Ch. 711..720
Life at the Top Chapter 711
Ever since Hudson had received Jasper’s investment and was enlightened about monetizing traffic, he had not needed to worry about servers anymore.
At that moment, he was both elated and frustrated.
He merely thought that the website Jasper had asked him to create would be no more than a small gimmick, so he had not expected it to bring Terizone such great traffic.
Even Jack, who was currently in Coreana in charge of Sena’s business, had called him to complain.
Jack was unhappy about Jasper’s favoritism to Hudson by giving Terizone such an opportunity for huge traffic.
At the other end of the video call, Jasper smiled. “I don’t care, do what you have to do to make sure the site doesn’t crash. This is huge traffic, and how many consumers you manage to turn into Terizone subscribers will be up to you.”
Hudson laughed aloud. “I’ve already assigned the majority of the company’s important technicians to work on the website. It should be able to hold up.
“Oh, and Mr. Laine, you said something about looking for a professional manager right?” Hudson suddenly asked.
Jasper smiled subtly and asked, “Do you have someone in mind? But I’ve changed my mind. A professional manager has its own perks, but the problem now is how much I can trust them. You know how it is. What I need is someone who can deal with all business transactions in my investment company when I’m busy.”
Hudson was an entrepreneur as well so he understood Jasper’s worries.
“I think you could try and meet this man? He’s a westerner. I understand that there’d be some reservations with a professional manager from the country, but the man is from the west so he doesn’t have as many strings attached with the people here. There’s a lot less to worry about,” Hudson spoke.
“Who is it?” Jasper was interested.
“His name is Malcolm Malibu. You might not be too familiar with the name, Mr. Laine, but he’s been working in the world’s largest consumer goods corporation, Procter and Gamble, since the very start. He started as a salesman and made his way up to the position of the head of Global Fabric Care.
“I heard that he got rejected when he tried to join the East Terra Board of Directors recently so he gave up.”
Jasper’s eyes shone.
While Malcolm himself was not famous, the brand of powdered detergent he was in charge of within the country was a household name.
He was the one who started Tide from scratch!
This man had only failed once in his career and that was when he wanted to join the East Terra Board of Directors. His future career was smooth-sailing after that and not only had he become the president of the Terra region, but he also served as the COO at the P&G’s headquarters and later, as the CEO.
In Jasper’s past life before he reincarnated, which was the year 2020, Malcolm had already become the global president of Procter and Gamble and joined the board of directors as the vice-chairman.
He was a distinguished man who had developed and promoted the occupation of a professional manager.
“Are you two acquainted?” Jasper asked.
Hudson smiled. “I don’t know him personally, but my wife and his wife did their postgraduates together. My wife just told me recently about how Malcolm was complaining about being mistreated by P&G and how he wanted to resign.”
“Help me contact him as quickly as you can. I’d like to meet him,” Jasper immediately spoke.
If Malcolm was a fellow countryman, then Jasper would not hesitate to decline the notion. After all, there were too many subsidiaries under JW Capital now and the position of a senior executive would surely involve a great deal of interest.
It was not to say that professional managers in the country were not as professional as those in the west, but the main point here was that as a westerner, Malcolm would not have his judgment clouded by personal interests.
As long as hefty profits were promised, people like Malcolm were the easiest people to employ.
Life at the Top Chapter 712
Since both parties were willing, Jasper got the chance to meet Malcolm three days later.
The only difference from any normal meeting was that Malcolm had requested it to be a family meeting instead. This meant that both families were to bring their wives and children, if any. Their discussion would then be held in a more relaxed and calm environment.
Jasper was not surprised.
Malcolm had always been a family man and such a request was most likely for him to test out if he could work with his employer’s temperament.
The relationship between a professional manager and his employer was not to be neglected. A frigid relationship would only end in a lose-lose situation.
The more top-notch the professional manager, the more requirements they had for their employer.
“Do you think Mr. Malibu and his wife will like our gift?”
Wendy asked worriedly on the way to the meeting.
Jasper smiled. “Top-notch professional managers like him start with earning tens of millions of US dollars a year, and they get company dividends too. Money is the last of their problems, so giving them unique trinkets might earn their favor.”
Wendy blinked and replied, “This meeting seems to matter a lot to you.”
Jasper stared out the window where the scenery vanished behind him and sighed. “I don’t have much of a choice. The company’s getting bigger and I’m only one man. My power alone isn’t enough to build JW up.”
