Chapter 36: Contracts

"So your saying is, you want to get revenge on the trade centre?" Alex asked, waiting for CIV's nod of conformation, "and I'm the only way you can do this without you doing some pretty illegal shit, or traveling half way around the globe?"

"That's correct" CIV confirmed.

"But why?"

"To explain in simple terms, the trade centre has a monopoly on almost all goods that are some what easy to find, so I needed to find a way to create a business on a monopoly they don't own, while at the same time, under cutting one of their economies"

"Fair, but why should I help you? While you do have quite a lot of experience in the business world, and an impressive resume, hiring you means cutting all ties with the trading centre, and there an important supplier, are you worth that loss?"

CIV slammed a heavy bag of coin down onto the table.

"Half of my current savings, I am willing the put all of that towards the development of the store"

"Give me a minute" Alex said, dipping into a back room quickly.

CIV waited patiently while Alex did what he needed, she was already treading on thin ice with Alex, so making him mad by spying on him probably was not the best idea.

"Consider yourself hired," Alex said with a sigh, emerging from the back room "We needed an accountant anyway"

"Thanks I appreciate it" CIV replied genuinely "speaking of jobs, can I see your financial records"

"Sure" Alex said rummaging around under the counter, and producing a singular slip of paper "I left it to Nicholas, haven't looked at it myself, but I'm sure it's fine"

"Nicholas?" CIV asked, giving the piece of paper a quick look, then another, and another, in utter disbelief.

On the piece of paper, there were only three lines that read as follows:

Customer: Some rich tool

Item purchased: spiky shield

Income: 5000G

The income line had been circled multiple times, with an arrow leading off of it to the words 'lotta money' and a cartoon thumbs up.

"You really did need an accountant"

"So get to work, I'll go write up a contract of employment, and we'll sort out a wage for you, can't have you working here for free"

Alex disappeared into the back door once more, seemingly vanishing entirely, CIV couldn't hear anything from behind the door

CIV wandered round the small store while she waited for Alex, it was almost barren, spare a few failures that where piled up in a box haphazardly, did she make the right choice?

Now was not the time for such thoughts, she was truthful to Alex, he was her best chance at revenge.

Oddly enough, when she looked behind the desk, she found a neat stack of black paper and a quill and ink.

Alex swung the back door open, rushing in with a piece of paper and a pencil and two cups of something CIV could only assume was meant to be tea.

"Sorry that took a while" he said in a slightly frigid tone.

"What's got you all exited?"

"You want a parade or something, if you are serious "

"A pretty bold proclamation, but I like it, let's do it making a company on par with the trading centre, which I fully intend to see realised, you will just be the first of many"

"Okay, first order of business, the contract, just for the sake of knowing, what's your level"

CIV gave Alex a puzzled look.

"Just a rough estimate of what you can do, you know, assign jobs that I know you could complete"

"five hundred and sixty two"

Alex choked on his drink.

"WHAT!?"

"Yeah, this level is expected for high ranking officials in developed areas, I wonder why all you blessed act like that?"

Alex just began to write up the contract in silence, it felt weird, being such a lower level than his employee.

"How did you get such a high level, your a merchant aren't you" Alex asked with curiosity, surely most of CIV time was spent doing business, otherwise she wouldn't have held such a relatively high position.

"Isn't it natural for merchants to have a higher level?" CIV asked in confusion, "haven't you already made a sale, check your log's and you'll see why"

Scrolling through the logs, Alex did find something of interest.

[You have completed a sale of a grade 'C' item

You have made the sale to a customer of level 70

35,000 xp awarded]

"So then why does any one fight to get xp?" Alex asked, "surely you could just 'sell' items till you reached the highest possible level, right?"

"People have tried" CIV explained, "But you have to be recognised as a business by the system first, you have to be present for the trade to gain xp, and buying back an item before a period of a month is seen by the system as a refund, so it becomes a rather costly and tedious procedure, but many nobles still do it, safer than killing monsters"

"Hmmm" Alex grunted in response, finishing up the contract, "sorry it's a little messy, just sign at the bottom"

CIV skimmed the contract before coming to a stop on the last clause.

"Clause 6, it seems a bit unfair doesn't it, I mean, if I'm fired within two months of employment, all my salary must be returned, who'd sign this?"

"CIV," Alex began to explain, "I understand your expertise and value, but may I remind you why you where fired from your previous position, while I have a gut feeling I can trust you, it's still only a gut feeling, so I need some insurance about how trust worthy you are, I hope you understand"

CIV grabbed a pen and scrawled her signature at the bottom of the page.

