After finishing all the paperwork at the County Clerk’s office, Simon spent a few hours at the Emerson Bank going over and signing all the pertinent paperwork for the handover to Proscan International before proceeding to go back to his new place of business.

Simon did not have much hope for the current stocks held by EPD Holdings since most of them were small companies that he either never heard of or didn’t expect much from. He discussed some options with Charles before deciding to sell off all their shares to acquire some quick capital. Charles was more proficient at this which was why he took charge of it.

Charles told him that it’ll take a few days to sell off all the shares. After finishing all they needed to do, it was approximately six in the evening. Simon bid farewell to the two before driving his Aston Martin and heading home. He really wanted to get back to the other reality to conduct a more thorough research on what to do.

He knew that he couldn’t rely completely on his knowledge of the future to make plans since what he remembered where not much which is why he resolved to go back and forth between the two realities.

After 15 minutes of driving, Simon arrived at his house. He changed into a comfortable set of cloth, got a small snack and proceeded straight to the study. He intended to flesh out his plans by hopping back and forth between the two realities.

His plan was simple. Tabulate all the potential investment opportunities and sources of wealth around Brandermill before slowly expanding outwards. This enabled him to get a glimpse on all the changes the will occur throughout the city in the next five years.

This took him most of Friday as constantly bounced back and forth between the two realities. His only time off was when he ate and when he slept at night since the constant thinking planning and research took a substantial amount of strength.

Two days later, on Saturday, Simon was done noting down everything he found useful in Brandermill. At noon, Simon decided to take some time off and watch the champions league final. He wanted to see if there would be any differences in events between the two realities.

However, it turned out his worries were unfounded as the game went exactly as he predicted. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of happiness about his future prospects. As soon as the game ended, his phone soon rang with and unknown number which he promptly answered:

“Hello.”

“Yes, Hello. Is this Mr. Emerson?” A male voice came through phone.

“Yes. Who might you be?”

“I am Joseph Haynes. I am a manager at William and Hill. I would like to inform you that you have won your bet and congratulate you on your earnings.”

“Oh, Great. I would like my earnings to be deposited back into my listed account if you don’t mind.”

“I understand. Your earnings total 7 million pounds. Congratulation once again and have a nice day.”

“You too. Good day.”

Simon immediately hung up and leaned back on his chair in satisfaction. He really has too unfair of an advantage, in fact it wouldn’t be impossible for him to build a global business empire, the likes of which has never been seen in history.

Simon immediately though about betting further on the UEFA Super-Cup, but since he now had no idea who won, he decided to the future reality to check on the specifics. However, to his astonishment, there was now only a single window of him sitting in his study instead of the usual two.

Simon stood in the dark space with a sense of loss and confusion as he wondered what could have possibly happened. The last he was in the alternate reality was about ten minutes ago. The only thing that happened between then and now was him receiving a phone call about his winnings.

It was at that point that a light bulb flashed in his head. It must be because of the bet. He must have caused something substantial to change enough that he was no longer able to switch between realities. He honestly had no idea if this assumption was accurate, but the notion was stuck in his head.

Simon returned to reality before sitting down dejectedly. His mood was soured by all the opportunities he missed by no longer having access to the future reality. However, he also knew that he was already operating at net gain, so he wasn’t too heartbroken.

Its only that he wondered if he could have taken any actions to prevent the loss of his major advantage. The only solace he found was the fact that he had his dark diary that was half filled with major events at Brandermill that he could capitalize on. Furthermore, the last page he filled had a set of six numbers and a date that will serve to kickstart his ambition.

It really was unfortunate, but he knew that it was too good to be true for him to have a perpetual access to the future.

Simon spent the remainder of his weekend organizing whatever he remembered since he no longer had access to the alternate realities. Unfortunately, the results were not as comprehensive as before, but he still managed to remember a few thigs that will be advantageous to him in the future.

For example, he remembered the famous blunder regarding fakebooks’ ipo which raised a lot of money but still caused shock prices to dip before starting to increase substantially. There was also the famous Nike split which he remembered would occur around December. Regardless, Simon remembered enough about major events to not be too worried. Coupled with the information he already managed to note down before the disappearance of the future alternate reality, he had more than enough.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

At the beginning of the next week on Monday, Simon was in his car with Charles as they drove down the highway. As usual, Simon was wearing a blue suit with a white shirt and no tie, while Charles was dressed in a full, black suit.

