THE BADASS BILLIONAIRE'S SURROGATE

CHAPTER 50

When Logan Thames walked into the office that day, he had no idea such news awaited him. As he stepped out of the house that morning, he stopped by his favourite café for a cup of cappuccino. His driver drove him to his office quickly. On his way to his desk, he stopped by his accountant's office to speak with him first before settling down at his desk. The man scurried to his feet as he saw his boss walk in. "Did you get the transfer scheduled for today by MONASK?" He asked the man, who nodded.

"Alright. But the next time you want to go AWOL, be kind enough to leave a number I can reach."

"I'm sorry, sir." He apologised humbly. "It was unexpected at that time of the day."

"As I said, leave a number. If I didn't have the banker's contact, what would have happened to my client? You don't suppose I should cancel the deal or delay them so they can pick someone else to do their bidding next time, which by the way always fetch me millions."

"I'm sorry, sir." He apologised again, this time looking sober

"Send me the file later." Logan told him as he walked out of the man's office and went to his. He was barely seated five minutes when his security head came in. "Hello, Anderson." He replied to the gentleman's greeting, "Anything?" He asked then offered him the seat opposite him.

Smiling, the man stated his mission, "Remember that account we planted a bug in years ago?"

Logan smiled at the man seated across his table. It wasn't a good smile. Anderson had been with him far longer than any of his staff. He had been with him since he started his business. The man was a nerd from day one. He was one of the smartest computer hacker. Plant a bug on a system and Anders will fish it out. And if there's any virus on the system, trust Anders to work around it. There was no information he couldn't get out of the computer, even when the system is burnt or it crashes. He was that good. However, there was just one thing he had failed at, in all the years they walked together. Somehow, now he was referring to that singular fail.

"You mean the account you couldn't track?" He asked intentionally being harsh. That account had swallowed his millions of dollars. There was nothing sweet about the memory. He wasn't about to relive it.

"Yes." Anderson answered hoping his boss would be a bit optimistic, he added, "That very one."

Logan closed his laptop and looked at him pointedly, his polite smile was replaced by a menacing gaze "What about it?" Then he adjusted himself. "And before you tell me sad tales, you would do yourself a whole world of good to know that my broken heart can't take another sad tale."

Anderson adjusted himself too, making sure to move his seat back, "It's active again." He announced.

"Okay?" He asked, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Okay, it appears the account wasn't closed like we assumed. We couldn't trace it because we thought the money there was drained and the account, gone or closed. But from what happened early hours of this morning, the account is very much functioning." He explained.

"Go on." Logan urged, looking at Anders with interest.

"So whoever owns the account runs it in seconds as a dormant account once it's inactive..." The look on Logan's face was anything but clear. He didn't understand a thing he had just heard, "Here's what I mean. When money is sent into the account, it's active for the few minutes the transaction takes place. After the transaction, the account goes blind again. Whoever is tracking it down after that cannot find it. It's kind of like..."

"Like you auto set the account so it auto-wipes whatever information you want deleted?"

"Yes." Anders jumped excitedly.

"Who moved money in there?"

"I couldn't track that." He said sadly, "But it was done this morning and a huge amount of money was involved, I'm talking millions of dollars."

Logan paused to think. Could that be Jason Valdez? "That son of a bitch." He hissed

Shaking his head, Anders stopped his boss. "No, sir." He sat down properly, knowing his boss wasn't ready for this. They had both assumed Mr. Valdez had swindled them. But from what he saw this morning, they were wrong. "I couldn't track who runs the account but I could track Mr. Valdez. He is as much a victim as you are, sir." He said blandly, "He didn't do it" he pushed the file to him and stood up to show him the IPO address the money came from. "From this information, the money was wired from a laptop at China. Mr. Valdez would have to be in China to pull this off. Unless of course his men did it. but trust me, neither he nor his men did this. It's far bigger. Plus, the money was moved from an offshore account. The owner is smart too. Leaving no traces to himself. But it's not the Valdez either."

