When Benjamin returned home, he changed into something more comfortable. Yet he still wasn't done with work. Sitting in the study Benjamin had to take care of his personal issues. Some questions about the inheritance still remained unanswered, a few important connections his father left behind had to be upheld, and worst of it all he even had to deal with taxes.
A few hours later Benjamin was talking to an old man with a thin face and narrow eyes, whose face was shown on his screen. This was Mr. Norman, Benjamin's advisor in all matters related to taxes. Although he could simply let everything be handled by AI, people of his standing usually wouldn't do so.
The reason was that AI was too honest. Thanks to various regulations, most of those also originating from the annoying AI Regulation Act, the programs weren't allowed to suggest these borderline illegal and questionable solutions. They weren't even able to discover abusable loopholes.
While this was originally meant to discourage big companies and heavy taxpayers, in reality it only affected normal people. Those who had enough money to consider how to reduce their taxes would simply hire advisors like Mr. Norman.
The latter obviously had excessive experience. Although Benjamin didn't inherit the company's shares from his father as he would have wished, he still received multiple assets, money, and gold. Mr. Norman revealed all the tricks of getting around inheritance tax like hiding Benjamin's own money in companies or charity foundations, proving that Benjamin wouldn't be able to pay the tax, which would reduce the amount he had to pay greatly.
As he listened to Mr. Norman, Benjamin frowned. Hearing about charity he was reminded of the unpleasant meeting again. However, suddenly his mind magically cleared up. He interrupted Mr. Norman for a second, sorting out his thoughts.
"Why didn't I think of this earlier?!"
"Mister Bender? Is there something on your mind?"
"Yes. I might need your help Mr. Norman. Here is the issue…"
With his mood greatly improved, Benjamin explained what had been going on in the company lately and how William planned on improving Aquoria's reputation by founding charity projects. When Mr. Norman heard all this, he quickly realized what Benjamin expected from him. On the spot the experienced man came up with a few suggestions on how to found charity organizations while preventing the money from being wasted.
By using legal loopholes to embezzle the money, like instilling family members as chairman, or founding projects which in reality served as advertisement for the company, they could make sure that the money was used in profitable ways.
Even if the foundation really did some charity work it should be done in districts where they knew that the representing politicians would definitely show their gratitude.
Although some ideas sounded similar to what William initially suggested, if Benjamin and Mr. Norman took care of it, the reality would look vastly different.
The call went on for a few hours before the two men said their goodbyes. Benjamin sat in his study, a bright smile on his face. The discussion was extremely fruitful. If he could implement all these ideas, Benjamin would resolve multiple problems at once.
There was only one obstacle he had to overcome. He had to convince William to let him take charge of the project. It would be even better if William would start travelling again, ignoring the company like he always did.
Thinking about this, Benjamin was rather confident. Convincing William to give up control would be countless times easier than convincing him to abandon the charity idea entirely.
That night, Benjamin didn't lose his smile until he went to bed. The next day after arriving at the office he sought out William right away. The latter was naturally excited to hear that Benjamin agreed to invest in charity. However, as soon as it came to the details it was obvious that the two brothers weren't of one opinion. After some discussion they separated without coming to a compromise.
Benjamin returned to his office and quickly messaged some people whom he knew would share his ideas. He tasked them with developing a suitable charity program based on what Benjamin and Mr. Norman had prepared.
For the next week there were daily discussions between the company's higher-ups. Both brothers attempted to convince others of their ideas. While Benjamin barely hid his intentions of abusing the charity program, William truly wanted to do something good.
However, it became apparent that William started to lose support. Not many of the people present shared his ideals. They only supported him because they thought the charity was necessary to boost the company's reputation. But with Benjamin's solution they got the best of both worlds.
Seeing this trend, William gradually got disheartened. However, just when Benjamin thought he was about to win, William pulled a completely unexpected move.
Two more days passed. Benjamin was just in the process of finalizing some plans when Aqua's voice sounded out:
"Sir William asks you to come to his office."
"Oh? What does he want?"
"He didn't specify, Sir."
"Haha, perhaps he is finally leaving. Realizing that playing the boss isn't that easy, he should just go relax on some sibbian island."
Aqua didn't answer. It wasn't Benjamin's personal AI but the company's. It didn't favour any of the two brothers over the other. But Benjamin didn't care, heading to William's office with a confident smile.
As William had almost never been at the company for a prolonged time, he never had one of the luxurious offices on the highest floor. Even after becoming the major shareholder he didn't move into his father's now empty office.
Thus, Benjamin descended two floors and walked to the end of a broad hallway. The sliding door made from milky glass opened by itself, revealing the view of a smaller office decorated with various plants and pictures of William's travels.
Benjamin stepped inside and was just about to talk to his brother when he noticed a woman sitting opposite William with her back to Benjamin. From what Benjamin could tell she appeared to be around 30 years old, but he wouldn't take it for granted. There were too many ways to hide the signs of aging these days.
It was easier to judge a person by their posture. The woman had a straight back and a tailored suit. Her hands rested on her lightly crossed legs, showing a professional attitude.
"Ahh Benjamin. You're here! Come, come. Let me introduce someone to you. This is Marlene Garner."
While William was talking, the woman turned around to greet Benjamin. Seeing her face the latter couldn't suppress an expression of profound shock.
How was there a need to introduce Marlene Garner? The woman with her charismatic blue eyes and professional smile was the top candidate of the ESPPF. This was the country's progressive party to which the famous President Green used to belong. Marlene Garner had a realistic chance of becoming the next president!
A question struck Benjamin like lightning. How could William know such a high and mighty figure?! Compared to someone like Marlene Garner, their company was as inconsequential as a speck of dust. Aquoria merely sold their products in three provinces. They were nothing compared to those big conglomerates with international reach who interacted with those top politicians on a daily basis. Some would even say controlling them…
Luckily Benjamin was also quite experienced. He quickly composed himself and approached with a polite smile.
"Miss Garner, it's my honor. I never expected to host someone like you in our humble company."
"Nice to meet you, Mister Bender. There is no need to talk yourself down. William has told me a lot about Aquoria. I quite admire the story of your success. Your father was an impressive man. A pity he left this world."
"Thank you."
Benjamin calmly shook Miss Garner's hand, but his thoughts were in turmoil. Did she just call William by his name? Why?! Could it be those two knew each other so well? Why did William never mention it before?
Benjamin didn't voice his confusion but as his eyes switched from Miss Garner to William, the latter clearly understood the confusion in Benjamin's mind.
"I met Marlene about a year ago during a fundraiser. We coincidentally got into a conversation and realized that our ideals aligned. Since then, we shared ideas once or twice. Now that Marlene heard about our wish to set up a charity foundation, she came to offer her support."
"Exactly. I am very happy that your company can spare a thought for the weakest of our society. Aquoria's clear water is something so many people need."
Benjamin nodded with a smile but inwardly he cursed William for this vicious move. He never expected that his brother was hiding such a trump card. On the one hand Benjamin would love to get on the good side of a major politician like her. On the other he feared that he couldn't apply all the tricks he thought of if Miss Garner was involved.
However, if he played his cards right, Benjamin might be able to get the best of both worlds.