The captain’s announcement about the flight landing interrupted our conversation. When the
plane hovered above Manila, Neel spoke again.
‘Why did you leave New York?’ Neel said.
‘Personal reasons,’ I repeated my rehearsed answer.
‘Oh, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to.. .’ Neel said as I interrupted him.
‘I had a break-up. A bad break-up.’
Neel looked at me. He raised his long eyebrows.
‘Really?’ he said.
‘Yeah, why?’ I said.
‘You moved all this way for a guy?’
‘Worse. Not for a guy. But for a guy who didn’t want me.’
Again I felt I had crossed the line of acceptable conversation with a partner. Neel fumbled
with his seatbelt as he searched for a suitable response.
‘Well, anyway. Welcome to the Philippines,’ he said.
The flight landed with a gentle thud.
‘I spent years to build El Casa. No logic why I did it. Just wanted to show the world how beautiful
my country is,’ Marcos said.
We sat in the El Casa office in Palawan across from the owner and CEO, Marcos Sereno, who
had a portly frame and wore a Hawaiian shirt.
We had taken another short flight from Manila to Palawan and come for the meeting straight
from Palawan airport. On the way, I saw a sleepy city full of palm trees and long, powdery beaches.
‘Your country is stunning. It was evident even in the short journey from the airport to here,’
Neel said to Marcos.
‘You have to see the resorts. This is nothing,’ Marcos said dismissively.
‘Yeah?’ Neel said.
‘You are staying at one tonight, right?’ Marcos said.
‘We had actually booked a hotel in Manila on our way back. Our Hong Kong flight is
tomorrow,’ Neel said.
Marcos waved a no with his hands.
‘Forget Manila. Crowded and polluted. You stay at my resort.’
‘But.. .’ Neel said before Marcos interrupted him.
‘I insist. My seaplane will take you there.’
‘Sure,’ Neel said. Apart from being gracious to our client, we wanted to see the quality of the
resorts anyway. Marcos told his secretary to arrange two rooms at the El Casa Pengalusian Island.
‘Now let us talk business,’ Marcos said after he delegated our travel arrangements.
‘My colleague Radhika here has prepared some numbers,’ Neel said.
I passed out copies of the financial model.
‘I have tried to value each resort,’ I said. Over the next ten minutes I walked him through my
assumptions and projections. After I finished, Marcos took a deep breath.
‘What now?’ Marcos said.