The Center of the World

Here it is... Las Vegas.

Fastest growing city in America.

We have Brooklyn Bridge, Venice Canal, Eiffel Tower.

Everything you want, we have.

We have five restaurants right here in hotel open 24 hours.

No night, no day. Just fun and frolic. World of dreams.

Anything you need, you ask for me.

My name is Vladimir.

I can-do guy. No problem too small, no problem too big.

Okay, great. Thank you.

Uh, good. Very good. Thank you very much.

Oh. Hold on. Hey. Sorry.

Oh.

- Thank you very much, sir. Enjoy your stay. - You too.

It's okay, right? It's what you wanted?

- Right. - Okay.

It's okay. You don't have to close that one 'cause you can lock it from the other side.

Hey, I see you in here having coffee every morning.

- I'm Richard. - Hi, Richard.

- You are? - Florence.

- Florence what? - Just Florence.

- Well, "just Florence," what do you do? - I make a lot of noise.

- Oh? - I play drums.

- In a band? - Mm-hmm.

- So, you have a CD out? - No.

We're just kind of putting one together right now.

You know, when you're finished, you should get your MP3 files together.

Hold on.

You should get your mp3 files together.

It's a great way for new bands to get heard. We already thought about that.

So, you make a living playing the drums?

No. No. Not even close.

- What do you do? - I'm a stripper.

Really? God, you don't look like a stripper.

- No? - Mm-mm.

What do strippers look like?

I don't know. I mean, they don't look like you.

- Where do you perform? - Pandora's Box.

I'll see you around.

- Have you ever been here before? - No. Have you?

No.

You wanna go out and take a look around?

- Yeah, okay. - Yeah, really? Okay.

Smile... Smile.

Shoot. Okay. Uh, okay.

I didn't cock it.

Did it flash?

Whoo!

I said, no touching.

So, is it weird just being all alone in front of your computer all day?

I'm not... no.

Well, the thing about computers is that you're kind of connected to everybody and everything.

It's like you're at the center of the world.

Do you miss your computers yet?

Well, I have it with me.

Man! Let's go.

Wanna go?

- Yeah? - All right.

Okay, come on.

Whoo.

Aah.

- So they're all still back in Ohio? - Yeah.

Everyone except for my sister. She lives in Santa Rosa.

She's married.

What's her name?

- Um, Val. - Does she have kids?

Yeah. A little girl, Megan.

She was born with a wandering eye.

They did all these operations when she was a kid. She wears these really thick glasses.

She's very pretty.

My dad just died.

Prostate cancer.

- Oh, I am so sorry. - It's okay.

- Were you guys really close? - Yeah.

He was a great guy. Sweet.

I come from a very tight family, very Midwestern.

You look good.

What do you want me to do, baby?

What are the options?

The regular routine.

Sure.

Lap dance... Two songs, $60.

I can't go to Vegas with you. I mean, I gotta work.

- Thanks, though. - I know you're working. I know you have to work.

Um, so I can compensate you.

- Sorry. I don't do things like that. - What kind of things?

You don't go on, like, a vacation?

No. I don't have sex with people for money.

Why do you have to talk like that?

Richard, there are lots of other women-

who would love to do that with you.

What if I paid you, like, $10.000?

Jesus Christ! You got a lot of money to throw around.

Yeah, I made a lot of money last year... Over a million dollars.

- Everyone's a millionaire these days. - I've worked so hard.

I just... I wanna have fun, I wanna celebrate.

You know? I'm not a bad guy.

What are you talking about exactly? Nonstop sex 24 hours a day?

Well, not like nonstop sex, necessarily.

I just wanna get to know you better.

Oh, you wanna get to know me better.

And I'm not talking about marriage. It's just the weekend.

All right, let's talk about this.

I'm not saying that I... I would... Do it, but...

...I mean, if I was gonna do it, there'd be a lot of conditions.

Okay.

Um, no talk about feelings.

Mmm.

No kissing on the mouth.

No penetration.

What do you mean, no penetration?

I mean, no fucking.

Okay, I can live with that.

It's all an act. You know that, right?

And you'll pay me cash, up front.

Hey.

Oh, hey. How's it going?

Oh, really?

Um, let me just think for a sec.

Um, why don't you start off by putting like...

...just put 60 back into the fund.

Uh-huh.

Um...

...sell it at 55.

All right.

I mean, when was the last time you got laid? Since you broke up with Debbie?

That's fucking two years ago, dude. You need to get on something.

Man, I don't know what happened to you. Last year, you were a fucking genius.

Fucking came up with the best concept of the year.

- Well, it's... - Now you can't even get out of bed?

But you gotta go all the way.

You took your fuckin' 90% and now you're checkin' out.

You own 18% of this company. Do you know how much money that is?

That's not court-side seats. That's buying the fucking N.B.A. Team.

And you're sitting' home jerkin' off, watching' porn?

Dude, I got a hundred engineers at M.I.T. Who'd take your place in a minute.

- Go get one. - Yeah, right.

Not so fast.

We got until 2:00.

You're right. I don't wanna rush it.

Here's where we go off the map,

- out past the power lines, up that little side road without a sign,

hidden from the main street.

The keepers of the ancient future, the keepers of the drama.

They don't preserve it.

They live it.

Hey.

- Hey. - I'll be right there.

- So you don't seem to be too unhappy, then. - Why would I be unhappy?

I don't know. You were pretty reluctant to get into all this.

Well, it's not every day a girl gets to eat oysters...

...In a suite in Vegas with Dick Longman.

You have no regrets, then?

Don't be silly.

I'm having a fine time.

Me too.

Do you have a secret fantasy?

- Uh, not really. - Come on.

Come on. Everybody has a secret fantasy.

Uh, three days in Vegas with a beautiful woman.

- That's it? - Yeah.

There's nothing that you always wanted but you never asked for?

Tell me.

- Really? - Yeah.

- Really. - The Chinese call that "Fire & Ice."

No! There's a name for it?

That's cold.

Oh, my god.

Oooh!

Aaah!

Aah!

- Do you want me to stop? - I'm okay.

No, stop, stop, stop, stop.

- Six days away from the I.P.O., okay? - Mm-hmm.

- You gotta keep it together. - I know.

This is what we talked about a year ago. You're a rock star.

You raised this money. You had the best "b" to "b" concept in the world. All right?

- Okay. - This is serious cash.

- Right. - Don't burn yourself out on quake and playing stocks.

- Okay. - I need you to be together for Tuesday.