Incognito Billionaire

Chapter 1

Hi guys! It's been nearly 5 years since I wrote a story on here, so bear with me! This chapter is basically just informative so keep with it please :)

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            “Michael, my dear son, how did the meeting go?”

            “It went great! The Japanese invested $20 million for the new hotel. Well over half the building cost for only a 30% stake! They have great faith in the Cafran name,” I replied to my father. When he heard the good news, a smile brightened his face. I knew this smile, it was not the smile of a greedy businessman excited about a successful deal, it was the beaming smile of a proud father.

            Seeing that smile reminded me of my grandfather, Neal Cafran. Oh how I miss him! My grandfather was the most inspirational man I knew. I remembered the story he had always told me. I had it memorized since I heard it everyday, some days multiple times before he’d passed away. He was diagnosed with dementia causing short-term memory loss after a tragic car accident. For 3 years he suffered and we visited daily, until he finally passed peacefully in his sleep. While his loss was one of the worst days of my life, I was also happy he was no longer suffering. Thinking about him makes me remember one of the last days I saw him, when he told me the story of his success for the nth time.

                *******

“Now Michael, you have changed so much! How long has it been? Surely you haven’t aged so much overnight!”

“Ah Papa, it is just stress, do not worry! A good nights sleep will surely make me good as new,” I told him. Of course I didn’t age overnight, it’s been 3 years, but he can’t remember any of my visits since he cannot form new memories. He’ll always be stuck in 2012, age 73. What happens when one day he looks in the mirror and notices he’s aged 10 years? Or I come to visit and I have aged so much I can’t pass it off as stress-induced? I quickly push those thoughts out of my mind; I’ll deal with them when the time comes.

“Michael, you need to sleep! I worked so hard at your age so that my family would not have to work so hard! Have I ever told you the story of my success?” he asked me.

‘Only a million times,’ I thought to myself. I know he loves telling the story and today I am in a good mood, so I reply, “Once before I think, but I can’t remember so well. Would you please tell it again?”

“Well, since you asked,” he beamed. It was worth hearing this story again to see my grandfather so happy. “When I was about your age, my uncle Rowan found himself very sick. Back then, there were not as many hospitals or medications to help him. I visited everyday while he was on death’s doorstep, wishing he could just get better. Rowan was my father figure, since my own father abandoned me after my mother died.

“On his final day, I could tell he was about to leave us. He was so frail at only 49 years old. The last thing he said to me was how proud he was of me, then he was gone.” My grandfather was holding back tears, as he does every time he tells this story. I know how much his uncle meant to him. He named my father after him to keep him close to his heart so he would think of him every time he saw my father, his son.

“The next few days were hard. As his closest family, I was in charge of funeral arrangements. Rowan had never married or had any kids of his own. He was such a hard worker, trying to support both himself and me, he did not have the time.

“The funeral was small, composed of myself, a couple of his cousins I’d met only a few times and his employees at his hotel, whom he spent most of his time with. Not even my father, his own brother, bothered to attend,” his nostrils had flared at this memory.

“There was one man there I didn’t recognize. This man wore a suit much nicer than the rest of the guests. After the burial, I went to introduce myself, only to find out he knew exactly who I was. The man was Rowan’s lawyer, and he informed me Rowan had left everything to me, his house, savings, and small hotel.

“It was nothing significant, in fact, I was worried he might have some debt that would fall on me as well, but it was his final act, an act that stated more than words could. He truly thought of me as his own son.

“After that I was determined to make him proud. I took over as the manager of the hotel, took a few risks that paid off, and within 5 years I found myself the owner of 5 luxury hotels, as well as Rowan’s which I vowed never to change. By the day I turned 40 I turned those 5 luxury hotels in 50 in the states as well as 13 abroad.” He smiled at the memory, and I knew why. Making a name for himself is what had convinced the woman he loved, Maria Castaneva’s, father that he was worthy of her. Maria’s father, Rodrigo Castaneva, was also in the hotel business, most of his hotels located in Spain and Portugal. Their marriage and merging of wealth brought our net worth well in the billions.

“You are amazing grandpa,” I had told him, making his smile widen. “Truly an inspiration!”

“Thanks, kid,” he’d replied. I knew he was drowning in memories, like he always did, and excused myself.

*******

            “Well of course they do, your grandfather and we have worked so hard to make that so!" he said, bringing me back to the present. I nodded in agreement. "That’s great Michael! We should celebrate tonight!” 

            “I’d love to dad, but I’m flying out to Texas tonight to meet up with Logan! It’s been so long since I’ve seen him, and with this deal finally closed I have some time to visit with him.”

            “Ah, yes. It’s about time you visited him. After you guys graduated college he has always visited you. You do realize you’re the one with access to a private jet, right?” he asked, clearly teasing me. He knows excessive shows of our wealth can sometimes make me uncomfortable. I always prefer to fly on a public flight. “Do tell Logan I say hello!” he added before walking off.