Kidnap (The Billionaire Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Two minutes later, they appeared. Tom’s grandparents, who had
just arrived, wished Tom a happy birthday and gave him even more presents,
although he didn’t know when he would ever wear the jumper with “TOM” on the
front or use the handkerchiefs with “TK” embroidered on them.
    “So how is it?” asked Donald who could see that Tom was bursting
to tell them all.
    “Amazing!
It’s just so realistic! I mean , we crashed taking off from Glasgow and I nearly sh …”
    “TOM!” interrupted Rachel, glancing at her parents slightly
embarrassed.
    “It really was terrifying!” said Lela taking a seat. “Absolutely
terrifying.” She was still shaken by the experience and was glad to sit down.
    Tom spent the next twenty minutes detailing his first lesson,
eventually pausing to notice the glazed look on everyone’s faces.
    “Too much detail?” he asked.
    He received a resounding yes. Every time he started discussing
planes or any kind of technology, he seemed to lose them. However, before he
had a chance to try and translate what he had just said into plain English, his
father interrupted.
    “I received a very interesting call today,” he announced,
grabbing everyone’s attention. They all looked at him, waiting for him to
continue. But he remained silent.
    “Well are you going to tell us or not?” asked Rachel, the
suspense irritating her.
    “It was from an old friend whom I haven’t seen for ages and it
seems that a conversation we had a few years ago has come to fruition. It’s
probably easier if I start from the beginning though.”
    “Always a good place,” suggested Rachel.
    “Anyway,” said Donald. “About five years ago, a company which had
been in operation for over seventy-five years went bankrupt; it was the single
largest bankruptcy ever. The impact of its downfall was felt worldwide. Over
100,000 people lost their jobs overnight and over the course of the year that
followed, it’s estimated that more than half a million further jobs were lost
as a direct result of the bankruptcy. The company had been a very well run and
profitable organisation, with a highly respected Chief Executive Officer. But
following the untimely death of this CEO, his only son, aged twenty
eight , took over the running of the company. Unfortunately, his business
acumen up to that point had extended to selling unwanted gifts on eBay. Without
taking the time to speak to his father’s Board of Directors, he fired them all
and replaced them with a bunch of imbeciles, mostly old friends who’d only
bothered to befriend him because of his family’s wealth. The son had complete
control and nobody could challenge his authority. It did not take long for him
and his bunch of imbeciles to destroy the company. As I said, the impact was
felt worldwide. The son was sent to the best schools and colleges but it
transpired that he’d dropped out of every course he’d ever started. This
catastrophic bankruptcy was the straw which broke the
camel’s back. Something had to be done to protect the world from these
uneducated, ill-prepared heirs who destroyed decades of hard work and millions
of jobs. So, a few of the world’s most powerful men met to discuss the problem
and they reached an extraordinary conclusion.” Donald paused to ensure he still
had everyone’s attention. He did. They all sat silently urging him to continue.
    “A school,” he said simply.
    “A what?” asked Tom confused.
    “A school,” Donald repeated. “Not just any school, a specialist school
to train the world’s heirs in how to become statesmen and business leaders - a
super school if you like, strictly by invitation, for which only the children
of the world’s most wealthy and powerful families would be eligible.”
    “What do you mean by children?” asked Rachel warily.
    “Children, as in children, like Tom and Lela. The school will be
for ages 13 to 19.”
    “Not a university?” she asked.
    “Nope, a secondary school,” he confirmed.