THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

On opening the door, Zachary's eyes lit up as they took in the visages of his two beautiful visitors. As expected, it was Emily and Kristin on the doorstep, glowing with warmth under the rays of the morning sun.

"Welcome, ladies," Zachary quickly said with a smile. "It's nice to see you again." He stepped forward and hugged the two ladies one after the other. Then, after exchanging some inconsequential small talk, he invited them to enter his new home.

Just in passing, Zachary gave them a once-over as they walked by him and entered the house. As usual, Emily looked gorgeous in a formal grey lady's suit and a blue blouse that emphasized her elegance as a lawyer and football agent. On the other hand, Kristin had gone casual and donned a long-sleeved pink blouse, tight denim jeans, and white sneakers. But, even in those relaxed clothes, the Norwegian girl still looked stunning, especially with her cheerful smile that was as bright as the midday sun.

"This place looks really amazing," Kristin said after stepping into the living room a few seconds later. "The furnishing is just right, and the ambiance superb. You even have a Victorian Viennese Carved Clock on your wall! Truly extravagant! How much did you spend on the interior design of this place?"

Smiling slightly, Zachary said, "Most things were originally in the house. I only hired an interior designer to do the final touches. So, I didn't spend much."

Kristin chuckled and inclined her head to hold Zachary's gaze. "It seems you don't wish to disclose the money you spent. But I can still gauge that you coughed out a lot."

"Not necessarily," Zachary argued with a slight shake of his head. He then turned towards Emily, who was all along standing quietly by the side, and asked, "Do you want a tour around the house?"

"Not yet," Emily hurriedly said. "I'll tour the house after we finish our meeting. Let's start with the important matters first."

"Okay," Zachary agreed.

Emily nodded with a smile. Then, turning towards Kristin, she hurriedly said, "Kristin! You can take some time to tour around the house as I discuss some issues with Zachary. We'll call you when we require your input."

"Okay," Kristin replied, her eyes lighting up. She then turned towards Zachary and asked, "Are there any places around the house that are off limits?"

"None." Zachary shook his head. "Treat this as a home away from home and move wherever you want."

"Okay, thanks," she said excitedly. "Then, I'm off. Enjoy your discussion." Without waiting for a response, she quickly walked out of the living room and disappeared through the exit leading to the kitchen area.

"She seems to be in a good mood," Zachary said after seeing Kristin disappear. "It seems she's adapting well to life in Turin."

"Yes, she is," Emily agreed with a nod. "She had an easy time fitting into the communities in Turin as she speaks Italian well. From what she has told me, her studies are also progressing well. Her only complaint is that she has little to do as your publicity secretary."

"Oh!" Zachary was surprised. "Does she require more tasks in addition to managing my social media accounts? And will she have more time to complete the additional tasks?"

"Yes, to all questions," Emily said. "Before she left Trondheim, you had promised to make her your personal assistant, with additional tasks that included managing your schedule. Knowing all that, she applied for a part-time program at the university to create more time for more responsibilities. But you, as her employer, have not fulfilled your promise. You have not given her additional tasks that fit her role as a personal assistant."

"Oh, okay." Zachary nodded. "So, what do you suggest?"

"Let's just give her the additional responsibilities," Emily proposed with a smile. "For instance, you mentioned that you're looking for house helpers, such as a maid and a security guard. With Kristin working as your personal assistant, you don't need to search for them yourself. You can delegate the task to her instead of wasting your valuable time on it. I'm sure she will be able to complete it diligently with her skills."

"Is that so?"

"That was just an example," Emily quickly continued, "but there are many more ways a personal assistant can help you out. She can help organize your schedule, arrange meetings, remind you of important tasks, act as your first point of contact for callers, deal with emails, manage your mansion, and pay the necessary bills on time. As you can see, you, a professional footballer with a tight schedule, definitely need a personal assistant to handle all those miscellaneous tasks. There's no way around it. Otherwise, you'll tire yourself out if you try to do all those small tasks yourself."

"I understand," Zachary said, nodding. "Then, it's okay to give her more responsibilities. Let her start her job by searching for skilled and reliable house helpers to work in this villa. After completing that, she can slowly take on the rest of the miscellaneous tasks around me. But one question. Now that she's my personal assistant, does she have to stay here?"

"That's not necessary," Emily hurriedly said. "She's your personal assistant, not your wife. She can just come here whenever there's a need. Other times, you can communicate remotely, for instance, by phone, when assigning her tasks."

"Okay, I understand," Zachary said.

"Great," Emily said. Turning around and settling down in one of the sofas, she continued, "That's that. So, let's quickly talk about the endorsement deals. I previously communicated how Vector X, a sportswear manufacturing brand, was willing to endorse you. As I said, they are serious about stealing you from Nike. So, tell me! Do you still want us to consider their proposal?"

"No!" Zachary shook his head. "Let's not consider it."

Emily's eyes widened. Then, her eyebrows twisted together, and she asked, "Why?"

"We still have a contract with Nike," Zachary answered, holding his agent's gaze. "Let's be patient until we complete our remaining two years with them."

"Oh!" Emily seemed disappointed. "Do you understand that you're losing out on a deal with an approximate base income of six million per year? Moreover, there are other benefits that come with the endorsement deal. For instance, the company promised you a 50% offer of all the profits from your 'very own' Vector X branded merchandise sales. Do you understand how much that money is?"

"Yes, I do," Zachary said, sighing. "I'll probably be missing out on a few hundred million Euros. But I still don't want us to jump ship and abandon Nike in the middle of our contract. Let's be patient for the moment, and see how things develop. Maybe, Nike may offer us a better deal in the near future."

On hearing the response, Emily observed Zachary for a few seconds before sighing and nodding. Forcing a smile, she said, "Okay, let's hope you're right, and Nike will give us a great offer soon. Otherwise, we'll regret not taking this deal."

"Fear not," Zachary consoled, his voice softening. "As long as I continue performing well on the pitch, more juicy endorsement deals will come our way. For now, I'm just preventing us from turning into unreliable jerks who abandon partners abruptly before the end of the contract duration."

"Okay," Emily said, nodding. "I understand. I'll stop all dealings with Vector X with effect from now."

"Thanks," Zachary said. "And I'm sorry for abruptly changing my mind."

"It's okay," Emily said, her smile turning more natural. "I'm your agent, and my only role is to execute your will. So, you don't need to feel sorry after changing your mind over any particular deal. It's your right as my client."

"Okay, I understand," Zachary said, nodding. He then continued discussing a few other issues with his agent while waiting for the arrival of his other guests.

-----

As planned, Zachary welcomed Coach Bjørn Peters and his wife to his home at midday. After greeting the others, the Peters couple quickly got into the groove — and together with Emily and Kristin, they agreed to celebrate Zachary's completion of the purchase of his house that very day.

For that occasion, Inger, Coach Bjørn Peters' wife, was the chef. She prepared a wide array of exotic and delicious dishes, which the others enjoyed at lunchtime. Then, after lunch, they all returned to the living room and spent the rest of the evening there.

While within the comfort afforded by Zachary's lavish seating room, they enjoyed drinks and talked about many goals, big and small. They even made plans to start a gym in Turin, hoping to attract clients by relying on Zachary's fame.

Their discussions were quite enjoyable, and they only managed to exhaust most topics long after the sun had set. They then called it a day, and with that, Emily and Kristin said their goodbyes and left the villa, intending to return to their respective places of residence for the night. The Peters, on the other hand, immediately occupied one of the rooms and thus commenced their agreed-upon habitation of Zachary's villa. And that was how Zachary's relaxing day with acquaintances ended.