James sat down across from her on the edge of the marble tub. “Perhaps,” he said after a brief deliberation. “Everyone works for a price, I suppose. The workman is worthy of his hire. But, Joyce, my price is too high for this kind of thing, and I won’t sell my soul for a sapphire necklace and a marble palace.”

“You could have everything,” she said. “It’s not just the necklace. He wants us to be in charge of the Far East. It could be the opportunity of a lifetime.”

“Not at these prices, my love. I want none of it.”

She jumped to her feet and bolted out of the bathroom, shouting, “James Wong, you are a fool!”

As careful as James Wong thought he had been, he had not been careful enough: Every word between James and Joyce had been monitored by listening devices that filtered out the sounds of running water. Mark Beaulieu immediately began planning a big surprise for his reluctant secretary of the treasury.

PARTIES, BANQUETS, AND entertainment were lavish and endless, all calculated to satisfy every sensate desire of the guests assembled from all over the world. Each day there were festivities, games, sports, and recreation. Night after night was filled with dining, drinking, dancing, and dalliances, along with wild and decadent entertainments. Every palate was delighted. Every taste was satisfied.

Then, midway through their two-week celebration, came the highlight of the event. After enormous fanfare and buildup, the guests were assembled in the marble temple before the statue. Bishop Tauriq Haddad pressed the remote control, and the massive statue of the world leader came to life. To the applause and delight of the crowd, the statue spoke of peace that would last a thousand years. He spoke of a new age more glorious than anything previously imagined by mankind. With a masterful gesture, he outlined the plans for the immediate implementation of a global peace-keeping force and a crime-free, drug-free currency system.

The already intoxicated crowd cheered and applauded again and again.

Then came the big surprise of the evening. Bishop Haddad strode slowly up the steps to the platform beside the great statue. In his hand he held a small laser device. “My very dear friends,” he said, “we celebrate here tonight the beginning of the new age of power, of praise, and of prosperity. We have seen marvels this week no one could imagine a very short time ago. But unseen in all of this has been the emergence of a new economic age as well. Among our guests is the distinguished secretary of the treasury of the most powerful economy on earth. He and I have worked together to bring the world economy to this point, and to establish the new economic order.