"How are you so sure?"

"I happen to know the pattern his techs guy uses. Don't ask me how." He added.

"I won't even bother."

"I worked with him too, remember?" they had all executed the projects back then together. As a nerd, they had both appreciated each other's work and learned a thing or two from each other. Now, their working for bosses who no longer see eye to eye had forced them apart. Though, once or twice, they've shred vital information.

"I know his tricks as he knows mine. Even if the account was for the Valdez and it can't be traced, I would have seen his programs and know who..." He paused looking for the right word, something his boss would get. "Lace it." He smiled at his own choice of words, "I would have noticed it had it been him."

Logan leaned back on his chair pondering over what he just heard. If Jason hadn't seen the money, why did he have him released back then? He looked at Anderson, who nodded in affirmative that the information was legit. He didn't know if he could trust his nerd on this one. "Damn." He hit the table. "So, the account is dormant again now?"

"It is. But the next time it's active, we will have solid information. We're in on them, quietly."

Something bothered him, "But why now? After all these years, why now?" He asked no one in particular.

"I'm not sure, but I think the money moved into the account was too large to be left untouched for long. It will be moved again. Soon."

"Brilliant. That's good." Then he told Anders, "Guess we need to talk with that son of a bitch."

"Yes. He could have a better insight." Agreed Anders, hoping he could swipe notes with Valdez computer analyst too.

"Okay. Leave this with me. But still, you should double-check. I wouldn't want to go to him uncertain."

"Sure, boss." He replied and took his leave.

CHAPTER 51

Adriana tiptoed out of the room, thinking her kids were asleep. It had been a very exhausting day, one without Noah in the picture. She had hoped he would reach out, call, or something, but it's been silent for three days now. Having tucked the kids in bed, she yawned and started to leave but was barely out when they sat up. Not that she saw them. Her back was turned to the twins.

"I can't sleep mom." Ethan called, rubbing his eyes.

Their mother stood rigidly in the middle of the room, trying desperately not to sigh out loud. She turned back to see both kids seated on their bed and the first thought that crossed her mind was, 'Noah could have handled this better'

"Kids?" She questioned walking back into the room, also putting on an act. She hopped like a frog back to them. They kids smiled at her.

"I can't sleep, mom." Ethan repeated himself when she got to his bed, "Neither can I" Elizabeth said too.

'Not tonight' she muttered under her breath. Elizabeth immediately left her bed and joined her twin and her mother on Ethan's, her eyes were wide with expectations. Adriana's eyes grew wide at what they wanted, "No, no. not tonight." She said shaking her head, trying to dissuaded them but they didn't look like they would budge.

"Please" Ethan pleaded. "Mom, it's been a while." Elizabeth pleaded too.

"It's way past your bed time. I can't tell any story." She was adamant.

The kids looked at her with sad eyes, "Just one." Ethan pleaded again.

She couldn't do this to them, she thought. Moreover, the earlier they have this done, the better for everyone. Thankfully, they didn't ask about their father yet. She could at least do this and they wouldn't be asking questions she had no answer to "Okay, okay."

"Thank you, mom." Chorused both kids.

Like their father, she sat in between them. That was the best way to avoid them throwing punches at each other every slight chance they got. "So, which story are we interested in tonight?" she asked, rubbing their heads.

Both of them pondered over it for a while. "The lion and the elephant?" Elizabeth suggested. "No. why would you listen to that. She's told us this story over a hundred times." Ethan cautioned, "How about the dancing monkey?"

"Well, you've heard that a hundred times too. So, no" Elizabeth threw back at her brother.

Their mother watched them argue back and forth before coming in. "How about we listen to one you both haven't heard before?"

They nodded in agreement. "Yes. Like the one dad was telling us that night before she slept off." Ethan added. "We both slept off" Elizabeth said refusing to let him bully her again, "You slept off first."

"You were dozing, snoring like a cow. Moo, moo." Ethan teased. "And you like an elephant. Boo, boo." Elizabeth shrieked loudly.