Jasper was well aware of his own shortcomings. While the memories from his past life were the biggest advantage he had, his memories were also beginning to stray further from the current reality thanks to his involvement. There was no way Jasper could completely rely on them for the rest of his life.
The heavy responsibility to build up his enterprise still depended on his abilities.
While Jasper admitted that he had an average amount of knowledge about finance and investment, just about enough to support him, he was completely out of his depth when it came to modernized enterprise management and building company structure.
He had no other choice but to ask someone else for help.
Thank goodness that while talents were expensive to recruit, they were available as long as you were willing to pay the price.
“I’ll do my best to help you too,” Wendy spoke gently, knowing that Jasper had been under a lot of stress lately.
Jasper pinched Wendy’s nose adoringly and spoke, “All you need to do is be the woman of the house. Just take full control and authority over my finances.”
“What if I take your money and run?” Wendy pushed Jasper’s hand away and chided.
“You’re mine, aren’t you? Why would I be afraid of you running with my money?” Jasper asked with an arched brow.
“Who said I was yours? In your dreams!”
“Then who else do you belong to, hmm? Give me a name, I’ll kill him.”
“Oh my God, stop.”
As the host, Jasper was the one who chose the venue of the meal. Instead of choosing a high-class five-star hotel, he chose a famous underground restaurant in Nauritus City.
The owner of the restaurant was Dawson’s old friend and Dawson liked to drop by for meals when he was free. Jasper had been here before and the food was delicious.
Once they arrived, Jasper alighted the car and walked toward the restaurant while talking to Wendy.
They happened to meet a group of people coincidentally.
The man walking in front was a chubby middle-aged man with a big forehead and large ears. There was an eye-catching LV belt around his waist and it shimmered under the light. It was almost as brightly as the oleaginous surface of his face.
The middle-aged man was stunned when he saw Jasper and his expression immediately morphed into anger.
He was Marlon Bailey, the largest general merchandise distributor in Mustiece Province, Southeast Province’s neighbor.
He had originally come to Southeast Province through connections and landed a large order with Melody Electronics. Not only had he put in favors with many people here and there just for this order, but he had also paid for everything in advance.
Life at the Top Chapter 713
It was supposed to be a profitable business, but the first-generation Melody was now completely done for and the money he paid for tens of millions of products was forfeit.
This was all because of Jasper’s Mellow.
The worst part of it all was that Mellow was sold mainly through independent sales with merchants as a secondary supplier. This resulted in the embarrassing situation of Marlon wanting to be one of Mellow’s merchants yet could never be distributed a portion.
Marlon felt his anger rise and all his inhibitions replaced by courage at the sight of Jasper.
“Jasper!”
Marlon shouted.
Jasper looked at Marlon and frowned slightly. “Hi? Do I know you?”
Marlon scoffed. “How could small nobodies like us ever catch the eye of Mr. Laine and his large company?”
Seeing that Marlon was not here for pleasant conversations, Jasper replied calmly, “I’m busy, I don’t have time to waste on pointless conversations with you here.”
Jasper then tugged on Wendy’s hand and led her to the side.
However, they had their paths blocked by two snickering men. “Why are you in such a rush to leave? Mr. Bailey’s not done talking yet, won’t you stay and listen?”
Marlon walked over to Jasper and spoke enviously, “Your business has been doing great lately, Mr. Laine. I can’t help but envy you. You’re earning a lot, aren’t you?”
“Not that it concerns you,” Jasper spoke calmly.
Marlon barked back wretchedly. “How does that not concern me? The public wouldn’t be as uninterested in the first-generation Melody if you hadn’t stepped in and foiled our plans! I invested more than ten million and it’s all gone now!”
It was then that Jasper understood. This man was one of the merchants who had suffered grave losses for betting on Melody MP3 players.
If the man was speaking the truth, a loss of more than ten million meant that he was quite a large merchant.
“There are prices to pay regardless of what business decision you make. It’s not my fault you made the wrong choice, nor did I force you to sign a contract with Melody,” Jasper replied.
Marlon sneered and said, “Don’t act so proud, Mr. Laine. How about I say it like this? I’m from Mustiece Province and I have quite a few contacts over there. If you want to do business in Mustiece Province in the future, I suggest you give me a compensation fee of at least ten million to cover my losses from my investment.
“Or else, I’ll make sure that there won’t be a single Schuler Supermarket in Mustiece Province. I heard that you do real estate as well, right, Mr. Laine? I wonder if you’d ever want to take real estate projects in Mustiece Province?”
Standing beside Jasper, Wendy’s small face paled in face of such blatant threat.
