CALLA

9: ALLAC

I didn't have to wait long for Alexander Locke to decide. By the end of our meal, he signed his name in the black file and handed it to me. That moment marked the day where I found my very own "right-hand" man. 

I immediately putting the man to work and introduced him to the small group of people I have gathered the last 2 years. The company I had named "Allac" had been initially created as an investment firm. After Alexander, AKA Alex, joined, the company became an investment and development firm. I knew the man was hard working and capable so I gave him full control over Allac as the official CEO of the company. 

"Aren't you the least concern that I would bankrupt the company or worst, run of with your money?"

Alex had been stunned and questioned my sanity when I told him he was in charge. While I was searching online for an office space for Allac, the man was constantly nagging at me. Including my CEO Alexander Locke, there was my personal accountant John Wilkins, my business accountant Ashley Mays, my real estate agent Connor Brandt, and my 2 lawyers Richard Starr and Emily Pratts all met in my private room at Lily. 

John and Ashley are both partners in one of the city's most reputable firm, while Richard and Emily are Partners and Owner of theirs. Before I started my investment venture, I had gone through much difficulty in search for people who would take me in as a client. Because I had been 14, many firms didn't take me seriously and some had shamelessly tried to cheat me out of my money. These four people had also initially turned me away. They were frank and direct – letting me know clearly that they couldn't take risk on a child. And because they had been serious, I knew they were honest people. It had been annoying at first having to prove myself to these adults.

"This looks like a good location" I was sitting beside Connor while he was showing me several property. "Let's go with this one"

"Sure" Connor took note of the location I noted. "I'll get on it Boss"

"Are you listening to me?" Alex scowled.

"You think you can close the deal by the end of the week?" I asked Connor. "Even if Hideo and Reika doesn't mind me using their restaurant as a work base, it's still inconvenient"

"Nonsense" The door was opened and the famous chef herself entered with several waiters pushing in our meals. "I'm happy that you're here this often Calla-chan"

Reika came to me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, hugging me playfully like she always does. I smiled as I could smell the butter and cooking oil on her chef uniform.

"Oh, that place is pretty close to here" Reika was looking at the laptop screen.

Connor continued to show us the images of the floor plan and discussed how we could set offices up. When others started to gather around to look at the floor plan, I made a face.

"What a minute" I looked up at the group of grown adults. "Why do you guys need offices for?"

"Of course we need our own office dear" Emily smiled. "It will be a hassle for us to come and not have any work space"

"Oh, I call dibs on the corner office" Richard pointed to the screen.

When the others begin to mark their office, I rolled my eyes.

"Excuse me!"

We all turned to look at Alex who was still standing there with his arms folded across his chest. While everyone was in their casual clothing, the young man still looks like a model in his black slacks and white button up collared shirt.

"Don't worry" I teased him. "The big CEO office has the best view"

He scowled at me while everyone suppressed their laughter.

"Relax" I smiled at him. "It's only a title. Allac right now is a no-named company. Even if you bankrupt the company – no one would care"

"You don't care?" He made a disbelief face.

"I can always create another Allac" I just shrug off his concern.

"You don't even know what type of person I am. Explain to me why would you just give me your company to run?"

"Simple, I'm lazy"

"That's your reason" He scowled while the others were again trying really hard not to laugh.

"It is" I said honestly. "I have no interest in sitting in an office all day or running a business. That take too much of my time and frankly, I hate dealing with any form of contracts and paperwork. Most importantly, I don't like to sit in boring meetings all day long"

"You_" He looked incredulous. "You can't be serious..."

"On the contrary Mr. Locke, I'm very serious" I looked at him seriously. "If you think I'm going to do anything further than renting the office space, you're sadly mistaking. I'm investing 30 million for your Galleria project – no more, no less. Whoever you hire – how you run the office, I don't care and will not put any thought or input in your project. Moreover, you will have to find and figure out how to attract other investors because while 30 million appears to be a large number, it will only so far"

"And if I run off with the money"

"You won't run off with it" I smirked while pointing to my business accountant. "Ashley will make sure of that. Give me some credit – I'm not naive to trust you completely"

Ashley smile was like a lioness.

"And if I fail – you'll lose your money"

I sighed at his lack of confidence. It's seriously something I hope he fix as soon as possible. Being CEO of any company requires confidence and charisma. If the president is lacking in any way – the company will fail without a doubt. While he already has plenty of charisma, his self-confidence is an issue.

"I don't know what they teach you in business school Alex, but let me impart you my way of making money. To make money, you will have to spend money" I educated him. "Every time I invest in something, I know what risk is entails. The possibility of failure – the possibility of success, I know what they mean and how they could affect me. I may not look like it, but I am quite well verse in statistics and probabilities"

I know it's not normal for a 16 year old to say such things. Hell, it's not normal for a 16 year old to be a multi-millionaire. Funny that he thinks 30 million is a lot when in reality, it's barely a dent in my Swiss account.

"Why did you choose me?"

His question didn't surprise me. I knew eventually he will ask.

"You want the honest answer or the polite answer?"

"The honest one" He said indignantly.

"Your face"

Everyone lost it and laughed. Alexander Locke glared murderously at me.

"You wanted the honest one" I smirked. "You're tall, pretty, and look like a model in anything you wear. When the project becomes a success, there will be lots of magazine and shows wanting to interview you. It's easier to market with a good looking CEO"

"Will you be serious?!"

What's the fun in be serious all the time?

"I am serious" I told him with a smile. "It's important for any leader to have charisma – even better when he's hot. Instead of resenting on your good look, you should embrace it. Use it to your advantage"

He was startled before he looked at me with hesitation.

"I'm not into little girls"

I blinked several times at his sudden statement.

"Don't flatter yourself pretty boy" I smirked. "I prefer my men more masculine"

He sighed as if he didn't know what to do with me while everyone else burst out laughing. Clearly, I amused the hell out of everyone.