Casper and the students made it all the way out of the mall and came to a stop at a nearby park.
Breathless from the running, they traded looks before bursting out into laughter.
âThanks, man,â one of them said to Casper while the others nodded gratefully. âThat was really impressive of you. Whatâs your name, by the way?â
Recognition registered on anotherâs face. âOh, hey, arenât you Casper Simpson? The pauper who put Sawyer Lingham in his place?â
The others gasped. They had not expected their savior to be the same person who was the talk of the school over the past few days.
At their looks of admiration, Casper cleared his throat. âWell, Iâd like to keep a low profile, but I guess my reputation precedes me. Anyway, Iâm just here today to help you guys because I think youâve been unfairly treated by that company.â He turned to Elena. âMs. Schneider, please hire an attorney to represent these students. I want to see how we can file a lawsuit against Vamanos Manpower on the grounds of exploitation.â
Elena frowned slightly but replied in the affirmative.
Despite not having received any pay for the day, the students were both delighted and grateful toward Casper. They bid him farewell and returned to BU, where they recounted excitedly to others of their adventure. Over the next few days, Casper would once again become the talk of the campus through word of mouth. The amount of money mentioned would increase with each version that cropped up, to the point where bricks of money worth at least a million were used to hit the villains in the tale.
That, however, was a story for another day. Currently, Casper was chiding his friends, âDonât keep me in the dark when things like this happen. You know I have ways to deal with those A-holes.â
Felix and Colton both sighed. âWe canât be deadbeats,â Felix said. âWhat happens when we graduate?
We must learn to stand up on our own feet⦠Well, maybe not for Remy. He has a rich girlfriend who can support him.â
âHey!â Remy protested. âIâm not going to sponge on her. Didnât I come with you guys for the part-time?â
Casper knew his friends wanted to find their own success without relying on him. A thought struck him suddenly. âAll right, Iâve got an idea,â he offered. âWith Vamanos Manpower out of the picture, the students of BU will need another recruiter for their part-time needs. You guys can be the replacement.â
Coltonâs eyes lit up. âThatâs a great idea! We wonât charge an outrageous amount of commission fees like those unscrupulous companies. A fee of twenty for each headcount can get us about four hundred a day⦠Thatâs enough for us, and the students will get sufficient pay for their part-time. Itâs perfect!â
Godfrey, who stayed behind and was already accepted by the group as one of theirs, had more considerations. âWhere will we get the resources for this start-up though? How do we procure clients and the students?â
Colton thought about it for a while. âWeâll just have to try,â he said determinedly. âThere will be clients who will trust us if we try hard enough. As for the students⦠we can approach the ones from earlier today when we have part-time jobs available for them. From there, they can help us spread the word.
Weâll gain the studentsâ trust slowly and build up our reputation over time.â
Casper hummed in approval. âSounds good. I can lend you a car to facilitate your meeting with potential clients. If you feel obligated to pay, I can charge a token monthly rental fee of two hundred.
But just so you know, my Maserati is off-limits.â
Not knowing how else to express his gratitude, Felix slapped him on the shoulder wordlessly.
With the initial logistics settled, Felix, Colton, Remy, and Godfrey decided to launch their first business as soon as possible.
Casper generously offered them two hundred thousand as start-up money, citing that he would be their companyâs shareholder. However, the foursome declined as they were resolute in starting their own business from scratch. Eventually, Casper acquiesced. Regardless of whether the business worked out in the end, he knew his friends could benefit from the experience which was what really mattered in the long run.
The group departed soon afterward, still actively discussing the details of the business as they left.
Casper then turned to his men from Firewolf Chamber.
âMake sure everyone here gets a monetary gift of five thousand,â he told Jeremy. It was important to him that his subordinates were rewarded accordingly.
Elena took the opportunity to speak with him. âIâve consulted an attorney. It might not be easy sue the company. There are a lot of similar cases in the country. The court rules in those companiesâ favor.
They know the loopholes of the law. Not to mention that they probably didnât sign a formal contract with the students. Itâll be hard for us to obtain evidence.â
Casper was undeterred. âI see. In that case, letâs just buy the company.â
âThat will take about five hundred thousand,â Elena said after a brief mental calculation. âIf they lose the mall as their client, it will put their finances in the red for sure. Itâll be easy to buy the company then.â
âFive hundred thousand isnât much⦠But Iâd rather not let them have the money unless absolutely necessary,â Casper muttered to himself. I wonder if thereâs any way to make the acquisition with an exceptionally low price⦠He made a mental note to seek his economics lecturer, Wyatt Lane, for advice. If I do end up buying the company, Iâll gift it to Felix and the gang.
âBoss.â He was broken out of his musings when Jeremy called him. âI have two things to report. The first is about Hanson Woods. He apparently quit his internet business as a food blogger and has moved out of the neighborhood. Word has it that heâs planning to move abroad.â
Anger flashed in Casperâs eyes at the mention of Hanson. âThat bastard hasnât suffered enough yet.
Sheryl went into depression and almost took her own life because of what he did. Get some of our men to teach him another lesson!â
Jeremy nodded, already thinking of potential candidates in Firewolf Chamber who could dish out a harsh punishment.
âWhatâs the other thing?â
âSomeone claiming to be from the Stalling family has been looking for Hector. Iâve fended him off for the time being with some excuse.â
Casperâs gaze sharpened. âWhat does the person look like? Do you know where he is?â
âHeâs about twenty years old and gives off quite an arrogant air. I donât like him, to be honest,â Jeremy sniffed. âHe acted like he was above all of us. Iâve sent some of our guys to tail him to take down where he lives.â
A cold gleam flitted in Casperâs eyes. âFantastic.â Just you wait, Stallings.