Rise of the Student Trillionaire

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE ARROGANT VC

 William couldn’t help it and his heart began racing. He watched as Mike brought out a separate phone to dial a number before placing it on the desk. The repeated loud rings made it clear that the phone had been put on speaker and William could hear all that was going on.

The ringing tone didn’t take up to five seconds before the call was quickly answered. “H..Hello, Good afternoon, Mr. McArthur. How m…may I help you?”

William was in shock as he soon realized this was the Bel Air University's VC who was speaking on the phone. His heart raced even faster as he wondered why the McArthur patriarch was calling this man. He could hear the barely contained heavy breathing coming from the VC, as he was stuttering a lot, which made William deduce that the VC not only knew who Billiard McArthur was, but he was also scared of him.

“Roman Brakovic, this is Mike Barathea, the head butler of the McArthur Estate. You’re currently on the phone with my master.” Despite things being obvious, Mike still didn’t hesitate to formally introduce his master. This was some form of formal introduction he had to do when communicating with those beneath them.

“O..of course, Mr. Barathea! I could tell from the number that it had to be the highly esteemed Mr. Billiard McArthur who wanted to speak to me!" Roman Brakovic's voice was shaking slightly. "Mr. McArthur, I am deeply honored that you would even think to communicate with someone as insignificant as me! Please, how may I help you? It will be my utmost honor to be of any service to you, no matter how insignificant it is!"

William was left shocked, doubting if it was really the Vice Chancellor of Bel Air who was on the line. Any student who had attended the high-tier tertiary institution was well aware that Roman Brakovic was an extremely prideful and arrogant man. When he addresses people, he does so with an oppressive tongue and a disdainful attitude, making others feel like they are far beneath him and aren't worth his precious time. So was it really the same man he was listening to right now? William quickly realized that he had never seen the VC communicate with anyone above him until now. He deduced that Roman Brakovic was a chameleon who would stomp on those beneath him while shamelessly groveling before those stronger than him.

William shook his head as he was now seeing a totally different side of the usually scary Vice-Chancellor. He kept quiet though, while looking at his grandfather with increasing admiration. This old man had turned someone like Roman Brakovic into a stuttering mess just by his presence being announced; he hadn't even uttered a single word yet.

“Roman Brakovic, please keep your mouth shut while my master is speaking.” Mike’s voice suddenly turned cold as he ordered the Vice Chancellor.

“Oh! I didn’t realize I was blabbing a lot. My apologies, Mr. McArthur!” The Vice-Chancellor was relentless in his shameless groveling.

William was stunned at this turn of events as he quietly listened in his seat.

This was when Billiard began speaking. “Roman, I heard you expelled a brilliant student just a few days ago.” His voice came out with a strict tone that made it clear to his listeners that he was not in the mood to play around.

Roman Brakovic was quiet for a few seconds. “That is correct, Mr. McArthur. His name is William Camillo. Well, his identification has been recently updated and he has changed his last name to Chain. I learned that the boy’s horrible mother had been suddenly divorced after she was caught cheating on her husband.”

William was fuming when he heard the way Roman Brakovic was tarnishing his mother's name. This man was probably doing this because Woodruff Camillo ordered him, along with many other subordinates of his, to tarnish Sarah's name. William was aware that Roman was one of the Camillo's lap dogs who would do anything to remain in Woodruff's good grace. The McArthur heir felt deeply bitter that Woodruff hadn't stopped scheming to further ruin his mother's god name in public even after her death. He felt utterly disgusted by the Camillo family.

There was a bit of hesitation in Roman’s voice as he continued. “Mr. McArthur, is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" He laughed with relief, thinking this wasn't a big deal. "Mr. McArthur, I understand you're a very generous and kindhearted man who loves supporting students from the poverty-stricken class, but you shouldn't worry about someone like that young man. I will admit that William was arguably our best student among his peers, but he's been the culprit of many reported issues ever since he gained admission into this institution two years ago. He has resorted to bullying many of his coursemates; he has also been found shamelessly harassing multiple female students on campus as well. He even went as far as stalking and taking nude pictures of a top female student while she was in her home. He then used it to blackmail her into dating him for a long time. The last straw for me was when he stole a $250,000 wristwatch from his former stepbrother. It became clear that that boy's presence would only sully the good reputation of Bel Air University, so I did what I should have done a long time ago: I expelled that demonic child right away."

As the three men in the large office listened to the Vice Chancellor narrate this false accusation against William, they could hear the arrogance and pride in his voice. Billiard was a wise old man with discerning eyes and ears. He could easily separate the areas in the entire narration where Roman had been lying. He turned his gaze to find William seated with an angry expression on his face and he couldn’t help but feel infuriated himself. He had just witnessed a tiny fraction of the humiliation his grandson had endured throughout the twenty-five years of his life. Plus, Billiard had just heard this stupid vice chancellor insult his dead daughter.

“Roman Brakovic, you are an undeserving worm that should be stripped of every power and immediately locked away. How dare you give me this false narration about William Chain?!”

“What?! Sir, no! I..I….I would never deceive you, Mr. McArthur!” Roman was turned into a stuttering mess as he tried to explain things to Billiard.

“I’ll ask you just this once; did William really do all you have just accused him of?  I want you to keep in mind that if you dare lie to me one more time, I will strip you of everything that makes you matter in this world! Do you understand me?” Despite the low tone in his voice, there was a scary cold undertone in Billiard’s voice that would leave the hearts of anyone who heard it beating with dread. “Now, answer me?”