THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary exited his apartment and jogged down the stairs like a whirlwind. He was soon in the comfort of his R8 GT on his way to Lerkendal. Visibility was still low due to the rain. However, the headlamps of his car shone through the late autumn fog like smudged stars, illuminating everything in their path. They afforded him some measure of clarity, keeping him from crashing into the vehicles ahead as he cautiously navigated the morning traffic.

After a few minutes, he pulled up into the parking lot at Lerkendal. He alighted from his vehicle, shielded from the rain by a jacket, and made his way to the canteen to meet Emily.

He found Emily already waiting for him at a corner table. She wore a simple but fitting dark blue pull-neck sweater that brought out the rich color of her eyes. A solemn air hovered about her, like one of those magistrates overlooking a courtroom, as she sat there sipping her coffee.

"You're late again," she immediately voiced a complaint as soon as Zachary settled in the seat opposite hers. "If you had delayed a few more minutes, we would have missed the executives for sure."

"The morning rain delayed me a bit," Zachary replied and decided to change the train of conversation right away. He didn't want to tango with her over his time-keeping habits once again. "How's your morning, by the way?"

"Same as always," Emily replied, a soft smile outlining her face. "Congratulations upon winning the Tippeligaen's golden boot, by the way. You were phenomenal once again during the match yesterday."

"Thank you," Zachary replied, grinning. "So, should we head to the board room and sign the new contract with the Rosenborg executives. I want to conclude this business as quickly as possible since I have to meet my fitness coach in the afternoon."

"There's still time," Emily said, glancing at her phone screen. "A few minutes are still remaining to 10:30 — which is the agreed time for the contract signing ceremony. Let's use the time to discuss some other important business."

Zachary leaned back into his chair. "I'm all ears," he said, glancing squarely at Emily. "Go on!"

"Well," Emily said, a mysterious smile framing her features as she held Zachary's gaze. "Your performance against Red Bull Salzburg was incredible. As a result, a few companies have just tabled mouth-watering endorsement contracts before me. Are you interested?"

"Of course, I'm interested," Zachary replied, sitting bolt upright almost immediately. "Which companies?"

"There's Nike, for one," she responded, punctuating her words with a sip on her coffee. "There's also Pepsi, EA Sports, and Red Bull, among a few others."

Zachary's heart stirred. All the companies that Emily had just mentioned were among the biggest names in the world of endorsements. For a moment, he couldn't come to terms with the fact that they were interested in his signature.

"How much are they offering?" He asked after a short while.

"The money is not a lot at the start," Emily replied with a sigh. "But no need to worry about that. First of all, their contracts are long-term. Secondly, they have clearly laid out clauses to increase your yearly remuneration as long as you achieve particular milestones during your career."

"For instance, Pepsi promises to pay you 500,000 Euros per year right after signing the endorsement contract. But, they will increase your annual remuneration to 1 million Euros if you manage to join one of the first-tier leagues in Europe within the next three years. Provided that you maintain your form in that league, you'll be entitled to receive the money from them annually. And FYI, the Pepsi offer is almost the same in structure and wording as the other contracts I've received from several companies in the past few days so far."

"Then, let's go ahead and accept all the contracts we can," Zachary was quick to reply. "For the start, we can go with the top three companies — Pepsi, Nike, and EA sports. But that's as long as they don't have any ridiculous clauses in their contract offers."

"Okay." Emily nodded, leaning back into her seat. "I'm still negotiating terms with their representatives at the moment. But, I should be able to finalize everything before the Christmas break."

"Good," Zachary replied, smiling boyishly and crinkling his eyes. "By the way, that reminds me. I want to start investing some of the money in my bank account. My preferred investment mode will be injecting money into stocks and real estate. Do you know anyone who can help me look into companies with available stock for sale?"

"That's simple," Emily replied, sipping her coffee. "I know the right person to help you assess this year's IPOs all over the world. She's a friend and an investment consultant, who was the same year as me at university. She's very brilliant and phenomenal at assessing investments. Her offices are in London. But if you're interested, I can contact her to come to Norway and meet with you as soon as possible."

"What about the costs?" Zachary pressed. "Are her services affordable?"

"Very," Emily replied. "The most she can charge you a year is about 50,000 Euros. But I'm sure she will charge you less since I'm the one that referred you to her."

"That's good, then," Zachary replied with a smile. "Please go ahead and contact her as soon as you get time. It would be good if we could meet before Christmas."

Zachary hoped to use knowledge from his previous life to make money through stocks and real estate. However, he couldn't recall the majority of the companies that made it big in his later years since he hadn't been keen on business matters. The only big name that came to mind among all the IPOs before 2015 was Tesla Motors. But that wasn't enough for him. That was why he needed a professional to compile a list of companies worldwide suitable for investment. He would pick out several prominent names from the list by relying on bits and pieces of memories from his previous life. What would follow would be harvesting cash, of course.

"No problem," Emily replied, beaming. "I'll contact her this evening. If her schedule is clear, she may even be able to come to Norway to discuss business before the end of the month."

"Thank you," Zachary said, smiling back at her. "I appreciate your help on this. It's important to me."

"You're welcome," Emily replied, placing her cup of coffee down. "It's almost 10:30. We should make our way to the board room. I hope you have read through all the clauses of the new contract. Have you?"

"Of course, I have," Zachary said, standing up from his seat.

"Do you have any questions? Is everything clear?"

"I have no issues with the contract extension," Zachary replied. "I'm ready to sign it at any time as long as you give the go-ahead."

"Then let's go to the board room and sign it," Emily said, also rising from her seat. "However, I expect you to take me out for lunch afterward. I think I deserve that." She added jokingly while picking up her handbag.

"No problem. It's a deal."

**** ****