Novels2Search
HOPE - IN THE HUMANITY
Chapter 5: Family Dinner

Chapter 5: Family Dinner

3 February 2022 Thursday

Jason Boss POV:

Jason was excited; he rushed through the office and told his secretary to cancel all the meetings of the day and told her to make sure that Jack received VIP treatment whenever he came to the office. He reached the parking lot and drove in front of the building. The design and blueprint sent by Jack were comparable to the best architect in his firm and factor in the age of Jason he was sure that Jason would reach greater heights and he wanted to be his preferred business associate in the construction business. Jack was waiting outside the building for him. He told Jack to get in the car and asked for directions to the building. He was very hopeful that Jason should have done some research on the building. For this level of planning, he received very few customers who knew what they wanted and did not have realistic designs.

When they reached the building Jason had good feelings because the building looked good from the outside and he was not seeing major problems with construction. He asked Jack how to get inside to which Jack replied I don't know the realtor had the key. Jason was speechless because he thought Jack had the key. but he could not go back to the office without seeing the building so he asked Jack to follow him to the back of the building where there was a break in the chain-link fence and they both squeezed through it after seeing the building Jason was impressed because the plans were Very accurate and everything was looking good he told Jack the same thing and asked how much he was paying for the building when Jack replied 400k Jason was impressed with Jack business sense because according to his experience it should be valued around 600k to 700k so Jack had made a very good deal. he asked Jack what time frame was he thinking for the construction to be complete. Jack nonchalantly said that he was expecting the construction to be complete in 40 to 60 days. When Jason told him that it will increase the price of construction by 20% minimum Jack agreed and told him that he should make a detailed proposal for construction by Monday.

Jack’s POV :

Jack was happy with Jason's assessment and told him to have a detailed proposal for the construction-ready by Monday. Jason told him that he can do that and was looking forward to working with him.

Jack took a taxi To his apartment and was looking forward to a good night's sleep when he arrived home. he went to talk to Jerry where there was news playing on multiple channels about the series of crackdowns on drug Labs and cartels Jack said

“ I almost forgot about this side project of yours. How is it going ?”

It is going very well. I send the rest of the list which contains every stash house and drug lab I can identify to our friend Carlos Mendoza.

what was his reaction to your level of information?

he is pretty much convinced that I am some type of Godfather of the Mafia and he does not want to cross me

when are you going to start going after Sinaloa cartel money and the Drug Lords?

I am starting on the money from Sunday and will provide details To Carlos on Monday and for the drug lords, I am sending him for the negotiation of the prize money for them on Saturday.

What is the status of our other projects did you find some programs to provide money

yes I found some programs and I want to do deep dive into their financial records to make sure they are not corrupted and siphoning off the donation money I will need your authorization because some methods can be illegal

that is sensible I don't have a problem with that but make sure to cover your tracks and don't make a big public mess like last time,

don't worry I will make sure to do this under the radar.

ok, wake me up in the morning for the jogging and exercise routine.

5 February 2022 Saturday

Carlos Mendoza POV :

In the morning he was having breakfast when he picked up the phone Jerry told him that he had the location of the three-drug Lords as promised and he wanted Carlos to negotiate the information for 10 million each. Carlos was baffled and terrified by the level and accuracy of Jerry’s information. Carlos was questioned many times by DEA about The Identity of his client and Carlos was thankful that he did not know Jerry's real identity because he did not doubt that if somehow Carlos slipped up and revealed Jerry's identity he would be dead before the end of the day.

Carlos arranged a meeting with the DEA director who had personally come after his second batch of information was proved accurate; he also grilled Carlos about his identity of Jerry. Carlos had to take his boss as his lawyer for the third information exchange and he was going to take his Boss for today's negotiations. He called his boss and fixed the meeting with the DEA director.

Carlos knew the total amount of money and assets seized had crossed 150 million dollars of which 30 million was Jerry’s Commission of which 6 Million dollars were his firm and his fees. That was the reason his boss Did not bat an eye at Carlos' request.

