Richest Man: It All Started With My Rebate System-Chapter 48: A Rather Slow Moving Morning

Steven stepped into his apartment, closed the door behind him and dropped the bags in his hand.

He took out his phone and put a call to Hargreaves immediately.

The call was picked after a ring.

"Mr. Craig," Hargreaves said. "What can I do for you?"

"I made a purchase on the Reserve Card this morning," Steven said. "I’d like to settle the balance immediately rather than wait for the monthly cycle. Can that be arranged?"

There was a brief pause on Hargreaves’ end.

"It can," Hargreaves said. "It’s unconventional — the card is designed around a monthly settlement structure — but there’s no restriction on early settlement. You’d be paying the outstanding balance in full, directly from your linked account, before the cycle closes."

"That’s what I want," Steven said.

"Fletcher can process that on our end today. I’ll need you to confirm the amount and authorise the transfer."

"The amount is $4,850," Steven said. "Authorised."

"Understood. It’ll be processed within the hour. You’ll receive a confirmation through the standard channel when it’s done."

"Appreciated," Steven said.

"Of course." Hargreaves said and paused briefly. "Is there anything else?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"That’s everything," Steven said, and ended the call.

He set the phone on the side table and sighed internally. He had already done his part. He could only wait for the confirmation from the bank and see if the rebate will trigger.

While he waited, he decided to be productive with his time. He picked up the gear bags from where he had dropped them by the door.

He carried them to the bedroom and began unpacking everything carefully, laying each piece on the bed in order.

The helmet box he set on the upper wardrobe shelf. The jacket and trousers he hung on the rail beside the suits. The boots went below the John Lobb boxes. The gloves he placed on the shelf beside the helmet.

He stepped back and looked at it.

The wardrobe now held suits, casual wear, formal shoes, riding gear, and a Cartier on the shelf above all of it.

After he was down unpacking, he went back to the living area. He collapsed on the sofa.

The next moment, his phone buzzed with a notification. A confirmation from JP Morgan. Balance settled in full. The $4,850 had been drawn directly from his account.

The system notification appeared at the edge of his vision a moment later.

[You spent $4,850. A 6x rebate was triggered.]

[You received $29,100. The money has been transferred to your account.]

Steven looked at the notification for a moment, then smiled.

The settlement had worked exactly as he had hoped. The money had left his account in a single transaction and the system had responded without hesitation.

He now had his answer on the Reserve Card. The card itself produced nothing. But settling the balance immediately converted the deferred obligation into a real account deduction, and the system treated it accordingly.

It was a workable method. Not as clean as a direct debit transaction and not something he would use as a primary approach, but useful for situations where the Reserve Card’s unlimited ceiling was the only thing that could absorb the size of the transaction.

Since everything has been sorted out, he was finally free for the day. But he wasn’t looking to stay at home throughout. Unfortunately, he can’t leave yet as the laundry service and housekeeping service are yet to arrive.

It was at that moment that he received a call from the front desk.

He picked up immediately.

"Mr. Craig, good morning. This is the front desk. We have two teams here for you — housekeeping and laundry collection. Shall I send them up together?"

"Send them up," Steven said.

He ended the call, stood up from the sofa, and walked to the front door. He opened it and left it ajar, then moved to the bedroom to retrieve the laundry basket.

He had barely set it down in the hallway when the elevator opened and two separate groups stepped out. The laundry team was two people, a man and a woman, both in neat uniforms, the woman carrying a large, structured laundry bag in a dark canvas material with a branded label and a sturdy zip closure.

The housekeeping team was three people, similarly uniformed, each carrying a caddy or bag of equipment.

"Mr. Craig?" the woman from the laundry team said.

"That’s me," Steven said.

She handed him the laundry bag with both hands. "This is yours to keep. Going forward, Monday mornings, you’ll have everything ready in this and we’ll collect from the front desk or directly from you, whichever you prefer."

"Directly," Steven said. He took the bag, transferred the pile from the basket into it, zipped it closed, and handed it back.

She took it, gave a small professional nod, and the two of them turned and walked back toward the elevator without any further exchange.

Steven turned to the housekeeping team lead, a composed woman in her late thirties who had been waiting without intruding on the laundry handover.

"We’ll work through the full apartment," she said. "Two to three hours depending on the size of each room. We won’t disturb anything that doesn’t need to be disturbed. If there are any areas you’d prefer we leave, just let us know now."

"No restrictions. You can clean the whole place," Steven said and gestured for him to go inside.

The woman nodded and the team moved past him into the apartment.

Steven picked up his phone, car key, and key card from the side table.

"You can inform the front desk when you’re leaving and have them call me. I will be out," he said to the woman.

He wasn’t going to sit in the apartment while three people cleaned around him. That wasn’t how he wanted to spend a free morning.

"Understood. It will take about three hours before we are done," she said.

Steven nodded and stepped out into the hallway, pulled the door close, and took the elevator down to the garage.

He had nowhere specific in mind. He would simply drive around and let the city decide.