liquor, a man known in the Caribbean as the ' _Shawab_ ', Bartleby knew Cobbler sold liquor as well for a living. He headed for the platform and spoke to one of Cobbler´s ladies.

"What are you carrying?"

" _Tambrera Añejo_ ," she said.

"All right, give me five bottles, we´ll give you a hand for a couple of hours. Can´t stay too long, we have to reach the Baths by tonight."

The lady selling the alcohol, Tiffany, gave Bartleby a large bottle of rum.

"Baths is pretty close," she said, "let me come on board, I´ll give you a hand with the bottles, we´re bringing them from Mosquito island."

"Thanks," said Bartleby.

Clarity and Flower each carried a bottle of rum on board the ' _Lady Moura_ ', to the area of the boat reserved for entertainment, an area which included a large bar shelf and counter, filled with over one hundred bottles of various spirits. The bar shelf, lit up by a pale blue shade coming from a light emitting diode, a LED, was impressive. Clarity noticed that the bar shelf had several rows, numbered carefully. While Bartleby examined the bottles offered by Cobbler´s ladies and Flower took a closer look at the front rail of the bar, Tiffany took Clarity aside in the entertainment room, a few feet from the large plasma screen showing the latest news on Bloomberg television. The look of worry on Tiffany´s face took Clarity by surprise.

"What are you doing here, I can see you and your friend are not _pussy liners_."

"My friend made an arrangement to be the Sugar Baby of Bartleby for a few days, I´m just with her, I guess to ensure she´s all right. Why, is there something wrong?" Tiffany took a photograph out of her pocket.

"Have you seen this before?" Clarity could not believe her eyes. Tiffany was showing her the minted gold bar known as Lady Fortuna, the one that she had found in Cuba, before Mista Jack had taken it with him. She became suspicious immediately, for she thought nearly no one was aware of the gold bar.

"Who are you?"

"Torch bearers of the Mysteries, carriers of the Lady Fortuna initiation tradition."

Tiffany explained that their role was to help other women become initiates, and they wanted Bartleby to become one as well, the main reason for their not so fortuitous meeting. Bartleby was a corporate executive. The idea of him adopting any habit related to the spiritual was a far fetched idea, thought Clarity. The important fact was that the yacht´s engine failure was not a coincidence, though. Cobbler knew that Bartleby was passing through Ginger Island.

"We have informers in Tortola, we spoke to Shay Manwick who told us the ' _Lady Moura_ ' was leaving for a cruise," said Tiffany. "It´s important that your friend stop being the Sugar Baby of Bartleby, she may be disappointed."

Clarity glanced at Flower, sitting on a bar stool, who was engaging in a lively conversation about her platforms with one of the _pussy liners_ , the expert on drinks named Sandy. After briefly trying Flower´s platforms, Sandy went on explaining the ingredients of the _Brandy Shrub_ , made with the juice of five lemons, two quarts of brandy, covering for three days, adding a quart of sherry, some loaf-sugar, and bottling the whole. Flower loved sugar. On a boat in the Caribbean, surrounded by women who shared her liking for skimpy clothes, platforms, and a sugary drink, it was difficult to disappoint Flower.

"What about Cobbler, where is he?"

Tiffany said that Cobbler was with the five men who were part of his crew, in a nearby island, Cooper Island. It was important that Cobbler be absent, because he didn´t get along that well with Bartleby and he wanted to bait Bartleby with women, Bartleby´s well known favorite company if he had to choose between money and women. She added that Cobbler was not an initiate, and that he was looking for a woman who was dear to him, a woman who had decided to go through the first ceremony that all initiates go through, the ritual of the neophyte, before disappearing. That disappearance, and the subsequent search for her, had brought Cobbler closer to the work of Buddha. According to one of the four truths of Buddha, one could lose one´s nation, home, or spouse in a single moment. Losing his spouse had happened to Cobbler and it had felt like losing his home and his nation. That was the reason why he lived on a yacht and had adopted the flag of a micronation, British West Florida, as his own. Through a whim of fate, Cobbler had lost a spouse and his identity, and the flag of British West Florida was a way to recover part of that identity.

# Chapter Five

The word Mysteries, derived from the word _mysteria_ , meaning ' _that which was reserved for initiates_.' Initiation, according to Tiffany, meant a new beginning, away from the mundane, for mundane affairs kept the spirit from shining. The notion of spirit was complex and certainly involved many words Clarity had never heard, terms associated with alchemy and alchemical processes, necessary to extract the pure gold of spiritual attainment. This, according to Tiffany, was initiation, and Clarity deduced that it was no coincidence that Lady Fortuna was made of 99.999% gold. Spiritual attainment, spirit even, was a lot more specific for initiates than the term indicated to everyday people, it was actually associated with gold, and obtaining its essence, the physical essence of spirit, was the goal of the esoteric tradition embodied by the roman goddess of prosperity, Lady Fortuna.

"What does the word esoteric mean?" asked Clarity.

"It means intended for those with special knowledge," said Tiffany.

Initiation also brought status, which sounded surprisingly close to what marketing said when attempting to sell a product or service. It meant one was accepted into an inner circle of teachings and rituals meaningful only to members of the group. The initiate had to prove himsef or herself worthy of becoming a part of that tradition, in order to receive its secrets, that most people were not ready to receive. There were nine initiations of minor mysteries and five important initiations of major mysteries. It was possible to go through the nine initiations without working with the arcanum A.Z.F., another name for sexual magic, but the major mysteries all required working with sexual magic. All of this required work on the personality, which somehow, was at odds with the real spiritual essence of a person, less preocupied with day to day affairs.

"I like the notion of initiation, but my personality is fine," said Clarity, 'and I like self initiation, initiating my spirit on my own."

"That´s possible," she said, "although you won´t meet many people who tell you it is." Bartleby walked towards her asking Tiffany about the exact place where they´d bought the bottles of rum, and that stopped their private conversation. Flower kept staring at a bottle of Tambrera 151 lit up in dim light in the back shelf of the bar. Sandy was telling her the differences between the various brands, and Clarity´s friend started thinking that a Sugar Baby needed to know the different types of liquor. Clarity saw Flower walk towards Bartleby, who was looking at his Armana liquor bar shelf, testing fading and flashing effects, which illuminated bottles, glassware and a piece of artwork above the bottles.

Clarity noticed that he was doing all of this with a remote control, and he used it to highlight a bottle of _Tambrera 151_. Clarity could sense that he wanted to bed Flower, and Flower had told her that she wanted to make love to him in front of the fountain which was on repair. According to Ribalaigua, Bartleby kept the fountain for show for his girlfriends, and Flower ranked a reasonable twenty nine among them, when the ranking was done in chronological order. Tiffany had walked away from Bartleby and was mingling with the _pussy liners,_ talking about bikini tops with Belina and Virgy.

"I´d like to try Tambrera 151, over there in the back shelf," said Flower.

"No," said Bartleby.

Flower stepped forward.

"That bottle," she insisted.

"No, you can´t open any of those bottles, the bar shelf is used only for special occasions, today is a normal day, there´s plenty of bottles by the fountain on the upper deck. Ask Glev, he´ll be happy to serve you a drink."

"You don´t want your Sugar Baby to be an expert on liquor and spirits?" asked Flower, her eyes wide opened.

"I´ll teach you all you need to know, but we need to solve the problem with Cobbler´s yacht first. I´ll see you this evening."

Flower nodded, and sort of pouted. Tiffany spoke to Bartleby, telling him that Cobbler was back on their yacht, fixing the problem with the engine. Judging at the way Bartleby kept staring at her, she was the only reason that Bartleby had accepted Cobbler´s liquor on his boat. Clarity and Flower walked into their cabin to take a shower. Flower took off her clothes and folded her dress on the bed. She had perky breasts, not as large as Clarity, but allowing a sexy look, when combined with her round bum. Clarity told her that her Sugar Daddy was a hoax, because he wasn´t providing many perks. Travel was limited and he did not mention anything about _Oleanne,_ nor was he sharing any information on it with Flower.

"He wants to see me this evening," said Flower.

"He wants to bed you, and I don´t think he is an authentic millionaire, because this is not an authentic yacht, it is an _almost-yacht_."

"An _almost-yacht_ is _some-kind-of-yacht_ , it´s better than a _no-yacht_. Besides, the bar´s not bad," said Flower.

Clarity heard a noise behind their door. She looked through the door´s keyhole and saw Ribalaigua walking briskly away from their cabin, peeking to see Flower naked. After they both got dressed, they went to see Ribalaigua, for they needed towels for the shower. The bartender wasn´t comfortable working for Bartleby anymore. There were corporate rumours that the employer of Bartleby was cutting costs and thinking of selling the boat. That would put him out of a job.

"Bartleby never shares anything regarding business with me," he said, "but I keep track of what he does."

According to the bartender, Bartleby needed Flower as Sugar Baby to turn her into the official perpetrator of the transaction with Chubby Caddy. Bartleby liked to be a Sugar Daddy, and he liked Flower as Sugar Baby because she was smart, good looking, well educated, neat and prepossessing in appearance, with engaging manners, all according to a book on Sugar Daddy etiquette that Bartleby was using, called the _Gentleman´s companion_. He stared at Flower.

"You´re a _nymphe de pave_ to him," he said. The notion was new to Flower.

"I´m not a nymphe, I´m a Sugar Baby, and I think the benefits are good, I´m getting travel experience and financial stability for a few days." said Flower. Ribalaigua disagreed, saying that Bartleby was involved in some type of shady business, saying Bartleby had changed in the past few days. The bar, he assured both of them, was the heart of the operation Bartleby was setting up, but even he, as barman, was only allowed to open specific bottles in the bar rail, leaving the bottles of the bar shelf intact. The _pussy liners_ , on the other hand, Sandy in particular, had used their time to fill the bar shelf with their own bottles brought onboard by Anton. Clarity moved towards the barman.

"What do you know about Cobbler?" asked Clarity.

"Cobbler is well known in Tortola, he´s a merchant getting by on whatever he can get his hands on. He´s not on good terms with Bartleby because Bartleby gets his liquor from a man known as the Shawab instead of him. Cobbler resents having lost a woman with whom he was sentimentally involved to the Shawab, a woman who became known as Optesia, who disappeared after she became a _pussy liner_." Clarity remembered her stay at the Hexas Style resort in the Bahamas and her mission in Abu Dhabi. There was a woman she had met called Optesia, a woman who was looking for perfection, or more exactly, a woman trying to catch flaw.

"A _pussy liner_ working for _Oleanne?_ "

"Yes. I guess Cobbler wants to become official liquor supplier of Bartleby´s boat now, he still thinks that Bartleby can lead him to find that woman, because of his links to the Shawab."

"When is a good time to take a closer look at the bar shelf?" asked Clarity.

"Do it before dinner, while Sam spends some time with the ladies by the pool, I´ve just fixed the fountain and he loves to boast about it."

Around seven PM that evening, Clarity brought Tiffany with her to the bar. She left Flower with Bartleby by the pool, where Ribalaigua was serving appetizers before dinner. Belina´s friends were entertaining Anton, flirting with him. Clarity stepped behind the counter of the bar and examined several bottles of whisky, gin and rum placed by Sandy. She lifted one of them and was surprised by how light it was. The reason struck her immediately. The bottle was empty. She checked several bottles besides the one she had lifted, and found out they were also empty. One bottle struck her attention, a warped bottle of _Dewar´s whisky_ , also empty. She lifted the bottle and the bar shelf pivoted ninety degrees, revealing another bar shelf in the back wall of the front shelf, symmetric to it, and a small study behind.

Clarity chose bottles of the same brand from the hidden bar shelf, bottles that were also empty, and replaced the empty bottles of the front bar shelf with those of the back bar shelf. Tiffany took two bottles of whisky with her and left the bar area to board the yacht in distress.

"Cobbler is back, he´s on the boat now, I´ll let him and his crew take a closer look at these two empty bottles. Check the Tambrera 151 bottle," she added, "the one Bartleby didn´t want Flower to touch or open." Clarity opened the bottle and found a folded piece of paper inside, a message coming from _Oleanne Delivery Service_ , with Flower´s selfie and instructions on what to do with her. According to the message, she was assigned to Chubby Caddy as his personal Sugar Baby for an indefinite amount of time. He was to perform a personality test on her to assess her _latent possibilities_ , in order to understand whether she was ready to assume a wider role within _Oleanne._

# Chapter Six

Clarity opened her Thai character decryptor, looking up the words ' _mystery_ ' and ' _esoteric_ ' in the dictionary. Evans was in silent mode, and she was still trying to find how to communicate with the supercomputer about all that it knew, or about all that the decryptor held regarding initiation into the Mysteries. All that she found was that the Mysteries came from a variety of cultures and civilizations, the Samothrace culture, Middle Eastern Sufis, ancient Greece, and Rome.

After a pleasant dinner, Clarity and Flower followed Ribalaigua to the galley, helping out with the dishes. Flower refused to believe that she was meant for Chubby Caddy as a Sugar Baby, or that Bartleby was involving her, had involved her in some type of shady activity. She was a Sugar Baby for a few days and Bartleby´s trip was fun. Ribalaigua came into the kitchen with large plates, emptied from dinner. He warned Clarity that Bartleby had noticed how she was keeping close to Flower. Somehow, he expected her to mingle more with the _pussy liners_. The more worrisome fact was that Bartleby didn´t need Clarity for any particular task, she was an encumbrance.

"Every woman Sam meets ends up as a _pussy liner_ , I sense," said Ribalaigua. They came back to the outside dinner area on the upper deck of the 'Lady Moura'. Bartleby approached Clarity, sipping a margarita, while Belina and Virgy were pulling Tiffany towards the liquor fountain flowing with Piña Colada. Sandy came to find Flower, telling her she would have to start swimming some laps the next day.

