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    Tuesday, December 3, 2013.


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    Zachary woke up early as usual and headed out for his early morning run. The weather was cold enough to make his atoms shiver, yet he ran at a constant rhythm as his measured strides ate up yards of the frozen sidewalk.


    It had been five days since Rosenborg had crashed Standard Liege in the Europa League group game. However, all the sports headlines in Norway were still about him since he''d managed to score four goals in that game. His phenomenal performance during that match had even pushed him to the top of trending topics on most of the social media tforms in Norway.


    Moreover, an article by v Brusveen, a famous TV2 Sporten sports journalist in Norway, had even described him as one of the young talents with the potential to be the G.O.A.T in the future. As a result, his fame, both in Norway and entire Europe, had exploded due to the added media attention.


    On top of that, more teams in Europe continued approaching Emily, his agent, to inquire about his avability during the uing transfer window. Some clubs like Tottenham and Red Bull Leipzig had even hinted about triggering his release use as long as he nodded to their offers. They were clearly willing to offer him over-the-top lucrative personal terms if he could transfer out of Rosenborg during the January transfer window.


    Be that as it may, Zachary still stuck to his n of staying in Rosenborg until the following year. He remained silent about his future and left all the negotiations and dealings with the interested clubs to Emily, his agent.


    As a yer living his second life, he understood his priorities. Thus, he''d only focused on training and ignored all the other happenings around him for the past five days.


    He was well aware that he could only attract the most lucrative deals from top clubs in Europe by putting up more consistent and phenomenal disys during important matches. As long as he could y like Ronaldinho, Zidane, or Messi, club offers would find him at his doorstep even if he wasn''t searching for them.


    That was a simple truth.


    Zachary ran with conviction and purpose as he winded corner after corner in the early morning darkness. His breathing got morebored as beads of sweat continued flooding his undershirt with every passing minute. However, he persisted with his iron will until hepleted his early morning six-kilometer run thirty minutester.


    He then returned to his apartment and stretched a bit before taking a hot shower to lighten the burden on his muscles. After that, he settled on one of the sofas in his living room and started feasting on his breakfast.


    Eating was a way to nurture himself, to show his body that it was worth the effort of good nutrition. So, he was in an unusual state of concentration as he gorged himself with food while listening to some soft rock music in the background.


    To achieve more from his training, he''d recently started following a strict diet rmended by a sports nutritionist. For instance, his breakfast that day included onerge bowl of cereal with milk, two slices of white toast with jam, 300ml of fresh orange juice, and lots of fresh fruit. It was a well-bnced breakfast that included all the nutrients that could support the energy demands of a professional athlete during the day. As a result, he was confident to do his best in the team training sessions after following such a diet.


    "Bzzt Bzzzt! Bzzt Bzzzt!"


    His phone started vibrating like an angry rattlesnake right after he''d finished feasting on his breakfast. He couldn''t help but smile after picking it up from a nearby table and ncing at the screen.


    "Good morning, Cami," he spoke into the phone after cing it next to his ear. "How''s your morning?"


    "My morning is fine, dear," she replied, her voice filled with a vibrancy colored by her exotic ent. "Ta?da! I just called to wish you a happy birthday! I am sending you an ocean of love. I really do hope that your birthday is as cool as you are. Enjoy the day, and put your happy face on."


    "Oh, thank you for the birthday wishes," he replied, a bit surprised. For the past five days, he''d been living like a hermit. He''d only focused on his training, day in, day out, and ignored everything else. As a result, he''d pushed his birthday out of his mind. So, he was a bit startled when Cami mentioned it.


    Unknowingly, he''d already spent close to a year as part of Rosenborg''s senior team. He''d already achieved so much as a footballer even though he''d just made neen years in his second life. He couldn''t help but feel like his life was like a dream out of the best of fantasies.


    "So, what are your ns?" Cami continued, her voiceced with a tinge of excitement. "Party, or should I take you out, just the two of us, to celebrate? You decide!"


    "I won''t be making any parties just for a birthday," Zachary was quick to reply. "About going out, let''s see if we can get timeter."


    "Oh!" Cami said from the other end of the line, seeming disappointed. "Okay, then. But don''t forget. You only get a single day in a year to celebrate your birthday. So, you better cherish it."


    "I do get your point, Cami. Thank you!" Zachary replied and immediately decided to change the topic. "Are you still in Oslo?"


