Excerpt
Ibrahim introduces Hakim.
“Gentlemen, here is my son, not my natural son, as you know I was never
gifted with one, yet this is my son, Hakim. Remember his name, Hakim. Always
remember that he’s just as I am; when he speaks to you, it’s like I amspeaking to
you.”
Then he turns to Hakim and says, “My dear son, this is your lawyer, William
Polson, your bank manager, Bill Wanton, and your broker, Regis Hudson.
These’re the men you’ll be dealing with from now on regarding our affairs.”
They shake hands with Hakim, who feels overwhelmed by all the attention.
Ibrahim calls Rassan to pour champagne for all of them and they have a toast.
They drink and they take some food, and they chat for a few minutes until
Ibrahim says, “Well, gentlemen, now is the time to put together all the papers.
We want one bank account in Hakim’s name and one account with Regis.”
They do the paperwork. Ibrahim transfers ten million dollars into Hakim’s
bank account. The broker takes the certificate of Hakim’s shares and gives him a
receipt. Toward the end of the meeting, Ibrahim asks the lawyer, “You have a
power-of-attorney prepared, I suppose? Let me sign it. Keep it in your hands and
remember that power of attorney gives this young man the right to everything I
have with the three of you here in the United States. If for some reason
something happens to me unexpectedly, or should I become incapacitated, this
man will manage my affairs, as he is my heir.”
All three listen carefully to what Ibrahim says and nod in agreement.
“Is there something we should know, sir?” William asks, taking Ibrahim
aside while the others concentrate on doing the paperwork.
“I’m facing a health issue, William, and I want everything to be in order should
something occur. I’m about to start chemotherapy, and since I don’t know the
side-effects of the medication or to what extent it’ll affect my ability to manage my
affairs, I present you with my heir, and you now know what to do. I rely on your
professionalism to see that things go smoothly, when the time comes.”
Hakim feels extremely hot all of a sudden as his mind fills with what he can
do with all this money and the shares he’s to start dealing with as early as
tomorrow. He feels anxious about all this activity which has to do with his future
and the responsibility of reigning over the empire of his uncle’s wealth. The
champagne makes him a bit more relaxed. Ibrahim has just transferred ten
million dollars into his account and his shares are worth close to three million
dollars. Suddenly he is a multi-millionaire. His mind goes back a few days ago to
when he was just a poor computer engineer. Now, with a few strokes of the pen,
and thanks to his Uncle Ibrahim, all that has changed. But with all the money
comes a very heavy responsibility.
Libros Libertad 