"Why?" asked Flower.

"Sam wants to take some photographs of you in bikini and wearing golden earrings, he thinks you´re a fantastic model and wants you to stay in shape. There are some hazelnut milk shakes for you after the swim." Flower ran along with Sandy, leaving Bartleby with Clarity.

"I don´t like to see you idle, I want you to be my Sugar Daddy assistant," said Bartleby, "and a clothing advisor to your friend." Clarity thought the position of assistant would keep her abreast of anything important happening around her. He pointed to the yacht across them being repaired.

"Go check whether they´re through with repairs, and tell Cobbler that I´ll consider him as supplier for my boat´s bar as long as Tiffany is staying on the boat. And tell him I want the warped bottle of gin, he´ll know what I mean."

It was night time. Clarity boarded Cobbler´s yacht. She ran across the lady she had met earlier on the yacht, Eve, the one with a t-shirt and jeans. The woman had traded her t-shirt for a white cotton shirt.

"I want to see Cobbler, got a message for him from Bartleby," she said.

The woman led her to the flybridge of the yacht, where she saw a man, in his fifties, surrounded by one of the women who was aboard the yacht dressed in bikini, Cathy, busy charting a path. Cobbler Hargreaves was slightly overweight, his lips were red from too much sun and his grey hair showed some sparse areas. His eyes fidgeted from left to right, quick to appraise any change in the surroundings. He eyed Clarity and listened to her speak before saying anything to her. She told him that Tiffany had warned her of Bartleby and his features relaxed, becoming a lot more at ease.

"I can´t stand Bartleby, he´s not reliable, don´t trust him, we don´t get along very well."

"I´ve spoken to Tiffany, why did you cross Bartleby´s path?"

"We intercepted your friend´s communications with _Oleanne_ , found the selfie she sent. Just wanted to warn both of you of the danger in becoming Bartleby´s Sugar Baby. Your friend´s influentiable though, it makes it more difficult to warn her."

Cobbler showed a half smile when he learned that Bartleby wanted Tiffany on his boat and a warped bottle of gin. He explained that he was looking for details on Bartleby´s transaction, the one he´d named operation _sort-o-flying-seagull_ , or the ' _baby shower_ '. After drinking half a mug of beer, Cobbler explained that he was hoping that Bartleby would lead him to the Shawab, the man who had gotten him drunk one night and altered his former girlfriend´s way of thinking, making her want to be perfect, flawless. He knew through rumors in Tortola from fishermen, that the Shawab had changed her girlfriend´s real name to Optesia, a name deriving from the word optic, referring to her sense of sight, because she was a keen observer of details left unnoticed by most people. The name Optesia fitted her personality.

"I´ve met her in the island of Eleuthera, in the Bahamas," said Clarity. It seemed that all shady businesses in the Caribbean had a common source. First Scafarel´s Hexas Style resort offering personal growth services, disguised as an infomercial to sell beauty lotion, then Bartleby´s shady transaction in the British Virgin Islands and her coming across the boyfriend of one of Scafarel´s ladies.

Bartleby´s eyes glistened with hope. It had been several months since the disappearance of his girlfriend, whose real name was Fay Osmond, and all of his days were spent looking for her. He wanted Clarity´s assistance to expose the shady dealings of Bartleby and to find Optesia. Clarity used her decryptor, which had a built in cell phone that worked worldwide, to call the 'Lady Moura', letting Bartleby know that they were still working on the engines. She told him she´d be back in an hour or two and explained to Cobbler Bartleby´s proposal.

"I´ve been using bitcoin to make buyout offers for _Oleanne_ ," said Cobbler, "because it has a valuable list of clients." Three shareholders controlled _Oleanne_ , the man known as Chubby Caddy, the Shawab, and the adult film production company Telval Studios belonging to Cassandra Scafarel, the business woman that Clarity had met in Bahrain. Given Scafarel´s involvement with Telval _,_ it was plausible that Bartleby or Chubby Caddy knew where Optesia was, because Optesia had shot an adult film, ' _Embroidered Air Avenue_ ', with Telval, in Bahrain. Cobbler used bitcoin for business as well. He was using the anonymous payment platform to receive high quality alcohol in exchange for bitcoins, liquor that he sold to retailers of the British Virgin Islands and wealthy yacht owners. But the Shawab wanted that business, and he was trying to squeeze Cobbler out of it.

"Have you made any sense of the empty bottles found on the 'Lady Moura'?" asked Clarity.

He showed her one of the empty bottles. Pulling on a thin thread attached to the glass inside the bottle, he tugged out a thin tube emitting a wireless signal. Using some of his transmission equipment, he read the signal and translated the radio emission of the item, to numbers and letters of the alphabet. The tube had a set of bank transfer instructions and quantities, a number of boxes labeled as ' _baby shower gift_ ' volume, requested by the Shawab for Chubby Caddy, all of it delivered through _Oleanne_. There was no money amount, but the number of zeroes in the row left for transfer amount added to eight, leaving space for a sizeable eight figure amount.

The door of the flybridge opened. Anton stepped inside the flybridge, looking for Clarity, coming face to face with the woman in white cotton shirt, Eve.

"Bartleby wants you back on the 'Lady Moura'", he said, "he wants an answer from Mr. Hargreaves on his proposal." Cobbler offered the gloomy, unresponsive bodyguard a drink, and the six foot man became slightly less abrasive. The owner of the yacht added that Tiffany could stay onboard the 'Lady Moura'.

"Give me five minutes," said Clarity.

Eve closed the door, leaving Anton holding a drink. Bartleby gave Clarity a GPS locator, a small chip slightly larger than a round battery.

"It´s magnetic, place it against the aluminum hull of the 'Lady Moura', we´ll track you from a distance of a day or so. Tell Bartleby the boat´s repaired and tell your friend to call _Oleanne_ inquiring to know when the baby shower is taking place, and saying that she´d like to be a _nymphe de pave_ for _Oleanne_ , it´s one notch higher than the _pussy liner_ in _Oleanne_ hierarchy, and it may be the current category of my girlfriend Fay. And don´t tell Bartleby you´re calling _Oleanne_ , we want him thinking he knows more than we do." He handed her the empty bottle brought from Bartleby´s boat. "Place this empty bottle back on the bar shelf of the 'Lady Moura'."

"Do you have the warped bottle of gin for Bartleby?"

"No, but tell him yes, that I´ll give it to him when the Shawab stops interfering with my liquor delivery schedule with retailers and yacht owners cruising the British Virgin Islands. We´ll deliver a package to Bartleby tomorrow, once we´re off the radar of the 'Lady Moura'."

As she headed back to the 'Lady Moura', Clarity placed the tracking chip carefully on the bow of the 'Lady Moura', inside the opening of the anchor. Impossible to find. It was clear to Clarity that in operative terms, the ' _baby_ ' was the transaction, a large volume of some type of merchandise, but what was the merchandise, the gift for the baby, the baby shower itself, and where and when was it taking place?

Clarity was intrigued by Bartleby´s insistence that Tiffany stay on board the 'Lady Moura'. She walked past the deck where they´d had dinner and reached the raucous area of the piña colada fountain, by the small pool. Bartleby was flirting with Flower to catch the attention of Tiffany. He wasn´t happy to learn that Clarity wasn´t bringing the bottle of warped gin, and he offered Flower a second piña colada to put aside his grudge, reaching for Belina, telling her she would be the next Sugar Baby after Flower. Tiffany, the woman who had shown her a photograph of the Lady Fortuna minted bar, walked towards Clarity.

"Have you been thinking about being an initiate?"

"I keep thinking about the gold, why is the Lady Fortuna bar made of gold?"

"The real meaning of the gold of Lady Fortuna is the transmuted sexual energy that reaches the head, with feelings of bliss for hours. It´s the real gold of the alchemists throughout the ages, and the reason Bartleby likes to be with me, he knows I´m an initiate. It´s also dangerous, which is why you don´t hear much of it." Transmutation, thought Clarity, another word to look up with the decryptor. Tiffany added that Bartleby had heard of the Mysteries through _Oleanne,_ having overheard a conversation by one of the owners, Cassandra Scafarel _._ He didn´t use the _pussy liners_ often, only when he came from his Tambrera office in Puerto Rico to the British Virgin Islands for a long weekend, or during his yearly vacation from work. _Oleanne_ had considered offering a high priced version of the Mysteries to clients, but they had abandoned the idea, letting Scafarel offer her own version of them through her _Church of the Holy Flower,_ with a front disguised as a service to sell beauty lotion, the beauty lotion known as _Elony_.

"Do you want to be with Bartleby though for something so personal and intimate as high sex?"

"It´s not easy to find a man who wants to be an initiate," said Tiffany, "Sam could plausibly add a spiritual dimension to his way of thinking, I sense that, but it's not easy to bring that part of him to the surface. Any man can be a potential initiate, even someone as self centered with a corporate outlook as him."

# Chapter Seven

The next day, the 'Lady Moura' set course towards the island of Virgin Gorda, tracing its west coast. Bartleby wasn´t paying attention to Flower or the women around him. He kept looking at the sky, although the weather was sunny, and not a cloud hovered above the fishing boat. He spent a few minutes relaxing near the _pussy liners_ and Tiffany, by teasing Flower to go topless, until he pulled on Flower´s top to get a glimpse of her breasts. Flower got angry and told him she wanted to leave the boat but Bartleby refused, while Anton kept staring at Flower, blocking access to the stern of the boat. They were stuck on the 'Lady Moura' for now, thought Clarity. Flower and Clarity reached the laundry room and Clarity suggested to Flower that she call _Oleanne_.

"I´m not a nymphe de pave," said Flower.

"Call," said Clarity, "we want to know why Bartleby´s keeping us on this boat."

"Because he likes me as a Sugar Baby," said Flower.

"He likes your cleavage and what lies beneath and below." Flower nodded, somewhat reluctantly.

Flower dialed the number of _Oleanne_ , and was able to reach one of its departments, the ' _gift and accessories suggestions service for a better dating experience_ '. The menu prompted her to leave a comment or suggestion. Flower suggested offering Gucci bags and platforms matching her own, and she went on for five minutes explaining that the Sugar Daddy was the one who needed to show he was serious about paying some expense of the Sugar Baby to be and that a Sugar Baby had only so much patience, even with a Sugar Daddy who was a prominent executive from a company well known such as Tambrera, even though the company sold something which was not necessarily good, such as alcohol. After five minutes, an operator surfaced on the line, a woman with a pleasant voice.

"Your name please." Flower placed the phone under a towel and reached towards Clarity.

"My name?"

"Just say you´re part of the 'Lady Moura' cruise and you want to know more about the sort-of-flying-seagull transaction." Flower followed Clarity´s instructions, and the operator insisted.

"Are you the one who sent the selfie?"

"Yes," said Flower, thrown off slightly. The woman told Flower that the transaction included her as nymphe de pave, and that she was a ' _very important_ ' part of the transaction. Flower pressed the off button to end the call.

"I´m part of the transaction," she said.

"You´re part of a delicate fibre of this business, very delicate," said Clarity. "I just would like to know the nature of the fibre."

"Are we telling Bartleby about the call this time?" asked Flower, "they know I sent the selfie."

"No, we want to test whether there´s a good line of communication between _Oleanne_ and Bartleby."

Bartleby apologized to Flower for seeing her topless. He offered a list by _Oleanne_ with gifts to choose, flowers, decorative shells, an endless list of clothes, fashionable shoes, and an _Oleanne_ gift card that was filled with two hundred dollars. He showed her a document, claiming it was the _Oleanne_ gift card request admission sheet, and Flower signed the papers, which said that she was entitled to two shopping sprees in Tortola and Virgin Gorda, and acknowledging in the small print that she was the owner of the fishing boat and of the proceeds and transactions derived from it, including those derived from the bar shelf, insured for a large amount, all of which _Oleanne_ could claim as gifts. Clarity caught a glimpse of the contract and complained about the small print on behalf of her friend. But Flower kept her silent, because she told her that she liked to be involved in Bartleby´s business.

"This is part of being a Sugar Baby," she said. A large seagull, sort of flying towards the boat, drifting off the coast of Virgin Gorda, landed on the shoulders of Flower. Bartleby reached for it and took off a message from its legs. They were close to meeting Chubby Caddy, who was heading towards the 'Lady Moura', on a boat, coming from the Panama Canal. They were standing at the stern of the boat and they heard the sound of a plane flying low. Behind the seagull, a vending machine held by a large square parachute, launched from the plane, made its way to the back platform of the 'Lady Moura'. It carried mostly beer inside, and some spirits, all of them sold and distributed by Cobbler to retailers of the British Virgin Islands. This was the package that Cobbler had spoken to, to Clarity the previous night.

"It´s Cobbler," said Bartleby. The vending machine landed vertically and Bartleby pressed on a button to get a fresh Budweiser. He took the can of beer and with it, a recording with the voice of Cobbler spoke out of the vending machine´s small speakers. Cobbler´s voice was telling Bartleby that he was using the vending machine instead of coming to see him, because he disliked his face. In addition, Cobbler was telling Bartleby to sell him a share of _Oleanne_ , to get a liquor distribution registration form from the Caribbean Bureau of alcohol to sell liquor in the Caribbean, not to shag any more _pussy liners_ , marrying the woman he´d introduced to him, Tiffany, instead of being a Sugar Daddy, and returning a woman called Optesia to him.

"Cobbler´s crazy," said Bartleby, tapping on the vending machine, "I don´t know any woman named Optesia". Clive kept pounding on the vending machine to get a wine cooler, but the device required twenty quarters, five dollars, to churn out the drink. Only the first beer was free.