She was just about to scold the man when Jasper smiled and replied first.
“Could I ask for your name?”
Marlon thought that he had managed to threaten Jasper. Smiling proudly, he replied, “The name’s Marlon Bailey.”
“Well then, Mr. Bailey, which properties do you own in Mustiece Province?” Jasper asked again.
The lackey beside Marlon replied immediately in a haughty manner, “The biggest department store in Mustiece Province, Prosper Shopping Center, belongs to Mr. Bailey! We have six branch outlets in Mustiece Province and each of them is a few stories tall!”
“Quite the business indeed.” Jasper nodded.
People in Mustiece Province were fierce and there were all sorts of unspoken rules as well as underground forces there. The fact that Marlon could build up his business to such a scale was a testament to his strength.
“So you’re well aware. Southeast Province may be your territory, but you’ll have to listen to me if you want to do business in Mustiece Province in the future, understand?” Marlon spoke arrogantly.
As far as Marlon was concerned, Jasper was no more than a money cow ready to be milked right now.
He had not expected Jasper to be so cowardly. Marlon believed that with more threats in the future, he might even get his loss back and be distributed his share of the domestically trending Mellow MP3 players!
Life at the Top Chapter 714
“I think JW Electronics signed contracts with two merchants from Mustiece Province. Give me a moment, Mr. Bailey. Let me call and confirm.” Jasper then pulled his phone out to call Chad.
Drowned in his own fantasy, Marlon frowned at the scene and spoke harshly, “What are you calling to check for? Why would I lie to you? Stop wasting time and just pay up my ten million Somer Dollars compensation fee. And I want 100,000 Mellow MP3 players to be distributed every month.
“Or I’ll make business impossible for you in Mustiece Province.”
Ignoring Marlon who continued to shout, Jasper’s call with Chad had already been connected.
“Chad, do we have any partnerships with merchants in Mustiece Province?”
“We have two, Mr. Laine. One of them is Luck Shopping Center, Mustiece Province’s biggest department store, and the other is Leila, one of Mustiece Province’s best electronic wholesale companies.
“There were also a few smaller businesses who wanted to partner with us but we rejected them.”
Very familiar with the details, Chad immediately relayed the information to Jasper.
Jasper nodded and turned to ask Marlon, “Mr. Bailey, I wonder how your company fares in comparison to Luck and Leila?”
Marlon’s expression turned slightly awkward.
Leila was a wholesaler, so there was not much trade between them. Marlon knew that Leila’s owner was a capable man.
Luck Shopping Center, on the other hand, was a god-level business and hardly anything Marlon could compete with.
“What’s with all this nonsense? How my company fares in comparison to those two has nothing to do with you,” Marlon spat out the words.
Jasper smiled and told Chad through the phone, “Tell them that the person who manages to destroy Prosper Shopping Center within a week gets to sign an indefinite partnership with JW Electronics. All goods will be sold to them at a 10% discount and their share of distribution will be increased by 20%.”
‘Just how trendy are Mellow MP3 players now, you may ask.
‘Well, it has gotten to the point where professional scalpers have appeared.’
Everyone knew that as long as you had a way to buy the Mellow MP3 player, you could easily resell it and earn 200 to 300 bucks of profit.
Mellow MP3 players could become such a hot topic so terrifyingly quick only because of its superior quality as well as Jasper’s hunger marketing strategy.
Therefore, the moment Jasper sent word out, competitors in Mustiece Province would instantly begin to take action.
As the target of all this, Marlon’s expression changed drastically at Jasper’s words and he roared, “What are you doing, Jasper?!”
Not even Marlon’s fierce facade could hide the panic in his eyes.
He was well aware that the benefits Jasper was giving out would be too alluring to companies like Luck and Leila.
Moreover, Luck was Marlon’s rival. The only reason Marlon’s business was still running was that he kept a low profile and stayed away from trouble during the past two years. On the other hand, Luck was busy developing further and did not have time to waste fighting Prosper.
However, there was nothing stopping Luck anymore. Not with the temptation of making a hefty profit and the fact that getting rid of Prosper meant that Luck could take Prosper’s market share as well.
Marlon was truly panicking right now.
He did not expect Jasper to be so ruthless.
After hearing a word of acknowledgment from Chad, Jasper then hung up the phone and smiled at Marlon. “Mr. Bailey, with how prominent your department store is, I’m sure you’ve got quite a few members, right?”
Marlon felt his heart squeeze and he glared at Jasper, growling. “What do you plan on doing?”