Carlos arrived at the DEA Office and he and his boss were promptly shown to The Director's office. The director was an impatient man and asked why Carlos called for the meeting. Carlos told him about his claims to Jerry about the locations of the drug Lords and that his client wants to sell this information for 10 million dollars

the director said, “that is too much you have to settle for 5 million”.

I think you misunderstood me my client wants 10 million dollars for each criminal

that is not acceptable we cannot give that much money

you don't have to give out that from your coffers there is a state departments program in which the secretary of state can authorize up to 25 million dollars for each drug Lord capture you just have to convince the secretary of state that 10 million is a bargain

you are a very informed young man but we can not authorize that much money

no problem sir then I would like to request our share of the assets seized to be deposited in our firm's bank account and our business will be concluded

but what about the Sinaloa cartel money

I think the maximum government will be interested in our proposition to the CIA

Do you think ok that I can be blackmailed by such threats?

no sir these are not threats but my client's wishes and I must fulfill them

fine I will talk to the secretary of state to authorize the deal

thank you, sir and we will expect the money from the seizure of the assets by tomorrow as a sign of good faith

6 February 2022 Sunday

After getting back from the exercise Jack showered and changed his clothes for lunch at his aunt's house. he took the building sale contract with him for his aunt’s perusal. he called Carla and made sure that she was ready for lunch and told her that he will be there to pick her up and 10 minutes. He told Jerry that he was leaving And to take care. He went to Carla's last house and called her from outside. She came outside in a casual dress and a bottle of wine with her. Jack remembered that if forgot to buy wine for the lunch. he swore internally and asked the Taxi Driver to stop near the wine shop. He dashed inside and bought his aunt's favorite wine. When he came back in the taxi Carla was laughing at his actions. Jack just ignored her and told the taxi driver to take them to his aunt's house in Lower Manhattan.

When they arrived at his aunt’s house Carla was mesmerized by his aunt’s Garden. He told her that she planted every tree herself in it. Carla told him that it was beautiful and that he was lucky to be raised in this house.

They both entered the house and Jack announced that they had arrived. His aunt called them from the kitchen that they all were there. Jack led Carla to the kitchen where there were four people already sitting at the table. He introduced Carla to everyone and pointed out to everyone “Carla, that gentleman is my uncle Mr.Graham Connar, the sweet lady is my sister Lyla Conner and that less handsome version of Graham is my brother Mike.” Mike said “ I will have you know I am more handsome than dad”

Jack replied, “ oh that was the reason you Aarti malik gave you a pity date because you are more handsome.”

“That was a low blow man”

Everyone started laughing Graham asked “ Who is this unlucky girl who gave him a date”

Dad not you too

Everyone had one last laugh at the expense of Mike. The atmosphere was very light. His aunt brought the food. Everything was delicious and Jack filled himself to the brim. After having lunch everyone moved to the living room where Graham asked “Jack what is this nonsense about suspending you both ?”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Uncle doesn’t worry about it, it is just some bullshit. Auntie is taking care of it.

His aunt replied “Sure I am and I will get him an apology and a fat settlement from the FBI. They will regret the day they looked at my child.

Nobody refuted her comment or laughed because they all except Carla knew how true that statement was and she also deduced the same from their earlier meeting at her office.

Graham cut the tense moment by asking Jack “Now that you are free from the FBI would you like to join me in the family business.”

“No uncle you know you gave me 10 years to think about my options and it has only been 5 years

I remember Jack but I was just hoping you might like to work for me sometime. It will be like old times when we both worked together.

Don't worry uncle I will never let anyone else get the company you build with your hands it will be your legacy.

Carla asked “Family business, Jack you never told me that”

Graham said “Jack just likes to remain modest, I own a mainframe manufacturing company we build cutting edge mainframes for most of the private companies you might not have heard of it because we don't sell commercial products and it was Jack’s ideas by which it is expanded so much and he ran for FBI for me to manage so much work.

Lannie said, “Don't be melodramatic dear you love all the work and Jack did not run from the business he asked you first remember.”

