Chapter 36: Golden Company

"Did you accept the job?" Dustin asked over the phone. He was animated and excited.

"Yeah," Henry replied.

"Oh my god dude, you're going to work for Heaven's Gate. My best friend works for Heaven's Gate! Do you know famous you are on campus, right now? People keep asking me questions right now. Do you know how many girls have asked me about you? I've never had so many girls talk to me, please do your favorite brother a hand and meet some of these girls, for my sake. It's been too long since I had sex," Dustin pleaded over the phone.

"You're right, never is a long time," Henry laughed.

"Shut up, and I told you I had sex with Alyson after a quick recall in high school. But I'm not a nerd anymore. I'm Mr. Popular thanks to you. You should dump Heather, there are so many girls out here for us. Bro Code demand you act as my wingman," Dustin begged.

"I'll do it once. Bye, I'm hanging up now," Henry said.

"C'mon, at least three times is the least y—" Dustin yelled before Henry disconnected the phone.

When he hung up, he dialed his Black Rock financial adviser who managed his account. All the car and life insurance went into that account.

"Hi Henry, how are you feeling today? It's been years since we last spoke, is everything okay?" Samantha asked.

Henry told her about the career fair and new job.

"Congratulation, I assume you're calling because you want me to manage your 401(k). I can do that; can you forward me the email the Buena Vista HR rep sent you?" Samantha asked cheerily.

Henry liked that she was always happy no matter his mood. She seemed like a person who enjoyed life to the fullest. He did as she directed.

"Wow, they must have wanted you. You already have an employee ID number, usually, those take 24 hours to process. Are you sure today was your first time speaking to anyone from Buena Vista? Your paperwork looks great and setting up your retirement account won't take long.

Henry listened as she typed on her end. She was right it didn't take long to get every setup.

"Okay, I'm done. You just need to tell me how much to deduct from your pay stub. You can deduct up to 10% per pay period for a maximum of $20,500. I would recommend starting with 5%."

"That's fine with me."

"Don't forget to send me your new contact information, so I can update your account. Now, would you like me to summarize your account?"

"Sure," he said nonchalantly.

"Listen Henry this is important. I've called to check on you and you never answer or reply to my emails. Your parents left you with a moderate amount of wealth. You are not one of my wealthiest clients, but I feel responsible for you. But never respond to any of my messages.

After paying for your college tuition and expenses, your investment account stands at $97,235. In the past, you reinvest your dividends because you didn't have much need for them in college. But now you're starting a new job and romance, it might be time to rethink what to do with your dividends."

"That's fine. Do you know if I own any Buena Vista stock?"

"Ha-ha," Samantha laughed. "All my clients asked me the same thing. Yes, you own .03% of our iShares Core S&P 500 ETF. Since the last time we spoke, it's gone up more than 10%. The firm owns 8.35% of Heaven's Gate, which means you own a fraction of that amount. And that's just one of your funds that own stock in Heaven's Gate. With your new 401(k) account, you currently have four separate funds with us," Samantha explains.

"I also have an investment account in-game," Henry explained.

"If you have an investment account in-game. Then you have another account with us. Black Rock is part of the Aegis Consortium in Heaven's Gate, JP Morgan, and others. I'll reach out to Chase Bank and move your investment account under me. I'll send you a document tonight while I'm in-game, just sign and return, and I'll manage your fifth account," Samantha advised him.

"Aegis Consortium, is that a guild?" Henry asked.

"No, it's a bunch of financial companies working together. Each has its guild. Black Rock's guild is called the Golden Knights, we're the top guild in the Dawn Kingdom. You know your territory isn't far from the Dawn Kingdom, the Rhine Theocracy, of the ocean. Do you mind, if I tell the higher-ups about you?" Samantha asked.

"So, the financial companies formed a consortium to enter Heaven's Gate at the same time, then parceled off the empires, kingdoms, and other territories to not compete against one another. Afterward, you built guilds to control your assets. Wouldn't that make Aegis like the Iron Bank in Game of Thrones and your guilds like the Golden Company?"

"Well done, I can see why Heaven's Gate recruited you."

"Are you in the Golden Knights?"

"Of course, I'm a Level 26 merchant and I manage a bank…would you like to join the Golden Knights?" she asked. "Everyone we sent to start a village was killed in the beast wave event. We're in the process of recruiting new homesteaders, but no one wants to do it. Everyone is afraid of a second beast wave or another disaster event," Samantha explained.

"No, I have to desire to join a guild."

