HIS Queen, HER Billionaire

BACK TO WORK

CHAPTER 9

Next Monday...

“All right, gentlemen. That will be all.” Alik dismissed his staff members from the Finance Department after their long meeting for the budget allotment of the Kingdom. His disappointment was an understatement, but he did not show any indication of it during the meeting.

“Aye! Our grace.” His staff chorused in replying to him and started to leave his office.

Alfred approached the Duke as soon as they were all alone.

“Sir! the Marquis’s ' plane has just arrived. He will see you this afternoon after he meets with the contractors of the Hotel. I think one hotel will be ready for the turnover before the end of the quarter,” Alfred informed him. The end of the quarter would mean one and a half months from now. Alik was pleased.

“Good! Can you ask Frank to see me now?” He ordered. Frank is his private assistant and not under the Palace or Kingdom payroll.

“Sir. Frank is currently with Lord Luke Maxwell,” Alfred informed him.

“I see. Anyway, Alfred, it seems that the available resources of the Kingdom did not support our budget requirement for the year. Have you checked on the big discrepancy? Are there any more sources we can pull some money from to finance the budget requirement?” Alik asked emotionlessly. He knew he could trust Alfred, his assigned by the palace. His personal staff head, Frank, trained him. Alik's concern now was a sensitive matter, and he wouldn't want to be quoted magnifying it.

“Sir. Based on studies, there has been a budget deficit for the past three years. That was why they encouraged investment to come in. It was resolved when your finance company approved the investment portfolio presented to you before. However, for this year, there will be another deficit. It's an entirely different matter. Therefore, we expect another negative cash flow at the end of the year.” Alfred briefed objectively.

“Exactly, what I have in mind. I am not concerned about that investment. We already gave it to the monarchy. Thus, I was surprised to find another deficit for this year. Did they increase this year's allotment? They could have negotiated with us for a 10-year development plan instead of five years.” Alik asked, still without emotion. Either he was agreeable to it, or not couldn't be traced on his face.

“You are correct, sir. They increased it by 15%.”

“I see. They increased it without corresponding sources." I heaved a deep sigh. "This is what I need you to do for me. Get the financials for the past five years and budget allotments per department. This kingdom is very rich in terms of natural resources. Mining is the primary source. I wonder if they were paying the required monarchy share? Do it discreetly, Alfred. We do not want to alarm them just yet.” I ordered firmly.

“I understand, sir. I will do the best I can.” He nodded and concurred.

“Thank you, Alfred, that would be all.” Alik sat on my chair and glanced at the ceiling with an irritated frown.

When Alfred went out of the room, Alik immediately called his friend Gaurav.

“Hello, you!” Gaurav answered his call in four rings.

“Partner, can you send George over as soon as possible?” Alik asked, going straight to the point.

“That bad, huh? Would you like me to come over too?” Gaurav chuckled. He knew him too well. Alik was a very impatient man.

Alik almost jumped out of his seat. He knew Gaurav was also a busy man.“Oh! That would be even better. Come over with your wife.” He encouraged her excitedly. It would be easier to discuss what he has in mind directly with Gaurav.

“How long would you need me then? Are you prepared to pay my exuberant fee?” Gaurav scoffed.

“Damn it! You should pay me a finders fee for giving you, clients.” Alik teased.

Gaurav chuckled. Money was never a problem for either of them.

“By the way, how bad is the problem?” Gaurav asked; he wouldn't be impatient if the case were not extraordinary.

“Initially, I just wanted you to help with the telecommunication setup, but I think there will be problems with the financials as well. I told you it was a little messy here, and I was unveiling the flaws little by little. I don’t want to rock the boat. For a kingdom ruled by decrees and very traditional monarchical elements, they would be shocked by what's happening in the world around them. We should initiate modernity little by little,” Alik confessed. He wouldn't disclose such confidential information to anybody, but he trusted Gaurav.

“Okay, crystal clear. Just give me nice accommodation, and we could stay there for weeks or a month.” Gaurav remarked.

“Holy s**t! You’ll love it here, promise. The place was heaven on earth but super laid back.” Alik was very pleased. Especially as Luke was already in the Kingdom, they could plan many things with Luke and Gaurav.

“Did you say laid back? Danie will like it there.” Alik had not met Gaurav's wife when he was in Manila. Gaurav and Danie were on their honeymoon. He also missed their wedding.

"Precisely, ancient artifacts, culture, buildings, people, name it...you can find it here." He chuckled amusedly. He changed the topic to, “How’s business?”

“Doing well. I’ve linked up all the hotel chains, and I don’t need to travel as hazardous as before.” Gaurav imparted.

