His Island Girl

Chapter Eleven

The insider he hired seemed reliable and trustworthy. Barry had personally recommended him because they were close family friends.

One Friday evening after work hours, they picked him up at an agreed location. Though Dave was the one who drove it, they decided to use Barry's car because they wanted to be discreet. After driving for few more minutes, the car stopped at a concealed location and the three men in the car began to discuss.

"Your hunch was totally correct Sir" Ken said in an urgent tone to update them about his recent findings.

"Tell me it's not true" Dave uttered nervously and Barry tapped his hand after hearing the anxiety in his voice.

"Based on my findings, the said project is not part of the company's budget or plan. In other words, they are doing it for someone or are paid to do it" Ken continued as he flipped over pages in the file he held.

"What are you talking about?" Barry questioned.

"What I'm trying to say is that the construction on the island was never in the plan book or budget of the Jenkins Enterprise in fact, the Jenkins was almost bankrupt before the idea began so there's no way they could afford such a huge project on their own. What I'm trying to say is that someone is probably behind the sponsorship and funding of everything" he clarified again.

Dave and Barry faced each other in bewilderment as the shock from the recent development dawned in on them.

"My hunch was totally right. Something is definitely not right" Dave leaned back in the driver's seat.

"So if the Jenkins could not afford any of these, who could be behind it and why did they have to involve the Orman Empire?" Barry said, trying to reason what's on ground.

"How stupid! Could it mean that the property documents we received concerning the land were fake?" Dave asked no one in particular.

"Dave we were stupid, we almost fell into that trap. Thank God for your wise observations and decision to abort the project in time" Barry said as he adjusted his tie.

"But for what? What do they stand to gain?" Dave replied still shocked.

"That's something I still can't figure out but all I do know is that Jenkins Enterprise is hiding a big secret. Whoever that is secretly sponsoring and funding them is probably the newest source of their success and money. He or she probably saved their asses from bankruptcy" Ken reasoned.

"Ken, thank you for your help I really appreciate all you've done for me and I can't thank you enough. Just name your price or anything you wish and it will be granted unto you" Dave said as he turned to Ken in the backseat for a handshake.

"No don't bother about it Sir-"

"Please call me Dave"

Ken paused for some seconds as he contemplated on how to accept the new informalities.

"Dave" he said before letting go of Dave's hand.

"My biggest concern is to see that the Jenkins' are brought to book for all the crimes they've committed. I wish to get justice for all the atrocity they committed against my family in particular" Ken revealed.

"What are you talking about man? Remember you're an employee in that company-"

"I'm still pained by what they did to my father and I'm only working there for the sake of my mother. Everyone knows how badly they treat their employees. I can't wait to resign from there so just know how willing I am to make them pay for what they did to my father. I hope that at the end of this you will help me get that justice I seek" he added.

Dave only looked over at Barry with a questioning look as curiosity took hold on him.

"What did they do to your father?" He asked getting more interested in the Jenkins'secrecy.

"It's a long story man" he replied, turning to Barry for any signal to know if it's the right thing to do.

"Go on bro I have all day. We are all after the same interest" Barry nodded in assurance.

Dave's anticipation only grew higher as he waited in silence for the full story.

"My father worked his arse almost half of his lifetime for the Jenkins Enterprise without any rewards or promotion. And as a result of a little mistake in accounts, he was accused for fraud and sent to jail for six years. My mother and I had to suffer during those times without him. Later on, it was discovered that one of his colleagues was responsible for the crime and instead of bringing the culprit to book, he was set free because he invested the money in the company and became richer."

Ken narrated sadly. There was silence in the car as all three men could not utter a word.

"My father suffered injustice and later developed cancer. My mother and I did everything we could, to the point of seeking help from the company just in exchange of the justice they denied him but all our efforts went futile." Ken continued.

"That's a hideous thing anyone could do" Dave said softly.

"After my father passed on, they offered me a job in the company out of charity because they thought they were doing the right thing. Why couldn't they do it when we needed it the most?" he ended in a sad tone as his demeanor changed at once.

"I'm really sorry to hear that my good friend. Take heart and know that we're all in this together. We'll get your father the justice he deserved" Dave uttered gently.

Ken only nodded as he wiped a speck of tear that threatened to fall from his eye. That was when Dave knew how pained and affected he was and he took pity on him.

"Its okay bro. I understand all you went through remember? Everything will be okay I assure you. As long as Dave Orman is aware of your case." he assured teasingly and Dave nudged him hard.

Ken only chuckled.

