ONE

I put my foot down, leaving Santa Monica in the rearview and heading west on the newly renovated Pacific Coast Highway. I had to be careful, however, with how much I put my foot down. Much like a jaguar among the great cats, the new Tesla Roadster wasn’t large, yet was extremely powerful.

I owned a beautiful home halfway between Malibu and Santa Monica. I’d built a trillion-dollar simulation and virtual tech company from the ground up– with investment from my father… before his . And I had pretty much anything I could ever want– but usually didn’t– thrown at me for free every single day. But my red convertible Tesla Roadster was the pride of my possessions. It had been love at first sight, and it hadn’t been thrown at me for free. I’d called up Elon Musk and bought the first one out of the factory.

The sun had dipped below the horizon less than an hour ago, and the air was rapidly cooling. But even with my sleeves turned up, I loved the feel of the cold air rushing around me. I was still a northerner at heart and occasionally found myself missing the often brutal beauty of winter. Eventually, I turned off the highway onto a minimally kept road and pressed the button to open the security gates. They swung closed behind me and I headed north, away from the ocean, up towards the hills of Tuna Canyon Park. There were a few other large homes along the road, but this was no Pacific Palisades.

Around several long bends, the land leveled out a little, and I turned into my drive. It dove down and to the left, dropping beneath the side balcony. It was there that I parked it. The drive had another offshoot that branched to the right and further down to my underground garage where I stored the other cars I rarely drove.

I stepped out of the car and locked it with a press of my thumb at the edge of the door. “Hey NATE, turn on the lights, wouldya?”

“Of course,” a smooth mechanical voice said through the ceiling speakers. The lights flicked on and the voice added: “Welcome home, sir.”

NATHAN or "NATE" as I called him was my Natural Assistant Task and Home Automation Network. He wasn't Tony Stark's JARVIS, but he was pretty capable.

I snagged an orange off the kitchen counter and walked across the lower level. Patterns of blue and white swirled and danced on the walls and floor beneath the pool-covered skylight. It gave a natural, almost cave-like feel to the downstairs lounge.

Before descending the back steps, I paused. “Oh… NATE?”

The voice bounced back immediately. “Sir?”

“Leave Mildred a message. Tell her she doesn’t need to clean upstairs tomorrow. Just downstairs.”

“Anything else?”

“Nope, that’s all. Thanks NATE.”

“All right. I’m on it.”

At the bottom of the back steps, I’d almost fully peeled the orange and my mouth was watering in anticipation. I walked the lamplit back lawn, halfway between one set of the palm trees that lined it on both sides, and the long fountain that stretched down the middle. The yard was almost a hundred yards by another hundred. By the time I reached the far end, Earl had noticed me.

“Evening, Jack.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you work too late, Earl?”

“Yes. You have. Many times. And frankly, I don’t care. Working with plants and nature in general is my passion. ”

“But you work for me. What if I tell you that you have to stop? And that if you don’t I’ll fire you from the job you love so much?”

“You wouldn’t fire me. No one else my age in this city would put up with you!”

“Mildred does.”

“That woman?! She hates the outdoors. It’s amazing to me she continues to be willing to clean a house that doesn’t have any doors!”

“You’re right. Then I’ll have to hire from outside LA.”

“A gardener? As a retirement job?”

I smirked, and Earl and I shared a hearty laugh. When we’d once again returned to our senses, I tore out a couple parts of the orange and handed it to him before doing it again and popping them into my mouth.

“Staying in the guest house you so carefully curate, tonight?”

“No, my granddaughter is coming to visit this week, so I’ll be at home every night.”

“Sounds good. Feel free to take the day off tomorrow. You’ve earned it.”

“Naaaah. I’ll be back in the evening to clean out the fountain. But you’re very kind to say so.” The old man looked at me with curious eyes. “Why are you so nice to me? And to Mildred? You’re a young successful man, and we’re just two old people who work part time so retirement doesn’t kill us with boredom.”

I searched the deep blue eyes and the thick grey beard of my groundskeeper, pondering the question. The truth was, I was a hard man to please when it came to my company. So I had to let my good side out somewhere. But that wasn’t what I wanted him to know. “Because you do good work, and you’re good people. And you teach me a thing or two every once in a while.”

The man smiled, and I could see it even in his eyes. “That means a lot, Jack.”

“By the way, where’s your granddaughter visiting from?”

“Wisconsin.”

“Oh, nice,” and after a moment of consideration, “if she’s new to Cali, you could bring her around so she can see an authentic LA mansion.”

The man’s eyes narrowed. “I ain’t brining my granddaughter anywhere near you, Jack.”

“What?! Why not?”

“You’re a single, charismatic young billionaire, and she’s always been a sheltered girl who’s still exploring her future options.”

“Kind of you to say those things about me. But what if I had ‘options’ she might want to consider?”

Earl shoved me. I was pretty sure it was cordial from the old man, but it had been pretty forceful. He half walked, half stomped his way back toward the house. It almost reminded me of an angry toddler. I wasn’t sure if that was a funny comparison or an eerily accurate one.

Nonetheless, I grinned. “Well, I was genuinely just trying to give you a way to show off your awesome job you’re lucky to have! And to be a cool grandpa!” I called after him, only casually making my way back to the house in pursuit of his hasty exit. “At least take one of my cars from the garage!”

Earl stopped, much to my surprise. “Really?” he called from the steps.

I shrugged. “Yeah, sure. Anything but the Tesla.”

Fifteen minutes later, my exhaustion had caught up with me and I was ready to fall into bed. “NATE, activate security protocols and shut everything down.”

"Okay, Jack," was his customary response. But I never heard it as I drifted straight into slumber.