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At his apartment he stepped off the lift and found a group of people moving boxes out of his apartment. “What the hell is going on here?!” Rick noticed two security guards standing by the door. A man with a clipboard was talking to security. He handed the clipboard to one of the security guards and came over to Rick.
“Good evening Director Thompson. My name is Tom Henson, I work for Mr. Slattery.”
Rick was furious. “That means you work for me! What the hell are you doing!?”
“Oh, I thought you knew.”
Rick could see Tom’s cool deminer show that he was used to this kind of treatment. It made Rick realize that he was becoming one of the people that he detested. In a much calmer voice he said, “Knew what?”
“That we were moving you to your new house today.”
“What new house?” Rick was starting to lose it again.
A voice came from behind him, “Director Thompson, may I speak to you for a moment.”
Rick turned to find Benson. “Sure.”
“If you would please come with me I can explain everything.”
Rick started to follow Benson and said, “Where are we going?”
Benson seemed reluctant to tell him. “To your new home.”
“I don’t want a new home.”
“Mr. Slattery said that you might say that. I’ll explain on the way.”
“Tim!” Rick already knew where this was going. “Okay but what do you have to do with all this?”
“I’ll explain on the way sir.” Benson didn’t seem to want to give out any information easily.
“Alright.” Rick followed Benson to the lift. Nothing was said until they got into the car. “So where are we going?”
“Car,” said Benson. “Take us to #6 Colony Drive, Riverside sector.”
The car took off and Rick felt like he would get some answers. “Alright Benson you got some explaining to do.”
“Yes Sir, but first I would like to ask why we, the people around you, have to drag you into a life of luxury while you are kicking and screaming all the way? This is what most people dream of.”
Rick started laughing. The prim and proper Benson just asked a very pointed question. It was not something Rick was expecting. As soon as he could stop laughing he said, “Because it’s not me.”
“Yes, Mr. Slattery said that you might say that. Still, it’s not for you. It’s for your image.”
“It always comes back to that, doesn’t it?”
“Yes sir, you will be living two houses away from where Director Collier used to live.”
Rick thought about that. Collier’s place was a palace. If Rick’s new house was in the same neighborhood then it was probably the same size. “How big is it?”
“It’s smaller that the Collier’s house. It only has twenty-three bedrooms.”
“Twenty-three?” Rick was shocked. His apartment was a one room apartment. He didn’t even have a bedroom. “Look Benson, I’m a minimalist. I don’t want something that big.”
“It seems like the people around you know you too well.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The CEO himself said that you wouldn’t want a house that big.”
“You talked to... Waite a second, why are you here?”
“Because the CEO hired me to work for you.”
“What!?” Rick was having a hard time dealing with all of this. “Do you want to explain that? I thought you were working for the Colliers?”
“I was. The night before Mr. Collier disappeared we saw the wife and children off on a trip. As far as I was concerned that was not out of the ordinary. Once they were gone, Mr. Collier called me into the office and told me that my services were no longer needed. He was very kind about it and gave me a million credits severance pay.”
“Yeah that was kind of nice of him.”
“Mr. Thompson, I don’t need to work. When the CEO contacted me and asked me to come work for you, I jumped at the chance.”
“Why? Why would you do that?” Rick was humbled by the statement.
“Because Sir, you have always treated me with dignity and respect. And because you are low born you understand the value of service. Don’t get me wrong the Collier’s didn’t mistreat me, but they didn’t appreciate all that I did for them.”
“I don’t think I like the term ‘low born’.”
“I simply meant it as a fact not a disparaging statement,” said Benson with an earnest tone.
Rick was starting to accept the situation for what it was. “So, you are now my butler. What does a butler do?”
“I take care of the house and your needs so you can do what you need to do. I hire the staff, people to do the cooking, cleaning, and keeping up the grounds. Get workman out to make repairs and so forth.”
“What do you get out of it?”
“Other than the pay, a lifestyle better than most workers in the world. I live in a mansion. I eat gourmet foods and drink the finest spirits ever made. While I can afford much of that on my own now, I truly enjoy doing what I do.” The car came in for a landing. “We are here.”
Rick got out of the car and looked at his new house. It reminded him of the old roman building from old earth. It had massive columns out front and a marble staircase that lead to huge doors. Benson open the doors and Rick saw a very large round room. “This is the reception area. It is used for parties and entertaining.” To Rick it looked like it could hold a hundred people or more. “The staircases lead to the bedrooms, sauna, gym, and other assorted utility rooms.”
At the back of the reception room were two curved staircases, one on each side following the curve of the room. The stairs met at the second floor to make a balcony. Under the balcony were doors that were open, and Rick could see part of a long dining table. It reminded him of a picture of old earth where a king had something similar.
That thought was almost too much for him. Several other doors lined the wall. Rick could tell that this place was made for parties. He didn’t want to see any more. “Where is my office?”
“Right here next to the sitting room.” Benson pointed to the second door to the right of the entrance. He walked over and opened the door.
Rick looked inside and the room was larger than his apartment. Then a thought struck him. “So this is what I want you to do. As soon as my stuff gets here, I want you to set it all up in here. My desk, my bed, and everything else.”
It seemed like Benson understood that Rick was going to remake his apartment in this room. He sighed and said, “Yes Sir.”
“Where is the bathroom?”
“Two doors over. Would you like me to show you the rest of the house?”
Before Rick had a chance to answer, the doorbell rang. Rick headed for the door, but Benson stopped him and said, “Sir, that’s my job.”
Rick stopped. “Right, I forgot.”
Benson opened the door. It was the movers. He gave them orders according to what Rick wanted. Then turned to Rick, “Sir, it’s getting late. Would you like your evening meal now?”
“Do we have a cook?” Rick was surprised that everything was thought in advance. Because of that he would be surprised if there wasn’t a cook.
“Yes Sir, the meal should be ready right about now.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
“I’ll take you to the dining room and serve it to you.”
“No! This is my house and I’ll eat where I damn well please. Take me to the kitchen and you me and the cook will eat together.”
“Sir your image?”
“Look Benson, I’m used to making my own food. Now, if you’re going to serve me you’re going to sit down and eat with me.”
Benson smiled and said, “Yes Sir.”