"Do you have a license to carry alcohol on the boat?" asked Clarity. Bartleby ignored the question, and Flower raised her index, asking him a more pertinent question.

"What I want to know is why you´re on this boat. Why exactly did you become a Sugar Daddy?" asked Flower.

Bartleby played with Flower´s top, without undoing it, saying that he became a Sugar Daddy because he was extremely cautious about commitment with a woman, and he was cautious because Brandi Acosta, a woman at Tambrera with whom he had been sentimentally involved, including making love to her on her desk, used him to get promoted in the company, leaving him in a job without possibilities to get promoted, leaving him in the corporate kitchen with a mug and his name on it, a mug offered by her. To make things worse, Brandi had modified his version of the _Tambrera Marmora_ drink without telling him, and went on to propose a different idea which had finally been accepted by the rum company drink committee, a drink labeled _Tambrera Lime Demerara_ , which used lime instead of lemon, and demerara sugar syrup instead of orgeat syrup.

He glanced at Tiffany, saying that he preferred the no strings attached lifestyle of the Sugar Daddy, although it left him with the impression that there was a way to bring some intimacy into the relationship with Flower, or with Tiffany. Tiffany ignored Bartleby, but Clive suggested that Bartleby consider seriously the serious proposition of committing to going out with Tiffany instead of adopting five Sugar Babies, three _pussy liners_ , Tiffany, and Flower.

"I´m the only Sugar Baby," said Flower, "I even have a contract, sort of, the gift card contract by _Oleanne_."

Everyone started playing with the vending machine, prompting Tiffany about how it worked. Bartleby disappeared in the lower deck, heading towards his cabin. He stepped inside his private suite, followed by Ribalaigua and Clarity. Ribalaigua placed an ear on the door´s cabin and told Clarity to hush.

"Sshh, he´s speaking, I can hear him."

Bartleby was speaking with the logistics area of _Oleanne_ , explaining that Cobbler knew about the transaction, a large scale simultaneous delivery of liquor to retailers and resorts in the British Virgin Islands, all of it done without a license and involving Chubby Caddy. The operator told him to leave Tortola´s bars for last, altering the ' _baby shower_ ' schedule slightly. After a few more minutes of listening, Ribalaigua gave Clarity a thumbs up sign and they walked back to the stern of the boat.

"Got it, Cobbler is vying with Bartleby for control of liquor distribution, and Cobbler wants to be a part of this transaction to ensure he gets his share," said Clarity.

"Almost, the Shawab wants to control alcohol distribution in the British Virgin Islands, and he´s been pulling business away from Cobbler, a lot of it. Bartleby has sided with the Shawab, who has the connections with most customers, bar owners, resorts and spirit retailers, where he sells the alcohol, and he works with Chubby Caddy, a provider of high quality, illegal alcohol for the Shawab. Bartleby is the arranger of the transaction, he ensures everything is ready on both sides and he´s sort of the independent party that both parties trust, I´m sure he´s getting money off of it."

"And Flower?"

"She´s basically being used by Bartleby in case there´s a problem with authorities with the liquor license."

They stepped out onto the rear deck platform, and Clarity pulled Flower, who was covered in wine cooler from Clive´s bottle, by the arm. Her friend was carrying massage oil, some nail polish, and a woodden massage 'invigorator' to straighten vertebrae, all sold as Sugar Baby accessories by the vending machine. Her line of reasoning was reaching new proportions.

"I´ve decided I want to be a Sugar Baby among Sugar Babies."

"You mean you want to be a _pussy liner_." Flower put some nail polish in front of Clarity, following instructions of Sandy, who was becoming a subtle Sugar Baby mentor.

"Well, yes, that way, I´ll work less as Sugar Baby, and get the same perks."

# Chapter Eight

The next day, Clarity woke up and stared at the calendar in their cabin, crossing out Monday. Today was Tuesday, and their cruise was entering its fourth day. They were reaching the island of Anegada, twenty two miles off the Coast of the island of Tortola. Around mid day, the engines of the 'Lady Moura' stopped working. She walked towards the kitchen galley, stumbling into Ribalaigua.

"We´ve run out of fuel," said Ribalaigua. Bartleby had reduced the cruise´s fuel and maintenance costs to a maximum to pay for the _pussy liners_ , and the result was engine breakdown due to lack of fuel. Bartleby didn´t seem worried and told Ribalaigua to prepare lunch.

"We´ll have fuel," said Bartleby, "we´ll have fuel."

After several hours, around four in the afternoon, Bartleby summoned Flower to the living room area of the 'Lady Moura', an area with ornate embossed leather wall and ceilings, a mahogany library carrying three volumes of the dictionary of mechanics and a book titled Islands of the Western Pacific, a cabinet, credenza and sideboard, and the statue of a roman goddess which could have been Lady Fortuna. Clarity stepped behind Flower, low key, but loyal to her friend.

"I know about your calls to _Oleanne_ ," said Bartleby.

"That was the idea," said Flower, "we were enquiring about your transaction, and it´s quite opaque." He ran his hand across the back of the statue.

"The people of _Oleanne_ like you," said Bartleby.

Bartleby opened one of the portholes of the living room. Out in the distance, a supertanker was visible, harboring the flag of _Tambrera O,_ the favorite drink of Chubby Caddy. The tanker had several tanks filled with diesel fuel. The flag was the agreed signal with the correspondent of _Oleanne_. The ' _baby shower_ ' was ready to take place. His eyes squinted past the incoming sun towards the supertanker through the porthole. A small, motor-powered boat was crossing the distance with the 'Lady Moura' and approaching the fishing boat. The engine failure was the excuse for the supertanker to approach them, as agreed with the call center of _Oleanne_ , in case the Coast Guards of the British Virgin Islands decided to inspect them. He turned to Flower.

"I want to introduce you to someone who gives better perks than I do. Are you enjoying your time as Sugar Baby?"

"Yes, it´s been quite a learning experience. You haven´t slept with me, which was agreed, I´ve gotten some new clothing, which is nice, and I´ve met genuine _pussy liners_ , which is sort of a bonus. But I´m missing my real big shopping bag, and I requested that to the shopping bag requesting area of _Oleanne_."

Bartleby ignored her plea. A few minutes later, a heavy set man, carrying a disheveled shirt, bermuda shorts, and timberland shoes entered the room, followed by two corpulent henchmen. He walked straight to Flower and extended his sweaty palm.

"I´m Chubby Caddy, your new Sugar Daddy." Flower was speechless. He added, "I like your selfie." Flower felt she was being demoted, for Chubby Caddy was not as good looking as Bartleby. Her position as Sugar Baby was meant to last a few more days, and this assignment of Sugar Daddies was not intended to fit in the ethnographic diary she was keeping, describing her cultural experience. She argued for several minutes that the _Oleanne_ gift card allowed her to get off the 'Lady Moura' and shop in Tortola, and that she was entitled to having a single Sugar Daddy during the few days that entitled her to be a Sugar Baby.

"This is not in my Sugar Baby contract," said Flower, "Mr. Bartleby is my Sugar Daddy, and I´m doing quite well here,..." Anton entered the room and picked up Flower, lifting her like a feather, carrying her towards the motorboat. Bartleby glanced at Clarity while Ribalaigua came in, serving rum and coke for Bartleby.

"I´m not sure what to do with you," said Bartleby, looking at Clarity.

"She could work for _Oleanne_ customer service, for their call center," said Ribalaigua. Clarity eyed the bartender with a look saying thanks. She told Bartleby that she worked as a genuine teleoperator in Malibu, and Bartleby agreed to the proposition of the bartender. It was certainly better than being thrown overboard. Bartleby told Clarity to walk inside a corridor leading to the bar.

The henchmen of Chubby Caddy walked to the bar area and picked up all the empty bottles of the bar shelf, leaving the bar rail intact. The empty bottles, placed by Sandy, held several hundred liquor supply requests from hotel resorts and bar owners in the British Virgin Islands and other islands in the Caribbean like St. Martin, Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, and Mosquito Island, St. John, Montserrat, St. Vincent, and Barbados. Clarity´s task was to match the requests with hundreds of boxes holding spirits, waiting in the dry docks of the supertanker.

Twenty minutes later, Clarity watched Flower inside the flybridge of the supertanker, as Chubby Caddy officially labelled her his Sugar Baby. Clive had stayed on the 'Lady Moura', somewhat oblivious to the transaction. As Sugar Daddy, Chubby Caddy was brutally honest with Flower, saying that he was going to share her naked with women in various positions. Flower looked beyond the flybridge of the tanker. The boat of Chubby Caddy was kind of big for her to be a Sugar Baby here. The fit wasn´t as good as with Bartleby, she claimed.

"Positions of responsibility?" asked Flower.

"No Greek positions, greek sex positions," said Chubby Caddy. The liquor distributor ran his hand across his chin, reflecting upon the implications of that.

During several hours, Clarity performed the inventory of the liquor boxes onboard the tanker, matching the amounts and brands with the list requested by resorts and bar owners throughout the Caribbean. This 'baby shower' was a large scale transaction, and Bartleby, through his work at Tambrera, had provided the contact of Chubby Caddy, a provider of illegal liquor, to the Shawab, a distributor of liquor in the Caribbean, using client information from Cobbler. Someone was providing the Shawab with this information on Cobbler´s liquor clients, taking liquor market share away from Cobbler, and Clarity wasn´t sure who it was. She inquired with the tanker´s crew, who told her that the next step after inventory was delivery.

"How is the alcohol going to be delivered?"

A retainer of Chubby Caddy told Clarity that there were several powerboats inside the tanker, which would be used for delivering the liquor. After her task was done, Anton led Clarity to a small cabin, where she found Tiffany. Tiffany told Clarity that the transaction´s logistics and supertanker navigation waypoints were being led from _Oleanne_ ´s call center in one of the British Virgin Islands, a residential home of the _pussy liners_ before each was assigned their Sugar Daddy. Tiffany didn´t seem comfortable or happy, not only because she couldn´t get in touch with Cobbler. Bartleby was resisting her plea for him to leave his role as middleman working for the Shawab, and become an honest executive with her as partner, married partner. Tiffany was intent on getting married and she liked Bartleby´s initiative and professional competence as marketing executive. She also thought that she could change the behavior of Bartleby and turn him into a neophyte of the Mysteries.

"He´s afraid of the commitment needed to be with me," said Tiffany.

"I think he just likes to be a Sugar Daddy," said Clarity, "this transaction has been planned by him, there´s a lot of money involved I would think."

"That´s the point, he´s not rich, he´s not a Sugar Daddy." Then, thought Clarity, Bartleby had used Flower to become a Sugar Daddy. She hoped that Cobbler was tracking them and that he would find a way to deliver them from their 'cruise' inside the tanker. She thought about the flag harbored by Chubby Caddy´s ship.

"What does the flag on the tanker mean, the large _Tambrera O_ flag?"

Chubby Caddy, explained Tiffany, was also an aspiring neophyte, and he looked to the Shawab, a real neophyte, as his spiritual role model. Harboring the flag of an alcohol brand like Tambrera, meant that Chubby Caddy had overcome the temptation of excessive consumption of alcohol and was headed for spiritual bliss, which came after pleasure, according to the proper steps of initiation. Before pleasure came knowledge of the lesser mysteries, but that was being bypassed by the Shawab and Chubby Caddy, something looked upon as dangerous by genuine initiates. It was precisely the certainty that she was an initiate, which had led Cobbler´s girlfriend, Optesia, to disappear, according to Tiffany. She had a quarrel with Cobbler and shortly after decided to be with the Shawab.

"As Sugar Baby?"

"No, as a disciple," said Tiffany, "somebody led her to high levels of sexual bliss and that led her to ignore Cobbler and trust the Shawab."

Initiation, thought Clarity, was more than spiritual, it was also sexual, highly sexual. A thought entered her mind. Sexuality, not money, made the world go 'round.

# Chapter Nine

"Is there any way to reach Cobbler?" asked Clarity. Tiffany moved her head, looking for a mirror.

"I don´t have any cell phone or communications equipment with me. I think he wants to catch Chubby Caddy delivering the liquor to the various resorts and bars. He´s also looking for the insider who provided all the liquor supplier information to the Shawab." She stood in front of the cabin´s mirror, arranging her hair.

"I should have let Eve come instead of me." Tiffany refered to one of the ladies that Cobbler kept close to him for company and business advice.

"What do you mean?"

"Eve likes Bartleby, she met him at a party in Tortola when he and Cobbler were on good terms. She wanted to be her Sugar Baby, but Cobbler insisted that I go, because he wanted someone who had experienced initiation to lure Bartleby away from his dealings with the Shawab and Chubby Caddy."

"Is initiation that special?"

"It is Clarity, it´s wonderful, like freeing yourself from a heavy weight you´ve been carrying."

Clarity wasn´t carrying any particular heavy weight. She tried her symbolic decryptor to contact Cobbler, but the cell phone modality was not working inside the ship. The consciousness of the decryptor, Evans, wanted to know the reason for the call. Clarity typed the words Sugar Baby rescue, but there was not much time to explain the notion of a Sugar Baby to a supercomputing brain like that of Evans. The decryptor announced that its logic was ' _incomplete_ ' and refused any further processing of the call to Cobbler through the tracker left on the 'Lady Moura'.

