Chapter Five

Grace arrived at the Caleb Manufacturers gate at ten minutes to ten in the morning . She was surprised at the number of armed guards patrolling the compound . It was intimidating to her given that her facility was guarded by a meer four unarmed guards , two during daytime and two at night . She wondered what was manufactured therein that warranted such heavy security . Worse still , and despite the many surveillance cameras all over , she was taken through a rigorous security checks that almost drained her patience .

She was personally met at the main door by Jack . She was disappointed by the fact that he had not communicated with the security to spare her this charade despite knowing that she was coming .

" Welcome to our humble facility !" he invited her , a broad smile on his face . " You can never imagine what a great honour it is to have you !" His gratitude was cut short on looking at the disdain spread on her face . " Omg ! What's the matter with you !" He inquired of her .

" Is this all necessary ?" She asked , gesturing to the many security protocols . " And to imagine that I could be subjected to such indecent form of frisking ! I really feel assaulted , to say the least !"

" Am really sorry for the inconvenience it has cost you . It is my bad . I forgot to communicate about your coming ."

" It is more than communicating . Are all female visitors subjected to such frisking by male guards ? Apparently , you have a thing with many heavily armed security details . Why should they be all men if you are intent on welcoming visitors with such unbecoming procedure ?"

" You know this facility is still under the management of my old man . I completely have no say in the security matters . Let me hasten to apologise on his behalf . Moreso , I really do concur with you that you have a point in your observations . Am I forgiven ?" He asked , his infectious smile broadening .

On seeing his handsome smile , she softened up and let him lead her into his office , holding her hand as they passed by many workers sauntering in and out .

" Please , have a seat ," he invited her as her eyes roved over the spacious , well-furnished office . On the wall behind him , she saw a large photograph of him in a graduation gown flanked by his father and a woman she took to have been his mother .

" That's me and my parents five years ago ," he informed her , following her gaze . " You can say I was quite young and handsome !" he chuckled .

" But you are still even more handsome ," the words involuntarily jetted out of her mouth . She silently admonished herself for thinking aloud .

" Over with the pleasantries ," she said , changing the subject . " Can we get down to business ?" She asked as a girl bearing a heavily laden tray entered . The girl exited after serving them coffee .

" Nothing else interests you other than business ?" He asked , feigning surprise . " I strongly suggest we enjoy the coffee first . Doctor's prescription ."

" Could you be insinuating something ?"

" Perhaps , yes . Like I forgot to tell you how cute you look in that dress ." She was wearing a low-necked red dress that was excellently complemented with a beautiful necklace .

" Thank . You are also looking awesome in your suit . And , you have fantastic office ."

" Am flattered . Thanks . I wonder what it could be like to have lunch with you ?"

" It depends on how convincing your business proposal is ." 

" Talking of which , the old man insisted on being part of the discussion . In fact , he is expecting us in his office . Shall we ?" He asked as he stood up to lead the way .

* * * * *

Mr. Caleb sat in his office , enjoying his coffee . In other times , he could have been sipping his cognac . Today he could not afford to create a bad impression on the lady who was not only talking business , but was also intended to be his son's partner . He had seen her entering on the surveillance cameras and he was sure Jack was about to usher her in after the coffee .

Unbeknownst to Grace , Caleb was the one behind this meeting . Prior to the meeting in the launch , he had scouted for her . He had been completely convinced that she could make a very good daughter in-law . Besides , the philanderous behaviour of Jack was increasingly proving fatal in the family lineage . His eldest son had been killed four years ago in a fight over the control of the mafia business in this part of the world . He had neither been married , nor left any heir .

There were two daughters . The elder one had been married for fourteen fucking years and she had not yet been blessed with even a caricature of a child . He had been so indignant about this unfulfillment that he had dragged both her and the husband into an expensive hospital for medical check-up and treatment . Unfortunately , nothing came out of this treatment as his daughter slowly hastened into menopause .

The other daughter had been consecrated into the drug business . Initially , she had been in charge of handling the cash in the southern part of the country . He could not put a finger on what exactly had transpired that forced her into partaking in the addictive drugs . She had been in and out of many rehabilitation centers to no respite . She relapsed as soon as she got out . He therefore considered her a written-off case .

He was banking on Jack to give him grandchildren by all means necessary . He was prepared to counteract his insatiable behaviour by ensuring that he had a stable family . It was gratifying that he had also been taken in by the girl from the moment he met her in the launch . The only thorny issue was whether her father could be persuaded into agreeing to the union given their long-held feud . Only time would tell . He sighed as he heard a knock on the door .

Jack entered , preceding Grace as Mr. Caleb stood up to welcome them . He shook hands with Grace and kissed her hand .

