Larger Than Lyfe (19 page)

“Keshari Mitchell, it is a pleasure to meet you,” Enrico Santiago said graciously as he escorted Keshari into the library of his luxurious, $22 million home on Jupiter Island.

The views from the 180 degrees of windows facing out onto the Atlantic Ocean were magnificent. A wall of first-edition books from Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, and others lined the far wall from the ceiling to the floor. A large koi fountain sat in the center of the huge, marble-floored room. Skylights dotted the entire, twenty-two-foot, cathedral ceiling. The secluded, oceanfront location and the library were the mansion’s strongest selling points as far as Keshari was concerned, but she quickly regrouped from the critique of her beautiful surroundings. The Consortium needed
a new supplier, someone who could easily furnish $100 million worth of high-purity cocaine from month to month. As well-mannered and refined as the silver-haired Enrico Santiago appeared, he was one of the most powerful criminals in Florida and he definitely possessed the capability to fill The Consortium’s needs.

“What can I do for you?” Enrico Santiago asked.

“My organization needs a new, exclusive supplier for a potentially long-term relationship. More specifically, my organization requires a minimum of 100 keys at 80 percent purity per month at thirty thousand dollars per key and full transport to our receiving locations in Los Angeles at your expense. My organization is prepared to commit to six months today.”

“Your organization seeks much on a silver platter, considering your current predicament.”

“Despite the current legal troubles that Rick is enduring, the organization remains fully operative and shall continue to be so, even if Rick is convicted.”

“I’m not convinced of that. Neither are other organizations, I’m sure. That is how you lost your connections with the Mexicans. Federal law enforcement is watching your every move right now.
Be very sure of that. No one wants to be involved with that. It’s too risky.”

“We have powerful connections in federal law enforcement,” Keshari said.

“So do I,” Enrico Santiago stated. “However, for every ten federal agents that can be bought, there are two or three federal agents who possess a strong enough code of ethics that they can’t be bought at any price and they eat and sleep with the intense desire to completely destroy the livelihoods of people like us and put us behind bars for the rest of our lives.”

“Then we should pool our resources and make this far less of a problem,” Keshari said.

“Your terms, as they are, are not acceptable, Keshari.”

“What would make my terms more amenable to you, Mr. Santiago?”

He looked her over appraisingly before speaking. “Perhaps, if I had the opportunity to fuck the beautiful Keshari Mitchell, we could come to an agreement somewhere extremely close to your terms.”

“Mr. Santiago, I came here today and have dealt with you only with the utmost respect. That is the least of what I expect in return.”

Enrico Santiago did not respond. He sat, contemplatively staring at her breasts.

“Mr. Santiago, what kind of an arrangement would prove acceptable to the both of us?” Keshari asked. “I have another meeting and I’m confident that this organization will accept my terms.”

“The Jamaicans?” Enrico questioned and snickered. “That will be a mess and you know it. I run America’s cocaine supply…before the Mexicans, the Jamaicans, or anyone else. The smartest thing that you did was come to me.”

“Then tell me what terms are more doable for you,” Keshari said again. “Time is of the essence. My organization has a sizeable client base with regular product demands.”

Enrico smiled and rubbed his hands together.

“You come here alone and unarmed, as if you have no doubts about what the outcome of this meeting will be. You’ve got some pair of balls on you, young lady, and that’s more than I can say for a lot of these men currently working in our profession. If nothing else, I’ve got to respect you for that. You’re beautiful, you’re extremely smart…with an MBA from the Wharton School…you see, I’ve done my research, too. You have the potential to be far more dangerous and deceptive than the men in this business realize.

“Here are my terms. The product price is thirty-seven…at least until your organization works beyond your current legal troubles. You will pay an additional fifteen percent of the product price each month for transportation.”

“That’s acceptable,” Keshari said, having resolved it in her mind prior to the meeting that concessions would more than likely have to be made, with all of the leverage on the side of the potential supplier.

“And if I should wind up entangled in some uncomfortable situation with federal law,” Enrico continued, “you will be the first to die. Comprende?”

“But of course,” Keshari replied.

“Very well then. How soon are you seeking delivery?”

“Exactly one month from today,” Keshari responded. “One hundred fifty keys to start. Eighty percent purity is non-negotiable.”

“These are the delivery points,” she stated, placing a list of Consortium-owned residences, warehouses, and businesses in front of him on his very expansive, carved, mahogany desk. “I can initiate transfer of funds prior to my flight back to Los Angeles
tonight. The full funds transfer will be finalized upon confirmation of delivery of all segments of the shipment. Funds will be coming from my organization’s Grand Cayman account.”

Enrico Santiago wrote down details for an account that he held in the Bahamas to which Consortium funds would be paid.

“We will speak again very soon,” he said. “Let me show you out.”

Keshari got back to her home in the Gulf Stream section of Palm Beach and was far less wound up than she’d been before she’d left earlier that morning. Mars was outside doing laps in the infinity pool. Keshari went out onto the poolside patio, took off her jacket, and tossed it on the chaise beside the pool. She kicked off her sandals and began to take off everything else. Nude, she dove smoothly into the pool as Mars made his turn at the opposite end.