“That’s what I need here, partner. Link up all the departments so the Queen will know what’s happening in the Kingdom,” Alik commented. He always knew Gaurav would supply what he needed in terms of technology.

“Got your back!" he affirmed. "I never expected you’d love the role of a PA? Alik, the great, a commando.” Gaurav teased him as a commando, like a soldier trained to handle difficult tasks.

“Shut up! Wife slave!” Alik chortled and teased back at Gaurav.

“The greatness of the man is measured by the happiness of his wife.” Gaurav quoted.

“Since when did you learn poetry?” Alik teased.

Gaurav laughed. “I’ll check with Danie how soon we can travel and give you feedback,” Gaurav remarked.

“Fine. See you, partner.” Alik was pleased.

He smiled while looking at his mobile device when the call ended.

Suddenly...

“Happy face! You didn’t even notice my presence.”

Alik heard the voice, which was always pleasant to his ears.

He looked at Elisha as she stood on the side of his chair.

“Ah? How can I ignore the source of my happiness?” he remarked gleefully.

Elisha sat on his lap and let her palms crawl from his chest to his shoulders.

“Oh. Let me kiss that mouth of yours. I can make do with some sweet treats.” She said while letting her hands rest at the back of his neck, playing with his hair.

“Gladly!” Alik said as he welcomed her lips.

“Hmm,” she kissed him, “Your lips are sweet, so, so sweet,” she commented endearingly.

Alik cackled, “What’s bothering you, sweetheart?” he asked. His wife was acting a little differently than usual. He figured she needed something from him.

Elisha heaved a deep sigh and asked, “Alik, is there a way we could fund a school for the Kingdom? A tertiary school?" she pouted her lips."I noticed that we send our younger generation to the UK, Switzerland, Germany, or the US in time for college. It is alright for those with money, but it's heavy on the pocket for the rest. I’ve been proposing it to the elders for the past years, but I was told we do not have resources for that,” she disclosed.

Alik laughed, he was right.

“Hmm. Budget-wise, I don’t think we can handle it. There is not enough money for this. But if you want it, I can personally fund it for you, like a donation.” He explained and offered his own resources.

“You mean we don’t really have excess funds. What about the reserves? The reports I’ve been getting show the kingdom has sufficient funds.” Elisha furrowed her brows. She was confused. It was good that Alik now had control over finances.

“That’s what I am trying to find out, but I need you to support me on this,” Alik told her. It was one of his concerns, so he specifically asked for the two departments to be placed under his command.

“Surely," she nodded. "The Kingdom is rich. My god, what we have are gold, silver, emeralds, and diamonds. But whose pockets were those going to?” Elisha asked surprisedly.

“It will take time to tail that manually. That’s why I invited a friend to develop a system for easy tracking of the financial activities of the Kingdom. I also want you to engage your constabulary or military so we could implement reforms. Furthermore, I'd like to see the mining master plan. It doesn’t matter if they're getting so much from those activities from their own backyard, but they should give the kingdom the appropriate share.” Some mining was located within the properties owned by the nobles. However, they still need to give the appropriate share of the Kingdom.

“I see. Don’t worry about that.” Elisha assured him with regards to Military or Constabulary support. She has a person whom she trusted heading the division. He would do everything to protect the Kingdom and the monarchy.

“It was probably the reason why they engaged us to fund your developments so they could shadow the funneled funds if ever they were diverting. It will take time for the truth to come out, but, of course, nothing is impossible. We will discover it in the end. However, let me tell you that it is a dangerous task. We do not know who's responsible for it.” Alik disclosed the truth. He had been studying the approach even before they went back to the Kingdom.

It started as a reservation, but when they discovered how rich the Kingdom was in natural resources, Alik and Luke wondered why they still needed investors? Although it offered them leverage to enter the Kingdom, which was their intention after Elisha, the kingdom supposedly wouldn't need investors if the finances were being managed well. As Elisha said, it was supposed to be rich.

“ Will it be hard for us? Can we do it?” Elisha asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry. Let me handle it. Meantime, go with the flow, but don’t agree to everything they will ask from you. Let’s discuss it first. I will increase our security.” Alik uttered.

“Surely. Luke is here already?” Elisha asked.

“Joining us in a while. I think Khalie will be arriving over the weekends. Mom and Dad will be going to London next week, but they definitely will be here in time for the investiture.” Alik shared with her the activities of the rest of the family.

“Why will Mom and Dad go to the UK?” Elisha queried.

“I’ll find out from Luke later,” Alik said. It was also unclear why Khalan and Elisha had to go to the UK, considering KD Main headquarters was already transferred to Manila.

The problems of the kingdom were slowly being discovered. What more were they hiding from the Queen?