THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary completed his routine morning yoga practice soon after ending his call with Emily. He took a shower and went about the task of packing his luggage as quickly as possible.

He was meticulous while loading and arranging all his vital necessities, including his clothes, shoes, and documents, into his suitcases. He didn't forget anything important as he wanted to move once and for all to Turin.

He didn't wish to continue journeying back and forth between Trondheim and Turin in order to move more of his stuff. That would waste a lot of time, which he could better utilize to train and elevate his ball skills back to the peak before the commencement of the Serie A.

As for his other bulky belongings like furniture, electrical gadgets, and kitchenware, he could not move them all the way to Italy. He had already resolved to either discard them or give them away. He would seek the help of Ryan Bellmore, Emily's short friend, who would distribute them to people or green shops that needed them. And, of course, when he arrived in Turin, he would buy new items.

Minutes quickly turned into hours as Zachary worked with haste to organize his luggage. He finished packing everything at around 2:30 PM and then arranged his four suitcases by the door. Then he took another shower before settling on his kitchen table to enjoy some home-delivered lunch.

After eating, he tossed the dirty dishes into the dishwasher before exiting his apartment and driving off to the NF Academy grounds. He was heading to the youth football training center to complete two tasks.

Firstly, he wanted to meet Coach Bjørn Peters. He planned to request him to move to Italy with him so that he could continue being his fitness trainer. Secondly, he wished to fulfill a promise by delivering the jersey he had worn during the Europa League final to a young man called Joshua Simonsen at the academy.

Traffic was light on the roads that Sunday afternoon, allowing Zachary to travel from his apartment to the academy in only twenty minutes. He parked his car in one of the parking spaces and headed to the fitness trainer's office.

On arriving and entering the cramped office, he found Coach Bjørn Peters seated behind his desk, working on who knows what. His muscular physique was hunched over his laptop as he typed away at an impressive speed.

"Zachary," the fitness coach exclaimed, glancing up after a few seconds. "You're finally here! I thought that we had agreed to meet at 2:00 PM. It's now coming to 3:30 PM. What happened?"

"Sorry, coach," Zachary said, smiling. "The packing of my bags was a harder task than I expected. Even though I worked with haste, I could only manage to finish cramming everything into my suitcases at around 2:30 PM."

"Oh!" Coach Bjørn Peters nodded. "So, everything is ready. When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow, early in the morning," Zachary replied, settling down in one of the seats in front of the coach's desk. "I should be setting off before five in the morning."

"This is really happening," Coach Bjørn Peters said with a grin. "You're about to start playing for Juventus, one of the biggest clubs in Europe. How do you feel?"

"Honestly," Zachary replied, "I'm a bit anxious."

"You don't have to be," the fitness trainer assured. "Life at any club is the same. As long as you're talented and hardworking, you'll find it easy to fit into any team, including Juventus."

"Thanks for your encouragement, coach," Zachary said humbly. "Coach! I'm here to talk to you about something else."

The coach leaned back into his chair and said, "Go on. I'm listening."

Zachary nodded and asked, "Coach! How do you feel about living in Italy? How do you feel about moving to Turin?"

Coach Bjørn Peters raised a brow. "Is this an invitation? Are you inviting me to Italy to continue working as your fitness trainer?"

"Yes, it is an invitation," Zachary confirmed, nodding. "I sincerely wish to invite you to Italy so that you can continue working as my fitness trainer. We could even negotiate a new salary structure if you are to agree to my proposition."

Coach Bjørn Peters smiled. "Honestly, I wish to continue working as your fitness trainer," he said. "However, one tiny issue is holding me back from immediately accepting your invite."

Zachary's eyes narrowed slightly. "What is it?"

Coach Bjørn Peters sighed in response and fired back a question. "Zachary! Is there a possibility of you hiring a professional chef before moving to Turin?"

Zachary was stunned by the question. He didn't immediately respond as he tried to figure out why Coach Bjørn Peters had suddenly switched the topic.

"Well?" The fitness trainer pressed before Zachary could come up with an answer. "Do you wish to hire a professional chef to help you arrange your meals? Now that you're joining a top European club like Juventus, you'll have to maintain a strict diet. A professional chef would do wonders and help you achieve that."