"You know better than I do, how the VRMMORPG games favor guilds over unaffiliated players. Think about what you're missing. We'll tell you where all the dungeons are located, if you want to form a party, we'll match you up with all the guild members according to the class you require, if you desire magic stones we can get them to you tax-free, and we can lend you equipment epic rank and below," she said selling him on the benefits.

"Sounds good, but I don't need party support or to know where dungeons are located. I'm managing a settlement. And I don't want to buy magic stones, I want to sell them. The only reason, I'd join a guild would be for defense against players. Does the consortium have a collective defense clause?" he replied.

"Naturally, if someone attacks a member of the consortium, it's an attack on all of us," Samantha agreed.

"The consortium sounds rather powerful."

"It is, especially when you take into account, only financial institutions can be members," 'Samantha explained.

"Can I buy a small share of the consortium," Henry explained.

"Ha-ha. You can't because it's not publicly traded. I only know about it because I work here."

"Humor me, how much money would it cost?" Henry asked.

"Billions of dollars, or thousands or thousands of in-game gold. Why? How much gold do you own?" Samantha asked curiously.

"Close to 500 gold," Henry lied.

"The game's been out three months and you already own 500 gold. Let me make a phone call," she said putting him on hold.

She returned half an hour later and said, "Luck is on your side. The company needs gold and is having trouble getting a hold of more. The company is willing to trade you .001% of their share in the consortium for 500 gold," Samantha explained.

"Bye," Henry said preparing to hang up the phone.

"Wait, please. Okay, I can go as high as .005% without approval," Samantha said.

Feeling emboldened by his negotiating skill earlier that day he negotiated, "I want .01%," Henry said digging in.

"Oh, I see. You negotiate one job interview and now you think you're a litigator. Fine, I'll play ball. You need to pay 600 gold for .01%," Samantha agreed.

"I want 500 for .01% or I walk again," he said sternly.

"It's sad that we couldn't agree. This could've been a good deal for both of us."

"Fine. Make a reasonable offer or I walk away with all my accounts," Henry grinned.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to make threats? Do you think I'll miss your account? You are not my only client? Ha-ha, in fact, all my clients are wealthier than you," Samantha said nonchalantly.

"Let's put a pin in this for now. Not much of a negotiation?" Henry said disappointedly.

"You're not much of a negotiator. Heaven's Gate must have liked you to cave in so much. My player ID is Nestoris, I'll message you the paperwork letter in-game. Sign it and send it back with the money. The deal is only good for 48 hours. Bye!" Samantha explained.

"Bye," Henry said hanging up.

"When he got off his phone, he felt it vibrate. He looked at the number, it was his maternal uncle. Then the man had left over 10 voicemails. His mailbox was full of voicemails from his cousins, aunts, uncles, and distant relatives. The last time he spoke to his uncles and aunts was in the courtroom. They fought to take his parents' life insurance and now they were calling most likely asking for favors. They hadn't reached out or checked on him since they lost, they lost their appeal.

Only three text messages were responding. The first was from Dustin who asked him to serve as his wingman tonight. He got VIP tickets at a popular dance club in Washington DC, two hours away. The second was from Heather congratulating him and asking if they could talk in person. And last was from his attorney, his dad's best friend, and the man he considered his real uncle checking in on him.

He texted Heather to come over and dialed his uncle's number.

"Henry thanks for calling me back, how are classes wrapping up? Graduations next Sunday are you ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, Uncle Mike, I'm ready. I just got a job today," Henry said explaining what happened at the country club.

"Oh yeah. Need me to look over the contract for you? Maybe I can negotiate a better deal," he offered.

"No, I'm fine. I negotiated like you taught me and got a better deal," Henry explained.

"Good for you. I'm proud of you. You have to look after yourself. When are you going to bring your girlfriend over for dinner?" He joked.

"I don't know if we're there yet," Henry explained.

"Well, you better decided soon, you'll have to move out of your apartment by the end of the month," Uncle Mike said.

"I know. She's coming over today, we'll talk about it," Henry agreed.

"Good then. Well, your aunt and I will be at graduation. We're looking forward to seeing little Hank cross the stage. I know we're not David and Nicole, but we'll do their memory proud," Uncle Mike said gleefully.

"Well, I'll see you later," Henry said.

"Love you, kiddo, take care," he said hanging up the phone.

Thaddeus took a quick shower and cleaned up preparing for Heather's arrival. Afterward, he tried to clean his apartment and make it look cleaner. In the middle of throwing away old food containers, he heard a knock on the door. He mentally prepared himself for the impending conversation and quickly walked to open the door. When he opened the door, he was stunned and speechless by what he saw.