    "Nope! I just returned to Trondheim today morning. I''m even still at the airport at the moment."


    "Oh! You''re quite early," Zachary said, a bit surprised. He couldn''t help but steal a nce at the wall clock on the opposite wall. It was justing to seven o''clock in the morning. So, Cami should have woken up before 4:00 AM to catch the flight from Oslo to Trondheim that morning.


    "I had to be early," Cami said from the other end of the line. "Remember, we have that Audi photo shoot with you today. So, I''ve to be in Trondheim to make sure that everything is in order before the photo session."


    "Oh, the photo shoot!" Zachary said, nodding. "It''ste in the afternoon. Right?"


    "Yes! The session is scheduled for 4:00 PM today evening. Please try to arrive by 3:30 PM so that we can start on time and finish early. You can contact your agent for more specifics."


    "Okay. I''ll contact my agent right away. Let me say goodbye for now. Talk to youter."


    "Talk to youter! Have a good day, my dear!"


    "Good day to you, too!" Zachary responded before hanging up the phone. Without further ado, he decided to call Emily right away to find out the specifics of the photo session with Audi that day.


    "Zachary, I was just about to call you," Emily said immediately after picking up the phone. "Cheers to you for another trip around the sun! Happy birthday to you!"


    "Thanks for the birthday wishes, Emily! How''s everything on your side?"


    "All is fine, and I''m having a wonderful morning," Emily replied. "I guess you should be calling me about the details of the Audi photo session. Right?"


    "Yes," Zachary responded.


    "Then, I have all the details with me here. The session will be at 4:00 PM today afternoon. Audi Norway has promised to pay you an additional 100,000 NOK as a sort of per diem for the session. Additionally, you will get a chance to pick a new ride from thetest stock of the new Audi car models."


    "Great," Zachary said, his heartbeat speeding up. Of course, he was delighted by the prospect of owning a brand new car in the Audi series. "Then, let''s meet up at Lerkendal so that we can head to the Audi showroom together."


    "That''s okay," Emily replied. "One more thing! Audi has also sent over a revised contract extension. They''ve promised to raise your annual ie from 7.5 to 11 million Norwegian Kroners per year if you extend your contract with them from three to five years. As long as you agree, the contract wille into effect starting January 2014."


    "11 million Kroner!"


    Zachary was quite startled. Eleven million Norwegian Kroner was just over one million Euros. The amount was enough to push him onto the list of the highest-paid athletes in Norway. So, he was surprised that Audi was willing to offer him such terms in his second year as their ambassador in Norway.


    "Don''t be surprised," Emily said, seemingly reading his mind. "You deserve such an offer based on the way you have been ying over the past few weeks. The professionals ofpanies like Audi should be able to discern that you''ll be quite a valuable yer in the near future. So, that''s why they''re rushing to secure your signature before theirpetitors can make any offers to you."


    Zachary nodded. "By the way, how are the negotiations with thosepanies that were interested in my services? Is there any progress yet?"


    "That''s the other issue I wanted to discuss with you. I have already held a couple of meetings with the representatives of Nike, EA Sports, and Pepsi, and all I can say is that everything is going well. All threepanies are willing to offer you endorsement deals if you continue putting up phenomenal performances, especially in the Europa League. However, I can''t give you any specifics since we''re still ironing out the details."


    "That''s great," Zachary said. "As long as there''s progress, then all is fine. I have to go now since I have to prep for today''s training. So, talk to youter, I guess."


    "Just one more thing," Emily quickly interjected before Zachary could hang up. "The investment consultant friend of minemunicated that she has made ns toe to Norway next week. So, if you''re interested in meeting her then, I can go ahead and confirm an appointment with her."


    "Just go ahead and confirm the appointment," Zachary replied immediately. "If possible, we can meet on Monday afternoon next week. Has shepiled the list ofpanies that I could invest in yet?"


    "That, I don''t know," Emily said from the other end of the line. "But, don''t worry. She''s very good at her work. She''ll be able topile the list and all the associated statistics within a few days after you finish negotiating a working contract with her."


    "Then, that''s okay," Zachary said. "I''m looking forward to meeting her next Monday. Otherwise, I''ve got to go now as it''s gettingte. I have to prep for training."


    "Okay, okay," Emily said. "Have a good day."


    "Have a good day, too," Zachary replied before hanging up.


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