“Hey,” Keshari said when Mars arrived back at her end of the pool.

“Hey, yourself,” Mars responded.

He noticed that she wasn’t wearing a bathing suit. She waded over to Mars and kissed him, her body and her lips drawing him in like an invitation to the very best party.

“I take it that your meeting went well,” he said.

“My entire life is about to change,” Keshari answered.

I
n a caravan of black Cadillac Escalades, Keshari and her crew rolled through Universal Studios’ gates for the first day of the Los Angeles auditions in Larger Than Lyfe Entertainment’s “Nationwide Search for a Star.” The massive lines of auditioners and their families and friends, many of whom had camped out all night to secure a good place in line, whooped with excitement as they watched the caravan of luxury trucks roll past. It was 5 a.m.

An escort awaited the arrival of the Larger Than Lyfe crew and took Keshari and the group of executives and assistants to the soundstage where the
auditions would be held. Universal Studios management had tried to anticipate their every need. Fresh coffee, bottled water, scones, fresh fruit and Danishes, legal pads, pens, and telephones had been organized neatly on long conference-style tables at stage left. Connections had been wired for their laptops and PDAs. A panel had been set up where Keshari, Andre DeJesus, Sharonda Richards, and three other executives from LTL’s A & R department would critique and select the ten very lucky, very talented finalists from the thousands of hopefuls who were lined up outside to audition over the next w
eek.

Auditions were set to begin at 7 a.m. sharp. Outside, audition coordinators began to issue instructions over megaphones to organize the anxious, noisy crowd. Wristbands containing audition numbers were distributed to the first 1,000 auditioners. Another 1,500 wristbands would be distributed mid-day. A sizeable security team helped to maintain order.

For the first day of auditions, Keshari and her crew wanted to begin establishing a strong and steady routine. They wanted to make full use of the one-week block of time that they had to see and select talent. The goal on each audition day was to audition a minimum of 1,000 people. If time allowed in that grueling time window, they would begin taking auditions from the next block of wristband holders. While two one-hour breaks were to be a part of the crew’s daily schedule, Keshari had trimmed the break schedule down to one one-hour break for the first day so that they could build
up a momentum in the audition process. No one dared to complain.

Music industry trade papers,
Variety
and
Billboard
, were reporting every tidbit of information as quickly as their staff writers could acquire it and as quickly as Larger Than Lyfe released it. Major publicity ads for “Nationwide Search for a Star” appeared in every consumer publication from
The SOURCE
to
Essence
. Radio disc jockeys from 100.3 The Beat in L.A. to HOT 97 in New York hyped the talent search throughout the day and, because Keshari had made the very strategic decision to join forces with Cathy Hughes, the most powerful African-American woman in radio, Larger Than Lyfe
had negotiated free advertising slots to hype the talent search during the most coveted time slots of the day on Cathy Hughes’s Radio One stations.

Expensive commercial promos were running concurrently on MTV, BET, VH1, CBS, NBC, ABC, TV One and VIBE Network. Massive billboards were ordered and displayed on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood and along several other very well-known thoroughfares in Los Angeles, Miami and New York. Interviews had been requested with both Keshari Mitchell and Cathy Hughes to discuss the much-talked-about new business alliance between two of the most powerful, Black businesswome
n in America. The Larger
Than Lyfe Entertainment website and the section that had been set up specifically for the talent search project had already received more than a million hits. Two days before the kickoff of the Los Angeles auditions, Keshari made an appearance on “The Steve Harvey Morning Show” via conference call, then on the tremendously popular “Tom Joyner Morning Show.” Both radio stations’ switchboards were overloaded with calls for the rest of the day with people seeking information about the upcoming, Los Angeles talent search auditions and the other audition cities’ auditions.

Television cameras panned the immense crowd. Some auditioners were spotted rehearsing while family and friends sat atop sleeping bags and blankets or on lawn chairs looking on. Some auditioners got the opportunity to show their stuff when television cameras gave them a few seconds in the spotl
ight. There was some unbelievable talent out there. Some other auditioners proved that, among the many very promising prospects, there were more than a few very untalented people waiting in line to stand before the CEO of Larger Than Lyfe Entertainment and absolutely waste her time as well as their own.

“Are you ready to do this?” Andre DeJesus asked, gleaming with excitement as he and Keshari sat down next to each other at the judges’ panel.

His brainchild was now truly a tangible product that the entire music world was watching.

“With the hefty price tag attached to this project, if I’m not ready for today, I’ll be the greatest fucking pretender that you’ve ever seen.”

They both burst into laughter.

With the lights of the television camera directed at the judges’ panel and at the marked spot where auditioners would enter and perform, the first auditioner, smiling nervously, took the stage.

P
ortia was exceedingly busy lately. Not only was she exclusively designing the interior of an A-list actor’s new, Hollywood Hills abode that would be shot for the cover of
Architectural Digest
, she was also receiving very positive reviews and layouts in all of the other noteworthy interior design and architectural magazines. She had contracts and projects coming in from all directions. Her firm was finally receiving the caliber of instant name recognition, particularly among the people who mattered, that she had been working toward. This was a feat that was every real designer’s
dream and it was a dream that was now her and her firm’s reality.