“G’day, my name is Lleyton Stuart,” he said in a typical Australian accent as Sena looked up at the tanned, blond-headed man in a polo shirt “We pulled you out of the sea and now you are safe on my yacht,” he said with pride.
Lleyton Stuart was a multibillionaire, but he hadn’t risen out of poverty to become one. Neither was he one of those people who inherited the family fortune and wasted his life spending it. His father, the owner of a chain of retail stores in Perth, Australia, sold them all and retired when he was 55. He gave each of his two sons $20 million then went off to live on the rest of his fortune with his third wife in Tahiti. Stuart’s older brother Winfred went through his fortune in a hurry. Lleyton invested his money in real estate, shipping, and commodity futures. He was divorced from his wife of ten years, a fashion model, who didn’t like her husband’s always-on-the-go life style. Lleyton, a life-long resident of Perth, loved Western Australia and decided that modern technology would allow him to run his financial empire from anywhere. At 43, he was the Chairman and CEO of Stuart Enterprises, successful, respected, and considered one of Australia’s leading citizens. His one ambition that remained unfulfilled was to have sons. His wife had refused to go off the pill because pregnancy would interfere with her career. Since their divorce, Stuart had dated many women but none he wanted to marry.
The Lady Blue was Lleyton’s escape from the world. He’d purchased the sleek, magnificent vessel from a member of the Saudi royal family who had it custom built then decided it wasn’t big enough. Back in Australia, he installed a state-of-the-art communications and electronics suite. The Lady Blue had four powerful diesel engines, allowing it to cruise at a maximum speed for 22 knots; and it had a helipad and hanger for Lleyton’s AugustaWestland 119 helicopter. It had a crew of 45 and accommodated 30 guests in addition to Lleyton’s 20-person personal staff. Its swimming pool, sauna, conference room and command center allowed Stuart, his guests and staff to combine business with pleasure. Of all the vessels that might have fished Sena out of the ocean, she couldn’t have had a chance encounter with a more luxurious one.
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