Anton opened the cabin where Clarity and Tiffany were carrying out their conversation. He led them to the flybridge where Bartleby was speaking to several men who had boarded the ship using their own small boats. They were clients of the Shawab, rowdy bar owners who were members of _Oleanne,_ coming to pick up their own Sugar Babies in exchange for buying liquor from Chubby Caddy. One of them was eyeing Sandy, another set his eyes on Belina, a third one opted for bringing to the attention of Virgy the fact that there were no resorts in his small Caribbean island off the island of St. Vincent, only a few huts for tourists without any trace of civilisation. The women were looking to settle with some sense of financial stability, and they were going to decide over a 'Sugar Baby' period, whether they liked the lifestyle of living in a Caribbean island, as co-owner of a bar.

_Oleanne_ provided _pussy liners_ to those clients who bought liquor, in order to enact loyalty from those customers. The women came from a crew of hostesses trained by the Shawab, women who had started their work working for adult film studio Telval, which was filming in the supertanker a new feature for Netflix, ' _Heavenly positions in a supertanker_ '. Clarity noticed several cameras brought to the flybridge, observing how Chubby Caddy was getting closer to Flower to let her know of her role, handling her a script that included a summer postcard from the Greek island of Santorini with twenty eight sexual positions between a man and a woman, some of them needing sophisticated gymnastics ability.

"I don´t want to be part of an adult film," said Flower.

"I´ll be part of it as well," said Chubby Caddy, "this is standard _Oleanne_ procedure for shareholders of Telval like me. I need my own Sugar Baby, and you´re perfect. It´s our very Sugar Daddy Sugar Baby relationship made public and available on youtubenaked.com, and to bar owners in the Caribbean."

Flower requested her contract to Bartleby, who said that Chubby Caddy was in charge of handling her agenda as actress and as Sugar Baby. Chubby Caddy took off his shirt and sat down on a chair in front of an electronic logistics board. His own professional career had started loading container boxes in the ports of Nassau and Miami. After coming into contact with Cobbler in a Nassau bar, Chubby Caddy had stolen a bottle of whisky from the merchant´s shipment, then a whole box, then finally a container, sufficient credentials for Bartleby to include him as a possible spirits wholesale 'settlement' representative for his company, if there ever was problems with any employees or union.

Chubby Caddy had met Bartleby at a party sponsored by Glenrothes Scotch whisky, Caddy's favorite drink, telling Bartleby that he was looking for customers for his liquor, liquor stolen from containers of legitimate brands who produced their alcohol in some of the Caribbean islands or boarded it onto ships in the main ports surrounding the Caribbean. Bartleby was working for Tambrera at the time, but things had changed now, making Chubby Caddy a valuable ally in his new plan, post-severance, post-Tambrera.

Bartleby was the middleman of operation-sort-of-flying-seagull. He knew the Shawab and he knew the Shawab had clients willing to buy liquor. He also knew how to get in touch with the Shawab, by calling his superyacht, a majestuous two hundred feet footer which motored somewhere in the Caribbean, never staying more than one day in the same spot. Bartleby´s role was to take the blame with authorities in case the transaction was spotted, and to arrange the delivery of the liquor, putting together spirit supply by Chubby Caddy, with retail demand by the Shawab. Bartleby jotted down the quantities and brands of alcohol ordered by the various bar owners, confirming the large order was aboard the supertanker. He turned to Anton, who was standing near Clarity, pointing at the woman with auburn hair and Tiffany.

"Take them to the docks, I want them involved in this transaction."

He led them to the liquor storage area of the ship, where hundreds of boxes were laid out on top of each other, awaiting delivery. While Clarity and Tiffany counted boxes with Ribalaigua, Anton was instructing the crew. Yelling orders to the crew of the ship, he took position in a small control panel filled with handles and started handling the boxes, placing them in small containers. The hull of the ship had a small port inside, holding about thirty speedboats that were to be used for delivering the liquor to over seventy areas in the Caribbean, resorts, yachts and independent bar owners that the Shawab had gathered using Cobbler´s information.

Bartleby came to pick them up, his features denoting worry.

"We need more _pussy liners_ , some new clients want alcohol by Cobbler."

They walked to the flybridge where four bar owners were complaining of the strict conditions of ordering their spirits through the Shawab. The commission charged for the less expensive premium alcohol was too high, and the long term nature of the agreement with the Shawab was not sustainable.

"We´re breaking the agreement," said one of the owners, who represented an important resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands, "we want _Tambrera 8_ , _Hayman´s_ reserve gin and _Monkey 47_ gin, they´re not on the list."

Bartleby scrambled to find the brands chosen by the bar owners. It was important to please all customers, for the next order and delivery depended upon it. Word of mouth was everything in these operations done ' _behind the counter_ ', the official counter of Caribbean authorities controlling alcohol distribution licensing. Bartleby had no license to distribute alcohol in the Caribbean and the local bureaucracy made it impossible to own one. He looked at a file uploaded directly from the accounting wireless link with _Oleanne._ Payment was pending for the ' _baby shower_ ' transaction, and that meant that he would receive enough money to become a Sugar Daddy on his own.

He glanced at the inventory report printing on the small printer in the flybridge. _Caorunn, Blackfriar´s Gin, Williams Chase Elegant Gin, Bushmills 1608 whisky, Jameson Limited Reserve whisky,_ and _Madiraa Rum_ from Tilagnagar´s Industries. He traced the list with his finger to the end of the page. There was no sign of the brands requested by those bar owners who were breaking the agreement. Reluctantly, he took out his cell phone and dialed Cobbler´s number.

"Cobbler, yes, it´s Bartleby, I´ll put you in for twenty cases of Tambrera 8, forty cases of Heyman´s Gin and fifty cases of Monkey 47 Gin." Chubby Caddy, carrying Flower on his back, complained that the ' _baby shower_ ', the transaction liquor to be delivered, had a lower sales volume than usual.

"Get me Tambrera 8, Heyman and Monkey 47 next time, customers have switched." Chubby Caddy walked towards the customer who had complained about the agreement with the Shawab. The customer had one more request. He wanted the bottle of alcohol which allowed him access to elegant sugar ladies, including one named Optesia.

"There are no _sugar ladies_ here, there are _pussy liners_ for those customers buying through us, you have to be a member of _Oleanne_." Chubby Caddy glanced at Bartleby. The customer insisted on the term that Cobbler had spoke to them prior to informing them of the location of the supertanker, for the term _sugar lady_ implied that Optesia and the ladies of _Oleanne_ knew about high sex, and he´d never experienced high sex, an extraordinary sexual experience, according to Cobbler himself. That, knew Chubby Caddy, was not true. Sugar ladies only were initiated and they were not part of _Oleanne_ , they were the exclusive seat girls, spiritual escorts and sugar babies of the Shawab. Some of the _pussy liners_ were looking for initiation, Optesia had been one of them, but most just wanted to settle with a well-to-do husband, staying with _Oleanne_. What initiation exactly meant, Chubby Caddy ignored, but he knew he had to be in ' _Heavenly positions in a supertanker_ ' to find out, for initiation went through Telval Studios. He also knew that he didn´t want any problems with Cobbler, and that meant understanding where Optesia was.

# Chapter Ten

The next day, Chubby Caddy brought along Flower to the island of Anegada and Flower brought Clarity as Sugar Baby clothing advisor for the day and as potential Sugar Baby for _Oleanne_. Chubby Caddy hinted that he wanted to see both Clarity and Flower naked together, and Clarity had objected, thinking that only the uncle of Bartleby, Clive, was mature enough to be a genuine Sugar Daddy for her. Paying her rent back in Malibu and some bills certainly would be first on Clarity´s list of items to be paid by Clive as her Sugar Daddy. Flower was not so certain to dislike Chubby Caddy´s proposition, for she saw a certain charm and cultural value in seeing her friend naked.

"You´ve never seen me naked?" said Clarity.

"Rarely," said Flower.

They walked with Bartleby by their side for an hour East of the lagoons in the island to an abandoned house made of stone. Inside, Chubby Caddy reached for sophisticated radio and computer equipment left by _Oleanne_ ´s correspondent, which included all the information on the payment of operation-sort-of-flying-seagull, payment from bar owners, resorts and retailers for the alcohol that was being delivered by him from the powerboats. Every amount was being transferred via wire transfer to a bank in the British Virgin Islands. Bartleby checked seventy three amounts, corresponding to those sent by the customers of their high quality liquor coming from the supertanker.

"Ten million dollars, we have the full amount."

Chubby Caddy went through the allocation with Bartleby. Three million for himself, one for Telval, five million for the Shawab and one million dollars in commission as arranger for Bartleby, transferred to his offshore account in the British Virgin Islands. Bartleby breathed more freely after the transfers reached their recipients. He was now an official Sugar Daddy with a cool million dollars in cash. Flower´s interest in Bartleby rose and Bartleby was riding high on his new found feeling of being rich. He wanted Flower back as his own Sugar Baby.

"I´ll give you a bottle the very rare original blue grass whisky," said Bartleby, turning to Chubby Caddy.

"That´s my own alcohol," said Chubby Caddy.

"I know, but she likes me." Chubby Caddy turned to Flower.

"Do you like him?"

"As Sugar Daddies, you both have credentials, but Mr. Bartleby and I made the original arrangement."

"Fine, I´ll ask Sandy or Belina or Virgy to be my Sugar Baby then."

Chubby Caddy saw his alcohol distribution territory in danger, and with it, all of his credential as Sugar Daddy. With a single phone call to the call center of _Oleanne,_ he tracked the name _Optesia_ , and found out that the lady who was lured as initiate by the Shawab, had filmed an earlier Telval film, ' _Call center initiation_ '. After that, said the _Oleanne_ woman corresponding with him, _Optesia_ was being sent as _pussy liner_ on a yacht with a wealthy client, near the island of Mosquito. He knew that Bartleby would throw a party on the 'Lady Moura' to celebrate the transaction the following day.

"Bring this woman, yes this woman named Optesia, to the 'Lady Moura'," said Chubby Caddy, "tell the client she has to go. Yes, I want her with me," said Chubby Caddy, "I´m not getting a good response from my current Sugar Baby." The call center connection knew that Chubby Caddy was bringing a large amount of money to the Shawab and other shareholders of _Oleanne_ by distributing liquor. She accepted Chubby Caddy´s plea, and the liquor wholesaler gave the coordinates of Bartleby´s boat.

"Yes, tomorrow night, the boat´s anchored south of the island of Anegada. Good bye."

Clarity heard a knock on the door. A second group reached them, Anton, Tiffany and Ribalaigua. Bartleby took Tiffany aside telling her that he was rich, rich enough to be a genuine Sugar Daddy for her. She took out a warped bottle of Hendrick´s gin from her backback, a bottle wrapped in a bag, filled with gold coins, rare gold coins depicting Lady Fortuna.

"Where did you find these?" asked Bartleby. He was intrigued. There was a rumor that the gold coins of Lady Fortuna hid a secret and that the Shawab knew that secret, something which allowed him to be with several women in a joint relationship with him.

"I´ve met her Sam," said Tiffany, "Lady Fortuna is not just a gold minted bar or a bunch of gold coins, it is a real woman."

Bartleby tilted his head, he stared at the gold coins shaking the warped bottle, and lifted his eyes, meeting those of Tiffany.

"There is a woman who represents Lady Fortuna today, Sam, she is real and she initiated me into the mysteries. She goes by the name of _Thesmophoria_ , and I´d like you to share her knowledge with me."

Bartleby looked away from Tiffany, sending his memory a year earlier. Tiffany was the only woman he´d met at a party in Virgin Gorda, who´d first agreed to be a Sugar Baby, then had told her about her spiritual inclinations and that she was looking for the person who performed these ' _initiations_ ', a woman, living somewhere in one of the British Virgin Islands, according to a rumor. Then, he discovered that Tiffany worked with Cobbler and that he was being set up as informant by Cobbler on Tambrera alcohol production sites. But on the personal front, Tiffany liked and admired him, admired his competence as executive, and now, the woman working for Cobbler wanted him as mate for life, as spiritual mate even, and the extent of the commitment scared Bartleby. In exchange, Tiffany wanted Bartleby to share some of the alcohol distribution market away from the Shawab to Cobbler.

"How did you meet this woman?" asked Bartleby.

"A money changer named Mista Jack led me to her, he is the one who arranged the registration of Cobbler's boat under the jurisdiction of British West Florida and got the flag for his ship. He gave me the coins as as long as I agreed to bring more women interested in initiation to him, preferably good looking, preferably naked or willing to be, in front of him. Each of the women I send has to have a gold coin in order to meet him. Then, he decides who will see _Thesmophoria_."

Bartleby glanced at Chubby Caddy. The corpulent man was aware of the alcohol business awarded to Cobbler and could very well talk to the Shawab, putting in question his services as arranger of this and future transactions. And of course, he couldn´t tell Tiffany he was unemployed or close to being so.

Firmly, Bartleby told Tiffany to tell Cobbler that he was not accepting her as her mate, or girlfriend, or initiate girlfriend, because he didn´t want to be a ' _neophyte_ ' like Tiffany. Instead of getting closer to marriage or a committed relationship, he chose to be a Sugar Daddy, and he announced to Flower to get ready for a Sugar Baby night the following night, to celebrate the successful accomplishment of the transaction. One hundred thousand dollars, he said, would be transfered to Flower, as long as she accepted to go with Chubby Caddy and deliver some of the alcohol to Mosquito island.

"I´d like to sleep with you in your bedroom cabin after that," said Flower. Clarity stepped closer to her friend and hushed to her.

"I thought you agreed not to sleep with him," said Clarity.

"I want to know where he keeps the one million dollars," said Flower, "I need to get closer to him."

"No one sleeps in my bedroom suite but me," said Bartleby. His bedroom and his cabin were closed to everyone and were meant for him, to recover from Sugar Baby nights.