Charles turned to Simon who was focused on the road and looked at him with some hesitation evident on his face before speaking:

“Are you sure this is a smart move Simon. Football clubs are not known for being profitable.”

Simon who was driving looked at his friends worried face for a second before responding with a chuckle:

“Don't worry so much Charles. We can acquire the club for far less than it’s worth, and I guarantee it will be a worthwhile investment in no time.”

“How could you possibly know that Simon? I can’t understand where your confidence comes from.”

Charles was clearly unconvinced as he responded with frustration. Sensing his frustration, Simon continued speaking so as to put his mind at ease:

“Alright Charles. You know that club’s recent relegation will cause it’s worth to plummet substantially right?”

“Right. So, what?”

“Well, what you don’t know is the Brandermill FC had a sponsorship deal with Anderson Motors that became void after relegation. Furthermore, the club’s finances will immediately become unbalanced putting it at risk of going into administration, meaning that all of the shareholders will be scrambling to jump ship before that happens.”

“Alright. So now you have a club without a sponsor that is about to go into administration with a lack of confidence from its current shareholders. I have to admit that I can’t see your point Simon.”

“You can’t see my point because you’re thinking of the negatives only. Tell me Charles, what would happen if the club was no longer relegated and was still in League 2.”

“So now you have a sponsor less club, still at risk of administration, except it’s in the league 2 now.”

“That’s exactly my point Charles. There is no longer a club sponsor.”

As soon as Simon spoke those last words, Charles eyes lit up for a second as he realized the potential of a professional club without a sponsor. However, as soon as he thought further into the issue, he frowned again as he spoke:

“That’s all well and good, but how is the club going to avoid relegation. I am not a hardcore football fan, but even I know that the club is second bottom in the league with no games left and 2 points away from safety behind Barnet.”

Simon turned to look at Charles with a cheeky grin on his face as if he was waiting for this question all along:

“You’re right, but what if another team were to go into administration before the club and this other club also happens to be less than 15 points ahead of Brandermill in the League table.”

Charles was taken aback for a second before responding:

“There is no way such a coincidence could happen Simon.”

Simon chuckled slightly but didn’t bother to respond. He also knew that such a coincidence could not be predicted, however, there was a man who predicted it in his previous life which enabled him to acquire the club for a fraction of its actual cost and then proceeding to sign a lucrative sponsorship deal that saw him gain quite a bit.

Carl Siez was a real-estate mogul and millionaire from the neighboring city of Gloucester where he made his fortune in the early 2000’s. His buyout of Brandermill FC was seen by many as a boon to the club, however, this soon proved not to be the case.

Siex immediately proceeded to cripple the club by first leasing it stadium to another club’s youth team, and then he sold any player he could before putting the club up for sale and taking his winnings. His actions might have been seen as expected for a businessman like him, but Simon held a deep grudge against this man which was why he was trying to undermine him now.

Simon’s grudge is twofold. In his past life, after realizing that the club needed a sponsor, Simon put his Emerson Bank as a contender. Siez accepted Simon’s bid with the condition that Simon sells his family mansion to him. Simon was reluctant to do it, but he steeled himself and went through with the deal.

Two months later, Siez took sold his milked as much money as legally acceptable from the team before leaving. At this point, Simon’s sponsorship was worthless, and he was short a family mansion to boot.

Every time he recalled this experience, Simon was filled with intense loathing which was why he intended to deny Siez the opportunity to own the club. Naturally, he had other plans for the club to be profitable in the long-term, but his main motivation for Siez.

A few minutes of driving later, Simon pulled in to the parking lot of the Foster stadium which was the home of the Brandermill football club. Seeing the expansive structure of the stadium proper painted gold and purple, Simon couldn’t help but smile triumphantly since this was to be the center of his future.

Charles who was standing next to him was also staring at the stadium but with a look of worry on his face that contrasted Simon’s confidence. He couldn’t figure out what Simon was thinking, but he saw no potential in this endeavor.

He turned to Simon and saw his smile and the glint in his eyes which served to lower his apprehensions slightly, but he still spoke with a strict tone that left no room for argument:

“I don’t know what you’re planning Simon, but if this doesn’t work out, we’re cutting our losses and moving on.”

Simon cast a sidelong glance at him and nodded with a smile before walking towards the main entrance of the stadium prompting Charles to follow him in resignation.