"I only have to care about that clause if I plan to betray your trust, and trust me, if I did that, it would be a year before you realised"

Alex quickly put the contract in his inventory, he would make sure to keep it close.

"As you already know, your salary is it 5% of all revenue generated by the store will go to you, so get to work, you won't be paid for sitting on your ass, I'm heading to the trade centre for one last trade"

"You'll want a list of those in on the deal, if you lend me some paper, I can write out a small list quickly"

"Sure" Alex said casually, quickly dipping back into the back room to get some paper, CIV watching with intrigue.

...

The moment Alex closed the door behind him, the amicable smile he had been wearing turned to a scowl.

"How did it go" Nicholas asked, looking up from his work for a brief moment.

"Just like you said" Alex admitted, "she signed almost instantly"

"Hook, line and sinker" Nicholas cheered pumping the air with his fist

"Why do we have to hire her again?" Alex asked in a tone of annoyance, "she is the last person I want to hire"

"But she is useful" Nicholas replied in an exasperated tone, "I ran a shop for a month in game, that is all the business knowledge I have, we will run this shop into the ground without her, besides, she has insider knowledge on the world wide economy"

"Well, I get the point, but still, can't we ask MIII, she's a lot easier to work with"

"You have had one conversation with the woman, it could not have been that bad"

Alex leaned back against the forges grubby wall, he really did need it cleaned.

"So what was her level in the end?"

"Five hundred and sixty two"

"Jesus, and you still don't want to hire her"

"To late to go back on that, she signed almost instantly, no negotiations needed"

Nicholas peeked behind Alex quickly.

"That is good and all, but I think you should head back, she may be getting suspicious"

Alex took a piece of paper out of his inventory out of his inventory and headed back, leaving Nicholas alone to his work once more.

...

"And your sure there are no others?" Alex asked intently, scouring the list thoroughly, surprised to find MIII among the list.

"Definitely, I kept a tight leash on all those that where in on it, and now that I've been made an example of, I don't think anyone else will try it for a while, though I would still be careful, the chairman seems to have an eye on you"

Alex gave a quick nod and left promptly.

He was in a slightly sour mood, he realised that everyone had a story, but he still couldn't forget that first encounter. And what kind of excuse was 'I was being paid', and she was so open about the fact she simply wanted to use him for her revenge.

Well, nothing could be done now, while he had made sure to hide as many one clauses in the contract as possible, he would still prefer someone he actually trusted as his first employee.

Alex arrived at the trade centre in reasonable time, but was stopped outside by a familiar face.

"MIII?" Alex said in suprise, "I thought we had no more business to discus, you told me we shouldn't meet much anymore"

"That's when you're not strolling into the lions den" MIII said in an exasperated tone, "just stay away from the trade centre and keep one eye over your shoulder, the chairman wants you, and he will stop at almost nothing to get you, we have word that our 'clean up crew' will be here soon, so don't make any more trouble"

"What?" Alex managed to get out, before he was quickly shoved away.

"No time, no time, just piss off"

Alex stumbled away, still in slight shock, what just happened?

He wandered back to the store absentmindedly, was he really that valuable, at least his ego felt better.

"You back already?" CIV asked from behind the counter, a stack of paper and a quill and ink next to her.

"Didn't even make it through the front door"

"Wow, I'm surprised, I thought they would milk you for all you where worth"

Alex just moved past her, "I will be in my workshop for a while, can I trust you to get some supplies for prototypes, quality doesn't matter, just amount"

"Sure"

Nicholas was still toiling away, pouring over a bunch of artistic charts detailing multiple different kinds of wolves of many shapes and sizes that littered the floor.

"This one looks good" Alex commented, picking up a detailed illustration of a wolf made of some kind of craggy rock, lava spilling from multiple cracks in its form.

"No" Nicholas replied dismissively, "it is a walking bio-hazard, can't contain all of its heat to its insides, terrible for team play, as bad for the enemy as it is for its allies"

"What about this" Alex said, discarding the diagram in his hand in return for one of a ethereal, almost ghostly looking wolf.

The diagram was quickly snatched from Alex as he began to pour over it in an excited manner.

"Yes, yes" he muttered to himself, "I can use this part... But would that clash with this... can't use that"

Alex decided to give him some space, best to leave him to his own devices.

As for Alex, he had his own projects to attend to, no rest for the wicked as they said.

If he had been keeping track correctly, he had just under two and a half weeks left before he had to fight the bear, so he would have to prepare adequately.

The bear most likely had impressive physical stats, but it could also shoot what Alex assumed to be pressurized water, so he would have to find a way around that.

Already the cogs in his brain began to turn, it would be a quick two weeks.