Richest Man: It All Started With My Rebate System-Chapter 42: Meeting With JP Morgan’s Private Bank Division
Steven stepped into his apartment, having returned from his training session. He walked to his bedroom and dropped his used training gear in the laundry basket. He noted that the pile had grown considerably over the past few days.
He had no intention of doing his own laundry or keeping the apartment clean himself. Not because he couldn’t, but because he had the money to make both problems disappear, and spending it that way made complete sense to him. He would call the concierge to arrange a dry cleaning service and a regular housekeeping visit. Both were long overdue.
He walked to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He made sure to cook something filling, as he was really famished.
Cooking breakfast was quite and he devoured the meal in just a few minutes.
After he was done, he picked up his phone and called the concierge directly.
The line rang twice before someone picked up.
"Good morning, Mr. Craig. Chase Private Client concierge. How can I help you today?"
"Morning. I need help with two things," Steven said. "I need a dry cleaning service and a regular housekeeping arrangement. Both for a penthouse in River Oaks."
"Of course. For the dry cleaning, we work with a same-day collection and return service. They collect in the morning and return by evening. Would you like that set up on a recurring basis, or as needed?"
"Recurring," Steven said. "Weekly. Monday mornings."
"Noted. For housekeeping, do you have a preference on frequency? Most of our clients in single-occupancy residences go with twice weekly."
"Twice a week works," Steven said.
"We’ll arrange for an initial visit as soon as tomorrow if that suits you. The team we use for River Oaks properties is vetted and fully insured. The visit usually runs two to three hours depending on the size of the unit."
"That’s fine," Steven said. "Sort out the billing through the account."
"Of course. Is there anything else I can help you with this morning?"
Steven thought for a moment.
"A laundry bag," he said. "Something proper, not a bin liner. Have it sent with the first collection."
Steven needs the laundry bag, as he has nothing proper to package his clothes to make them more presentable. Instead of them just looking like a pile of clothes.
"We’ll include that with tomorrow’s housekeeping visit," she said. "Is there anything else?"
"That’s everything. Thank you."
"Of course, Mr. Craig. Have a good morning."
The call ended.
Steven walked to the living area and collapsed on the sofa. He was about start gaming when his phone started.
It was an unknown number and it made him pause for a moment, as he contemplated who it could possibly be.
He remembered that he gave Lena his contact last night and a few days ago, Adrian told him that the other division of the bank would reach out to him.
He wonder who it could possibly be out of the two of them. He had no idea but he decided to pick anyway.
"Good morning. May I speak with Mr. Steven Craig?" A calm and precise male voice came from the other end.
"Speaking," Steven said.
"Good morning, Mr. Craig. My name is William Hargreaves, Senior Director at JP Morgan Private Bank. I appreciate you taking the call." A brief pause. "Your file came to our attention through the standard inter-institutional channels, and after reviewing it, we felt it warranted a direct introduction from our side. We’d welcome the opportunity to meet with you at your earliest convenience. We’re happy to come to you, if that’s your preference."
Steven considered it for a moment. He was pretty much free for the whole day. Besides gaming, which wasn’t exactly important, he really has nothing else doing for the whole day.
And he felt that it would be best to have the meeting as soon as possible, which means today.
"This afternoon," he said. "My place works. I’m in River Oaks."
"Of course. What time suits you?"
"Two o’clock," Steven said.
"Two o’clock it is. If you could send the address to this number, we’ll have everything arranged on our end before then."
"I’ll send it now," Steven said.
"Wonderful. We look forward to meeting you, Mr. Craig. Please don’t hesitate to call this number directly if anything changes on your end."
"I’ll see you at two," Steven said, and ended the call.
He opened the messaging app and sent the building address and his unit number to the number Hargreaves had called from. The message showed delivered within seconds.
He set the phone down and looked at it for a moment.
JP Morgan Private Bank. A Senior Director making the call personally. A same-day meeting arranged without a single point of friction, as though the schedule had been cleared in anticipation of exactly this conversation.
Adrian had told him the review wasn’t a concern. That it was more the opposite of that.
Steven was beginning to understand exactly what he had meant. He checked the time. Just past nine. He had nearly five hours.
He leaned back into the sofa cushions and began thinking about what he was going to wear. And he ultimately decided on just being in his casuals.
He felt that there was no use dressing up formally for a meeting like this. Especially one that would held in his place. He would look ridiculous.
He was really curious to know the reason why a Senior Director was the one that contacted him, and he intends to ask them when they come.
He turned his attention back to the game and lost himself in it for hours. He made considerable progress in the game, completing a 65% play through but as he progresses, the game’s difficulty was increasing.
But he didn’t mind because the game was also becoming increasingly more fun as he progresses.
Unfortunately, he had to pause the game as he received a call. He checked and it was the building’s front desk.
He immediately picked up, already aware of the reason for the call. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"Mr. Craig, good afternoon. This is the front desk. There are two gentlemen here to see you. A Mr. Hargreaves and a Mr. —" a brief pause as the staff confirmed the name "— Mr. Fletcher, from JP Morgan. Shall I send them up?"
"Send them up," Steven said.
He ended the call and set the controller on the coffee table. He glanced at the time and saw that it was two o’clock exactly.
He stood up from the sofa, ran a hand briefly over his shirt to straighten it.
Less than two minutes later, he heard the elevator at the end of the hallway open. Two sets of measured footsteps followed, unhurried and even.
A knock came at the door a minute later.
Steven walked to the door and opened it.