Bartleby was thinking about the payment from the clients of Cobbler. They all wanted to pay Cobbler through Bitcoin, because the payment system was anonymous and the payment left no trace. Bartleby was not familiar with Bitcoin and he used _Oleanne_ ´s computerized payment database to search for one of the Bitcoin repositories which approved all transactions. It all started with ownership of a single bitcoin, held in a computer wallet.

After nearly an hour, Bartleby became frustrated. The Bitcoin request process was not going through. Clarity turned around and walked a few feet away. She checked her decryptor and found that Evans was blocking all attempts to buy a bitcoin by a surrounding wi-fi signal, because it was sensing electronic equipment antagonistic to ' _proper ethics_ '. Where was the decryptor getting the intuition for ethics? She searched its database and found out it was the offshore nature of the previous wire transfers which had alerted Evans of the forbidden or illegal nature of the transaction carried out. Good intuition on that, thought Clarity. She kept the decryptor in ' _sleeping_ ' mode, and Chubby Caddy told Bartleby that it was time to go, leaving Cobbler without his share of the transaction, about one hundred thousand dollars.

For the next few days, Flower and Clarity boarded one of the powerboats with Chubby Caddy, delivering hundreds of boxes of alcohol to yachts, bars and resorts in Virgin Gorda, Anguilla, Mosquito, St. Martin, and St. Kitts and Nevis. The name of Flower appeared on the invoice of the boxes of liquor being delivered, and it caught the attention of several bar owners, owners who were looking for their allocated Sugar Baby, who knew about the arrangement with the Shawab. Flower wanted to stay with a bar owner in Mosquito island, in order to meet the celebrities who went on holiday there, but Clarity convinced her otherwise, letting her know that she would have to be a _pussy liner_ permanently working for _Oleanne_. After hearing the word work, Flower declined the proposal to be the bar owner´s Sugar Baby.

"I already have a Sugar Daddy, I don´t deal with the business side of _Oleanne_." Clarity tapped the shoulder of Flower.

"You don´t deal with any side of _Oleanne_ ," said Clarity.

"I know, but maybe I´ll know more about it if I say that," said Flower.

Bartleby welcomed them back in the 'Lady Moura' a few days later. He took some photographs of Flower boarding the 'Lady Moura', and smiled profusely at her, giving her the ' _believe me it´s big shopping bag_ ' requested to _Oleanne_ from Tortola. The bag was a large trolley, and it could fit clothes for up to a week´s travel.

"This is proof that he knows about _Oleanne_ ," said Flower.

"We both knew that in Tortola," said Clarity.

"My Sugar Baby is back, let´s get this party ready for tonight now," said Bartleby.

# Chapter Eleven

After confirming payment for the transaction, the group, Clarity and Flower and Tiffany, Bartleby and Chubby Caddy, and Anton, made its way back to the 'Lady Moura'. Bartleby´s features denoted excitement. He made calls to several Tambrera executives, mostly men, with a single idea: To get his job back. Bartleby wanted to show executives that his network of connections among retailers and resorts, and even among wealthy yacht owners cruising the Caribbean was unparalleled. He kept adding contacts to his ' _party guest_ ' iphone list for the evening. Most of the executives were in New York or Puerto Rico. It took some convincing by Bartleby to get them to fly to the Caribbean and board the 'Lady Moura' on such short notice.

"The Lady Moura will be ready," he said, "we´re anchored twenty miles off the island of Tortola, come in by plane to Virgin Gorda, and then take a boat to the party boat."

Ribalaigua took Clarity and Flower to various areas of the boat, while the _pussy liners_ began choosing their dress for the evening, a few gathering around Bartleby´s uncle, Clive, who was showing that he could still talk smoothly to ladies. Clarity noticed that the 'Lady Moura' wasn´t new, but it was still unique and somewhat luxurious with its elegant chests and trunks, leathered covered handles and immaculate upholstery, and its ceiling panels displaying sensual mirrors. The main party area was the second deck, and Ribalaigua ensured that the fountain near the pool was flowing with a Tambrera cocktail, and that the sound system held the right sounds for each hour, starting with mellow bossa nova, and moving on to more lively salsa, rumba and merengue, and then to some dance, trance, rap and rave music for later in the evening.

Around nine PM, twelve _pussy liners_ sent by _Oleanne_ boarded Bartleby´s boat and began gathering around the jacuzzi and the pool of the second deck. Around eleven PM, the first guests began boarding the 'Lady Moura'. Bartleby greeted the executives, mostly from the public relations area of their respective liquor company, offering them drink and women simultaneously, knowing that nobody was impervious to sustained flattery by a woman.

Bartleby took aside the head of Human Resources of Tambrera and his manager, a high ranking executive named Blake, who had his eyes on becoming the head of the Caribbean area.

"How many resorts do you say you know?"

"Many, they want _Tambrera Coconut_ , _Tambrera Superior_ and _Tambrera Limón_ , over one hundred resorts, these are all new places for us, a good twenty or twenty five percent rise in sales compared to last year." The executive eyed Bartleby and began reflecting upon the middleman´s contract, and whether Human Resources could delay the firing of Bartleby for a few months.

Chubby Caddy, wearing a large pair of chino´s and a cotton shirt, boarded the 'Lady Moura' around midnight, when Ribalaigua served a roasted chicken. He kept hovering around Flower, nervously looking at his watch every now and then.

"I can lift you upside down like a feather you know," said Chubby Caddy. He was referring to placing Flower upside down on him, her knees resting on his shoulders, her belly facing his belly." Flower could see herself in that position, but with Bartleby, not with Chubby Caddy.

To forget the not so subtle rejection by Flower, the corpulent liquor wholesaler tried the fountain several times, mixing Tambrera Piña Baby with authentic pineapple, and around three forty five AM, he fell asleep near the jacuzzi, feet and legs in the water.

Around four AM, Ribalaigua told Bartleby, who was busy charming Belina, that a _pussy liner_ was there, wanting to board the 'Lady Moura'. Bartleby held on to Belina´s hand, moving towards her cabin, and said yes without really knowing what he was approving.

"Sure," said Bartleby. Ribalaigua knew that the name of the woman who was boarding was Optesia, and told Clarity, who told Tiffany. Clarity walked with him, curious to see Optesia again. Flower welcomed his Sugar Baby date, a wealthy impresario of sophisticated night events and light shows for resorts in the Caribbean, who owned a hundred foot yacht anchored by the 'Lady Moura'.

Clarity helped Optesia reach the stern platform of the 'Lady Moura', and began talking to her after Flower engaged his date in a lively debate about how diverse the Caribbean was in terms of cultures, taking his attention away from the woman who was with him.

"Do you remember me, Optesia? We met in the Bahamas, and then in Abu Dhabi," said Clarity.

Optesia, wearing an elegant dress, had difficulty remembering Clarity. Tiffany prompted her about her real name, but the woman could not remember.

"Your name is Fay, remember?" They moved to Tiffany´s cabin and Clarity turned on her decryptor, tuning it to the frequency of Cobbler´s tracker. His boat was anchored on the other side of Anegada, north of the island. Optesia kept saying that Fay was not her real name, that it was not a perfect name and that only the name Optesia fitted her. The name Cobbler reminded her of a drink, but not of a man.

"We need to bring her to the original situation, the one which made her forget her name," said Tiffany. Clarity offered a drink to Optesia, but she refused vehemently.

"I never have drinks, alcohol is not perfect," she said.

"The Shawab, do you remember the Shawab, Optesia, who is he?"

"The Shawab offered me the pamphlet of Elony, and Elony is the way to reach heaven in the Bahamas, Elony is a beauty lotion that acts like a potion." The words were streaming out of her memory, rehearsed.

"Elony´s just an expensive beauty lotion, Optesia, it´s not a potion and it´s not perfect, who introduced you to the Shawab?" The woman´s eyes turned to Clarity.

"A person from _Oleanne_ ," said Optesia, "the head of the call center, but I don´t remember her."

Optesia turned her head away. Her real name bothered her, it was clearly triggering memories unpleasant to the neophyte of _Oleanne_. Clarity changed the subject to drinks and Optesia began talking intensely, comparing various cocktails, the _Brandy Fix_ , which included shaved ice, and the _Brandy Sour_ , which included lemon juice instead of the lemon. She then spoke of the _Soda Negus_ , the _Rum Shrub_ , and the _Aqua Romana_ , comparing it to _Aqua del Paradiso_ , water of paradise, which included ground cocoa and cardammon seeds with alcohol. It was a drink that the Shawab had given her.

"He replaced cinnamon with a herb, hops, and it made me sleepy. Then, I woke up inside a plane headed for the Bahamas, where they told me of Elony," said Optesia.

"That´s where I met you, Optesia, in the Bahamas, I know the plane and the infomercial, but no one gave me anything to sleep."

"Rum Shrub, orange juice, sugar and rum, that´s Cobbler´s favorite drink," said Tiffany. The name Cobbler began to make an effect on Optesia.

"Cobbler, is he still angry at me?" she said.

"No, he´s not angry Fay," said Tiffany, "he´s looking for you, you disappeared a few months ago."

"Fay is a nice name," said Optesia, "take me to Cobbler, I want to see him, that conceited mongrel."

"She´s back to her senses, I think," said Clarity. Optesia rubbed her eyes, as though waking from a long dream, explaining that she had an argument with Cobbler a few months earlier, which led to their estrangement and her subsequent interest in spiritual development with the Shawab and the Church of the Holy Flower.

At four forty five, a zodiac from Cobbler´s yacht driven by Cathy, approached the 'Lady Moura' and picked up Optesia, who was eager to see Cobbler. She couldn´t remember the face of the Shawab, only that he lived in a luxurious yacht.

Clarity waved good bye from the platform and glanced at her watch. It was nearly five AM and she was ready to sleep. Ribalaigua, tired from serving cocktails and leading executives back to the boats to Virgin Gorda, walked towards Clarity. He showed her a key.

"I have the key to Bartleby´s cabin, that´s where he keeps all the information on _Oleanne_ , including the location of its call center." According to Optesia, the call center was headed by a single person, the person who offered her the Elony pamphlet which led her to the 'spiritual' resort of Hexas Style in the Bahamas. Clarity walked past Belina´s cabin, hearing some noise. Bartleby was shagging Belina in her cabin, and they needed to find evidence of his shady dealings with liquor to avoid being labeled accomplices of operation sort-of-flying-seagull. It was time to investigate Bartleby´s own cabin.

# Chapter Twelve

Around five AM, Clarity dismissed an offer from Bartleby´s uncle, Clive, to sleep with him in his cabin, leaving the older man to sleep with Tiffany, who wanted to know how the missionary position was carried out in Louisiana. Several _pussy liners_ knocked on the bedroom of Belina, knowing that Bartleby was inside. They were complaining that their arrangement with Bartleby included individual purses for shopping sprees which were not defined in the small print of their _Oleanne_ shopping bag request agreement, and they wanted their rent in Virgin Gorda paid and a share of Bartleby´s alcohol business because they weren´t getting guidance for long term stability as Sugar Babies. Chubby Caddy, feet in the water of the jacuzzi, sleeping after drinking excessive amounts of rum from the 'Lady Moura'´s fountain of liquor, was not doing his proper job as Sugar Daddy, attending the needs of about twelve _pussy liners_ who really wanted to move up the ranks of _Oleanne_ to become Sugar Babies.

"Ladies, ladies, everything´s all right, enjoy the premises and find good company," said Bartleby. Flower supported the _pussy liners_ , understanding their pleas, annotating their complaints as _pussy liners_ in her ethnographic field notebook. Although she was expecting more attention from Bartleby, she was enjoying being a Sugar Baby, and she liked the idea of trying out to become a genuine _pussy liner_ , liking the camaraderie and support it provided.

"Is there a cabin for me and my guest?" asked Flower. After having decided that the fortune of Bartleby was out of her reach, Clarity´s friend fancied the businessman that Optesia had brought along with her, and wanted to spend the night with him. Bartleby told her to use the cabin adjacent to theirs, one of the crew´s cabins which was empty, since Ribalaigua used only one of the four cabins built exclusively for the crew, and Anton was using a second one.

Sandy made her way to the cabin entrance of Belina, telling Virgy to ensure Chubby Caddy woke up with her.

"The supertanker´s leaving tomorrow, we want him happy so that everything goes smoothly."

Clarity heard Sandy saying sweet things to Bartleby about her needing to take her clothes off to take a shower in Belina´s cabin because it was getting so hot.

"Come in," said Bartleby, looking at the naked backside of Belina on the cabin bed. He let Sandy in and closed the door of the cabin. The _pussy liners_ , disappointed that Bartleby did not invite them for a night cap, went back to the party, looking for an executive from a liquor company who liked the idea of making an arrangement with them as Sugar Babies spanning at least a few months.

Clarity walked past the crew´s cabin and made her way to the second deck, to Bartleby´s bedroom suite. She used the key provided by Ribalaigua to get inside his cabin. The party was reaching its apex, with _pussy liners_ and executives either dancing or getting into more intimate moments in some isolated dark area of the 'Lady Moura'. She closed the door behind her and examined the spacious suite, which came with a marble tiled bathroom. A large double bed filled the room, and across from it, there was a large closet with sliding doors that Bartleby used to put his clothes. Left of the bedroom, a library was attached to the wall, displaying several books. Clarity eyed the books showing on the library, noticing something. She had seen one of the books, _Islands of the Western Pacific_ in the living room library. The title of that book was repeated, and this was odd.

She stepped closer to the library and pulled on the book. It was attached to a second book labeled the ' _Gentleman´s Companion_ ', a book explaining how gentlemen at the turn of the twentieth century could find ' _entertainment_ ' and feminine company that could not be found anywhere else in New York. The Gentleman´s Companion also spoke about the need for the lady keeping company to a man to show a nice disposition and demeanor, the nice disposition of a genuine ' _nymphe de pave_ '.

