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Join Wundry Plus in the Wundery app or on Apple Podcasts. Wandering. It's September 1990 on a beach on the island of Maui in Hawaii.

46 year old Tom Kalinsky relaxes in a beach chair while his wife Karen takes a nap on a town next to him.

Meanwhile, their daughters play in the sand.

Tom breathes deeply and enjoys what for him is an unusual sensation doing nothing.

Tom's been climbing the corporate ladder for over 20 years.

He rose to become CEO at the toy company Mattel

and then switch to toy car manufacturer Matchbox.

He's just finished a three-year contract there and now for the first time since he graduated

college, Tom is out of work.

The lack of pressure feels heavenly. Tom closes his eyes and

enjoys the warmth of the sun until he notices a slight drop in the temperature.

He opens his eyes to see a Japanese man in a business suit casting a shadow over him.

Before Tom can react, the stranger speaks,

You are a difficult man to track down.

Tom sits up, not quite believing what he's seeing.

Heio? Is that you?

Heo Nakayama is the president of Sega, a Japanese video game manufacturer.

Tom briefly dealt with Heio when he worked at Mattel, but he hasn't seen him in years.

What are you doing here?

Well, I left messages at your home, but then your assistant told me you were here.

I wondered if you had a few minutes to talk.

...