The following morning, around nine o'clock, Zachary finally arrived in London after a good eleven hours of traveling. Heathrow Airport was as busy as he had heard in the rumors. It also had strict inspection practices, especially for those who had traveled from areas outside Europe. Thus, Zachary spent roughly forty minutes going through the rigorous airport checks and procedures before exiting the arrivals hall.
His eyes darted around, searching the crowd waiting outside the arrivals hall. The next second, his countenance lit up after he noticed Emily standing in a far corner. She was holding a sizeable light green poster depicting smiling cartoons and the words, "Welcome to London, Zachary!" It was very eye-catching within the crowd.
The corners of Zachary's lips lifted, and he beamed while holding Emily's gaze from a distance. Then, he pulled along his suitcase while slowly pushing through the crowd towards her position.
"Ta-daaaah! Welcome to London!" She said, smiling as soon as he stepped before her. She was as stunning as ever, even after donning a casual t-shirt on top of a pair of baggy jeans that morning. She pulled Zachary away from the crowd and asked, "How was your journey?"
"Very enjoyable," Zachary replied. "I slept the entire time and only woke up when the plane was touching down on the runway."
"That's very good," Emily said, glancing around and narrowing her eyes. "This isn't a good place to talk. It's very crowded. There are even some journalists mixed in with the crowd. We better head to the car immediately."
"Then, let's go." Zachary agreed.
"Do you want some help with one of those bags?" Emily asked just as they were about to set off.
"Nope. I'm good. Don't forget that I'm a professional athlete. These bags are as light as feathers within my arms."
Emily chuckled. "Then, suit yourself and continue carrying them. Okay, let's go."
Zachary smiled and followed Emily into the short-stay car park just a short distance from the arrivals hall. In less than a minute, they located Emily's ride, which was surprisingly an enormous Toyota Land Cruiser. Then, without wasting time, they loaded the luggage into the boot before taking their seats in the vehicle.
"Vroom!"
Emily started up the engine before slowly easing the Land Cruiser out of the parking space. With expert grace, she guided it out of the relatively crowded car park, and off they went, exiting the airport and joining the busy streets of London.
Zachary's eyes soon glittered with excitement and sheer curiosity as they feasted upon the sights flashing by the vehicle's window. Since it was his first time in London, he was like an ancient explorer who had just chanced upon a new land.
In silence, he admired the broad and neat avenues, the wide pavements containing the rivers of humanity, the buildings that stretched towards the blue sky, and even the roadside greenery that was a testament to the English summer. He couldn't help but sigh as everything outside the car window induced a trace of wonder within him.
"So," Emily said after a few more minutes of driving. "What's your first impression of London? Do you like it?"
"It's beautiful, and I'm impressed," Zachary replied. "But honestly, it's also not what I expected."
"Oh!" Emily said, stealing a brief glance at Zachary from her position in the driver's seat. "And what did you expect?"
"A lot of tall skyscrapers, piercing into the sky. But I have only seen a few since we started making our way through the city. I also didn't expect to see a lot of greenery beside the roads."
Emily chuckled as she continued guiding the vehicle forward. "Of course, there are areas in London with very tall skyscrapers. But we're now driving through sections of the city without them. That's why you've rarely seen any."
"Where are we heading, by the way?" Zachary asked, turning his gaze away from the window.
"We're on our way to an area called Islington," Emily replied. "That's where my apartment is, and that's where I call home."
"Islington!" Zachary mumbled. "This is my first time hearing about the place."
"If you're not a local or someone who has lived in London for some time, it would be a surprise to know all the names of the areas around the city," Emily remarked.
"True," Zachary agreed. "So, what's the plan today? When is the meeting with the Tottenham representatives?"
Emily stepped on the brakes and slowed down as the car approached a junction. "The time of the meeting is at midday," she said. "The Tottenham representatives insisted that it would be best to meet you before lunchtime. And since I knew you would already be in London, I agreed to their proposal."
"Midday!" Zachary mumbled, glancing at his watch. "That gives us roughly two hours to prepare."
"That's not correct," Emily said. "It's now 10:12 AM. By the time we reach my apartment in Islington, it'll already be 10:30 AM. So that will only give us about forty to fifty minutes to prepare. Remember, we need to account for the time to travel to the meeting venue."
