Unexpected Guest

August 15th, 1348 of the Fifth Epoch

It had been a little over two months since Max had effectively taken over the Dunant's Department Store. 

Currently, Max was at one of the countless parties where the rich and nobles gathered for social, political, business, personal, and other purposes. Max had made a conscious effort to try and get invited to some of these parties, mainly to form connections with the people here, establish himself as a nouveau riche, as well as find someone to share in his investment of the Dunant's Department store.

After all, current he was the only one financing it, and even after his 1000 pound investment, Ms. Dunant also had to borrow the 1000 pounds of 5% interest loan from Max to support the growth of the business itself. The only way to prevent others from copying their idea was to expand fast enough to almost completely take over the market in as little time as possible.

For this however, a lot of capital was needed not only to purchase or rent the shops, but also for the inventory and the hiring of workers both sales and suppliers. Max had divided the workers in two parts. The sales workers worked only in the shops; taking requests, searching and retrieving items, and collecting the money. The suppliers mainly worked in ensuring that all the inventories of each shop were kept up-to-date with the latest items and the largest varieties.

In just these two months, they had created another two Dunant's Department Stores; one in Cherwood Borough and one in West Borough. Though the former was essentially the same as the newly modified one at Hillston Borough, the one in West Borough where a majority of the nobles lived was rather different.

A larger majority of the space of the shop was still occupied by the storage. However, there was no common waiting area. Only a single receptionist would inform people when a private room would be available for them to sit down for a cup of tea or coffee and some refreshments. These rooms were essentially the same as the VIP rooms of the normal Department store in Hillston Borough.

Although the profit margin was not a lot, it was enough to yield a hefty some when goods were being sold in such large quantities. They had around 35 people working across all 3 shops, with an average salary of 2.5 pounds per employee. 

Having paid himself 4.2 pounds per month for each month just from his loan, Max had earned a profit of around 50 pounds for each month, after combining the interest from the loan and the 51% of the company he owned, as well as reducing the taxes he would have to pay. Ms. Dunant would have also earned just about a similar amount to Max since 2% was not that big of a difference. 

…

Max had formed a few friends among the rich individuals, especially among those who were self-made, just like himself. And though these people he had been able to be invited to multiple such events, this particular one being his fourth party. Through these same 'friends' Max had also spread the news that he owned a majority stake in the recently growing 'Dunant's Department Store' and that he was searching for someone of higher political, and financial standing to take hold of the shop that was held a promising future and provide more support, something he was currently lacking.

Today, he finally encountered someone interested in his shop. And to his surprise, it was someone who he had almost immediately recognised. She was a lady who was undoubtedly an incredible beauty in her youth, with bright golden hair, green eyes, and a beautifully graceful appearance. She looked in her mid-thirties, but Max knew she was well in her fifties, another depiction of how her beauty had fooled most people of her actual age.

"Mrs. Hall! What a pleasure it is to finally make your acquaintance! My name is Max, Max Verstappen. What can this humble commoner do for you?" He said while giving an incredibly deep bow. He knew Mrs. Hall was not someone stuck up with traditions and nobility, however, he was of commoner origin, while she was the wife of a noble. 

As such, he simply could not be publicly seen being anywhere near a similar level to her, not just for his own safety, but also her reputation, and most importantly, the reputation and safety of his 'friends' borrowing whom he had been able to get access to such a noble and rich networking opportunity.

Mrs. Caitlyn Hall, the wife of Earl Hall and mother of the future Ms. Justice; Audrey Hall, was an intelligent woman. In this age where women were not easily given roles of power due to various reasons, including personal, political, and social, she was someone who handled a lot behind the scenes.

Though it was not very evident, Max had understood from the undertones of the novel, that she played a far greater role in the success of her husband than either of them let on. Of course, Earl Hall was not some weak-willed buffoon and was smart enough to succeed on his own. On the other hand, Mrs. Caitlyn would not have access to the network or 'friends' that Earl Hall had. As such, the two were very important for the success of each other.

But what was more important was that Max had a feeling he knew why she had approached him. Well, it had to be either for his Beyonder identity or because of the Dunant's Department Store. And considering that she had just waved away her butler to talk to him, it was obvious that it was not the former, since that would put her in too much danger for the butler to listen to her order.

"I do not have a lot of time to spend here, Mr. Verstappen. I have heard of a rumour that you own a large portion of a growing company. Is this true?"

Although she did not say it directly, Max smiled evilly on the inside but put in the most innocent smile of joy on his face and he understood what she was here for and how he should progress.

"Of course, my lady. We do have one store in West Borough. You can have one of your people meet me there and we can discuss anything and everything in detail there… with a lot more privacy and discreteness. Some matters are better off not exposed to others…" Max left a lot of words unsaid, but the innocent smile on his face had vanished and a serious expression had replaced it, causing Mrs. Hall to understand the meaning behind it and nodding.

"Very well then. But I do hope for a satisfactory ending to it, as compensation for having me wait for another day." She said as she turned around. 

Almost immediately, three people surrounded her, two were women of similar age to her, either her friends or her 'friends' and one was a younger gentleman, who was clearly related to one of the women. Max just smiled as he silently returned to the party and picked up one of the fresh juices available for those suffering from having too much alcohol. 

His current body was not well suited to alcohol consumption. And even if it was in this fantasy world, he knew one thing for sure. Drinking, smoking, and basically anything that was addicting including gambling and fighting was bad for one's health in the long run. In fact, doing anything too frequently or too much would lead to long-term problems.

As such, he just spent the evening sampling the vast variety of food and juices before bidding his 'friends' farewell and leaving. On the way out, he noticed that Mrs. Hall was not present anywhere.

'Well, she is indeed very busy, and likely had to have to various other parties or to a party that Mr. Hall himself was throwing. All the nobles of Leon do end up having too much free time and spend almost half the year partying in Backlund, and the other half chilling in their homes across Leon. Some actually managed their fiefs or businesses, but not most of them, which was one of the many reasons for the falling likability of the nobility.' Max thought to himself as he returned home.