The Rise of Arthur McCain

Chapter 5

Drawing nearer to them was an old woman in his early seventies. She was a little skinny with an average height. She looked worn-out and malnourished. It was somewhat strange to Arthur. How can she be in such affluence and looked undernourished. It dawned on Arthur that she must have been thinking a lot and starving herself as well. Arthur stood up to greet the woman who drew him close to a warm embrace. 

Shocked and embarrassed, Arthur managed to hug her back as he stared at Carl and Axel in bewilderment.

"It's you. My son. My Shirley's boy. Oh! What a day today is. I can now die in peace knowing fully well that Shirley gave me a grandson." The old lady cried out. 

"No one is dying. At least, not yet." Carl said as he turned to face Arthur. "This is Vannessa, your grandmother."

Vannessa smiled at Arthur, drawing him close to another embrace. "Please, forgive us for everything."

Arthur pulled out of her embrace, nodding gently. "I forgive you." This statement brought genuine smile on the couple's face. Indeed, they were overjoyed. "Thank you so much." Carl said. "Now, let's get to the main business why I called you here." He cleared his throat and continued. "Everything I own now belongs to you. You shall take over all my numerous businesses. However, I want you to concentrate on Royal mall. There's been some mismanagement of funds there. Find it out and deal with the perpetrators. You're in charge now."

"Huh?" Arthur stared at Carl with mouth agape. He sounded like he was speaking in a foreign language. Did he hear that right? Royal mall. The biggest mall in the whole of Vienna. Was he dreaming? Arthur closed his eyes and opened them again but Carl was not done yet. "You shall also take charge of Probity hotel." Carl put on his glasses back before uttering.

"I learned that you worked there and was sacked today."

Arthur almost froze. How did his grandfather know? Oh! How could he not. He could easily get any information he wanted. However, his wish was gradually coming true. It was payback time. Covering his mouth in shock, Arthur tilted his head.

"Yeah, I get the information about anything I want to know. I guess you just got a huge promotion as the sacked employee is now the employer." Carl commented with a wide grin. Ofcourse, he was right.

Arthur opened his mouth and said. "Uhmm… Words cannot explain how grateful I am, you have no idea what you've just done for me." Arthur was grateful indeed. "What are you thanking us for?" Vanessa said. "It was your mother's. Now it's yours." Arthur could not contend his joy. He stood up and did the only thing that came to his mind. 

He fell on his grandparents' feets in appreciation. "Come on, get up and get to work."

Carl made a hand gesture to Axel who left them as he strode towards the house. In a few minutes, he came back with a briefcase and a bag. 

"That's a cash of five hundred million euros. Get whatever you want with it." Carl said as the briefcase was placed on the glass table before him. Arthur was still in awe but Carl was not done yet. "An account has been opened with your name and in it is a sum of ten billion euros all for you. Here's your card." Carl handed a black card to him which nearly dropped as a result of the shock he was experiencing.

Arthur was completely speechless. He decided that he would not to show his real Identity yet, he needed to see his workers for who they were. 

"Axel, please take him to his new home and make sure he gets everything he needs." Carl instructed and the man nodded. "Of course Sir."

With that, they departed from the mansion and Arthur was taken to his new home. A villa that was surrounded by vegetations which provided the environment with natural air and serenity. Beside it was a pool for relaxation and Arthur loved every bit of it. He could not believe that he won't have to wake up very early in the morning and start working his ass out as it was at the hotel. Now, he has his own private home staff that were ready to do every of his biddings.

***

At Royal mall the next morning, Arthur had in his hand, a file containing the documents he needed to resume work with as a mall security guard. Scanning the place with his eyes Arthur saw a lot of people busy with their shopping spree. When he finally saw security a guard, he decided to get close.

Approaching the man in his thirties, he decided to inquire about the information he needed. "Uhmm… Excuse me please. I'd like to know where to find the HR office." Arthur asked and the man threw him a demeaning stare before saying. "What business do you have with the HR dressed like this?"

Arthur took a quick glance at himself. He was not wearing the finest fabric but he was neat in his black trousers and brown shirt. His brown hair was properly done in a short quiff hairstyle. "But, I only asked a question. What does it have to do with my dressing?" Arthur was already disappointed. If a mere security would be this rude on the first time they were meeting, how would the higher staff behave?

"Look man, I ain't got time to answer your stupid questions. If you don't know how you look, then go get a mirror. As you can see, I have work to do and will be on my way now." The man made an attempt to leave but Arthur held his hand and earned himself a punch on the elbow.

"The next time you lay that filthy hands on me, you will get more than that." He blurted out angrily.

"What is going on here?" A voice interrupted.