Yeah I remember I should have just said no then those bastards would not have tried to frame him

Jack said, “Uncle do not blame all of the FBI there will always be some bad apples and it gave a valuable life lesson of always making sure to protect yourself and people you care about.”

Lannie said “ That's my boy now move on from this doomy gloomy stuff I will take care of it. What was I hearing about the pity date to the mike?”

Mike said “Not you too mom it is not a pity date she was just hard to get only and no I am not letting you meet her this early otherwise you might scare her away.

Everyone started teasing Mike and had a good time.

When they were starting to leave Graham asked Carla about working for him then Jack said “Oh I forgot to tell you about my new business uncle and I wanted Carla to work with me”

What new business, you are just suspended from work for 5 days, don't tell me you thought of everything in those days.

Oh, not everything but I have the main product ready. I developed a new server software that increases server performance by 30% and energy efficiency by 10%. Before you ask, yes it will degrade hardware faster but it will only degrade 5%of the total lifeline.

You are kidding me right no way things can be that good.

They are that good. Do you want me to show you everything? I can send you the software in the evening if you want to test it.

Lannie said, “Okay children we can talk about your toys after you tell us and your supposed business partner, Carla, your business plan.”

Hearing that Jack Stopped and Graham made facebook he was also interested in Jack’s business plan.

Then Jack began explaining his business plan and started listing average projections and other versions of software he was working on. Everybody could see that he was getting ahead of himself but Graham and Carla knew that if Jack’s software worked as he explained then it could all be true. Lannie voiced her opinion “Jack are you not getting ahead of yourself”.Before Jack could have said anything Graham started talking “Lannie if his software gave about half the number he is claiming he can generate half a billion dollars for outright selling it !”

Everyone excluding Jack and Graham was shocked to hear the amount of money. Mike echoed what everyone was thinking and said “Holy Shit, Are you taking investors”

“I will but after setting everything up and running and making sure there are no problems but don't worry you all will be my priority.”

He walked to his bag and pulled out the contract and blueprint of the building and asked his aunt to view the contract for him after his aunt viewed the contract and okayed it he proceeded to explain his plans for rehab of the building. Lannie asked “Jack who are you hiring for construction and how much you are planning to spend on this building”

Jack sheepishly said “I am hiring Jason Boss he came highly recommended and can do a rush job and for the money front 400 k for building and about 300 to 500 k on the rehab and all the servers and other things” then he hurriedly went to explain he had not spent any amount of money except giving 5 grand to boss construction as

Advance and if she thinks it is wrong he can pull the plug on the whole thing.

Lannie said, “I am not saying it is wrong, I was just making sure it was an informed decision not some sort of coping mechanism for losing the job, and after Graham verifies your claims about your software you can go ahead.”

Carla was feeling out of depth but decided to ask the question that was brewing from when Jake started explaining “But Jack, how are you going to get money if you are not taking money from your family.” At that Jack explained that he might have made some good investments and he can afford it all himself. Lyla decided to give Carla the whole answer “Carla he is just trying to downplay all of it. He made about 20-25 million dollars on his investments and all without touching emptying his trust fund which he pretends does not exist and has been donating for college scholarships.”

Jack said “Lyla that trust fund business was supposed to be secret”

Jack, you think mom does not know about it she started investigating when the first scholarships went out she thought you were caught in something bad.

Lannie said, “ I am sorry Jack for invading your privacy but was just worried.”

Jack just waved her words away and told her “don't worry I know you did it because you love me and I just did not want to do something good in my parents' memories and it is unfair to call you both uncle and auntie, I will call you mom from now on.”

Hearing that Lannie started crying and Graham’s eyes also became wet. Everyone was getting emotional so Lyla brought wine and some snacks from the kitchen.

Everyone was exhausted from the emotional moments and started on the wine.

Lannie and Graham were very happy at the end of the day; they never showed up but we're hoping for this moment for the last 10 years. Jack took his leave from the house and asked Carla if she wanted to share a taxi. Carla answered positively and said her byes to his family.