"That's quite a small time window to prepare," Zachary remarked.
"Don't worry," Emily said. "We'll make it. I have already made all the arrangements on my side. After reaching my apartment, you only need to clean up and put on something presentable. Then, we'll eat breakfast and set off for the meeting venue."
"You're my guide today," Zachary said, smiling. "I'll follow all your arrangements."
Emily beamed. "You're in capable hands while in London. Nothing will go wrong."
Emily's apartment was a very comfy and neat living space on the fifth floor of a high-end building in Islington. When Zachary stepped into the place, he immediately judged that it was much more spacious than his apartment in Trondheim. It had a big living room, a kitchen, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a large balcony. It was obviously a pricey place to rent, especially in an expensive-to-live-in city like London.
"You live here alone?" Zachary asked as they enjoyed breakfast at a table in the kitchen. He had already settled down as a visitor in Emily's guest room and taken a quick shower. And to prepare for his meeting with the Tottenham representatives, he had donned some of his best clothes, including a white long-sleeved shirt, a pair of presentable fitting trousers, and sleek black shoes.
"Yes, I live here alone," Emily replied. She was also already in her suit and ready to head out for the meeting. "Sometimes, my younger sister can visit and stay over," she continued, punctuating her words with a sip of tea. "But that's only for a few days in a year."
"What about your boyfriend or fiancée?" Zachary asked. "Doesn't he ever come over to keep you company?"
Emily raised a brow and looked up from her breakfast. A teasing smile outlined her face as she said, "Are you trying to probe me and find out whether I'm in a relationship?"
Zachary returned her smile. "I'm just making conversation," he said, sounding defensive. "Moreover, have you realized that you know almost everything about me? But I only know a few things about you. I don't even know whether you're married or whether you have kids attending a private school somewhere. I didn't even know you had a sister until today! Isn't that weird?"
Emily chuckled softly, a sparkle in her eyes. "I've been your agent since more than three years ago. And you're just trying to get to know me better now?"
"Better late than never," Zachary replied after taking another sip of his tea. "Isn't that how the saying goes?"
"True," Emily said, smiling. "But, I'm not going to tell you anything more about myself, especially at this moment, when we're almost late for the meeting. We can visit the topic some other time."
"A reasonable proposition," Zachary agreed and took another sip of his tea. "By the way, how far is White Hart Lane Stadium from here?"
"The stadium is roughly five miles away from here," Emily responded. "But, of course, we won't meet the Tottenham representatives at the stadium. We will instead meet them at a neutral ground in one of the conference rooms of the Hilton London Angel Hotel. It's only about a mile from here. So, we only need twenty minutes to get there on foot."
"I see." Zachary nodded.
"Have you finished your breakfast," Emily asked.
"I'm almost done," Zachary said after swallowing down the last piece of the bread on his plate. "I only need two more minutes to finish my tea. Then, we can set off."
"Good." Emily nodded. "I need to warn you about a few things before we head out for the meeting. One: No matter how good the other party's offer is, don't show that you're excited until I give the go-ahead. That'll keep our position strong during the negotiations for personal terms. And two: If you come to a decision, maybe you decide to join Tottenham, run it by me first so that we can review it together."
"Noted," Zachary said.
Emily nodded and smiled. "I'm sure the negotiations for personal terms, such as a lucrative salary, more playing bonuses, a commitment to have you play consistently, and possibly a good signing bonus, will go quite well. The problems will only emerge when we begin negotiating the buy-out and release clauses in the contract."
"For instance, the other party might suggest you sign a five-year contract with their club, which includes a 120 million Euro buy-out clause. They will entice you with a high weekly wage to make you sell five years of your future to one single club. That's when you'll need to put your foot down and dismiss them. You must understand that no matter what they offer, we can't allow any club to tie you down for five years with an unreasonable buy-out clause. Otherwise, you'll face big challenges if things don't work out and you wish to leave the club. Okay?"
"Okay, I understand." Zachary nodded.
"Excellent." Emily beamed. "And remember, this is just a meeting for you to assess the sincerity of the club interested in your signature. If it so happens that you don't like the terms offered by the other party, we can always dismiss them until they raise their offers. Okay?"
"Understood."
"Good," Emily said. "Since you've finished breakfast, let's set off for the meeting. We don't want to be late."
"Okay, let's go."