"Kids." Adriana cautioned before they go into another bout of arguing contest. "What's the story anyway?"

"The owl." Ethan said. "The owl that sleeps at night." Elizabeth corrected proudly. Ethan gave her the evil eye.

Something about their constant fights made their mother worried, so she asked "If someone slaps your brother, what do you do?" she turned to Elizabeth.

"I'd slap the person hard." She was so serious about it that Adriana had no doubt she meant it. "He always does the slapping though." She smiled at Ethan who grinned happily

"I do that only when they disturb her, mom." He quickly chip in.

Their mother was happy to hear that. She was going to ask their teacher in school tomorrow to be sure. The way they were at each other's throat at home was ridiculous. She would hate that they do this outside. "Always have each other's back, okay?" she said and they both nodded then said, "Okay, mom"

She pulled them for a group hug. When they all let go, she smiled at them. "Now, do you remember where dad stopped?"

"Yes" they chorused. Ethan then said, "The owl fell sick and he slept all night. Then he woke up during the day when all his other owls were asleep."

"Yes. And he was bored. So he stepped out to find something to do. That was when he discovered the new world that was brighter and more colorful at daytime."

That was exactly where Noah had stopped the other night. She didn't let them know she heard the tale too. "I'll just pick it up from there." She said, "Well, when the owl stepped out and saw the world different, he fell in love with the new world. He wanted to share the details with the other owls, but they were asleep. Lost as to what to do, he tried waking them up. But they continued to sleep, pleading with him to let them play when they awake later."

"Sad." Elizabeth murmured.

"Yes. Finally, the owl got out to tour the world. He wanted to see as many things as he could so he could tell the others about it. So he went round the stream, noticed the difference in color of almost everything. He saw humans playing and talking. The humans never talked so loudly at night. He had never seen them talk. All they do was whisper. The owls had assumed, humans whisper."

The kids laughed.

"The owl saw the trees that they climbed at night. They were so tall, big and scary. Had they seen them these scary at night, he was sure they wouldn't climb them. But generally, the brighter world was better. You could see and hear everyone. It was safer. There was no danger of falling into trap like they do most nights. He had lost countless friends to human traps. He had a feeling that doesn't happen during the day when you could see everything clearly. There was also plenty to eat; fruits and food. He ate to the full."

"Wow!" Ethan smiled, "I'd prefer a brighter world any day over countless nights."

"Me too." Elizabeth said.

"Then it started getting dark and the other owls began to wake up. The owl who had witness daytime kept telling them how bright the world was. He told them stories of his adventure, which they found insane. The leader concluded his sickness had messed with his brain especially when he fell asleep while telling them his adventure"

The kids chuckled, "He must have been exhausted." Elizabeth said

"He was. But the owls didn't see it that way. They assumed he was still sick. They let him sleep while they went about their nightly duties. By the time they were done, it was almost day time and they started dozing off one after the other. Again the sick owl woke up. Since they were asleep, he began another tour of the world. He was quite sad that he couldn't make the others believe him. There was really no way to make them see this brighter world. So, he sat down by the stream watching the flowing water. And that night, while the others wake, he slept."

The kids yawned.

"This continued until one day, the owl saw some kids playing with a phone. He moved closer and saw the solution to his problem. He quickly made friends with a 'mini human' like he called them. His friend was an eight-year-old boy."

"Like us?" Ethan asked

"Yes, like you both. The boy helped him take pictures of the world as proof for his sleeping fellows. When they woke up, the owl presented them with a proof of the world. The other owls were amazed at how bright everywhere was. They decided to see things for themselves. That day, they chose not to sleep. And they stepped out in twos and threes to see the bright world. It was as they had seen on the phone. They were amazed."

When the kids yawned again, Adriana decided to let them go to bed. "We should stop here. But you should know the story just began from here."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked sleepily

"The owl had a proposal for the others," Their mother said, "But that is a story for another night."

