loki did as the man asked and sat up
straight, not daring to relax, he
wanted to leave a good impression
Isaac soon came in with two cups of
coffee and placed it in front of loki and
the intimidating man. Isaac then
bowed and left, closing the door
behind him.
"You can relax." The man told loki,
noticing his stiff behavior.
loki leaned back slightly, still not
daring to be too confident or relaxed
in his situation
The man suddenly laughed and shook
his head.
"You already got the job you know."
The man said, shaking his head as he
watched loki's confused expression
"That is of course, if you still want it."
The man said taking a sip of his coffee,
observing loki.
"What job sir?" loki asked, he was quite
confused and worried that he was
going to be given an unsavory or
ilegal job.
"I'll tell you after this. But there are
some things that I need to explain
first" The man said with a smile
loki nodded in reply, as he dared to
lean his back against the couch.
"I have looked into your background
and I know you are a good man. The
man said as he looked loki in the eyes.
His expression was quite hard to read,
he seemed intimidating, yet there was
a gentleness that Ioki could detect,
"I know what you've been through:
The man explained. "The pain your
family has suffered over the years.
That part is just too much, it was
unfair, and my only regret is that I
didn't know and that I couldn't help. I
know your father, we were friends
long ago:
loki sat up at the mention of his family,
how did this man know his father.
Were they acquaintances or business
partners back when the Smith group
was still thriving? Or was this man
across him one of the business elites
that his father and grandfather used to
rub elbows with.
He remembered the last time his
family was invited to a socialite event,
loki despised it. All anyone and
everyone talked about was their trip
last summer to Switzerland, or their
new apartment in New York.
loki barely spoke to the rich young
men of his generation, they often
pitied him or looked down on him. The
story of the smith wasn't exactly a
secret, if you belonged to the right
circle you would know what had
happened to them.
"After this, I hope I could get the
chance to speak to your father once
more." The man said, his expression
seemingly one of regret. "I know your
father would be too proud if I simply
handed your family back all the riches
you lost. I also know you don't accept
charity, so what I am offering you is an
opportunity instead,'
'An opportunity?" Ioki asked.
"Yes, an opportunity to build your
wealth and buy back what was taken
from the smith's" The man said with a
nod. "An opportunity to make the right
connections and to be respected by
those connections.
"I don't mean any offense, sir, but who
are you to promise such big things?"
Ioki asked with a raised evebrow. He
had been through too much over the
years to be easily fooled by a lavish
office and an imposing aura.
loki had learned from his past pains
and his failures that not everyone
should be trusted, that some people
only sought to harm others.
The man simply laughed at him,
making loki frown
My name is Albert William III, and I am
the CEO of the Williams Group. I can and
I am promising these things." Albert William said, shocking loki
He knew this man was someone
important and somewhat familiar. The
CEO rarely made appearances so he
couldn't be easily recognized.
"Close your mouth boy. T've known you
since you were a baby" Albert
said with a laugh, confusing loki even
more.
"Had your father reached out I would
have helped." Albert said
shaking his head. "But a trademark
characteristic of you Smith is your
pride. Plus your father and I lost touch
when we argued about my son's
training.
loki just stared at Albert, what
was going on?
"Now, for the job I need you to do.
Honestly it's simple." Albert said
with a shrug as he lounged on his seat
"For the next few years you, and
another employee will train to be my
son's assistants.
"Sir?" Ioki said as he looked at the CEO
in visible confusion.
"You might think that being a CEO's
assistant is a lowly role, you schedule
his meetings, buy things he needs, but
that's not how the Assistants to the
CEO of the Williams Group functions:
Albert explained.
"I need people that are both book
smart and street smart, I need people
who will be able to stand up to my son
and tell him no" The CEO further
explained
"Sir, how does being an assistant help
with my plans?" Ioki asked tentatively.
"Your plans?" Albert William asked with
a raised eyebrow:
"Sir, I will be honest with you, I don't
Plan on remaining as an employee for
the rest of my life. loki revealed to the
CEO.
To Ioki's surprise Albert William simply
grinned and shook his head.
"You know, if you said that to another
CEO or to another employer they
would have immediately kicked you
out of the room" Albert William said
with a laugh, clearly amused with loki's
behavior.
loki was confused, he never thought
that someone like the head of the
Williams Group would find his statement
amusing
"Sir, I'm very serious about this." loki
said in an insistent tone
Albert seemed to find his
statement amusing and ended up
laughing even more
"You seem to be a smart kid who has
been through a lot" Albert said
as he tapped on the table. "How far do
you think you will get with just
money?"
loki was about to answer when it hit
him. This man was right, without the
right connections there wasn't much
that he could do.
All his efforts would all just be in vain.
"You won't get far right?" Albert
said as he raised an eyebrow and
leaned back on his seat.
"What are you offering?" loki asked as
he looked at the intimidating man.
"Train to be my son's assistant, stand
by his side, and the Williams Family will
back you." Albert offered
"Then I wouldn't be taking back my
family's position on my own." loki said
as he looked at the man
"Your honesty is refreshing" Albert
said with a smile. "you remind
me of my own assistant, Isaac. That
honestly will serve you well around my
son, he can be short sighted at times.'
"Sir?" loki asked, even more confused
now.
"It's true that it will not be 100% just
you, but Mr. Smith, everyone requires
help every now and then." Albert said with a nod.
"I have a dislike of second generation
heirs" loki said quite frankly, he knew
he needed this job, but something in
him was just desperate to push it
away.
"My son isn't a second generation
heir." Albert said with a laugh
"More like a fifth or sixth generation
much like you:
"I don't like working with spoiled rich
kids, I met one in the lobby just now,
He was annoying" loki said, crossing
his arms on his chest like a child.
"Again, my son is different." Albert explained. "He has neve been
spoiled by anyone in our family. He
has never received special treatment
currently he is undergoing a special
form of training:
loki paused and considered his
options. Working for the Williams group
would definitely solve his problems
but he felt that if he committed to this
his whole life would be tied to this
family, and that was not something he
was eager to do.
"I'll make sure that in your contract
you can leave after working for my son
for two years." Albert promised
"Can l extend if I need to?" loki asked,
he wasn't a fool, he wanted to
guarantee that if he wasn't ready to
branch out on his own then he would
still have a job.
"That will depend on my son and on
how well the two of you work
together." Albert said with a
shrug
"That is acceptable" loki said with a
nod, agreeing on the terms. "And what
sort of training and work will I have to
do?" He asked.
"You and another future assistant will
shadow Isaac, when we see fit we will
send you to one of the company
subsidiaries that my son will take over
first." Albert explained.
"Seems manageable. loki said with a
shrug
"Do not be deceived, kid" Albert William
said with a laugh. "The job you are
about to take isn't an easy one"
to be continued....