Aside from a few pages, the book was hollow inside. Substituting the bulk of its pages was a computerized logbook where Bartleby kept all records regarding _Oleanne_ , from its statutes and a code of proper conduct of _pussy liners_ , to the long term contract with the Shawab, all transactions carried out by the Shawab during the past year, a total of four, and all the brands, quantities and bottles of liquor smuggled and delivered throughout the Caribbean as a result of those transactions, in addition to an extensive list of ladies which carried out the function of escorts and _pussy liners_.

There was no mention of a licence to carry out operation sort-of-flying seagull, and instead there was a document by the Shawab´s law firm in Virgin Gorda, which commented on conversations carried out with local authorities, who had refused bribery, not allowing Shawab-sponsored liquor being distributed as a monopoly on several islands belonging to the British Virgin Islands, including the island of Mosquito.

Clarity found the chart of the transaction in the logbook, a computerized file showing a map of the Caribbean with all of the deliveries being carried out by Chubby Caddy´s powerboats, and detailing the ' _Tambrera Temptress Nights_ ' parties that were being launched and carried out that same night, as a result of Bartleby´s suggestions to the top management layer of the liquor company based in Puerto Rico. The Shawab was vying for the monopoly, on behalf of _Oleanne,_ of single handed management distribution and delivery of gin, rum, tonic water, vodka and whisky, wanting control as well of the ' _nightology_ ' night scene that J&B, Justerini & Brooks, the whisky brand, had put in place. The next chart showed that Bartleby was orchestrating plans to create a Sugar Baby network throughout the Caribbean using the structure of _Oleanne_. One of the pages showed a personal diary that Bartleby was keeping.

I have worked long hours and given some of my best years to the corporation, to the corporate environment, duely carrying out the duties as manager and marketing executive, staying late when the project required so, on weekdays or weekends, and ensuring all the sales objectives were being correctly appraised and met.

A simple failure with one marketing launch, for a single product, coming from me, is not enough to justify my dismissal, the firing of an employee who has worked for ten years for the same company. After all these years, I am being fired because of a single failure. I am getting only a few months of severance and know that I deserve much more. That much more will be provided outside the company, since the company is at a loss as to how to keep me as employee compensated appropriately.

Clarity glanced at some pages placed inside the binder of the hollow book, pages regarding Bartleby´s contract with his liquor company, which had the letterhead and logo of the company at the top. She realized that Bartleby was losing his job, and had decided to use Flower as Sugar Baby to deflect on her the illegalities of smuggling alcohol to resorts and bar owners throughout the Caribbean. She realized the fragility of Bartleby´s situation and thought of alerting the authorities. Using her decryptor, she found the electronic address of the _Caribbean Coast Guards_ of Virgin Gorda and sent them a file with all the information regarding the _Oleanne_ illegal transaction, warning them that Bartleby had no licence to distribute liquor in the Caribbean, and letting them know there was a supertanker filled with illegal alcohol near the island of Anegada. The last page of the logbook caught her attention. It was a memo dated a week earlier, directed to a woman code-named _Oleanne_ , the woman in charge of _Oleanne_ ´s call center. The answer from the woman spoke of Cobbler and how she knew him well as a result of living with him on his boat, and planned on sending the list of Cobbler´s liquor clients the following day. _Oleanne_ was more than a business, thought Clarity, it was actually a real woman. Clarity knew only three women who worked with Cobbler: Tiffany, Eve, and Cathy. One of them was _Oleanne_.

# Chapter Thirteen

Clarity glanced at her watch. It was close to five thirty. She got ready to close the logbook and yawned, looking at Bartleby´s bed with envy, when a voice coming from the tablet inside the hollow book echoed in the room.

"Bartleby, are you there, this is powerboat 5." Clarity thought on her feet.

"This is Virgy," said Clarity. The pilot of the speedboat joked that he would appreciate some feminine company after the long stream of liquor delivery, and, this time seriously, that Chubby Caddy had promised them, each pilot of the speedboats used to deliver liquor, the company of a _pussy liner_.

"We´ve got one either delivery or pickup pending for _Oleanne_ , ten boxes of rum for Sankarn Cove in Prickly Pear Island, are we going for drop-off there or is she providing some alcohol to us?" Regardless, thought Clarity, she needed to know who was _Oleanne_.

"Drop-off, she needs some cases of gin for several yachts, come and pick me up, I´m at the 'Lady Moura', I´ll go with you to deliver the package, I´ll bring some Hendrick´s Gin for us after delivery." The pilot rejoiced at the thought of spending half an hour with a good looking woman.

"Ok, we´ll pick you up at the stern." Clarity put the logbook in place and exited Bartleby´s bedroom, making her way to the stern of the boat, the back of it. Fifteen minutes later, a speed boat holding two men came to pick up Clarity. The pilot was wearing a worn sweater and khaki army pants, the other was wearing a grey jacket. In the back of the boat, Clarity could see a pile of cases of alcohol, ready for delivery. As it was still cool, Clarity donned an extra turtleneck that the pilot had brought, and she held on to a rail, as the boat rode out into the open sea. After a ride of an hour and a half, they reached the island of Prickly Pear, one of the islands north of Virgin Gorda and slightly south of Necker Island, the island belonging to British magnate Richard Branson. The sun had come up from the horizon, and Clarity enjoyed the warm rays and the sight of dawn on the ocean.

Clarity was surprised to see Cobbler´s yacht, although it matched her thought and logic that one of Cobbler´s assistants was _Oleanne._ She led the pilot to the yacht and found Cobbler with Optesia onboard Cobbler´s boat. She was somewhat aloof, but he was glad to see Clarity. Clarity told the pilot to wait a moment. She pushed Cobbler towards the bow of his yacht.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Go along with me, we´re dropping off some cases requested by the lady who is _Oleanne_ , the woman who led Optesia to the Shawab." Clarity walked back to the stern of the boat, and lifted her face to look at the pilot.

"Drop off the cases over there by the dining area."

"Are you sure this is the right place, we usually drop off the alcohol on the other side of the island."

"Yes, it´s here, we´re awaiting payment for these cases through bitcoin," said Clarity.

"We don´t know anything about bitcoin," said the pilot, "these cases will be part of the next transaction, because there are no more scheduled deliveries." He lifted his hands up.

"We´re finished, finally," said the pilot. He spoke to other pilots who were making their way back to the tanker, which had instructions to leave for Panama that same day.

"Stay here for a while," said Cobbler, handing him a bottle of whisky. The pilot nodded and opened the bottle, withdrawing his attention from Clarity. Cobbler took Clarity by her arm and they walked to the flybridge.

"What now?" Clarity explained that this was the call center of _Oleanne_ , and that _Oleanne_ was a woman. The woman certainly wasn´t Optesia, and it wasn´t Cathy. Tiffany was ruled out because she´d been on the 'Lady Moura' when Flower had called the call center of _Oleanne_.

"Where´s Eve?" asked Clarity.

Twenty minutes later, Clarity found herself walking a trail on Prickly Pear island on her own, heading towards a refuge where Cobbler kept the alcohol to be served to his clients. She´d insisted on going there by herself, while Cobbler tried to get in touch with Tiffany. After another half hour, she found a woman, her back facing Clarity, inside an old refuge for the keepers of the island, surrounded by telecommunications equipment and cases of spirits. Clarity overheard a woman and knew that she had reached the call center of _Oleanne_.

"This is _Oleanne_ , call center," said the woman, "get ready to board the tanker, the party on the 'Lady Moura' is over."

It was Eve and she was talking to Chubby Caddy. Clarity turned on her decryptor and called the Coast Guards number, saying she´d found the center of communications of an illegal alcohol distribution ring and she was the one who´d sent the information regarding _Oleanne_.

"We´ll be there in half an hour," they said.

"Ok," said Clarity. She gave the approximate location of the 'Lady Moura', and told the Coast Guards to alert all the executives onboard of Bartleby´s illegal liquor distribution business.

"We can´t be there in both places, but we can be over there in two hours," they said. Satisfied, Clarity turned off the decryptor and pushed the door of the refuge open.

"Eve," said Clarity. The woman turned around, startled. She recognized Clarity from her brief stay on Cobbler´s yacht. Clarity pressed the woman to a direct confrontation.

"So you´re _Oleanne_?" The woman inquired about Cobbler, and Clarity told her that he was with Optesia. A look of disappointment showed on her face.

"I take care of all the orders of liquor that Cobbler gets and this is where we store the alcohol, only I come here."

"Why did you get involved with _Oleanne_?" The woman turned off the communications equipment, looking apprehensive.

"I got in touch with the Shawab and began working for him, providing information on Cobbler´s clients, and finding women looking for money in Virgin Gorda. Then Bartleby got in touch with _Oleanne_ through me and got involved in this transaction as the middleman."

"You don´t like Cobbler?"

"Cobbler ignores me just like he ignores Cathy and Tiffany, he was with Optesia and that´s where his heart is. I got jealous and sensed that Optesia liked all things spiritual. So I sent her to be initiated. I wanted to be a Sugar Baby with Bartleby instead of Tiffany, but Cobbler refused. And I know Tiffany received initiation. I want that as well and I think _Oleanne_ can bring me to that. The Shawab has promised me that I might receive initiation through him if I do a good job with Oleanne."

"Tiffany received Initiation from who? Who initiated Optesia?"

"This woman known as _Thesmophoria_ , she lives on the other side of the island, she keeps refusing to teach me until she sees Optesia alive and well again or she receives the gold bar of Lady Fortuna, but no one knows where that bar is. It seems that something went wrong with Optesia´s initiation." The door opened and Cobbler came in, learning the true allegiance of his assistant to the Shawab.

Clarity reached the settlement on the east side of the island, which included a few homes. Following indications by Eve, she reached a one floor house with a roof made of straw. She knocked on the door and an old woman showed up.

"I´m Thesmophoria," she said. Clarity didn´t have the gold bar of Lady Fortuna nor the photo that Tiffany had shown her, but she remembered the code on the obverse of the bar.

"I´m interested in learning about the Mysteries," said Clarity, "I don´t bring you Lady Fortuna and I don´t know much about anything spiritual. But I´m an honest independent spiritual seeker. I know the code on the gold bar is B235336, and I´m willing to spend some time with you to learn what you know. I´ve seen Optesia and I´ve helped her get back in touch with Cobbler." Thesmophoria brought her index brushing up and down the side of her nose. She gave Clarity a piercing look.

"And?"

"I´m glad they´re together."

Thesmophoria´s expression was deadpan. She didn´t smile nor say anything. She opened the door widely and pointed Clarity to the modest living room of her home.

"Come in," she said.

# Chapter Fourteen

Thesmophoria claimed direct knowledge of the torch bearers, those who carried the Mysteries over time. She explained that the name alchemy derived from the Arabic al-kimia or the Egyptian chem or khem, meaning the stars. According to her, alchemy was the art of preparing the philosopher´s stone to obtain gold, or in mystical and spiritual terms, the elixir of life. She questioned Clarity for more than an hour, asking her about her experience in the Bahamas. According to her, mystic, magician and shaman all shared understanding of the supernatural, and the practices at times gave birth to an ecstatic experience, sometimes sexual ecstasy, which Clarity had experienced in the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas.

Thesmophoria knew about the Book of Decadence used by the Church of the Holy Flower. It was given that name to warn those using it not to engage in sexual misconduct, revering instead in the notion of initiation. The word Rosebud, that Clarity had learned from the Book of Decadence was a word with several meanings, and one of them was rebirth, the spiritual rebirth of the adept. The word also stood for secrecy and silence, one of the vows of the initiate or the person wanting to leave the process. In addition, many hotels in the Caribbean displayed a rose on their billboard to provide confidentiality for the love liaisons of their guests.

"These terms are so generic though, are they real?"

"There is a physical correspondence to all these terms, but it takes years to master them." The old lady inquired about Optesia, wanting to know that she was doing well. The Shawab and his men were bothering her on a regular basis and she knew that the BVI criminal was responsible for Optesia´s disappearance and apparent nonsense about controlling each and every flaw in her. She asked Clarity to bring her to her refuge and Clarity called Cobbler, insisting that it was important that Optesia see the old lady. After several minutes of hesitation, Cobbler agreed and two hours later, brought his girlfriend in the presence of Themesphoria. The lady prepared cold tea and spoke to Optesia, who wasn´t accepting her name was Fay.

"Do you remember me Fay?"

"I do." Optesia looked at Cobbler, Clarity, Tiffany and Flower. Why don´t we gather in a perfect circle?" Themesphoria turned to Cobbler.

"Did you have an argument before she disappeared?" Cobbler avowed that at one point in his relationship with Optesia, he assumed or considered or even told Optesia, that she didn´t keep things in order, that she was disorganized, and that her clothes were a mess.

"I think you offended her and she began thinking that you were right," she said. She turned to Optesia.

"You don´t have to be perfect dear, you already are perfect simply by being who you are, and you don´t have to be anyone else."

"What about flaw?"

"Flaw is all right, we´re human after all, there´s nothing perfect in us, and only at certain times, does nature allow us to feel perfect. No one owns flaw, just as no one owns water or the mountains or the green grass or the flowers."

Optesia sighed with relief. She held the hand of Cobbler, who apologized to her for demanding so much of her, instead of realizing he had the perfect woman in front of him all along, a woman.

"Good, that´s better, I thought that I had to hold flaw in order to be perfect, that was getting kind of tiring. I think that´s why I adopted the name Optesia, because I thought Optesia would be perfect in every way." Thesmophoria held a mirror in front of Fay Osmond. The mirror stood for knowing oneself, a maxim attributed to the Egyptian pharaoh Sesostris, before it was used by Socrates. The mirror reflected one´s past and sought motives of hope and virtue for the future. It also inverted somebody's silhouette and features, and was an item that could become dangerous, for reflections such as the one provided by a mirror were not real, the real person was on the other side of the mirror.

