Hollywood Zenith

" Hahahaha. Do you even know me? No! What you are offering is not even enough to hire my butler. Don't mock me and go back home to study kid."

The man replied in a haughty tone. Samuel made the same deal he gave to Abigail, but it was not enough.

The man before him was called Alastair 'The Devil' Campbell. He was a famous figure in the financial world known for only one thing.

He uses any means to acquire the companies his clients want to take. He had an impressive and flawless record for Mergers and acquisitions.

With his team of only a dozen people, he terrorized every company he faced. For his relentless attacks on his 'prey,' he was nicknamed 'The Devil,' His clients would often be deemed the ones who made a deal with the devil as He would consistently deliver on his promise.

" Why not? I know it has little value but will you stay a contractor whole your life. What if these few millions makes you hundreds of millions in half an year?" Samuel was not fazed by him. He knew about his eccentric personality, but he needed his talent for the future.

It was good to tie him down by offering him some of his company shares directly, which was the only thing different than Abigail's contract.

Achilles Investment will become a subsidiary of Alphabet Investment group, which will be part of the giant conglomerate Alphabet Group. There would be many more such companies, and for that to happen, Samuel needed an expert in the M&A field.

" Stop dreaming. Do you think I haven't heard these offeres before? Waren how many such requests have we gotten so far?" Alastair asked a middle age man who was standing behind him. He was Alastair's assistant and had been with him since his childhood.

Warren immediately replied.

" This one marks as 829 sir."

" See, hundreds came before you. I will acknowledge that no one from the legendary Rothschild family came before but so what? you are just a child."

"At least Hear us out," Marilyn interfered; she didn't like Alastair.

"As I said, You should be in school. Geez, these rich folks are quite impatient. Ok I give you ten minutes of my attention."

Hearing this, Samuel smiled. He was not much of a salesman, but he poured out critical market information and a few companies that would survive the imminent crash.

Samuel avoided giving a specific date but presented different charts and data sheets to stake his claims. He didn't want to show his hand to Alastair before he was on board.

Despite how uninterested Alastair was before, he still listened intently to it. He grew more and more surprised with every new information Samuel presented. He was not foreign to market research as they were a vital part of his job.

Warren also listened from the side; his eyes shone as he observed the young child in front of him. At first, he thought that Samuel was someone who wanted to stoke his ego by jumping into business, but he was wrong.

He also observed his master; he knew Alastair more than anyone. What Alastair wanted was not wealth but challenges. Alastair would throw himself into complex cases because he enjoyed the struggle.

Sometimes Waren would wonder if his master had a few screws loose in the head. The team would also curse him constantly for taking on impossible requests.

The public didn't know, but Alastair was called ' The Masochist' for his constant thirst for painful situations.

" So, Are you in or should I find someone else? You are good but I think that 'Devil Jr.' guy is also a viable choice. Everyone has been talking about him lately."

" What? No, How can he compare to me? He closed few million deals and started proclaiming himself as my protege. He is a fraud!"

" What can I do? With in a few years he might replace you. These are not the only things I gathered. He would surely benifit from it."

" You can't do it!"

" Of course, I can. I think we are done here." Samuel said as he started to stand up. Alastair was still contemplating but seeing the other party's decisive move, he became flustered.

It was not the first time he had seen it. In negotiations, he would use the same tactic.

Honestly, he was very tempted. As Samuel said, he had been in a contractual firm for too long. He was a minor player in the financial sector, where massive firms were present with thousands of employees and a decade of history.

He had made some connections over the years, but whenever he wanted to expand, every one of them asked for a share in his firm. When he established this firm, he vowed to never sell any piece of it.

" Wait! I accept! I accept. Shit, I can't believe I am doing this."

" A wise choice. Here is the contract." Samuel motioned toward Marilyn, and she handed him the contract.

" Can't you go higher? Atleast give me ten percent of the shares!"

" Seven! That is as far as I am willing to go."

" Nine! final offer!"

" We should meet at the middle. Eight and you have a deal."

They negotiated the details before Alastair agreed with eight percent of Alphabet Investment. It was not much now, but they would be worth a lot of money after going public.

Samuel was happy he had another strong ally. He would be a formidable force for his upcoming ventures. He would be buying companies left and right in the future.

They concluded their business in a few hours. Samuel also mentioned Abigail, which piqued Alastair's interest.

" Senior? I haven't heard of her much." Alastair said as he reminisced about the past.

" Why? You worked together for many years right?"

" Yeah, She was a scary woman at that time. You don't know what I have been through whenever I made any mistake."

" Too bad, you will be together again."

" Is it necessary? Can't you do something?"

" You know talented people are hard to come by right? She is indispensable for the firm."

" Ok, I will try."

They talked for a few more minutes before Samuel departed. Alastair and Waren were the only ones left inside the private room that they had booked.

" I can't believe you really signed such a contract." Warren asked. He was mainly silent in front of the guest, but he was still surprised that Alastair had made such a hasty decision.

" Old man, Have I ever been wrong about something? I have a good feeling about it."

" I don't know about that but He was a good salesman."

" Salesman? Is he even old enough? Have you ever seen such a boy before? Wealthy are definately incredible. He must be training since his birth."

" Sigh, sir. It always amazes me how ignorant you are about current affairs. You don't even know this?"

" What? I don't care if it is not related to business. My mind is not built to study someone else's family history. I have seen what they print in entertainment section in the newspaper. Now tell me what you know."

" Ok,Ok. You have a brilliant mind but sometimes your logic amazes me."

" Quit insulting me and spit it out!" Alastair grew impatient. He would always hear the same argument whenever they talked about it.

" Rumor has it that Samuel appeared out of thin air fee months ago. No one knew that the couple had any child so some of them speculated that he must be adopted."

" What? Useless peoples! You think everyone could be that good without any support. You just have to look at him to know that he is royalty. What else?"

" T-that I agree. His dazzling appearance is something else. Moving on, Last month Rothschild engaged Samuel to the only daughter from the Hanson house. I believe they decided to settle their differences through the union."

" That Hanson? Isn't it illegal? I feel like a new monster will be from if that happens."

" Yeah, I agree. It definately made many people uneasy but what can they do? There were few people that profited from the skirmishes between those two, now they are left with nothing. Some also lost their life for instigating trouble."

" It was bound to happen. What did they accept? It was foolish endeavour to begin with."

" But this contract, you have think this through right?"

" Yeah. Now call a meeting I must inform everyone. We also have to move our office. We have work to do."

" As you wish."

------------------------

Meanwhile, inside the Achilles investment firm, new trouble was brewing.

Quinn felt threatened by Samuel's sudden arrival. He always believed he would be the managing director, but Rothschild suddenly changed their decision and sent Samuel, a child instead.

It was laughable; how dare they mess with him? He had been fuming with anger ever since he heard the news. He finally got his chance, but we were unwilling to let it go. He gathered everyone for an emergency meeting as soon as Samuel left.

If he managed to sway the employee, he was sure he would have the upper hand in future negotiations.