Chapter 148 - Shareholder

"I have a condition." Hearing these words, Max and the others stiffened. What could his condition be? Would they be able to fulfill it? Everybody had the same thoughts and their bodies became tense at once.

"What is your condition, Mr. Carter?" Max asked, his voice faltering a bit.​​

"I want one of you to invest a small amount along with me. I don't care how much, that's up to you. But some part of it must come from your pockets." He said without any room for negotiation. His condition took everyone by surprise. Why would he ask such a request?

"Why?" Cedric asked that question that was lingering on everyone's mind. Noah gave a knowing look.

"I am a businessman and I need security. I cannot invest the complete amount and bear the entire loss when the company falters. So, I would expect one of you to invest some part." Noah gave the answer they needed, awing them completely.

Whatever he said was true. Sometimes a business would not do as expected and the investors would end up in losses, some even in debts, finally leading to bankruptcy. The deal was fair for them actually. Noah was not asking them a huge amount. He had given them the freedom to invest as much as they could, unlike other businessmen who expected a particular sum, which at times could be too large to even think about.

Unknown to them, Noah had his own reasons for putting forth such a condition in front of them. One of them was to see if they were ready to take risks or not and the other was to see if they were trustworthy or not. There was another major reason for him to set the condition.

Max accepted his condition to be fair. There was no harm in putting some of his money in this business when Noah was investing millions. "I am ready to invest my money."

"Good. Then in my absence, you can take decisions as the boss. I am entrusting you with this since you will be the second-biggest shareholder of the agency. Do you want anybody else to be a shareholder? If so, please tell me right now. But, I do not want to release the shares to anybody else right now, not at least for a year."

"I agree. We cannot trust anyone in this matter." Max agreed with Noah. It would not be wise to bring anybody else on board when they had people following them.

"Good. I'll make arrangements to secure a channel for us. Now we have one month. Prepare a thorough plan on how you want the agency to work. By then, I will buy Everyday. One more thing, keep the second-in-command post empty. Nobody, I mean it, nobody will be given that post." Noah said, his last words coming out as an order. He had a potential candidate for it in mind.

"Thank you, sir. It would be a p_l_e_a_s_u_r_e working for you." Max held out his hand for Noah to shake.

"I'll send you the contracts in a few days and you can contact Shane if you have anything to be clarified." Noah then turned to look at Shane. "Shane, keep in touch with them."

"Yes, boss."

The group of four left the room and Noah returned to do his work. He gave a glance at Shane and smirked. He could see the gears turning in Shane's head and that he wanted to ask him something. However, he was reluctant to open his mouth, worried he might anger his boss. Noah sat on his chair and started his work. He could feel Shane's eyes on with questioning eyes.

"What is it, Shane?" Noah questioned taking out his glasses from the drawer and wore them. He looked more m_a_t_u_r_e and s_e_xy with the glasses. If Aria was anywhere near him, she would have drooled at this tempting sight. He looked stunning or devilishly handsome even right now.

"Boss, why did you want to keep the Vice-President, I mean the second-in-command's post empty? Is there any reason for it? Do you have someone in mind?"

"I do have someone in mind," Noah said, rubbing his forehead. He was starting to have a mild headache, maybe because of the lack of sleep for the last two days. 

"Who is it, boss?" Shane asked, his eyes twinkling in excitement. He looked like a gossipmonger waiting to hear the best gossip of the year. Noah chuckled inwardly.

"Shane, get me a cup of coffee."

"Boss...."

"Shane."

"Okay boss." Shane left the room dejected. He looked no less than a puppy who had been abandoned by its master. 

Noah leaned back and stared blankly at the wall in front of him. He had someone in mind for the post and that was Oliver. Nobody else would be perfect for the post. With his experience and honesty, Oliver would definitely be the best choice. Also, he wanted to do something for him and his daughters for keeping them in the dark for all these years. That was the least he could do.

He also had another thing in mind. He wanted to register the agency in Oliver's name. But he would never reveal it to them. Noah could foresee that if this matter was revealed to anybody in the West family, they would never accept it and worse comes to worst, Ivy might even leave and stop working for him. This would be a secret for life or until time asks for it. The West family did not even know that they were going to have a company in their name. 

Meanwhile, as soon as the team left Noah's cabin, Sasha's legs gave up. Cedric had to support her to the entrance until she started to walk again. Everybody had become weak just attending a meeting with the almighty Noah. 

"That went well," Max exclaimed as soon as they got inside his car.

"Well? That went awesome." Kira exaggerated. "That man is God." He clasped her hand and stared into space reminiscing his handsome face. She was nothing less than a fangirl who had just met her idol. Sasha was sailing in the same boat as Kira. She too had a dreamy look on her face.

"Noah. Aw" She squealed, startling Cedric who was sitting beside her. "He looked so yummy and delicious."

"Sasha." Ced tapped her shoulder trying to bring her back to her senses. "Sasha, Noah is not food. So, stop salivating."

"Whatever."

"Let me give the news to Ivy. She must be waiting for our call." Max called her immediately.

"Hello."

"Hello. Ivy, we convinced Noah. Now he is going to be our boss." Sasha yelled from the back seat.