When they arrived at Carla’s house they found James outside the house. When he saw both of them he started swearing and making a scene Jack told Carla to stay in the car and call 911. Jack approached James Carla’s ex and asked why he was there. He shouted at Jack and blamed him for Carla's troubles and for stealing Carla from him. Jack just calmly replied to take it easy and not do something foolish. This started James into a rage fit and he took a swing at Jack which he dodged and sidestepped the tackle by James. Jack just pivoted and kicked him in the leg then the police arrived and told everyone to take it easy. Jack immediately complied and stopped with his hands visible to the police but James took a swing to his back Jack was pushed towards the officers. The Cops deployed a taser and the baton on James and he was put into handcuffs then the police started taking statements when Jack explained the situation and the taxi driver and Carla verified his version of events and they proceeded to ask Jack if wanted to press charges he told them that he would. The cops took James in their Car and drove away. Carla was shaken up by the whole ordeal so Jake proceeded to take her into the house and make some coffee for her. He told her that she should take a restraining order against James. She agreed with him. Jake said

“ I know this is not a good time to ask but would you like to work for me in my new business”

But what if I want to invest in it

How about you work for 6 months and after that if you want I will sell you 10% shares of the company for 5 million with the condition that if you want to sell the shares I have the option to match the market offer first.

But what about the money I am not swimming in it like you

Remember my aunt talked about the settlement, you are getting a minimum of 5 million and if you can't afford it at that time we can make it as Stock options too

Okay I am sold on the idea but what would be my responsibilities and salary and why are you offering me partnership on these favorable terms what is the catch

There is no catch. My reasons are simple. You are a capable computer scientist and I trust you. You might think those are not enough but you should know that I don't trust many people and by recent events, my belief is getting stronger in my ways so it is the most important reason for me.

Guess that is as good as any reason and what about other things?

How about 20000$ a month sound and the 10 % stock options at 5 million. And as for responsibilities, I will help the company make its name and you will be CEO of it from the 6th-month mark meaning you will deal with every small detail.

The salary is nice and the position is also nice but I won't be just a figurehead CEO I want decision-making power

Okay you will get them but any major decision my word will be the final

Okay, when would you like to start working as a boss?

Jack groaned and said “I walked right into it? and you can start by Monday by coming with me to meet Jason Boss, after that you can review the code of the software and I will work on my other version. After the hearing, we can look into hiring employees and a temporary workspace till the building is finished.”

Carla agreed and Jack went back to his home after that. After reaching his house he informed his mom about the incident with James and sent her the documentation given by the Cops. He discussed Jerry about the situation and Jerry recommended installing spyware on James' phone as a precaution. Jack was feeling good and settled for the night.

7 February 2022 Monday

The next day Jerry asked him to come to chat with him from the phone at his bedside. When Jack arrived Jerry informed him that all the drug lords were arrested and it would be in the news for about 2 -3 hours. Jack asked

Why are they waiting for the announcement?

Because they want to give news about the Sinaloa cartel money seizure also. And the DEA director was robbed of his chance of glory by president Carlos Mendoza.

How much money do we make in this whole fiasco?

We started by assets seizure in the U.S. that was worth some 150 million-plus change and our share was 30 million and from than 30 million for drug lords and at last Sinaloa cartel is about to lose 1.5 billion in main money but some other assets too at that amount is close to 300 million but it will take very much time to get the ball rolling so I instructed Carlos to made a deal about receiving the money in next 3 days and shave off 60 million from the top of our 360 million. The government jumped on the deal so we will receive 300 million

And how much we will get in hand after paying taxes and Carlos cutting.

We will be taxed at 30% and after taxes, the money remaining will be 210 million dollars of which 42 million will be Carlos Firm Fee. We will get 168 million dollars from our offshore companies.

Why are you thinking of making multiple companies?

Yes it would hide our activities for some more time especially if I use different stock exchanges around the world and use a different strategy

Okay, do you what you believe is necessary I have to go talk to Jason Boss about construction.