"I think the idea is good," Zachary finally replied. "I would like to hire a professional chef or, better yet, a nutritionist to arrange my diet. That will be good for my training. But why are you asking me this? Do you have a candidate in mind?"

"Excellent guess," the fitness trainer intoned, a grin outlining his face. "My wife is both a professional chef and a certified dietitian. If you could employ her, she would do a good job organizing your diet. Trust me; she's good at what she does. She is currently working as the head chef at the Clarion Hotel."

Zachary chuckled. "You sound like an insurance salesman. But that aside, you want me to employ her so she can move with you to Italy?"

"That's my wish," the fitness trainer said, nodding.

"That's easy then," Zachary said, smiling. "If she's as good as you say, I'll surely hire her. I will tell Emily to contact you with details of the terms of her employment contract."

"Excellent! Thank you, Zachary," the fitness trainer gave a small cheer. "I'm very excited to continue working as your fitness trainer even after you move to Turin. Thanks for giving my wife and me this opportunity."

"You're welcome," Zachary said, a bit taken aback by the coach's enthusiasm. He had previously thought he would need to push a bit more to convince the fitness trainer to follow him to Turin. But surprisingly, the coach had jumped at the chance after he promised to hire the wife, who was surprisingly a skilled chef and certified dietitian.

Zachary couldn't stop smiling on the inside. He felt like he had hit the jackpot since he had only invited one professional but obtained two without the need to negotiate the terms defining their employment first. It was like the classic case of buy one but get two. What a good bargain that was.

"When do you want us in Turin?" Coach Bjørn Peters asked.

"As soon as possible," Zachary said. "As soon as Emily contacts you, you can begin negotiating the contract terms concerning your employment. Then, as soon as you come to an understanding with our party, you move to Turin without further delay. I really hope that you'll be available to help me regain my top match fitness before the start of the Serie A season."

"Then, I'll be eagerly waiting for Emily's call," the coach said. "Immediately after receiving our contracts from her, we'll work with haste to read through them and understand them. And if everything is to our liking, we'll sign them to seal our business relationship. I can then travel to Turin and start helping you regain peak match fitness.

"Excellent," Zachary intoned, standing up. "This marks the extension of our relationship as coach and player. Thanks for agreeing to my offer, coach." He extended his arm from across the table.

"You're welcome." Coach Bjørn Peters stood up and took his hand for a firm handshake. And that marked the start of a solid business relationship that would take them places in the future.

-----

After leaving Coach Bjørn Peters' office, Zachary linked up with Joshua Simonsen, the young fan he'd promised his jersey. They met in a concealed location near the academy's parking lot, where Zachary offered the young footballer the jersey he'd worn during the Europa League final.

"As promised," Zachary said, handing him the black jersey, "Here is the signed jersey. It's the exact one I put on during the Europa League final."

"Thanks a lot," Joshua Simonsen mumbled incoherently, his expression constantly flickering with various emotions. Then, before Zachary could respond, he yelled at the top of his lungs like a mad man, "Oh, my God. I have obtained Zachary's Europa-League-winning jersey. Who can match my awesomeness from now on?" His yelling was so loud, and it immediately attracted a crowd of academy players.

Those academy players soon swarmed around Zachary, asking him this and that with glittering eyes. And since he couldn't simply ignore them, he spent roughly an hour answering their endless questions before leaving the academy in his R8 GT.

Thirty minutes later, he met Camilla at a cafe in City Syd. The two of them had an early dinner together at a corner table as Zachary informed her about his intent to leave Trondheim and head to Turin the following morning.

Camilla, of course, was as understanding as ever. She wished him the best of luck in the new city of Turin and made him promise to call her often. Then, after the meal, she sent him off with a goodbye kiss before turning and walking away towards her car.

Zachary continued watching her all the time until she entered her car and waved him goodbye. He sighed as she drove off into the distance, his mind recalling all their intimate moments together. At that moment, he understood that he adored her greatly and really hoped their relationship could continue going strong even after he moved to Turin.