ACT II

Rose lives on Park Avenue but like everyone in New York is scraping to get by. Her family owned oil leases in Louisiana that the government cancelled, and she makes her living as a social media Influence. When she finds out that Andy is the inventor of Roxy, she introduces him to a venture capitalist who agrees to invest $30 million for 50% of the company. Andy is the CEO, Arthur is the Chief Marketing Officer, and Christopher is the Chief Technology Officer. The company designs a logo and hires staff. Rose hosts a backer’s audition and turns her living room into a virtual concert hall for a group of bankers and their wives. The deal is contingent on Andy getting a license to operate, however; and Rose conspires with his cousin, Brett Somerset, to deny it. Brett knows a "fixer" at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington. The launch of Roxy is wildly successful. The crowd is ecstatic. But Andy falls unwittingly into the trap that Rose and Brett set, and Roxy’s value craters when the license is denied. Brett buys a controlling interest in Roxy, gives Andy’s founder’s equity to Rose, and re-names the company "Fiesta.” To top things off, Rose seduces Andy and inserts a sensor into his neck so that she and Brett can keep tabs on him. Andy discovers the conspiracy, tumbles out of the window in Rose’s bedroom, and wakes up the next day penniless and suicidal. Walking the streets alone, he is about to throw himself into the Hudson River. A horse-drawn carriage takes him to the Curiosity Shop instead. There, he meets the Dealer and the Skin. The inscription describes the Devil’s Bargain: Andy can have anything he wants, but the Skin will grow smaller as each desire is fulfilled; and when there is nothing left, he will be dead. Andy, with nothing left to lose, takes the bargain. His first wish is for a banquet. His second is for the Dealer to fall in love with a young woman and sell everything in his shop to please her. Andy leaves the shop revived, bumps into Arthur and Christopher on the sidewalk outside, and is whisked off to the IPO closing dinner for Fiesta. The banquet is held in Brett's new penthouse in Steinway Tower. When Andy confronts Brett, he says, “Rose is the person who betrayed you. For me, it was just business;” and he offers Andy a job. Beautiful courtesans serve coffee and liqueurs after dinner. While everyone else is sleeping, Andy confides to Christopher that he has put a Trojan Horse in the code, traces the Skin's outline on a napkin, and makes another wish: “I want to be wealthy!” As the Guests assemble for breakfast, a lawyer informs Andy that a distant relative has died and left him a fortune. Andy doubles over in pain as the wish come true. He places the Skin on the napkin and sees that it has shrunk. "Can I get you something?" a Guest asks. "I want nothing!" Andy thunders in reply.