"Okay, mom." Ethan said, "Thank you, mom." Elizabeth said. Their mother kissed them both on their heads and lifted Elizabeth out of bed. She placed her gently on her bed and covered her up. The young girl murmured her thanks and was soon asleep. Adriana turned to check on Ethan too. The little boy had slept. She pulled the duvet higher to cover his chest and neck then quietly walked out of the room.

$CHAPTER

CHAPTER 52

The moment Logan Thames stepped out of the car with a smug look plastered on his face, the security team at Valdez Company became alert. He was quickly stopped at the gate and delayed slightly while James informed Jason of his presence. Everyone knew there was bad blood between them, and Logan walking into their premises wasn't seen as a friendly visit. If anything, there wasn't anything friendly in his approach. Logan deliberately chose the meanest of his men for his security detail. A man dressed in a pink shirt and blue trousers followed them with big rimmed glasses, looking sheepishly at everyone. While the men were being searched, Logan stated his mission and threatened that any delay would cost their boss millions. James was quick to patch this through to Jason. It was up to him to let them in.

Sam scoured the men thoroughly then whispered to James through the ear pod that the men came unarmed. James then passed the information to their boss.

"He came with who again?" Jason asked James, who stood at his desk. His right hand was buried deep in his pocket. He pressed the ear pod and listened to Sam filling him in on the current situation. Even though the search was done, the man was to be held down for any reason. Unless Jason wanted to see him and gave the order, Logan should stay blocked from entering into the office. When James informed Jason of the two muscles Logan, with, he asked them to be restrained, but the other man should be let in.

"Don't let his men in. Just him." James said to the man on the other end. Then looking at Jason, he replied, "He came with his two security which we are holding down. There's another man, though. He is on glasses, looks like a nerd. I'm guessing he's the computer guy."

The way he said 'computer guy' made Jason smile. It was apparent James didn't see any relevance in being a 'computer Guy'. They had argued that over the years while growing up, most times. James would be angry because Jason focused more on his computer than him whenever he had something important to complain about. Jason as a boy, was always bent on his laptop, either fixing something or learning new tricks. It pissed James off. One day he had busted out angrily, "What do you always bend over this thing for?"

Jason had turned to look at him, amused. "It solves all my problems." He had shrugged it off and continued.

"Really?" James wasn't amused, "So, I'm here telling you about my father going on about my mom. He's deliberately an asshole on a killing rampage, and that" he pointed at the laptop, "That will provide the answer I need." He scoffed.

"Not exactly." Jason replied, still bent over the laptop. He fixed what he needed to be done on the computer and stretched. Standing up, he looked at his newfound friend. The boy was a mess. His hair was unshaved, and he looked like he hadn't eaten. He let that slide while he looked around for what to give him. "It could be what you need to take off your mind." He told his friend, but before James could reply with another smart response, he asked about his father. "Did you say your dad is killing people?"

"Yes." He replied, sliding in the chair beside Jason, "He thinks my mother was killed. He almost shot his colleague at work."

Jason sat up straight, "Wow." he exclaimed.

"Exactly." James slurred, "Mom died naturally. Why can't he just accept that?" noticing how the other boy kept looking around, he asked, "You looking for something?"

"Yeah. Not really." He replied, turning to his friend, then added, "Your dad has always been cool-headed. He must have been hurting."

"So is everyone."

"Adults. I'll never understand them." he smiled at his friend, "Which is why I still think this computer is more fun. I can understand every bit of it."

"Nah. There's nothing understandable about that." James refused to accept that.

He finally found the pizza box he had ordered earlier and stood up to retrieve it. When he brought it out and opened it, James went at it with enthusiasm. As they ate, Jason offered that him his laptop, "Want to try?"

After series of pleading, James moved closer to the laptop and tried his hands on it. He couldn't do anything reasonable for minutes, and he gave up. "See? Not for me." he said and stood up.

"You didn't even try." Jason told him. They swapped positions, and he went to work. He was soon lost in the computer work that he didn't James had left until hours later. The next time they saw, Jason was telling him about going to Ukraine to study.