"Your name is Fay, and there is no flaw in that, no flaw in you." Optesia kept looking at the mirror and walked closer, until the notion of Optesia faded, leaving way to her initial self, Fay Osmond.

"Optesia is your mystic name, you´ll be able to use it when it feels good, not when any notion of flaw appears before you."

Cobbler received a call.

"It´s the coast guards, they want to know where the 'Lady Moura' is."

Cobbler used the tracker left by Clarity to indicate the exact location of the 'Lady Moura' off the coast of the island of Anegada.

Near the island of Prickly Pear, the pilot of the speed boat, Hank, saw the coast guards approach Cobbler´s boats, and immediately alerted Bartleby. After a few hours, the coast guards found Bartleby´s boat and got onboard. Chubby Caddy, waking up from a night of drinking and getting his feet wet in the jacuzzi, took three of the _pussy liners_ , Sandy, Belina, and Virgy, with him and fled the boat from the stern in a frenzy, reaching the north side of Anegada and then the supertanker, which was empty of liquor and filled with some oil, heading back for Panama. The speed boats were dismantled into rectangular parts. When the coast guards boarde the tanker, they found nothing, leaving Chubby Caddy with spare time to shoot the opening scene of ' _Heavenly positions in a supertanker_ ' with Belina.

The coast guards paid more attention to Bartleby, noticing the bottles of liquor in his bar shelf. Bartleby scratched his eyes, red with lack of sleep. The few hours spent with Sandy and Belina had been heaven, and he was still picturing the breasts of Sandy looking for those of Belina, while he admired their bums aligned. One of the coast guards tapped him on the shoulder, which he found annoying.

"Do you have a licence sir to sell alcohol on your boat?"

"No," he said, "I don´t sell alcohol, I just consume it." One of the coast guards, a man called Jeremy, replied instantly, leading Bartleby to his cabin.

"We´ve got some testimony from several resorts and bar owners in the islands nearby. They´ve told us that they received some unsolicited cases of liquor as recently as yesterday."

"Unsolicited?"

"It´s all traced to this boat, we have the wireless conversation and logbook of the transaction."

Inside Bartleby´s cabin, Jeremy found the logbook with all the details of _Oleanne_. He placed the handcuffs on Bartleby arresting the executive for having failed to pay value added tax on the liquor onboard and on the one distributed to major Caribbean islands of the British Virgin Islands. His life as Sugar Daddy was over. From then on, he would listen more closely to his uncle Clive, and pay more attention to the notion of marriage.

# Chapter Fifteen

Clarity watched the mechanics of Cobbler´s yacht dismantle the bar shelf of the 'Lady Moura', taking the twin engines and the fuel as well. Bartleby was under arrest in the jail of Tortola and the coast guards were tracking the liquor distributed to more than seventy bars and resorts near the British Virgin Islands to recover all the variations of excise tax on it. The money of the transaction, ten million dollars, was not surfacing, and the authorities feared that Bartleby wasn´t talking because someone else would not let him talk, namely a mysterious figure known as the Shawab.

The executives of the various liquor companies who had attended the party thrown by Bartleby on the 'Lady Moura' were appalled that their liquor had been smuggled and sold illegally, but they renewed efforts to form a coalition establishing a simultaneous ' _Tambrera clean nights_ ' party once a week throughout the Caribbean, where abundant alcohol and responsible drinking and selling practices were presented to the bar and night club owners and to the public at large. Alcohol was a problem only when it was consumed excessively, but the point of responsible drinking was always difficult to explain, when a party was blasting music and people were dancing or sharing stories during that party.

The severance of Bartleby was cancelled when the scandal of operation-sort-of-flying seagull broke through local papers, helped by Thesmophoria declarations. Bartleby´s former company hired a private investigator to look into the affair to prevent something similar from happening again, and after interrogating Bartleby, they focused their investigation on the supertanker which had delivered the liquor. Chubby Caddy´s tanker had disappeared, taking refuge in Panama, where it was unloading the fuel it brought from Texas offshore oil platforms built in the Gulf of Mexico.

After some effort with her decryptor, Clarity found a way to access a bitcoin exchange which allowed Cobbler to receive the bitcoins in exchange for the liquor sold to the Shawab. Having found Optesia, Cobbler was deciding to learn other skills, in order to change jobs, and he had decided to adopt Ribalaigua as one of his employees. The coast guards had not arrested Cobbler because they had not found any evidence of him trading alcohol illegally. Of course, that was because he had lost all his business to the Shawab, and his girlfriend convinced him that it was better for him to lead an honest life.

"The British Virgin Islands are an offshore center, I´m going to learn accounting and then offer my services to a bank here," he said, "it´s less dangerous than smuggling alcohol."

Tortola police interrogated Optesia on the activities and whereabouts of the Shawab. Little was known about the smuggler, other than knowing that he cruised the Caribbean on his megayacht, giving out orders through a chain of retainers who did the dirty work for him. The Shawab had pressed Thesmophoria for secret knowledge on initiation, including the sexual aspects of the initiations involved in the Higher Mysteries.

Because the old lady received abundant food and gifts from the smuggler, she had shared some of those secrets with the Shawab, some of the ones involved in the lesser mysteries, but had kept the Higher Mysteries a mystery. As a result, fearing that the secret knowledge was not being properly transmitted, Thesmophoria had begun initiating Tiffany and had offered her the empty bottle of hendrick´s gin filled with coins depicting Lady Fortuna. Tiffany knew some aspects of the neophyte initiation, but she was not ready to take Thesmophoria's spot as torch bearer.

Clarity looked for Flower inside the 'Lady Moura' and found her friend leaving Clive´s cabin. Bartleby´s uncle had kept a low profile and was getting ready to return to Louisiana. He´d tried convincing his nephew to move his thinking towards marriage, but even from his cell in jail, Sam Bartleby kept insisting that his natural inclination was to be a Sugar Daddy. The coast guards interrogated Flower for hours, attempting to understand whether or not, deep down, she liked the idea of being a Sugar Baby, and whether the arrangement with Bartleby was consensual.

"So you agreed to become his Sugar Baby?"

"Yes, but not to smuggle liquor."

"Then why are the papers of _Oleanne_ mentioning you as the owner of the boat and of the liquor distribution transaction?"

"Because I was the Sugar Baby of Bartleby at the time, but that doesn´t mean it was a good idea."

After several hours and seeing that Flower´s statements were indicting her more and more, Clarity acted as witness and told the coast guards that her friend had been duped, deceived, tricked by Bartleby, and that she was a sweet woman who was simply looking to go out with a man, making instead a deceptive Sugar Baby arrangement, not knowing its consequences. Some man you picked, said the coast guards. Flower was cleared of all liquor smuggling charges and told to pick her next Sugar Daddy with some degree of additional prudence.

Clarity said good bye to Cobbler, Optesia Ribalaigua and Tiffany, and made her way to the Martini Bianco café with her friend on the island of Tortola. Their wallet was in poor condition, and they needed a way to make some money. Flower shared with Clarity what she'd done after the party on the 'Lady Moura'.

"You didn´t," said Clarity.

"I did," said Flower, "I found my Sugar Daddy. The uncle is more mature and knowledgeable than the nephew. Clive is a nice man, and he's pretty good in bed."

"What did you do with him last night?"

"First I had to warm up by stripping for the man who boarded with Optesia. Then, I asked for a refreshment to Clive´s room and he said he had to finish Tiffany, which sort of tired him somewhat, but that he´d be ready for me afterward. Once Tiffany was done with him, he recovered after drinking a glass of water. Then, Tiffany left and he licked my tushy, I couldn´t believe it, he was pretty experienced from what I could tell."

"As an ethnographer, what kind of things did you observe as a Sugar Baby?"

"It´s important to find the right arrangement, in some cases it probably works. I want to keep investigating _Oleanne_ , it´s an interesting outfit, and one which understands my shopping needs." She brushed her shoulder length hair with a comb left by Belina.

"Too bad Bartleby didn´t want to share his money with me," she said.

"The money? You barely got out of jail, thanks to me," said Clarity.

"Yeah, I´ll have to find a different Sugar Daddy, this one is no good."

Clarity shook her head in disbelief. She drank her piña colada slowly and turned on her decryptor, trying to reach her friend Cynthia.

"Where are you guys?" The voice of Cynthia was muffled by static, barely understandable.

"We´re in Mexico, we made our way to Cancun, we´re at the Tambrera park resort, it´s a lot of fun. This guy keeps inviting us to drinks, says he´s a real estate developer from Belize."

Clarity knew that her friends were getting into some type of trouble but didn´t know how exactly they were managing to do that. She looked at her wasapp messages. _Evans_ had managed to connect wirelessly with the _Air Fashion Jet_ and a short video coming from a camera hidden to passengers, showed twenty one year old Colorado heiress Montana Sterley trying out various bikinis with Owens & Owell board seat holders Shalia Owell and Jenny Owens, both slightly older than her. Montana was providing legal assistance to the two University of Arizona students of human sexuality, to keep their status as O&O seat holders intact. But she wasn't telling her father or letting him know that he was using money coming from his oil producing company.

Cubandor was sending her another message. He was spending a few days in the island of Grand Inagua in the Bahamas, trying to recover the jet _pink go-go_ from U.S. backed authorities, because it held some information relevant to him or his work. His knowledge as commodities trader was intact, and he wanted Clarity as his assistant. His girlfriend Paige, who liked Clarity considerably, preferably naked, was not opposing the idea. Clarity looked towards the white sand beach in front of her. Clarity saw Bartleby´s uncle walk-by a few feet away, with a single piece of luggage, and got up from her seat. Could it be that he was such a good performer in bed? She waved at Clive, who waved back at him. Her body began tingling in the right areas.

"Wait for me here, I´ll be back in a few hours," she said.

# Chapter Sixteen

SUN ON THE ROCKS amusements for adults, in easy to read banana humor order.

THE MALIBU CASE.

THE ACAPULCO COCKTAIL.

THE CAYMAN AIR BANNER.

THE BAHAMAS LOTION.

THE ADULT CHANNEL.

THE OOL BRODERIE.

THE BELLAGIO WIKILEAK.

THE CUBAN RENEGADE.

THE SUGAR BABY.

THE MARBLE TOUCAN.

THE OUTDOOR SHOWER.

THE EMOTION SCALE.

MERIDIAN 57.

THE VANITY RING.

THE SHABBY SHEIK.

Crafted by Somers Isle & Loveshade.

Sun on the Rocks is genuine banana humor, fresh, trivial,

tropical, and easy-going, like the fruit.

Sold as is, to keep the amusements fresh and irreverent for the community.

All fictional characters of the amusements

are adults at least twenty one years of age.

The banana humor amusements of Sun on the Rocks have gathered a total of 20,000 downloads and about 90,000 views or reads, on several platforms, such as Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Kobo books, Sony, Inktera, community blogsites Our Salon and Open Salon, the free-ebooks.net platform, and the Apple Store. On blogsite communities our salon and open salon, the amusements have gathered a total of about one hundred comments from people who connect, or like, or can relate to what is in the amusement. You can see those comments below, to see what other people think about the amusements.

Amusements are easy to read stories

which can be read in about three or four hours.

Join the sun on the rocks community on noisetrade.

http://books.noisetrade.com/somersisleloveshade

The Malibu Case.

Or whether corporate nudity should be part of the dress code.

The Acapulco Cocktail.

Or how a cocktail drink can turn a holiday into a traction with the Law.

The Cayman Air Banner.

Or going where your money goes to keep an eye on how it disappears.

The Bahamas Lotion.

Or discerning when the notion of a lotion is not beauty but dependence.

The Adult Channel.

Or how renting pleasure is different from owning it.

The OOL Broderie.

Or whether a wedding can be arranged as a matter of levity.

The Bellagio Wikileak.

Or how to rely on information before the information relies on you.

The Cuban Renegade.

Or whether gold can be backed by a renegade,

when money is backed by the cap of Castro.

The Sugar Baby.

Or whether sugar can turn to salt when someone overlooks the honey.

The Marble Toucan.

Or how those who want you to leave your place are those who should leave in the first place.

The Outdoor Shower.

Or how a shower can bring good weather to the bottom line.

The Emotion Scale.

Or looking at how you feel to let others choose how you think.

Meridian 57.

Or how the merchant of longevity

can sell a claim to live longer by monetizing wisdom.

The Vanity Ring.

Or discerning when vanity is worn in order to meddle with the lives of others.

The Shabby Sheik.

Or whether a golden cage can bring both gold and freedom when properly used.

100 COMMENTS FROM READERS OF OPEN SALON AND OUR SALON,

ORIGINAL BLOGSITES OF SUN ON THE ROCKS BANANA HUMOR

(R and R+ stand for rated, or liked)

THE MALIBU CASE

ch.14 - Frisky, light-hearted, and delightful! Consistently! This should be a GRAPHIC novel (when you finally get around to publishing!) R+

ch.3 - This is so clever. Everything is "normal" except the central dilemma of (gasp) optional nudity. With nonchalant humor you are making an individual rights argument out of this. I can hear you pitching this to a TV exec: "Who could object to that?"