"Don't try to give him false hopes Barry, I'm only human. We'll only try our best until our best is not good enough. And if by chance that happens, karma is definitely not far away. But for now, we just need to focus on the issue at hand" he said sounding serious.

"Absolutely. We need to find out who is behind it all" Barry interjected.

"I'm afraid that won't be an easy one. They are all very secretive about it and apart from very few of the board members, mere employees like myself aren't even aware of this" Ken said.

Barry whistled to express his shock and Dave adjusted his seating position.

"But one thing that's certain is that whoever that has formed the new backbone of the Jenkins Enterprise is only out to destroy you...this could be the only way to get to you. If the enemy can't get you, they will use other means to get to you. Another reason may be because you have something they may be looking for. If not then why are they secretive and couldn't come to you directly even though 50% of the resources will come from your company and half of the profit gained will also go to you?" he reasoned.

Dave was in fact loving this new insider because he was just too good and possesses high IQ. He had just unraveled a lot in a space of some minutes which may be possibly right. Now all he has to do is to be a step ahead of his enemy.

"So could this mean that they planned to use the Orman Empire to gain leverage of the land?" Barry wondered aloud.

"You know what I think guys? I think that even the person who is secretly sponsoring the Jenkins' is not and also not aware of the true owners of that land. I also think that there could be some mystery related to that place which they want to unravel. It could also contain or be a source of unknown treasure because you can agree with me that people can do anything for wealth" Dave cleverly laid down his observations.

"Exactly, and lastly Dave is that you may be in one way or the other connected to that island and whatever they may be after, either known or unknown to you that's why they wanted to get you involved even when they could do it on their own" Ken finalised as he leaned back in the back seat.

Dave just left in total shock as every possibility may be true. He became too devastated at the thought of being used and his reputation nearly destroyed for something he knew nothing about. Little wonder, every attempt made to disrupt their plans went futile. He was still grateful for the wise decision to terminate the contract, however, he was not going to back down too soon.

~°~

As he laid in bed that night, everything that happened during the day came in and settled on his mind. He couldn't stop imagining the possibility of every reason coming to pass. He kept thinking of ways to get to the root of the matter. He thought of hiring a private investigator as that would be more condusive than getting directly involved. On normal basis, he wouldn't get this involved in other people's affairs. The good guys and the bad guys should know how to settle the matter amongst themselves.

"But Noella..."

"That sweet angel..."

He thought silently..

He wouldn't deny that she is the main source of his drive. He cannot just sit and watch her be among the people that could get endangered. He would never forgive his conscience if he didn't do anything to help.

As he kept thinking, he could recall her saying how her father is the only one who can tell the story. Could it mean that her father may know every secret? Could he be a part of this too? He really needed to find out. First, he needs to meet with Noella's father, he needs to know him and if possible get to the root of the matter.

At the moment all he wanted to do is meet up with Noella. He just couldn't wait to see her again, to get drown in her beautiful brown eyes, to watch her smile and to listen to her sweet melodious voice. He hadn't realised how much he had missed her until now. Its been over two weeks and he just would not let this weekend pass by without seeing her.

He wondered if she would still remember him, if she had moved on and forgotten him or if she'd be mad at him for not visiting for while or if she had been missing him just as much also.

That morning as soon as he left the mansion, he drove straight to the seaboard and boarded a boat which conveyed him to the island. The moment he was out of the boat, he headed straight to the location of the stall. The same place he and Noella spent the day at on that very last day. He didn't care to look at anyone or pay attention to anything as his mind was only focused on her and how to she was going to react after seeing him.

Somehow he felt anxiety and excitement at the same time. He was excited because he was finally going to see her again and couldn't wait to have her around him. On the other hand, he felt anxious and worried that she might not give him audience like the last time and might even get angry at him for not visiting for a while. He was also hoping she hadn't found out that he was Dave Orman else it would be bad for him. He also came with a hidden agenda of getting to meet with her father and to know more about him.

On reaching the stall, he met a different person. Her aunt.

After introducing himself, he asked to see Noella but instead received a cold reaction from her as she asked him to leave immediately.

"Where could she be please?" He asked again not minding her reaction, with desperation getting a hold of him. He knew from the very first day they'd met that she didn't like him so he was little or less surprised at her actions.

"I don't know. As you can see I'm busy" she snarled and then went back to her work.

That was enough to make him understand that his presence is not acknowledged. He simply left. Strolling around the beach sadly, he only hoped to accidentally collide with her.

The day was beginning to get on a bad slate for him but he was determined not to leave without seeing her. He didn't want to loose another opportunity yet everything seemed to be getting more complicated and strange.