Chapter Fifty nine

It was nearly evening time when Atharva woke up refreshed.

His college mail was filled to brim. Or so it seemed. 999+ mails in less than a day. All had click bait worthy titles as subjects. Want to own a county house? Want a eight figure credit job? Want to move and shake with influential people?

He didn't open any of the mail. Once he found the results, he knew he could get any job that interested him. Basically, he would conduct interview to join others.

But, a mail from Mrs Briggs caught his eye. She had sent him contact info and wanted him to call her. So he did just that.

"Good evening, Mrs Briggs. Sorry for calling you so late but I just saw your mail."

Mrs Briggs laughed out loud. All the people running around like a headless chicken and here was the prey coming on its own.

"Mr Murphy, you are a hard man to grab hold of. Lots of people are trying to contact you and you called by this old woman. If others learn of this, tsk, this bag of bones would be a goner."

" You are kidding, Mrs Briggs. You are a tall tree under which I am seeking shade. How can you be compared to others?"

"My offer still stands. Come and join me."

(She had indeed offered the job when she saw his file before. And this was before the results were released, so it can be seen as her being trustworthy. Or maybe someone who considers Mr Murphy as a investment.)

"Please send in the details, ma'am! I will look at every word and give the proposal a very careful consideration."

"Hogwash! Tell me your conditions. If it's not over the moon, just consider it approved. What else is there?"

"I need to know what my work entities, Mrs Briggs, before I can make my conditions. Don't you think?"

It was true, but Mrs Briggs was in a quandary too. The job was made up one, just created, solely for him. How to explain the job description and what the job entitled?

"Well, you have to be a perfect assistant to my heir. Attend parties and get togethers if need be. Liase between heads of various companies and directors and keep an pulse on everything, every day."

"Practically round the clock job with no privacy and personal time at all."

"Well, my heir should complain like that. Not you. You will be paid even more handsomely for every extra bit you do and every harm you suffer, be it overtime or listening to narcissists."

"Will it be really enough though? And if I have to stick like a gum, the other party should be amiable to it and to me too. The description of the job is too vague. Typically, the heir would have a whole team of assistants. You are expecting me to do the job of whole team or even a department, alone? Seriously, Mrs Briggs, do you have a job or are you just winging it? From what you said and with your guarantee about payment for every extra thing, the salary should be....well, let's not talk about it. And the job, from the general description itself, looks like it comes with some many strings attached that its already like an gorgon knot."

"Fine! You caught me! It's a made up job. I just want you to work for me. And to keep an eye on my heir if possible. If not, no worries. Just keep an eye on his assistant team. That works too. So the job and the salary are both open ended. You decide if you want to discuss further or not. But believe me, my offer is true enough."

I bet, he thought. He was now walking advertisement. Any company would hire his name just to show off.

Mrs Briggs too knew it. She knew he was good, but only after the results, did she find him formidable.

"Barring that, if you want to make your own way, I am ready to invest in you too. Like I said before."

"I really haven't thought of it. Maybe, I will check in that direction too. Before the results, I didn't dare to think in that direction. But that path is open to me now. Thanks for the reminder, Mrs Briggs. I will surely seek your guidance if I take that route."

"I didn't realise that you were a smooth talker before."

"Maybe this cockiness is just due to recent results. I will probably turned into taciturn person in few days."

"Even if you turn deaf and dumb, no one will care. Not much. I will expedite your scholarship. Come in day after tomorrow. Will send the exact time and place as soon as it's fixed. It's not good to stretch this thing for long."

" Isn't the meeting in conference hall in scholarship department?"

"Hah! If it was there, there would not be enough chairs or space for virtual presence. I can forsee whole faculty in the college, along with alumni rushing to attend it. I will probably arrange it in one of the large lecture halls. I just need to prebook it, that's all.

Oh, make sure, you are wearing a nice suit that day. Not the usual tshirt and pant."

"I thought instead of ripped tshirt and ragged jeans, I would wear untorn ones. Guess, it's not enough."

"Heh! You will be standing there asking for eight to nine figure salary and you want to do it dressed like a beggar? Get a fitted suit, not a hapazard, mothballed ill fit one. That would just make you tacky and take off few points."

"Thank you for the reminder, Mrs Briggs."

"If not for the time constraints, I would have personally pulled you out to get customised suit. Wait. You are still in the campus right?"

"Vacating tomorrow by 9 am."

"Oh, then you can stay at Stanley's. I'll book a room for you there. I know the boy there, he will arrange for your suit. If not the customised one, then he shall try for next best thing. I won't be embarassed in the meeting later on."

Just like that, Mrs Briggs destroyed his plans and spent thousands and thousands of credits on him, without expecting anything in return. The lady was tough on outside and marshmallow in the inside.

He called the hotel he had prebooked and altered the dates. The proprietor was not ready, but Atharva booked extra bedrooms for his family, who would join him later on. Despite becoming a millionaire, he didn't forget to get a good deal and save few pennies. The habit of the poor. Stretch the coin. After checking if he had packed everything, he decided to enter the game. This would be last day.

Really?