THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

When the sporting director ended his talk with Coach Allegri, Zachary was also finalizing his post-match recovery workout session in the gym. He went through one more repetition of crossbody mountain climbers, followed by starfish crunches and side planks, before concluding his session with a few yoga poses. After wiping his face with a clean towel, he chugged down some water before picking up his gym bag and heading toward the gym's exit.

On the way out, Zachary took a cursory glance around the gym. He noticed that Fernando Llorente was still working out with weights on the other side of the room. Meanwhile, Álvaro Morata, Kingsley Coman, Paolo De Ceglie, and a few others were on the treadmills and the cycling machines. They were all working hard. Most likely, their minds were all full of thoughts of improving their fitness and making it into Juventus' starting line-up as soon as possible.

After nodding to a few of the players more familiar to him, Zachary quickly exited the gym. He entered the showers a few minutes later and took a cold bath.

The shower was quite enjoyable, making him feel quite refreshed after it. Maybe it was because Juventus had defeated AS Roma yesternight or because of the very productive morning gym workout, but Zachary was in a good mood. He couldn't help but hum The Script's famous 'Hall of Fame' hit as he dried himself and organized his hair.

Briefly admiring his reflection in the bathroom mirror, he saw a face that had grown more austere compared to a year ago. His facial features looked sharp, and the muscles over the rest of his body were well-built and defined as if carved from stone. His hard work in the gym over the past few months had obviously paid off, and he was in the best shape he'd ever been.

After getting dressed, Zachary heard the phone ring. Picking it up, he realized the call was from his interior designer. He immediately pressed the accept button and held it against his ear.

"Hello, Zachary!" A vibrant feminine voice sounded from the other end of the line.

"Hello to you too, Sofia," Zachary replied. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," she answered. "I'm calling to inform you that I have already finished work on your villa. You can come to look at it at any time. And please don't forget to prepare the rest of my payment. Thank you."

"Okay," Zachary answered, feeling his spirits brighten. "I'll wire the money immediately after looking at the house. Thanks for the hard work."

"You're welcome. So, when are you free to look at the house?"

"I would like to look at it today," Zachary said. "If it's okay with you, I can come to Pinerolo and look at the house in about one and a half hours."

"That's perfect," she intoned. "Let's meet at the villa at around 10:30 AM. I can hand back the keys to you, and then you can prepare to move in."

"Excellent!"

Zachary was quite eager to move into the house. So, after ending the call with the interior designer, he quickly wrapped up everything and exited the training center.

Outside, in the parking lot, he linked up with Angelo Mattiello, his driver/interpreter. The two of them then wasted no time driving out of the Vinovo and heading to Pinerolo, Piedmont. They arrived one and a half hours later and found the interior designer eagerly waiting for them in front of the house.

The interior designer was a tall, middle-aged beautiful lady with short blonde hair and a huge bust. Her chest was for the world cup, so potent and threatening to burst out of her tank top. Zachary even suspected that she had artificial implants.

"Thank you for coming quickly, Zachary," she said with a smile. "As I said, I have already completed everything. The villa is ready for your viewing."

"Thank you," Zachary said. "Let's take a look at it."

"Okay."

With that said, their party of three quickly headed into the house. After stepping inside, Zachary was shocked and speechless, even though it wasn't his first time in the villa.

By sheer reflex, his eyes lit up after they took in the sparkling old-fashioned parquet floor that had been polished beyond measure. And then, there were the lustrous walls adorned with various paintings. They were like something out of a world-famous art exhibition. They reflected the morning light and caused the entire place to glow and exude a refreshing feeling. Then, moving on to the furnishings, including the elegant furniture, the chandeliers, the beds, the woolen carpets, the curtains, and the flower vases — everything had been well selected, cleaned, smoothened, and placed immaculately all around the house.

Just walking through the 14-room villa and allowing his eyes to expand and take in the magnificent ambiance of the place, Zachary could feel a real sense of peace flooding his soul. The interior designer had really outdone herself within a short period of five days. With a touch of her skilled hands, she had magically transformed Zachary's villa into a palace. It was like one of those celebrity cribs that Zachary had only seen on TV during his previous life. It was so homely, stunning, and pleasing to the eyes.

"So, how do you find the place," Sofia, the interior designer, asked as they walked into another bedroom.

"Quite good," Zachary replied honestly. "You've really transformed the place. I'm more in love with it. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Sofia replied as they walked out of the well-furnished bedroom. As they started descending the stairs, she continued, "By the way, your fitness trainer was the one that installed all the equipment in the fitness area. You should also look at it."

"Okay, let's head to the basement," Zachary agreed. He wasn't surprised as he was the one that sent Bjørn Peters, his fitness trainer, to install the fitness equipment a few days ago.

The party of three quickly descended the stairs before arriving at the door of the fitness area. On pushing it open, Zachary's spirits immediately brightened again.

The gym was luxurious and well-equipped with all the machines that could satisfy any professional footballer out there. Be it dumbbells, barbells, medicine balls, cycling machines, treadmills, etcetera — they were all in the room. Just looking at them, Zachary could feel his heart racing as he imagined the productive hours he would spend working out in the comfort of his own home. He no longer needed to spend long hours in external gyms but would perform most of his physical workouts in his own house. He couldn't help and sigh, again and again, feeling that being rich was the best sensation in the world.

"That should conclude the tour of the villa," the interior designer said, interrupting Zachary's musings. "If everything is to your satisfaction, please transfer the rest of my money to me, and then we can conclude this deal. Is that fine?"

"Yes, of course," Zachary said with a smile. "I really like what you have done with the place. Give me a few minutes to wire your money."

"Okay, thanks," she replied cheerfully and clapped her hands.

Her reaction amused Zachary, but he chose not to comment. Instead, he returned to Angelo's car and quickly worked on transferring the money to her. He wanted to conclude the deal immediately. Then, he would have all the freedom to vacate his hotel room and shift to his new 14-room mansion the following day after training. He was really looking forward to living in a mansion that he could only dream of during his previous life.