15 Expanding Business

[Damon's POV]

I headed home in high spirits, it'd been a while since I'd felt my heart pound and I didn't think it would be because of a girl.

Backtracking to about an hour ago, I'd just left the restroom and was headed home when I was stopped by…Noelle.

I had no intention of speaking to her, I made up my mind that girls weren't my priority at that point, but when she grabbed my arm I felt the anxiety well up within me.

'Ugh I shouldn't be thinking about this' I thought. Yes, I'd only agreed to be her tutor on the spur of the moment. Once I got home I would email her that I didn't have the time and be done with it, yes, that was the plan.

I branched at a supermarket to get some groceries before heading home.

When I got home I tried emailing her and finally realized my mistake "I gave her my email instead of getting hers! Argh ,how could I have been so stupid!" I shouted, placing my hands on my head as I lay face flat on my bed.

Then again this wasn't too bad, Noelle's family were influential to an extent in the commercial world and having her as an asset wouldn't be too bad.

So I thought 'I guess I'll just play along for now and see if she's going to be useful, I still need connections anyway.'

The thought of using others to achieve my goals made me smile and I felt like some evil villain. And so I decided to tutor her from that moment onward.

It was Friday, and I didn't have classes on weekends making me free most times apart from gym and martial arts classes.

I thought about what I could spend my Saturday doing and then my mind went to Michael. 'I should call him, he would still be in shock after I revealed my identity. I have to discuss expanding our businesses with him'. I thought.

I dialed his work line and waited patiently as the phone ringed.

"Hello?" Said Michael.

"Hello Mr Michael, I do apologize for calling at such an ungodly hour." I said.

"No it's fine, I was just about to leave work anyway." He said.

"As I said before I would like us to meet up Mr Michael, I understand you don't work on weekends correct?" I said.

"Would you cut the act already, I already know who you are and please, just Michael is fine, I'm not that old." He said laughing from his end.

"You're right, I've been too formal with you. As I was saying I have some important things to discuss with you and I would like us to meet in person. You're free tomorrow I suppose?" I asked.

"Yes I'm free, where and when would you like to meet up" he said

"I'll email you the details, I hope you have a splendid evening" I said.

"Goodnight" he replied and I hung up the phone.

I pondered where we could meet and after some thought I decided to pick Memorial Park.

I emailed him the details and, I had one last thing I had to do before sleeping.

"System?" I said.

<How may I be of assistance to the host?>

"Activate the secret skill render" I said firmly.

<Understood. >

*Activating secret skill Render*

<The host will be required to put under forced hibernation for easier activation. Do you accept?>

[Yes] [No]

"Yes" I said and I blacked out. The last thing I remember was falling on the bed and that was it.

The next day I woke up feeling pretty normal.

<The skill render has been successfully used.>

'Hmm, I wonder how I'll use it.' I thought as I glanced at the wall clock. It was sometime past 8 and I got up and got prepared for gym.

Fast forward to a couple of hours later and I'm in Memorial Park heading to the designated meeting point.

We agreed to meet up by 1 and I was about 10 minutes early, but was surprised to meet Michael already seated.

He looked exactly how he did in my first life and I swallowed as I approached him. 'Let's do this' I thought.

Michael didn't notice me until I was only a couple of steps away as he was engrossed in the newspaper he was reading.

When he realized that I had arrived he got up and we shook hands.

"You're early," I said.

"And so are you, how did you know what I looked like?" he asked..

"I googled you," I replied and we both laughed.

And we both sat down, we exchanged pleasantries for a while before getting down to business.

"So Michael", I said "first of all I would like to thank you for all the hard work you've been putting in. Thanks to you we've amassed quite a lot of wealth, but it pales in comparison to what I've got in store for us.," I said.

"What do you have in mind?" He asked.

"Well Michael, my predictions aren't limited to the stock market alone. I would like us to get invested in the world of electronics as well. Specifically the pineapple phone which is currently under the works by Steven Johnson. We must secure a large amount of shares in that company no matter what. And that's why I've been saving our wealth up for this moment and now it's finally here. Any questions?" I asked, expecting a skeptical response from him.

"Well this isn't the first time you've made predictions and you've not been wrong once, so I choose to trust your intuition. I have only one question that's been bothering my head. Why do you need me? I understand that you're perfectly capable of doing most of these things by yourself and, especially with your family's influence, it would be much easier. So why?" He said.

"Hmm, let's just say I've taken a liking to you Michael, I definitely couldn't do it all alone by the way, as I'm more concerned about my admission into university currently. As for my family, I would prefer it if you just saw me as Damon and not a member of the Darhk family". I replied.

"Oh, I understand. I'm sorry if I spoke out of line" he said.

"It's perfectly fine, I'm glad we could reach an agreement, I'll be seeing you more often from now on." I said.

And I got up and we shook hands once again.

"Goodbye Michael, have a lovely day" I said and I waved him goodbye.

"Goodbye Damon." He said.

And with that our meeting was concluded and I headed home.