" I think you are ready. What do you think?" Samuel asked Abigail.
" I second it. You also pester me for such an opportunity; it's time." Abigail said with a smile. As her mentor, she couldn't be more proud of her progress.
" Don't worry if you mess up. It's a common deal with a couple hundred million dollars; you have overseen much bigger deals."
" I will give my best!" Marilyn made up her mind. She never would have imagined when she joined the company eight years ago that she would meet such great people.
" Andrew, please look after her."
" But-"
" We will be fine. It will only take a week or so."
" I understand."
" Good." Samuel had done everything; the rest was on Marilyn and how she would take advantage of this opportunity for work and her love interest.
While eight were talking, one person was sitting in the background. He had been with the company for a little over a year, and this was his first time attending such a meeting.
Most of the time, he would only talk with one of them, but seeing them gathered in this room talking casually about billion-dollar deals baffled him. He was only a tiny startup geared toward handling media icons.
Unlike Amelia's modeling agency, he wanted to expand to the Asian market. Over a year ago, he struggled to pull meaningful models in Seoul when he met Samuel; it was more like Samuel flew him to the UK for the meeting.
Next, he was introduced to some of the most prominent figures in the Korean market. He had also been given hefty capital to increase his company's reach on the condition that Alphabet would acquire it.
Park Myung-Dae was reluctant, but Samuel had given him ample shares, just not for a majority. If Samuel was responsible for the risks, he ensured he held the majority for any company he invested in.
After a few days of negotiation, Myung-Dae accepted the proposal. What he didn't know was that he would not only be responsible for expanding in Korea but around other neighboring countries. It was too good to be accurate, but Samuel never explained why he chose Myung-Dae, an insignificant person, for such a position.
No one knew, but Myung-Dae would have owned the best agency about six years after founding his company. Samuel didn't want to let such a talent go, and because of this was a little persistent while hiring him.
Even if Myung-Dae gave it his all, he could only call himself the best in the country even after decades of hard work, but with his support, Myung-Dae could become the best in Asia; Samuel had very high expectations for him.
" Myung-Dae, you can start now."
" As predicted, there is much interest in Asian media, especially South Korea. We have been in talks to acquire several groups, but our primary focus is now on producing the upcoming K-drama."
" Boys over flowers, right?"
" Yes, I have already contacted Miss Hye-sun as you instructed. She is excited about the premise."
" Good; what about constructing our production and modeling agency?"
" It's nearly finished. Before coming here, I had inspected the site, and there seem to be no problems so far."
He then explained the situation to neighboring countries, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India. Everything was only in the early stage compared to the Korean market, but Samuel nonetheless wanted to get in on ground zero.
" I will assign more people; keep on doing good work." Samuel thought his presentation was over.
" I have something more to say."
" Hmm?"
" Some people are taking notice; with your instructions, I have been pretty active lately. I am afraid we would soon have to face the so-called Big Three in the Korean entertainment circle." Myung-Dae was a little reluctant to say it.
The Big Three, SM, JYP, and YG, held complete control over the country's agency. Some even went as far as to say they were absolute lords regarding decision-making in inner media circles. Myung-Dae was not wrong in his assessment when he knew his boss liked to often play ball with juggernauts here.
But South Korea was different; the three companies were an extension of already established empires such as Samsung. Going against them would sure to result in heavy casualties on their part.
" It's alright. Don't provoke them outright for now; I will do something about it." Samuel had to prepare a thorough plan to tackle this problem. He already had an advantage in finding talent through his clairvoyance, but he knew how dirty the playing fields could become.
Everyone was struggling with the recession, so it was reasonably calm, but Samuel knew they would be gunning for him when they realized how far Samuel was planning to exert his influence in the future. They might even band together to defeat their common 'enemy,' which was precisely why he wanted to fly under their radar for now.
" O-okay."
" Should we move to the bigger issues, then? Alastair?"
" I thought you would never ask. With the recent acquisition of Haven Trust Bank with an asset of over half a billion dollars, we control over fifty small and medium size banks through our bank holding company." Alastair said proudly.
" Haven? I read in your BBT were eyeing them?" Samuel was surprised. Branch Banking and Trust's name might sound innocent, but it was like a shadow corporation controlling dozens of banks.
Their assets were already in hundreds of billions with annual tens of billion dollars in revenue. How Alastair managed to grab the food from them was a little confusing.
" That's why you hired me, right? , Besides, we are not far behind them with our recent acquisitions." He paused before continuing.
" The federal bank had already agreed to lend thirty billion to the Morgan family to buy the Bear and Stearns, just over ten dollars a share. But again, the loom of death is hovering over the AIG."
" We don't have to worry about that; I have heard chatter that the Federal Reserve will personally bail them about. Besidebesides, it is too big for us to swallow." Abigail added.
She was correct; one would need approximately two hundred billion to pull them out of the mud. Acquiring them was out of the question for Samuel's company.
" Saying that, we can't rule out the bystander like Stanley and Goldman, who are aggressively buying everything by borrowing at low interest. They are not commercial banks, but I heard they were given special treatment because of their connections."
" Hmm, If we left them alone, they would take the whole cake while leaving crumbs for us. It's laughable when you think about granting a bailout for them just to resume their spending spree." Samuel chuckled.
Everything was to save the economy, but one had to wonder to what expense? These people would go on the flourish, while the retail investors would be the ones to suffer in the long run.
" What should be our next move?" Alastair asked.
" Honestly, leave them be. It's not we didn't make any money during the crash. We should continue to bolster our foundation; there will be many opportunities in the future."
" I agree. We are already running low on operating income. With the addition of Verdant increase in expense, I don't think it is a good idea to make any hasty deal." Abigail agreed with his judgment.
" Why? I can catch some smaller fish if you let me!" Alastair objected. As the head of M&A, he couldn't stop looking at easy prey season.
" Well, you can go ahead, but I will be limiting the spending of every department except for the Verdant and Entertainment sector until further notice." Ultimately, Alastair had to accept that his hunting season was over.
They talked for several more hours, fleshing out several upcoming plans. Not every day everyone would gather like this, so they had prepared beforehand for this meeting. As the clock approached six, Samuel left the meeting after saying goodbye.
Myung-Dae left to catch the plane while everyone else got busy with their work. Samuel ditched Steve and exited the car to rush toward ZY Recordings. It's been a couple of days since he had seen Adele; she had been on his mind since the night of the party.
...
...
...
A sleek grey Aston Martin weaved through the traffic like a knife cutting through butter. No matter where the beast passed, countless eyes befell the beast with curiosity.
It was understandable as what Samuel was driving was the most exclusive Aston Martin of the 'Gaydon era,' One-77 which was still in production. There had only been a handful of sightings of this car since its first unveiling at the 2008 Paris Motor Show last year.
Fusing advanced technology with stunning design, the 7.3 liters V12 One-77 was revealed as the fastest-ever Aston Martin, with a top speed of 220 mph. It represents the world's most desirable automotive art form, with an immensely rigid lightweight carbon fiber handcrafted from aluminum at its heart.
Within minutes, Samuel was waiting for Adele in front of the studio. He looked very inconspicuous with large glasses and a hat, but nonetheless, everyone glanced at the handsome young man standing beside a million-pound car.
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