Chapter 5:Lucky Chance

I saw the older man look at it and his eyes widened in surprise. He raised his hand indicating for me to come. I knew for sure I was going to get in trouble because he didn’t look pleased at all.

“Who wrote this?” He demanded in a calm tone. He already knew the answer but he just wanted me to confirm it.

“I did, sir,” I answered without looking at him. I was shaking in my boots but I knew better than to let it show.

“Young man, do you make it a habit of listening in on conversations that don’t concern you?”

“No sir,” I answered simply.

He was quiet for a long time and I didn’t know what to do. Then he called for the manager and I knew for sure that I had lost my job. My first instinct was to beg but I promised myself a long time ago that I would never beg another man for mercy again. My father would be the first and the last.

When my manager arrived, he asked what was wrong and as I suspected the man demanded that I get fired. My manager tried to reason with him because I was one of his best employees but the man was a top customer and they could not afford to lose him.

I was fired on the spot and I left without a second thought. I picked up my bag and my jacket and left. I hadn’t gone far when the man who had just made me lose my job followed me behind.

“It’s okay son, you don’t need that job because you will be getting a better one.” He said as he handed me his card. “My name is Christian Anderson. CEO of Anderson Limited. I was impressed with your formula. Where do you go to college?” He asked.

“I don’t go to college yet. I am still saving up for it. Hoping to enrol at NYU next year.” I explained.

“Well, you would need a better-paying job. I am ready to offer you a position at my company. Come to my office and we can talk.”

We shook hands and he left. For the first time in my life, I felt genuine excitement. If I got this job, my life could change forever. I would be able to save faster for college and then learn different things about software programming. This could be the big step I needed to finally build my empire.

***

Early the next morning, I arrived at Andersons. The building was huge, a skyscraper. I had never been to a building as huge in my life and right there I knew that I was going to one day build a company that was bigger than this.

When I was in, I gave them my name and asked to see Mr. Anderson. They took me to him immediately as he had been waiting for me.

“Mr. Storm, good to have you here. Have a seat.” He told me as we shook hands like we were old friends. I don’t know why, but I had a feeling that the fact that I could solve something that nobody else could, made me a huge asset to his company and I would find a way to use that to my advantage.

Suddenly, all the hours I spent watching videos and reading books on software programming didn’t seem like a waste after all. All my teachers at school had been impressed with my intelligence and I had gotten the highest SAT score in my set. I used that intelligence to my advantage while I learnt about software programming. I had decided a long time ago that I would also study software engineering in college and I was excited for the opportunity to earn more money that got me closer to my goal.

I was offered the job at Anderson and I started working immediately. I didn’t make any friends at work and I spent more time with Mr. Anderson who took me under his wing and taught me a lot.

He took me on business meetings and trips. The first time I ever travelled by air was with his private jet. He took so much pride in me that people thought I was his son. I tried not to get too close to him because, contrary to what he believed, I wasn’t going to be at Anderson’s forever.

I often told him about my dream to one day have a company like his own but he always brushed it aside.

“Why would you want to have another company when you could just have this one?” He asked me one day. I simply smiled in return.

I got admitted into NYU after working for a year at the company. I did so well in my first year that I made the dean’s list. I was a straight-A student with a CGPA of 4.0.

Anderson was like a proud father when I made headlines for winning a competition for my school. It made headlines all over America.

A lot of people at school wanted to be my friend but I never let them. I still hadn’t learnt how to be around people or communicate properly with them. My daily activities included school, work and spending time at my house a lot.

It seemed like a lot to juggle them but I did. After I graduated from College, Anderson promoted me immediately. I was his right-hand man. I helped come up with software ideas and I put everything together.

By the time I was twenty-five, I was already making a huge amount of money and that was when I started to put things together to start my own company. I was ready to break out on my own.

I gave my resignation letter to Anderson after years of working for his company. He was not happy about it at all. He told me how ungrateful I was while I apologised and walked out.

It was time for me to rise on my own. It was time for me to build my enterprise. The Storm Enterprise.