THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

"Miss Emily," Mr. Malvik intoned, frowning. "We already discussed the terms. Why are we going back to negotiations at this moment?" He leaned back into his chair, not bothering to mask his displeasure. The situation on the table turned gloomy as the rest of the executives glared at Emily.

Emily smiled, seemingly not bothered by the annoyance of the rest. "Mr. Malvik. If I remember correctly, we had only agreed that Zachary would gain an appearance bonus every time he was on the starting lineup. However, in the contract, you have added a clause that denies Zachary this bonus unless he plays a total of 75 minutes in a game. That isn't fair to a young player like my client." She added, her tone somber.

"Moving on, the Buy-Out and Release clauses are highly-priced. Fifty million as the release-fee is too much for an eighteen-year-old player. Do you want to use this fee to tie my client to your club for the next eight years until he can attract such a fee?"

Mr. Malvik smiled softly, straightening his tie. "Miss Emily, for the past few months, you have been arguing that your client is one of the most talented footballers in Norway."

"You specifically said that we should treat your client as a mature player since he'll readily adapt to the tempo of the senior team. That was the sole reason we offered a salary around the mid-tier range of the Rosenborg first-team player earnings. Miss Emily, now that you have achieved a good salary deal for your client, why are you playing the young-player card? Aren't you the very same person that insisted we don't treat Zachary as an inexperienced young player?"

Emily was about to reply, but Mr. Malvik held up his hand, gesturing that he hadn't finished his argument. He flipped through the papers in front of him before continuing.

"We have even added a wage increase clause to encourage your client to perform to the best of his abilities this season. If he scores fifteen goals in a season or provides 20 assists, he'll get a monthly salary increment of 100,000 NOK. If he manages to net thirty goals, he will get an increment of 300,000 NOK. These clauses will all be effective in the next month right after he has attained the stipulated achievements."

"That means your client might be earning 800,000 NOK by the end of the season. That is excluding the match-appearance bonuses and other allowances. Miss Emily, why would you even try to amend the clauses for such a contract? Is it just because of the Buy-Out and the Release clauses? I'm sorry to say—but we'll scrap the deal if you make such a proposition." He concluded, his body language emphasizing that he didn't want to hear Emily's nonsense.

On hearing the legal advisor's words, Zachary felt his heart sink. He wished to finalize the deal so that he would concentrate on playing for Rosenborg.

Zachary didn't understand why Emily was still bargaining at the last minute. Nonetheless, he didn't voice his displeasure. He had promised Emily he wouldn't interrupt her during the negotiations with the club management.

For the next few minutes, Emily exchanged arguments with Mr. Malvik, neither party giving any leeway to the other during the negotiation. Emily insisted that Rosenborg should cut in half the fees required to trigger the Buy-Out and Release clauses. She also emphasized that Zachary be—counted as having made an appearance as long as he appeared on the team. However, Mr. Malvik turned a deaf ear to all her pleas.

Zachary and the rest of the executives watched silently as the two lawyers battled with words that didn't make sense to the rest of them. If they'd been—left to their own devices, they might have argued until the following day.

But, luckily, the chairman held up his hand to cut short their heated verbal exchange after a few minutes. "Miss Emily," he smiled, facing her. "I want to make this brief since I have to attend another meeting in about an hour. I'll take a step back and agree to the amendment of the Appearance clause."

"Chairman!" Mr. Malvik called out, nearly jumping from his seat.

Mr. Koteng held up his hand for silence. "We'll count that Zachary has made an appearance as long as he is on the starting eleven or the substitutes for the match day. However, the Buy-Out and Release clause will stay the same. That's my last offer. What say you, Miss Emily?" His deep voice resounded across the room, his tone somber.

Emily frowned, turning to cast a glance at Zachary. The latter 'simply' nodded, indicating that she should take the deal. If it was him, he wouldn't have bothered to negotiate for more clauses. He would have already signed the contract thirty minutes ago.

"Okay, deal," Emily intoned, standing and extending a hand to the chairman.

"Great." The chairman grinned, taking her hand. "You have given us a hard time during these negotiations."

Emily smiled sheepishly at that. "I'm only trying to do my best for my client. The good contract terms will boost Zachary's morale, allowing him to perform beyond his limits. Surely, you can't blame me for that."

"Well, you do have a point." The chairman nodded before turning towards Zachary.

"Once again, I welcome you to the Rosenborg team," he said, patting Zachary's shoulder. "But please remember to continue doing your best to improve your skills. Only then will you stay in top shape and perform at the height of your abilities."

"Yes, chairman," Zachary replied, patting his chest. "I'll continue doing my best both on and off the pitch. You have my word."

The chairman grinned at him. "That's great. I do have high hopes for you. You can finalize the rest with Coach Johansen and Mr. Erik Hoftun. You still have to select your shirt number."

Zachary continued making small talk with the executives while Mr. Malvik and Emily amended and finalized the new contract document. He got to meet the sporting director, who was a bearded fellow named Erik Hoftun. He seemed eager to initiate Zachary into the senior team that-very-day, even going—forward to inquire about his choice of jersey number.

Zachary didn't deliberate for long and requested the sporting director to—assign him the number-33 only after a moment. He wanted a unique number—that had never been worn by any famous football star in history. Moreover, the number-33 corresponded to his date of birth which was 3rd December.

When Zachary finished selecting his jersey number, he felt like a heavyweight had been—lifted from his shoulders. A light smile lit up his face as he watched Emily and Mr. Malvik editing the new contract on one of their laptops. In just a few minutes, he would become an official Rosenborg player. He had finally achieved his previous life's dream of playing professional football in Europe. He couldn't contain his delight.