BXBX NOVEL Chapter 892 - Norman Todd
~ France, Chateau ~
Aiden is working on his laptop while Sarah is sprawled on the bed next to him. She is reflecting on the day.
That morning, Jesse arrived. Sarah prefers that Jesse stays close to Sophia and Felix, but with Eve present and two of them not leaving the Cliffside villa unless it's with Jeff and JoAnna, it's safe to bring Jesse to France. And Sarah and Aiden need to get used to having security around.
Jesse immediately got attention of Sigma army when Sarah introduced him as her bodyguard. After more than half an hour of questioning about Jesse and his fighting skills (which were left unanswered). Sigma army members gave him some space. Well, everyone except for Marija who looked at him with hearts in her eyes.
Jesse turned to Sarah for some guidance on the current situation, but Sarah only shrugged.
"She is interested in you. I can't tell you what to do about your love life."
Sarah got maids to arrange a guestroom for Jesse, but he insisted to stay in the side house with the rest of the staff. Sarah was worried how will he communicate with them, but then she heard him speak in fluent French and she told herself that he will be just fine.
Aiden was visibly irked when he heard Jesse speak French. He felt like the only person in the world who does not know French. It didn't take long before that transformed into Aiden's desire to put more effort into learning it.
Shortly after lunch, Sarah and Aiden headed to meet with Jarred's people while Sigma army members headed to the tech room to continue their hack-battles.
Two and a half hours later, Sarah and Aiden returned with their brand new helicopter.
Sarah remembers how she sat next to the helicopter and observed Aiden while he skillfully removed missile launchers which can't be hidden inside fuselage. Her man is amazing. She is confident that there is nothing sexier than a man who is focused on removing air-to-air missile launchers.
It really needed only few wrenches and a screwdriver… Jarred was not kidding.
Jesse helped Aiden carry removed weaponry into the basement of the Chateau. Those will not be a permanent feature of the helicopter, and Aiden will put them back on only in case they are really going to an all-out war.
Sarah is impressed with arrangements Aiden made in order to hide the helicopter from prying eyes.
Mature trees and medium height foliage are arranged around the helipad in such a way that is hidden completely. And there is even a cover on top so that any random drone would not capture their newest toy by accident. Aiden told her that this is the best he could do considering time constraints. He has few ideas on getting the helicopter completely enclosed, but he is still weighing options between structures above and under ground.
Sarah got her mind back to present and admired her Greek God who was so focused on his work that he didn't notice Sarah stick to him. Even when her hand went under his top and landed on his firm abs he didn't react.
"Ha! Finally!", Aiden exclaimed and startled Sarah.
"Sorry, love.", he apologized immediately with excitement in his eyes. "I was so frustrated that I can't find anything solid on this Norman… and I was looking in the wrong place!"
"What did you find?"
"Not so fast. Let me tell you first what I didn't find…", Aiden said dramatically and saw that Sarah is not very enthusiastic about it. "Trust me, it's worth it. And it will be short."
Sarah adjusted her mood and listened attentively.
Aiden started talking when he saw that Sarah is ready. "I found some hints of insider trading, and some bribing and blackmail… also, he was suspiciously close to few ladies in last twenty years or so. But there is no solid evidence for any of those. He is either very good in covering up his tracks, or he makes sure that nothing ends up online so that we can dig it out. The only option we have is to go and talk with people involved and see if they are willing to say something about it. But even if they do, unless Norman has some hidden vault with physical evidence and we get access to it, it's highly likely that it will be their word against his."
Sarah frowned. "But you found something, right?"
"I don't know if this will lead to anything that can be held against him, but it provides a motive."
"A motive?"
"Yes. A motive for Norman suppressing Jasper.", Aiden clarified.
Sarah's eyes lit up. "In lawsuits, a motive can get you sentenced even with flimsy evidence."
Aiden grinned. "Yes, we are thinking the same."
"So… what is it?", Sarah was brimming from anticipation.
"You know that we discussed how the old man's action of preparing his grandson instead of his son to take over family business was strange?" Aiden saw Sarah nod in response and paused before continuing. "But what if… there is no son?"
"Are you saying that Norman Kiani is not son of Gerald Kiani?"
"Correct!", Aiden exclaimed and explained: "Norman is not Gerald's son. He is his son-in-law."
"You are saying that Jasper's mother is a Kiani? And his father married into the family?"
"Correct, again!" Aiden had difficulty containing his excitement. He enjoys this game of slowly revealing the facts and seeing how Sarah admires his brilliance. "Melissa Kiani is born of mother Kathleen Kiani and father Gerald Kiani on February 1, 1970. She is the only child from that marriage. Melissa Kiani married Norman Todd on August 15, 1990 and since then Norman is using Kiani as his last name."
Sarah held her breath while listening to Aiden. "Wow… So, grandpa didn't want to leave company to Norman, the outsider. He wanted a Kiani to take over. That is why he was preparing Jasper. And his father was jealous? Did he marry for money?"
Aiden shrugged. "People get married for less than a company worth a billion dollars. And don't forget that we still didn't figure out what are those additional resources that Ellie inquired about."
Sarah was thinking about this information that Aiden just threw at her before asking: "How did the old man die?"
"You think that Norman did something?", Aiden guessed her thoughts.
"It fits the story. Old man was grooming Jasper since he was a teen by giving him early access to money and teaching him how to make it grow. It would not be unusual that as Jasper was approaching his 21st birthday, grandpa Gerald started sharing his plans related to the company's future. And isn't it convenient that old man died just in time for Norman to take everything from Jasper?"
Aiden kept his laptop on the side and stretched his neck and arms. "We are onto something. Let's not assume that Norman is a greedy man who will put money in front of his family until we find more evidence."
"Maybe not greedy. What if it's… bitter, disappointed? The man was married for two decades and considering the family situation no one would blame Norman for assuming that company will end up in his hands. And what if after two decades he suddenly found out that it's not happening?"
Aiden agreed that could be the possibility. "That would explain his need to control the company while using Jasper as a CEO puppet. In a way, Norman is showing to everyone that his father-in-law made a mistake by not letting him have his turn."
"But all that can wait. Right now, there is one important question…", Aiden moved on top of Sarah. "What exactly were you doing while I was working?"
"What?"
"Do you think I didn't notice you feeling me out, just because I was busy?"
Sarah remembered and giggled because his hands under her top were ticklish. "You noticed? But you didn't react."
"Consider this as a delayed reaction."
Her giggles from the beginning of the kiss soon turned into soft moans. Ah, her man is good at many other things, and not only in removing air-to-air missile launchers from a helicopter.
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