A dictator wishes to build his dream home in Florida ...

I received a call from a friendly builder several years back.  He had a hot prospect for a substantial custom home.  It was a hush-hush project.  Usually, this means a celebrity or some kind of political figure.  He wanted to get a meeting going right away in order to determine the exact requirements of the client.  The real estate agent had been working with him for several days.

His last name was Batista, (the 'client').

We hastily met, discussed the style and size of the home and the general room layouts he preferred, and then started driving through several subdivisions to find the ideal property.  The client was interested in a particular lot in a gated subdivision but it was determined that the lot was too small so a wider search ensued.  The Realtor took over and we shook hands and left.

I went back to my office and called the builder, thinking a bit about the whole matter.

 "This guy's name is Batista?  Wasn't he some kind of dictator from Cuba?"

--- 'Yes, he claims he is THE Batista: Fulgencio Batista.  He fled Cuba after being overthrown and has lived in Europe in hiding for several years.  I think he was on our side.'

"Wow, OK.  Where is his family?"

--- 'Apparently, Nancy (the Realtor) has met with them.  Nice folks.  Young wife and two teenagers' 

I took this information at face value and proceeded.

The client had asked for a design contract to review.  A few days went by as Nancy drove him to several unimproved lots and eventually found something spectacular on the chain of lakes in Windermere.  I was to meet him to walk the property and go over the contract.  He was in a good mood, had asked questions about the contract, and I assured him this piece of land was ideal.  He said that as soon as his money would arrive from a European bank, he would sign the contract and we would proceed. 

Nancy, in the meantime, was taking the client around from bank to bank, interviewing the various institutions on how they would handle the several million dollars that would be deposited and which would give the best terms.

A few days went by and I received this agitated message from the builder:

---'Did you hear about that 747 that just crashed?'

"No, why?"

---'Nancy called and said Batista's courier had died in the crash with about $17 million... She said that he was totally crushed and despondent, crying.  It was a good friend of his. The money was in a cash box in Switzerland and the only way to get it over here without arousing suspicion or legal entanglement was to physically bring it over personally'

"Good grief, so what the heck is going to happen now?"

--- 'I don't know'.

About three weeks passed after this incident and the Realtor was trying to contact the client but could not get a dial tone on his cell phone.  She finally called the house number and a relative answered.  When this person understood who Nancy was calling for, they said the client was repairing the roof on the house.

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In the Twilight Zone of our businesses, such stories may or may not be true.  It is up to you to judge! This narrative was written for December's AR 'Fun and Zany Stories'.  For many more, please go here: https://activerain.com/blogsview/5443734/december-challenge--submit-your-fun---zany-stories-