Chapter 4

• Avram Grant was cool. He smiled, his signature relaxed smile and Jasmine thought she was seeing in him an irresponsible father for the first time. He looked as if to say “Girl that’s your problem”
• “If you take cognizance of the board breathing down your neck while leading, you are bound to fail. Yes Jas, categorical failure. For a fact, the board doesn’t give a damn about you. All they care about is their money; profit optimization, baby.” He said, his face devoid of any emotions.
• “But dad, what the fuck do I do!” Jasmine bellowed, tears glistening in her eyes.
• Again, Avram Grant was cool. He decided to keep quiet, expecting her to burst out in emotions so he would laugh at her.
• “Dad!” she wailed like a child, “Won’t you say something?”
• “Okay, easy now, easy now. Don’t go all puppy on me ” her father said, “Relax, relax, but you can still cry. I cried a lot in the past and it kind of made me better. I mean even a king was once a crying baby. But if you are going to cry, at least cry like a pro, not like an amateur” he said and she laughed.
• “I knew the board was going to give you a hell of a day. But you see, every monster has a weakness and every organization has its imperfections. I pursued and studied the organization for as long as 7 months and I noticed, that Zinc computers will soon go bankrupt!”
• Lisa and Jasmine could not believe it. Why would Brown link corporations be interested in buying off a company with its debt?
• “The wonderful thing about business is, we are all only playing games. Yes, probably you might be thinking we should all be on our heels about the deal but one thing we all forget is there is always a beautiful side to every nutty situation. Zink computer executives are still holding out because they think their soon to happen bankruptcy is still secret, we can settle the deal by showing them evidence of their company’s huge debts, telling them we would buy them off completely with their debts, and also give them a stake and with their promising products, Brown links can kick start its own computer gadgets manufacturing operations”
• It was like a revelation, Jasmine was happy, she took determined strides toward her dad and hugged him.
• “Dad, I love you!” she yelled and her dad laughed while Lisa looked on, all smiles.
• Cory came in to see Father and Daughter tight in a warm embrace, while Lisa stood aside, hands akimbo. He waited before knocking gently to gain their attention.
• “Miss Grant, Mr. Grant, Dinner is ready” he announced.
• “Who is this athletic young man?” he asked, wearing his usual smile.
• “Oh, Dad, he is Ms. Juannita’s assistant. He helps around the house, Jasmine replied.
• “Come on, How do you do?” Mr. Grant proffered his hand for a handshake. Cory was demystified. He was expecting the usual condescension that came from the super-rich, but Mr. Grant was not the haughty billionaire who treated the less privileged as less human.
• “How do you do Mr. Grant,” he said bowing.
• “What’s the name?”
• “ I am Cory, Cory Williams”
• “ How do you manage to keep up with maintaining such a wonderful mesomorphic body structure? I mean you look like you could lift a mountain” he said.
• Cory knew that was a compliment, more than a question; so he only chuckled graciously and said his thanks.
• “What else do you do aside from working here? I do not buy that thing she said you do around here. It feels like you are a special undercover agent in Jasmine’s house. So secret service? Mossad, CIA, FBI…….?
• Everyone laughed mirthfully, Mr Grant was on top of his game with humor. He was a good sport.
• “I run a Silat Martial arts school, sir, I only came here to help my mom,” Cory said.
• “Exactly! I ‘knew’ it!” Mr Grant shouted, like a boy. “Well let’s see, shouldn’t you be a bodyguard? I mean you would earn more”
• “Yes sir, I am a certified first-aider and Cardiopulmonary resuscitation expert, I have a diploma from Valectra Bodyguards School where I had courses on tactical skills, weapons, counter-surveillance, and advanced driving techniques. But I couldn’t get a bodyguard job, they all wanted someone with a high-profiled Union certification, which I couldn’t afford”
• “Alright, we could pay you $250,000 a month to work with Jasmine. She already has guards, it came with her position, and you would just be like her chief security officer. What do you say?”
• Cory could not believe his ears, he almost died of happiness, but could pay for his
• Mentees’ school tuition and get a better life for his Mother.
• “Yes sir, it would be my pleasure to work with You sir,” he said, sweating profusely.
• “ so can you join us very early tomorrow morning then if you don’t mind, we could
• Work on the preliminaries together”
• “Most definitely sir…………”
• “Okay then, if that’s all, ladies and gentlemen, I would take my leave,” Mr. Grant said and signaled to his guard.
• “Thanks, dad, I will work on the plan tonight and buy the company,” Jasmine assured while taking a disinterested look at Cory as her father’s Lamborghini rumbled in the distance.
• Jasmine took a clandestine stare at Cory, she Wondered how the good-looking dude who looked like he could use a set of new dresses and a fashion orientation could be a bodyguard. With his body, she felt like he should be a model rather than a Bodyguard. He had the face of a female and a boy’s voice. She observed and focused on her research,
• Cory was forgotten like hundreds of guys she had admired in the past.