Chapter 17
Colin knocked on his father’s office door and waited until he heard his voice asking whoever was there to come in. He opened the door and said from the doorway, “Dad, you asked to see me.”
“Yeah.” Ben Blake looked up from his desk and nodded at his son. “Come on in.” He removed his reading glasses and dropped them in front of him on the desk.
Colin strode into the massive room. Ben Blake’s office was the size of two large offices combined. There was a conference room that could accommodate twelve people. The open area directly opposite his massive work space had couches and a coffee table for relaxed meetings and entertainment.
As expected, the decorations and everything about the room were as masculine as any space could be. Colin, and even his wife, had tried severally to convince him to add little touches of colors, but the older Blake would blatantly refuse anytime such discussion came up.
“So what’s up, dad?” He loosened his tie when he got to his father’s desk and took a seat opposite from him.
“I have good and bad news for you,” the older man pulled out a drawer and brought out two plastic folders. “Which do you want first?”
“Just give it to me as you like.” he leaned back in his seat and looked at his father apprehensively.
“I guess I will give you the bad news first,” he pushed one folder towards Colin. “Here you have it.”
“Okay, sir,” Colin picked it up and opened it. He quickly glanced through the first page and looked over at his father without saying a word.
He looked back at the folder and flipped through to the third page. “You don’t mean it!” He dropped the folder and punched the chair armrest. “These bastards have been ripping the company for over a year! How smart of them.”
The folder contained the report from a private investigator about the finances of one of their UK branches. It was during Ben’s stay in Spain that he finally called one of the private financial investigators he used to look into their books. His instinct had been telling him for almost a year that something fishy was going on at the particular branch.
“So, what are we going to do now?” Colin asked his father.
“I am going to pass this to the in-house auditors.” He picked up his glasses and put them on, seeing that an email just dropped for him. “And also involve the police. They are going to pay severely for this, I assure you.”
“Yes, they must,” he agreed. Blake Cargo treats all their staff members very well. It was just unfortunate that some people would still be greedy. Colin picked the folder again and read the report further while his father opened and read his new email.
Ben glanced at his son when he finished reading his email. “And now the good news.” He pushed the second folder over to Colin. “Open it,” his father urged him. Colin did as he was told and, to his greatest surprise, it was an acquisition document to take over a shipping company in Singapore.
“Congratulations dad, when did this happen?” He looked into his father’s face. He knew there had been talks between their company’s legal team and the other company for a while.
“This morning,” he leaned back and swirled his chair, the movement creating a gentle whooshing sound. “I got a call from their MD, saying they are ready and his lawyers will be in touch. One hour later, I got this in my mail. Doreen just printed it out for me.” He explained to his son with a glint in his eyes.
“Dad, this is good news!” He was excited. He stood up and rounded his father’s massive desk. The older man stood up, and they both hugged each other.
The intercom rang on his table, making father and son pull apart. Ben sat down again and picked the phone. “I don’t want to be disturbed for now.” He mumbled into the receiver and replaced it. He turned back to his excited son, “you are the first person I’m telling this. I have only asked Henry to see me later.”
“Wow, dad. I’m so happy. Congratulations,” he said again. “Thank you,” Ben said. “We all worked for this. I will pass it on to the legal unit today for them to go through the document.”
That’s alright sir,” Colin returned the folder to his father and picked the first one up again. “I want to take time to go through this report later,” he held it up.
“With all pleasure,” Ben said, looking fondly at his son. He was always happy with Colin’s interest in the business. Some of his friends were not so lucky with their kids. The sons were only interested in spending money and flaunting their family names.
“I hope you are bringing Becky along tonight?” He asked Colin. The company was going to host one of their big clients, the MD of a pharmaceutical company, who just clocked sixty to a dinner that night. All the senior members of staff were expected to be at the event, along with their significant others.
“Why, sure she’s coming with me,” he told his father with a hint of a smile.NôvelDrama.Org exclusive content.
Ben nodded. “So, what are you planning to do about her?” He looked into his son’s eyes. “You need to make some commitment, son.”
“Yeah, I know,” Colin understood his father. “I have plans. I’m planning to ask her the big question on her birthday in a few months.”
“I’m happy to hear that,” his heart expanded with pride as he smiled broadly into his son’s eyes. “That’s the right thing to do. If you love a woman, you put a ring on it, my boy.” “Yes, Dad,” Colin said and stood up. “I’m going to do that soon,” he gave his Dad a wink.
It’s alright,” Ben said. “See you later.”
“Later Dad,” Colin said and left for his office, where he promptly settled behind his desk and powered on his computer. He needed to review the proposal report and also the operating efficiency report, both for the quarter ending, before the end of work.