CHAPTER 5

Kodam is a big company. Fred knew that. He was aware of its place in the markets and the position of superiority it enjoyed over other companies. Its diplomatic presence and skills were notable. It was the one company that had not experienced any loss ever and that was what made the Browns want to make a business deal with it.

But he never knew that the CEO/founder was his dad who would then want him to take over.

“You want me to do what?” He said, shocked to ever hear such words.

“Be the CEO.”

“Oh, yes, because it is that easy.”

“No, Freddy, it is not,” his father said calmly. “I do not expect you to handle everything from tomorrow, neither do I want you to. You will be doing that in a while but until then, you will have just as much authority as I do and learn from me directly.”

That seemed relieving to Fred. He knew it was a lot of responsibility and they had just reconciled but being the CEO of Kodam would mean giving his wife a life she deserved and making his mother proud. It also meant being superior to those people who had mocked him ever since they knew him.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it,” he admitted.

“Son, this is your treat as a part of my life”

“Thank you. I am speechless” He smiled.

His father jumping out of his seat. “I was hoping you’d say yes to accept my offer. You just need to sign the contract, love.”

Fred is not able to handle the situation as this is a crucial moment in his life. He has to give his wife a better life. He submitted to his mate, Rose. This is why he has to take the offer.

Louie winked at him and gestured for the hotel manager to bring something. The manager came back in no time with a file in his hand and handed it to Louie.

“These papers say that you will be given 50% of the shares in the company and will enjoy the same power as I do.” He opened the file and handed it to Fred along with a pen.

“But 50%? That would make me the – the owner.”

“Exactly,” his father said. “You can go over them and sign them if and when you are ready.”

Fred spent the entire dinner reading through it and learning about what Kodam exactly does. As it turned out, Kodam was not one company. It was a group of companies all of which offered different services.

There was fashion, engineering, architecture, art, cinema, real estate and almost everything one could think of. His degree from college and experience of working at Verizon would not make him a total stranger to the world of business. He looked forward to working at a place where he would be respected.

“I just have one condition,” he said after reading through the document. “I don’t want people to know who I am. You can tell them that a future CEO has been appointed but I don’t want them to know who he is.”

Louie was just happy that his son had accepted his offer and that was all he cared about.

“And in that case,” he said. “I have something for you.”

Fred looked at his father expectantly as he pulled out a cheque from his coat pocket and handed it to him. The moment he took the cheque, his eyes grew wide in surprise.

“Dad,” he whispered, barely able to speak. “This says three billion.”

“I know, I want you to have it. This is nothing compared to how much you will start earning once you make it official.”

“Well, then,” Fred nodded. “Why wait?”

After glancing over the document one last time, Fredrick signed it and secured his spot as the next CEO of the most successful and sought after company in the nation. He knew that with the right guidance, he could take the company to new heights.

“Hey, son,” Louie said. “I hope you know that you are now also the owner of all the estates we own, nationally and internationally.”

“I am?”

It was like his world had suddenly changed. He was a content man whose world resided in his wife who loved him just as much but having money would change his status in front of his in-laws because all they cared about was materialistic wealth.

“What are you going to do now?” Louie asked him as they were getting into the car.

“I will have to start a life game by taking care of the Brown family as a poor guy.”

It was like something in him had shifted. He knew his in-laws would kneel in front of him if they found out about his status now but he didn’t want that. He wanted to get back at them for all those years of verbal abuse and for everything they had put him and Rose through.

Fredrick Warren wanted revenge. And he was going to take it into actions.