Chapter 5
It was Monday.
Before heading out to work, Emily slapped a sheet of paper in front of me.
"What's this?" I asked.
"A job posting for Grant Holdings. Administrative position, even a two-year degree is enough to apply."
She didn't even pause while putting on her shoes. "Why don't you go check it out today if you've got nothing else going on?
"Even if you don't get the job, at least get out of the house and stop wasting away at home."
I glanced down at the paper.
The posting was for Grant Holdings.
The role was an administrative one.
The pay ran from seventeen hundred to twenty-three hundred dollars a month.
"Emily, where did you print this?" I asked.
"From the company intranet. I picked one with low requirements on purpose," she replied.
She thought she was doing me a favor.
But in reality, she was telling the real owner of Grant Holdings, the 37th-largest business group in the world, to apply for a front-desk admin job at his own company.
That level of absurdity was more than I could handle.
"I'll think about it," I said.
"Don't even think about it, just go today," she said, grabbing her bag and heading out without looking back. "And send me a photo after the interview."
The door slammed shut.
I sat at the dining table, staring at the paper.
Then I picked up my phone and texted Richard.
[Richard, anything big happening at Grant Holdings headquarters today?]
Richard: [Nothing special, sir. What's up?]
I replied: [I might need to drop by headquarters today.]
Richard: [Got it! I'll arrange for someone to greet you.]
[No. I'm going in for an interview.]
There was a full fifteen seconds of silence on the other end.
Richard: [Sir?]
[My sister wants me to interview for an admin job.]
Another ten seconds of silence passed.
Richard: [Sir, are you sure?]
[She wants a photo from the interview. If I don't go, she'll eat me alive tonight.]
Richard: [But sir, if you go and somebody from the company recognizes you...]
[No chance. Only the top brass know my face. I'll stay off the executive floors.]
Richard: [But what if...]
[Richard, trust me. If I skip that interview, tonight will be worse than getting exposed.]
Richard: [I'll give HR a quiet heads-up to steer clear.]
[Don't! A heads-up is what makes it look strange. I'll show up, interview, get turned down, and go home.]
Richard: [Turned down?]
[Yes. I'll tank it on purpose so they pass on me.]
Richard went quiet for a long time.
Richard: [Sir, aren't you tired of living like this?]
I was tired.
I was exhausted.
Running a 100 billion dollar empire was easier than this.
Handling my sister's concern was ten times harder than running the empire.
At 10:30, I arrived at Grant Holdings headquarters.
The 43-story office tower was covered in blue-gray glass curtain walls.
This building had cost 770 million dollars to put up, and I had signed the papers myself.
I stood in the lobby, tilted my head up at the top floor.
My office was on the 42nd floor.
From those floor-to-ceiling windows, I could see the whole city skyline.
But today, I was headed for the HR desk on the first floor.
I grabbed a number.
I took a seat on one of those plastic chairs in the waiting area.
All around me were young people in their early twenties, clutching their resumes and looking nervous.
I was nervous too.
But I was nervous for a different reason.
Nobody could recognize me.
Nobody could be allowed to recognize me.
"A07, William Grant."
The receptionist called my name.
I stood up and walked into the interview room.
Inside, a woman in her thirties was sitting behind the desk. She had short hair, wore professional attire, and her name tag read [Lily Wallace, HR Manager.]
She flipped through my resume, giving it a quick once-over.
"William Grant, male, twenty-six. And you graduated from Ashcroft University?"
She looked up at me, her face shifting a little.
My heart skipped a beat.
There was no way to fake my degree, because one look at my ID settled it.
"You graduated from Ashcroft University? Why are you applying for an admin job?" Lily asked, her eyes full of confusion.
"Uh, I want to see what it's like starting from the bottom," I said.
"Starting from the bottom?" she echoed.
"Yeah. I want to keep it real," I replied.
She looked at me as though I were out of my mind.
That was exactly what I wanted.
No sane person would have done that.
If she thought I was crazy and turned me down, both of us would walk away happy.
"Mr. Grant, are you clear on what this job involves? Greeting visitors, sorting mail and packages, keeping the conference rooms in order..." Lily asked.
"Yep, got it," I said.
"You really sure?" Lily pressed, raising an eyebrow.
"Absolutely," I replied.
Grandpa had said, "Don't let anyone know who you are until you're strong enough to call the shots. The Grant Family has way more enemies than you think."
When Grandpa passed away, I was only nineteen.
He left me 107 billion dollars in assets and a 47-page list of enemies.
Seven years had passed.
I followed his instructions, consolidating the empire, expanding where it made sense, and clearing out the hidden threats.
But to everyone else, I was just the Grant Family's good-for-nothing youngest son.
I was a loser.
I was a freeloader.
I had kept up that act for seven years.
Sometimes it was exhausting.
But most of the time, it was funny.
Right then I was sitting in the back of a 7 million dollar Maybach and holding the subway card my sister had given me.
There were still a few dollars left on it.