" You don't know how glad I am that you could find time from your busy schedule to grace our facility !" he beamed . " Please , be seated ."

" It is my pleasure too that you could invite me into this eximious facility . Am really honoured ."

" It is quite gracious to have the compliment of such a brilliant , angelic beauty , if you may excuse my bluntness ," he enthused , bursting into a resonating laughter . " And , looking at the two of you seated there , I can't help imagining what a beautiful couple you could make !" 

Both Jack and Grace simultaneously sized each other and blushed .

" Well , I heard them say that a little fantasy is good for the soul ," she said , noncommittally .

" I just wish those blessings of yours could come to pass !" responded Jack, causing more laughter .

" Well , I couldn't wish to keep you guessing about our business proposal , nor waste more of your precious time ," Caleb started . " It is trite knowledge that your newly-invented wonder drug is going to have such a huge demand that you might be overwhelmed in meeting ."

" Am flattered . However , I don't understand how we might be overwhelmed given that we are equipped with adequate manufacturing facility ."

" Am in no way trying to belittle your capacity . It is adequate as you have said , but that's not enough to satisfy even half of the needs ."

" Well , you are arousing my interest . Go on , please ."

" If you may excuse me , I would like to extrapolate ," Jack intervened . " Statistics from the World Health Organization show that at half of the world's population is suffering from one of the three leading maladies , that's cancer , Diabetes and HIV which are curable by your miracle drug . We are talking of billions of patients ! There's no single pharmaceutical company that could satisfy that demand even in ten years ."

" The reason why we wish to purchase an exclusive manufacturing licence from you ," continued Mr. Caleb . " Together with you , we have the wherewithal to mitigate the skyrocketing demand ."

" Would you mind enlightening me on your reference to exclusivity , please ," she inquired .

" Given the fact that we are prepared to let you name any price , it is only fair that we be the only licencee to develop the drugs ,at least in this part of the world ."

" I gather that your concern is about expediting the rate of manufacturing to meet the demand . Am afraid to say that if it were so , you could be willing to have other players in the field . Don't you think so ?"

" That's right , but as stated before , your company and ours are more than enough to service the the local needs . It's not like we wish to enjoy a monopoly , but unnecessary competition in a small market wouldn't do any good to either of us ."

" Would that exclusive licence be indefinite , or for a given period of time ?" She asked .

" We intend it to be as long as we continue manufacturing . That's into infinity ," insisted Caleb .

" Am not sure that would be right . However , I would ask for more time to discuss it with my partner , if that be okay with you ."

" No problem , but not for long . You do realize that there's going to be a scramble for the drug very soon given the kind of advertisement it has ."

" I understand . We will get back to you the soonest ."

" One more thing ," said Caleb as if it was an afterthought , " we happen to have unparalleled distribution channel . We were wondering whether you could consider extending to us the agency and distribution of your pieces . Our commission charges are really cost-friendly ."

" Well , why don't you forward your offer for perusal and consideration ? Am sure it will be better that way ."

" That's great ! The offer might precede you . Am compelled to say that you would make an excellent person to do business with . Thank you so much . Ooops ! I almost forgot to remind you that that Experts Conference will be on Monday next week here . Am looking forward to seeing you then ."

" Sure . It has been great pleasure discussing business with you . I look forward to a fruitful venture . One last thing . If you may excuse my intrusion , during the launch , I overheard you having a heated conversation with my Dad . I was wondering if you could shed some light on the bone of contention between you two ."

" Oh ! It was nothing much worthy mentioning . It was just about him having a misconception as regards my being there uninvited . Perhaps , don't you think that he is better placed to explain to you about it ?" He made it appear inconsequential.

" Am sorry to have bothered you , but I couldn't help wondering after witnessing the bitter exchange . I wouldn't even bother asking him . Thank you for your hospitality ," she said as she prepared to leave .

" I also believe that the misunderstanding between parents should never be allowed to pervade the lives of the children . Thank you , dear for being understanding . Enjoy the rest of your day ."

" Oh ! It's almost two ! No wonder I feel famished . Am counting on you to save me from starvation by being kind to honour your promise !" Jack said as soon as they left his father's office .

" I don't remember promising you anything about saving you from your self-confessed starvation ," she responded , teasingly .

" Come on , please ! Don't be mean with your company . Besides , I have been absent for long from this city that I wouldn't know how to make my order . Am counting on you . All I know is that there's this popular hotel with delicious dishes and excellent service that opened recently . It is a plus that it is on your way home ." 

" I just think it's not a good idea ."

" Why ? It is not like I have turned vampire and am going to substitute you for my lunch !"

" Fine , but only because you have insisted ."

And so they drove out for their first lunch , him leading and driving his Mercedes Benz and her following in her BMW .