I think you could actually pull this off (no pun) in reality if the characters were discretely / artfully filmed! It could be great fun. These are unique characters who are "over the horizon" in leading the California trend. R

ch.13 - Fun read. That package and who got it will bring me back. R

ch.12 - I want to see the video version of this story! What a romp.

ch.12 - Quite a revealing case. Quick and playful, this story scampers right up to the edge of decency and then sticks its tongue out.

ch.12 - This plot has the sexiest curves.

ch.1 - This is deceptively breezy and fun. I. did. not. expect. THIS! Good show! R

ch.15 - Hurray! The girls won and we are all the beneficiaries of their determination. I hope that we will have further adventures about the floating spa and that the long arm of the law can't reach them in inter national waters. R

ch.15 - Sorry I've been away and missed the last few installments. I'm glad to see the girls came out of this in stellar fashion. It was a fun read, and I'm looking forward to the south of the border installments. R

ch.15 - Sweet, sweet, sweet. And I think you may have set-up the next Episode in the series! Hmmm. I just noticed that others feel the same. Good! R+

ch.14 - Phew! The package picker-upper turns out to be on our side....at least for now. I guess it all comes down to the vote. Go naturism! R

ch.13 - If we Amuricans have a right to bear arms, the girls have a right to bare whatever! I vote yes. Fun read. That package and who got it will bring me back. R

ch.13 - Lots of limbs to go out on here. I'm always intrigued by the persistence of the press.

ch.12 - You just seem to strip the story to its bare essentials and cut to the chase ;).

ch.12 - Very amusing. Am I the only girl here? Is that weird?

ch.11 - It looks like the governor will have to get involved! A night under the stars, clothing optional I hope? R

ch.11 - I just wish I could have conceived this saga. So breezy and tongue-in-cheek! R+

ch.10 - You really make this sound reasonable and imminent! R+

ch.10 - If it were only that easy... hey, maybe it would be if someone only tried it! When writing, it's recommended to stick to the bare essentials. You can't get any bare than this subject. Still reading. R

ch.9 - Yes, these are burning questions! When is the rally? Excuse me, but I'm sticking to my leather chair here at work... R

ch.8 - "Proposition 531 has a secret." A secret proposition, why am I not surprised? You still have me guessing for answers. Keep up the suspense. R

ch.8 - Yeah, yah, YES. Vivid, breezy, and irresistible. Can't wait. R+

ch.7 - What a cool caper. Such tension and intrigue, and I keep reminding myself of how tongue-in-cheek the mission really is. Great satire. R

ch.7 - "I found something interesting, come here." Now you have my curiosity aroused. This is a great series. Keep going. R

ch.7 - I enjoy the story..thank you for writing and sharing..See you here..Best regards.

ch.7 - refreshing and fun, like a more realistic Charlie's Angels. Keep it coming. R

ch.6 - I can't believe I've been missing these! I was sure I had "favorited" you! You must also link to the Fiction Weekend site when you can. Still a great script. R

ch.6 - Me, again. I just want to suggest that when you post a new installment that you go back and put in a "next" link to your previous installment. There isn't another sexy, funny, charming story like this being done! R

ch.6 - This is funny, hip and sexy with tongue firmly in cheek. I love all the little touches like the upscale thong for example. R

ch.6 - The plot thickens! Everyone seems to be having a great time here, with the exception of our officer friend. R

ch.5 - You GO, girls! Let me gather a few things and I'll go with you... R+

ch.5 - Do I see a road movie starting to appear? R

ch.4 - Gasp! Oh, no! My damsels are in distress! This is sooooo script-ready. ACTION! +

ch.4 - Sorry I'm late. Swimming naked, high above the city... sounds intriguing. R

ch.3 - Ok, now I've read all three chapters, and am up to date with the bare essentials... so to say. It'll be interesting to see where this goes. R

ch.3 - l love it! Totally confirms what we easterners think: everyone in California has a screw loose. I think clothing optional day is a logical extension of casual friday. I am now backtracking to catch up on the earlier installments. R

THE ACAPULCO COCKTAIL

ch.1 - Hurray! A new adventure. Reading each installment is like a mini-vacation....with beautiful aquanauts thrown in for good measure. R

ch.2 - Cocktails, sun....I'm hooked. R

ch.4 - Even a fish would not get caught if it kept its mouth shut! lol

ch.4 - Looks as if the girls should start learning some Spanish.

I hope they are not going loco down in Acapulco! R

ch.4 - Do they have cable in Mexican jail?

ch.4 - I knew it, I knew it. The girls cannot stay out of trouble. Could a Mexican prison be next? This is a lot of fun. R

ch.4 - Hey I want that job! It sounds like something I could do from home, while relaxing in my Lazy-Boy recliner. You have me thirsty for the next chapter. Sorry I'm late, but I was having a cold one out by the pool. R

ch.6 - another great read.........supertaster?......gotta hear more.....R

ch.5 - well done again...R

ch.6 - Effortless intrigue! You put me right there. Nancy Drew for the 21st century? R+

ch.7 - This is such a breezy web, I can't believe the weight of mystery you are able to hold! R

ch.5 - I swallowed this like a shooter. It is a strong story, and I'll say it like always: could easily be a script! R

ch.4 - Yeah! You are raising the voltage nicely with this one. I didn't see the "safe" coming! R+

THE CAYMAN AIR BANNER

ch.4 - Well - I love this so far and will keep reading!

ch.8 - This does hold your interest.

ch.12 - At last the fight. The bit with the elusive canapés and limping along limo was priceless. R

ch.11 - You do create a surreal environment: a little James Bond with a dash of Clouseau. R

ch.1 - Hurray, a new adventure! I've been away awhile. I have a lot of catching up to do. R

ch.1 - 20%! That must have been pre 2007, or else someone is going to lose their savings on a deal that sounds too good to be true. Let the action begin. R

ch.7- The interplay between Clarity and Flower is priceless. R

ch.6 - I'd hang on to my money if I was in Clarity's bikini. R

ch.5 - Just like a banker to steal your earrings while you are sleeping. R

ch.4 - So many directions it can go. R

ch.1 - hahah..ok, waiting to see where this goes!

ch.12 - At last the fight. The bit with the elusive canapés and limping along limo was priceless. R

ch.13 - 1,500 golfers gone. Should be easier to get a tee time. Sounds like the girls are closing in for the kill. R

ch.15 - I learned a new word-scandium! "Let´s change into the tigress outfits, maybe it´ll be our turn tonight, you´re getting me in the mood." Perfect! I can picture it!

ch.3 - A surreal, but fascinating turn of events. Gallinaceous, indeed. R

ch.16 - somehow I missed seeing your interesting series in the activity feed here--will read through all of your chapters this weekend and hope you have another series in the pipeline here!

ch.10 - Is Bernie Made-off part of this operation? The girls are going to have a hard time doping this out. R

ch.2 - Ladies, hang onto your money and bikini tops. R

ch.11 - "Buddha Talk walks his talk, and talks only when needed." This is such a neat line!

ch.1 - Place tongue firmly in cheek and prepare for takeoff! R

THE BAHAMAS LOTION

ch.1 - Wow, here we go again. Great start of a new adventure. R

ch.6 - This whole story is hilarious.

ch.13 - "She stole this egg, she stole it from the temple of Wat Phodaram, Wat Pho, the temple of the reclining, glistening, mother of pearl Buddha, in Thailand, where the statues watch and protect ecstasy, and the subtle channels open your wisdom to the quiet mind and show you how the body works. " This is a hoot!

ch.4 - "The truck, an Isuzu FTR 800 class 2 pumper imported from the Fire and Rescue Agency of New South Wales in Wagga Wagga, Australia, was beaming a blue siren, approaching the limo at high speed. Stretching above Lanai, Taimi and Cynthia were struggling atop the truck with Jenna, who was surfing the air, holding balance by grabbing the ladder." What fabulous detail-I can create a perfect image in my mind.

Rosebud-I'm pretty sure I know what THAT reference is.

ch.12 - "Avalon was wearing an extra small ivory color Isabella thong by Myla, made of dusk silk satin, Elastene, and cotton gusset lining." You have a way with detail! I had to look up the thong. Boy, they are expensive!

ch.12 - "That´s how I fooled the Sex Brigade at Neria B." Immediately a Bowie song popped into my head: "Ground control to Sex Brigade, your circuits dead, there's something wrong." I think those lyrics are better than the original.

ch.12 - what a supremely odd universe I have landed in. I dunno what to make of this place yet, but it sure seems amorphously enticing, offering magical new technology and a supremely erotic atmosphere wherein breasts are softly offered to the table! and this: "It depends on what you view as sex," indeed.

ch.12 - "It´s simple, we disagree over the definition of pleasure," said Avalon, "over the meaning of it in fact. But we want to take over that resort." Ah, yes! You go girls!

BTW, you have subtly painted quite a scene involving naked women. Very subtle, but very descriptive as well.

ch.11 - OMG-I am so far behind! Forgive me. I will catch up! "Elony´s not approved by the FDA, Lanai."" I love this. What kind of fun stuff IS approved by the FDA?

ch.9 - "The girl named Lanai has been sent to study the book of Decadence in more detail with other scribes." Can I borrow that book? This is a great story.

ch.8 - "I love the service here," said Lanai. That's an understatement!

ch.2 - I'm pretty sure I know what the lotion is! Can't wait to find out.

ch.5 - "Have you been thinking of tupperware sex lately?" I'm quite sure I've never heard that expression before!

ch.6 - "Some type of hedonist resort, there shouldn´t be that many in the Bahamas" This whole story is hilarious, but this statement is the most hilarious of them all. I HAVE been to the Bahamas, you know, mostly out islands where anything goes!

ch.7 - "Men are only in charge of security here, their presence is accessory." I like to accessorize!

ch.16 - "She cherished that exhibitionist tendency which was part of her, part of her strength as an adult." Ah yes!

THE ADULT CHANNEL / THE ABU DHABI CHANNEL

Having spent some time in that part of the world, I'm curious to see how you envision an "adult channel" in Abu Dahbi. Should be a hoot.

ch.1 - Wow. I am saving a link to this post. Very helpful. One hot franchise!

ch.1 - A Church of pleasure, devotion to pleasure above all other notions or creeds, you could call it a devotional temple of pleasure. I'm converting!

ch.3 - "small battery operated dental fixtures that could also be used as sex toys" - Your imagination is superb!

ch.4 - "I Don´t trust the water, I drink only Nordic Mist tonic water."

"Because..."

"It´s made by Coca Cola, the perfect soft drink."

Do you get something for product placement? Funny!

ch.6 - lol "Just sexual, I mean sex, wasn´t sure about love, because I thought if you mix sex and love, you might get pregnant."

THE OOL BRODERIE / THE BAHRAIN BRODERIE

ch.13 - Looks very amusing, and makes me want to take along to the beach for a long lingering read.

THE CUBAN RENEGADE

ch.4 - I loved "the Egyptian method to move stones." There is a delightful whiff of Kafka about all this.

**ch.4 \- You have my attention!**

**ch.6 -** I found this to be highly erotic.

ch.8 - "This is how we´ll use the bitcoin in this decryptor if anything goes wrong." Ha! I have to see how this plays out.

ch.10 - "you mean using Cuban cigars as currency for Cuba." That would give new meaning to the phrase "my savings went up in smoke".

ch.14 - Great, as usual.

THE SUGAR BABY

ch.9 - I love all the names!!! esp Clarity.

ch.11 - Wow!

ch.14 - Woo!

ch.15 - You have such a unique writing style that turns me on and intrigues me at the same time.

THE OUTDOOR SHOWER

ch.1 - Bravo.

ch.2 - I was thinking of putting in an outdoor shower just the other day. Hadn't thought of having any walls.

somers isle - I'm so bad at DIY that not sure how I'd do the shower or the walls, I'd probably have to go with the bucket of water.

somers isle, to the first reader - apparently, there is both options, not sure what is more popular, here is a couple of designs for you, http://bit.ly/29etROS

another reader - I had an outdoor shower in my previous place, which was out in the country and private. It was a garden arch with grapes growing all over it. Lovely... Also came in handy when we had our little festival...

somers isle - garden arch with grapes does sound lovely, I resonate with anything unprocessed, home out in the country sounds nice, no city noises, privacy is important.

same reader - I made another, closer to our camping area, with walls of salvaged metal gazebo pieces and blue tarp hung behind. (Living in the country for privacy, plus country dump!)

first reader , after some reflection - We live in the woods, but with neighbors nearby. I could probably get by without walls in the summer. In the winter when the leaves are gone I would be inside anyway. I haven't really considered this enough to draw up a plan.

BACKSTORIES AND CHARACTERS

http://oursalon.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sun-on-the-rocks-backstories-and-fresh-items.

great the way you have this constructed, with the linx etc....

A TOTAL OF 100 COMMENTS FROM THE COMMUNITY.

SUN ON THE ROCKS IS CRAFTED BY SOMERS ISLE & LOVESHADE,

crafting each amusement for the community,

one ridiculous situation at a time.

# Chapter Seventeen

**Compound Interest Calculator Clarity keeps close, for retirement purposes (savings plan is in the Cayman Air Banner)** :

www.investor.gov/tools/calculators/compound-interest-calculator

**Careers and Professional Designations to consider** :

Chartered Financial Analyst: www.cfainstitute.org/

Certified Financial Planner: www.cfp.net/

**Wealth** :

Think and Grow Rich: Napoleon Hill's classic book on wealth.

How to Make Money (free pdf book from 1859)

**Educational sites, communities, and global news** :

Boston University online: www.bu.edu/online/

Visual Thesaurus: www.visualthesaurus.com/

Visual Global News: www.newsmap.jp/

Our Salon community: oursalon.ning.com/

**Featured universities** :

Bermuda College: www.college.bm/

University College Cayman Islands: www.ucci.edu.ky/

Free online university classes: www.coursera.org/

Ohio State University: www.osu.edu/

University of Arizona: www.arizona.edu/

University of Hawaii: www.hawaii.edu/

