The Undercover Billionaire

Chapter 3: Mission Briefing

“Wait, what?!” I exclaimed, stepping backward in shock.

“You heard me. I’m sending you to New York to do some legal snooping around,” my father said sternly, tapping his fountain pen on his desk.

“But, why me? Why do I have to go? Don’t you have hundreds of employees that you can send? Why should I do all this dirty work?!” I yelled with frustration as a tornado ran through my mind.

“Boy, don’t you dare raise your voice at me. I know very well what I’m doing. We can’t let some third-party person do this task. It’s extremely important and I need someone I can trust. I can trust you, can’t I?!” He gazed straight at me, making me shift uncomfortably.

“Michael…” Uncle Stuart warned my dad with a guiding tone, flashing him a stern yet soft gaze.

“Fine. If you get this job done successfully, I will put in a good word to include you on the board of directors. If, and only if, there are no problems,” my dad offered begrudgingly, looking away with a sigh.

No way! Is he serious?

To be honest, getting to be a part of the board was an amazing promotion, and it was the best chance I had to get my dad to take me seriously. But I truly didn’t want to drop everything and hit pause on my life here in London just to go and do some menial, managerial observations or interviews.

It’s going to be so boring!

“Well? Are you going to do it or are you going to be a spoiled brat?” My dad slammed his fist on the oak table.

RING! RING! RING!

The telephone on his desk rang loudly, cutting through the tension in the room right in the nick of time. My father quickly placed the phone to his ear and started speaking casually, as if nothing had happened. He stopped to look up at us, his glaring eyes still fixated at me with anger and frustration.

“I need to take this call. Could you both step outside for a while? Thanks, Stuart,” he whispered before he turned his chair around at us.

~.~

Uncle Stuart placed his hand on my shoulder and led me out of the office. However, instead of stopping at Moira’s table, he kept on walking, leading me towards a nearby empty conference room.

“What’s going on, Uncle Stuart?” I asked curiously, baffled by his actions.

“Listen, Champ. Your father is right, there is no one we can assign this to. This issue is too delicate and important. I have to admit, I don’t approve of the way he asked you, but I agree with his choice,” he told me with sympathy and care, much like my late mother.

Leaning on the conference table, I just nodded my head, unsure of how I should respond to his statement.

“Although, I wish there was a way you could do it without them knowing that you’re from Carter Industries. You might get more information that way. Who knows, your detailed findings might even amaze your dad. Probably pleased enough to let you finally move out of that old mansion. But I don’t think that is going to be possible. Oh, forget about it, I’m just an old man, mumbling nonsense. I’m going to go check if your dad’s done.” My dear old uncle sighed before patting my shoulder on his way out the door.

My mind raced as I pondered his words. His idea aligned well with the idea of me finally being able to move to my very own place and have my own life. It was extremely enticing, but it sounded too good to be true.

It is a good idea, but is it possible? Even if it was, how will I ever be able to pull this off?

A soft knock broke me out of my daze as Moira popped her head into the room with a sweet smile, “Daniel? Your dad’s asking for you.”

“Thanks, darling,” I responded with a flirty wink before I tailed her to the office.

~.~

“Nice of you to finally make an entrance, your highness,” my dad mocked me as soon as I stepped into his office.

“Sorry,” I apologized politely, approaching his desk to take a seat with my head tilted down submissively.

“Well, since you don’t seem to be too keen about this project or helping this company in any way, I’m going to hand over this project to Dave,” he abruptly declared, scribbling something on his memo pad.

This is it, Daniel. It’s now or never!

“Wait!” I yelled out in protest before I could even figure out all the details.

“Oh? You’ve changed your mind?” Uncle Stuart inquired eagerly, curious to know if I had agreed to his plan.

“I want to do it but not as someone from Carter Industries,” I proposed, racking my brain for a proper strategy.

“Then? How else are you going to get the information?” My dad eyed me skeptically.

“I thought I could go undercover, maybe? Thanks to you, no one really knows how I look except a handful of people that we could warn beforehand. This way, the employees may share more information with me compared to if I come as the son of the CEO. I mean, how hard could it be, right? Just hide my identity, mingle for a few days, and collect as much information as I can. Before you know it, I’ll be flying back home in the jet,” I described proudly, completely confident in my fool-proof plan.

“Hurm… Interesting. But I don’t think it’s going to work,” my dad uttered coldly.

“Oh, come on Dad! You never let me do anything! For once, I want to do something and you’re not letting me! I’m telling you, it’s going to work. I can do it!”

I can’t believe I’m begging my father to let me work. This is so not me!

“Okay, fine. But know that you’re doing this against my choice. Don’t come crawling back to me when you’re in trouble. And don’t mess up!”

“Okay then, it’s a deal. But I want to do this correctly and authentically. So, you can’t come and meddle at all.”

“All right. But you will have to sign a deal. For legal purposes. Moira will send you the details and prepare everything.”

I got up from my chair with a sense of accomplishment and pride, mostly because I bested my father and finally bent him to my will, in a manner of speech. Contented, I buttoned up my suit and nodded at both of them before I walked to the door with a skip in my step.

“Daniel?” my father called out to me just as I grabbed onto the handle of his door.

I turned back to see him standing in front of his table as he looked at me with doubt and just a hint of worry in his eyes.

“Good luck. You’re going to need it,” he wished me before he turned around to face the glass windows once again.

I scoffed at his words before I finally escaped the room of doom. I headed to the elevator, mentally preparing myself for my mission, rather poorly in fact, since to me, this entire mission was going to be a breeze and a piece of cake.

I mean, how hard can it be, right?