"Let me guess." James had said sarcastically, "Coding." The ecstatic look on his face was what he needed to confirm his suspicions. "Look." he told Jason, "You're rich. You can have anything you want. Which is why I'm asking, why travel to Ukraine to learn when you can have Ukraine here?"

Jason looked at him. Confused, he told him plainly "I don't get you."

"Do you want a repeat of your school episodes that you told me about?"

"No." He said with so much vehemence that James laughed.

"Then, have tutors coach you here. You have an empire to run as it is."

"That could work." He agreed, and that was precisely what he did. It had been James who advised him to get trained right here in Miami by the world best. All he did was travel to write his examinations which could be done at home, but he chose to go. It was a way of seeing the world. However, even though James gave him the smart idea, he never liked the computer. And he didn't hesitate to voice it either. Each time he walked on their classes, he'd snicker and grumble all through. Most times, he simply turned back. Jason learned to accept him just the way he is. Which was why even now, he didn't let that look on his face bother him.

"Let them in." Jason said, leaving his seat. He went to sit in the conference room centered in the middle of his office. He mostly held his meetings there. The place was wide enough to keep them apart while providing him ample view of the other man. There, Logan could state his mission while he monitors his every move.

As the secretary walked the two men in, Jason nodded grimly to Logan while fixing his gaze on the other guy. James had been right; he was the computer guy. Anders, Was it? He had walked with the guy a little back then when they had that project. But Key had been the one who hit it off with the guy more.

Key was the Valdez' computer hacker. Though his real name is Dylan, he had been nicknamed Key because he was so good at logging into any system or account, undetected. He was known for unlocking the most complex virus code. He could untangle a long list of codes in seconds. He was that good and loyal too.

Key had stayed with him through thick and thin. He protected the company's information so well he was often teased for always backing up his file every day before going home and building strong firework to protect the files. He had never once divulged any company's information. Key was that loyal. But he could bet the man wasn't loyal about Anders. He was always happy to meet nerds like himself. Though he knew Jason wasn't on good terms with Logan since the incident, he was sure key and Anders communicated back and forth.

If Anderson was here, Jason had a feeling he would need his computer analyst too. From all indications, this visit was official, not personal. He could say that. It wasn't like they had anything to discuss about. Evangeline? Nah! Logan would have some balls to walk into his lair and raise that issue. Every time they had both met at Evan's, the result wasn't ever a friendly atmosphere. This looked calm enough. Anderson already had his laptop out and was fumbling with some things on it.

He offered them the seats opposite him. This placed the men farther from him but closer to the CCTV, which monitored everything Anderson was doing on the screen. Just in case Logan wanted him doing something crazy.

When the men were seated, the secretary who had been standing close by asked what they wanted, and Logan asked for coffee, creamy, while the nerd asked for tea instead.

"Add honey, no sugar for me please." He said.

Jason smiled at him, "Anders?"

"Yes. I am... Sure. You remembered." He stuttered.

While the man blushed, Jason replied gruffly, trying to shake the man a little. It was fun watching him stutter. Logan steamed silently beside Anderson, obviously irritated. "I do. You left an impression." Turning to James, he whispered that Key be brought in. His presence would be needed. James nodded and went to another corner of the room to badge the order.

The secretary walked in with their tea and coffee, served the men, including Jason. She knew already what he'd want. Once done serving the drinks, she excused herself just as Key walked in. The instant he saw Anderson, his face brightened. Logan looked from one to the other as the two men literally face-greeted each other, ogling each other in such an irritating way. Sighing, he boomed, "Guys? Really?"

The men giggled like primary school girls, and Key settled in the chair opposite Anderson with a proud beam. "Fancy running into you again like this." he greeted, then said, "Mr. Thames." as a formal greeting of the man sitting stoically on the other side.

"Hello." Logan greeted. He smirked, then turned to Jason. "Now, can we get down to business. I have something that will interest you." He said with a grin.