บท 111: Chapter 111: Dakar Ausborn
Noah leaned back on the arm chair in his study with sheets of documents scattered on the table. He rubbed his hair nervously. The gentle creak of the door shifted his attention to the intruder who happened to be his son Franklin. "What are you doing here?" He asked as frankie walked into the study taking a seat.
"Dad, what do you want to do about Kentley?" Frankie asked.
"You heard your mother, we will wait and speak to him first. Let's hear from him before making a decision." Noah replied.
"I have an alternative, one that is bigger than Kentley." Frankie told him. "Would you love to hear it?" He inquired.
Noah studied his son with keen eyes. He wasn't sure what the suggestion was, but something told him that it wouldn't be pleasant. "Let's hear it." He said.
"There is someone who is willing to invest in our company. It's a reasonable amount of money. Are you in?" He asked.
"Am I in? Really. When I don't even know the person in question. How do you expect me to accept an offer having little or no knowledge of what it's all about?" Noah asked. "Who is the investor? What is his name, what does he do? Did you run a thorough background check on him?"
"I've done the necessary check, he is okay." Frankie replied.
"Who is he?" Noah pressed on.
"Dakar Ausborn." Frankie replied. Noah's jaw fell open. Not only was he surprise, he was also disappointed with his son. He kept staring at Frankie for a while. Before he finally mustered the strength to speak.
"Are you nuts?" He asked in a whisper as he was suddenly scared that someone might overhear them. "Franklin, what has come over you. Dakar? Seriously? Nah, you must be joking. You are obviously pulling my legs." Noah said laughing hilariously. Do you know what you are proposing? Who doesn't know the source of Dakar's money. You want to drag the company through filth?" Noah asked still in shock.
"Dad, Dakar cleans his money. He has lots of legitimate businesses running that are also making him money. He is willing to become one of our biggest investors." Frankie pushed hard.
"Why? What does he want in return? Why does he want to invest in our company? In fact, I don't want to know. We are not taking the offer. We only lost a couple of investors. That doesn't mean the end of the world. Businesses go through hard times. By Monday, we will start working on alternatives and we will also reach out to more investors. I am not letting a fraudster, killer and drug lord into my business. I'd rather die than let that happen." Noah declared. "Have you forgotten that he had a hand in Maurice Kentley's death?" He reminded his son.
"Allegedly father. The word there is allegedly. Besides, I heard that they were best friends. What does that tell you Dad, if Maurice Kentley and Dakar were best of friends, that should tell you that even the great Kentley was into shady business. His family is just covering up for him and good men like Dakar choose to keep quiet instead of spoiling the little good name the Kentley's struggled so hard to build.
Noah stared at his son disappointed. He shook his head showing his disagreement and unacceptance of the offer Frankie was presenting. "My answer is no Franklin. I'm not interested. I'd rather die peacefully and leave this world than make a choice that will end up killing me every single day. Whatever you have with Dakar, cut it off. We don't need him. Do not involve yourself with an agent of doom, because that is exactly what he is." Noah told his son with finalty.
"Father, you don't have to jump into conclusion yet. You can take out time to think abo......."
"Franklin!" Noah shouted cutting him short. "If you wish to help this company, then go back to the drawing board and get me names of reliable investors we can pitch to if things go bad. If you can't do this, you might as well look for something else to do with your time. Your brother seem more useful to the company these days than you. Maybe because he has a hobby and an extra source of income to keep him going. That way, he doesn't seem to be as desperate as you sound now. His contributions are making more sense and sounding more useful than what I'm getting from you." Noah said without remorse.
Frankie blurted out a tight laughter. "Wow! Suddenly, Felix is the new standard. His photography is no longer a distraction but a great asset. Really? Really Dad. You are comparing me to Fe now? After all these years of persistence and hardwork to grow the company. You suddenly decided that it was best to compare me with your son who goes about town taking endless, useless pictures of naked women only to end up taking them to his bed. Your son that sleeps with literally anything on skirt. That is who you are comparing me to." Frankie complained bitterly.
The comparison made him mad. He had always prided himself in the fact that he was the best son, the hardworking and focused one and he was the future of Tedson furnitures. This was the reason he felt so hurt and insulted by his father's sudden comparison. "Frankie, your brother is human. And I've never heard that he hurt anybody, forced anyone to sleep with him nor lock up someone in his private chamber only to have sex with them whenever he wishes to without their consent. Stripping them of their right to choices about their body and sex life. This only applies to you." He said pointing at Frankie. "What was her name again? Gracia right?" Noah asked. "Do you have someone else locked up in that private chamber of yours now or was she the last of them all. We were able to hush her up because she literally had no one but her poor mother who she was so desperate to take care of. You might not be so lucky with another one. Meanwhile, have you stopped now or are you still at it?" Noah asked looking straight at his son without blinking.
"That was a long time ago." Frankie replied adjusting in his seat.
"And you've stopped?" Noah asked.
"Of course, I've stopped." He replied.
"You'd better. Because I see you with the girl working for Simon kentley and I see nothing but a big trap being set by you and for you. You know Kentley, we all know Kentley. Anybody working or worked for him is automatically family to him. Hurt that girl or try as much as pull a strand on her hair, I guarantee that you'll be doomed for life and there is nothing anybody including myself can do about it. This is just a soft and harmless reminder." Noah warned his son.
"So you won't think about it? I mean, you won't even try to think of the possibility that Dakar might help us reach a certain standard that even Kentley will come to us for help." Frankie asked.
"I'm not interested. And I've told you, whatever you have against kentley should be sorted out. We need him in the company and you will play a vital role of convincing him to stay if it turns out that he want to leave. Again, kentley have done so well for himself. He own a fleet of businesses giving him money. Stop comparing yourself or this family to him. We are not in a competition. Maybe if you focus more on making something exclusively for yourself, you will be so fufilled and busy just like him. Now if you would excuse me, I need to go back to these documents." Noah said pointing at his table after stricking a raw nerve with his words.
Gradually, Frankie stood up. "I'll be in my room if you need me." He told his father who nodded absent mindedly with his gaze now fixed on a sheet of document he picked up from his reading table. Seeing that his father's attention was now diverted, Frankie made his way out of the study. Moving past the dinning hall, he saw Felix sitted at the dinning table working on something on his laptop. "What are you up to?" He asked pausing his steps.
Felix looked up from the computer screen and saw his brother as the dining hall entrance. "Nothing serious." He replied. "Just working on a couple of presets for this new photography shot I have next week." He replied.
"It's so funny." Frankie said with a straight face.
"What is funny." Asked Felix confused.
"The fact that father suddenly think that you are better than me. He actually rate your photography profession right now. He sees it as a promising side hustle and wished I had one." He said smiling wickedly. "Congratulations on winning a nice spot close to his heart." He said.
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