Department stores attracted customers to shop with them usually through the allure of memberships. Members tended to have discounts and were given vouchers once they had spent a certain amount of money.
Jaser did not reply. Instead, he chuckled and made another phone call in front of Marlon.
This time it was to Dawson.
There was no need to explain anything with Dawson so Jasper went straight to the point.
“Uncle Schuler, could you have the department in Schuler Supermarket that’s in charge of Muestiece Province come up with a plan? As long as customers show proof that they’ve forfeited membership with Prosper Shopping Center, they’ll be given a Schuler Supermarket voucher worth 50 Somer Dollars, available to use at all outlets in the country.
“I’ll have the investment company compensate the expenses back to the group when I return.”
Dawson did not even ask why when he heard Jasper’s request, merely reacting by chiding Jasper mirthfully, “You little brat. Don’t give me that compensation nonsense. Prosper Shopping Center, correct? Got it, I’ll pass the word.”
Jasper hung up the phone and turned to Marlon whose complexion was drained of all color. “Do you still need me to compensate you, Mr. Bailey?”
Marlon was both terrified and furious. Even though he was pointing at Jasper, he was too speechless to say anything.
Jasper had attacked twice. The first attack was harsh and placed him in an extremely difficult position.
The second was even more ruthless, and Jasper would completely screw Marlon over by taking all his members.
One could only imagine the scene of countless members asking to revoke their membership with Prosper and ask for a refund once news got out.
Such a scene was enough to close Prosper Shopping Center down.
“You heard what I said, didn’t you? I will compensate 50 Somer Dollars to every customer that revokes their membership with Prosper Shopping Center. This is quite a substantial temptation and it’ll cost me at least ten million.
“I don’t mind giving someone ten million for free, but I will never allow anyone to steal a cent from me.” Jasper’s tone was indifferent, but his words were cold.
“I’m going to kill you, Jasper!” Marlon roared.
Angry and afraid, Marlon seemed to have lost all rationale and was about to rush over.
Behind Jasper, Julian took a step forward and glared at Marlon.
Any movement from Marlon and Julian would physically instill the concept of respect in the man.
“It’s normal to make a loss sometimes when it comes to doing business, Mr. Bailey. What’s wrong here is you threatening someone to compensate for your losses just because you made a bad decision.” Jasper shook his head.
Just then, Jasper’s phone rang.
Marlon shuddered. He had become afraid of Jasper calling people on his phone now.
The two calls prior had resulted in his business meeting with impending doom. There was no saying if this call would result in the end of his life.
Trembling, Marlon suddenly realized how ridiculous he was. He could not believe he thought he had managed to threaten Jasper with his insignificant contacts in Mustiece Province.
What Jasper just displayed was the epitome of ‘having contacts’.
‘He only needed two calls to get rid of me.
‘Why’d I even threaten him in the first place?’
Marlon was suddenly filled with immense regret. Before this conversation with Jasper, all he was facing was a loss of ten million. He still had his company despite facing a grave loss. Yet now that the conversation was over, it was truly over for Marlon.
Jasper’s call had already connected by then.
“The Malibus have arrived. Let’s go meet them,” Jasper turned to tell Wendy.
The duo left with Julian in tow, leaving Marlon and his lackeys to become pitiful beings who no one could care less about.
Life at the Top Chapter 715
“Mr. Malibu, welcome to Somerland.”
Jasper approached to greet Malcolm and his wife Kelly as they alighted the MPV hand in hand.
Malcolm was a middle-aged man in his 40s, and while his features looked stern, his smile was infectious.
“Hello, Mr. Laine. Thank you for having us.”
Jasper turned to look at Kelly and smiled. “And this beautiful lady must be Mrs. Kelly, correct?”
Kelly shook Jasper’s hand politely. “What a young man you are, Mr. Laine.”
Jasper laughed aloud and turned to pull Wendy over to introduce her, “This is Miss Schuler, my girlfriend.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Malibu, Mrs. Kelly.” Wendy shook both their hands amicably.
Malcolm looked at Wendy and then exclaimed to Jasper, “What a lucky man you are, Mr. Laine, to have found such a beautiful and distinguished lady.”
“I believe we’re both lucky men in this regard, Mr. Malibu.” Jasper smiled.
He had praised three people in one sentence alone. This was the art of speaking.
From Malcolm and Kelly’s expressions, they seemed relatively happy about it.
The group entered a reserved private room, and Jasper smiled at Mrs. Kelly who was looking around at the interior design curiously. “Since this is the first time you two have been in Somerland, I thought I’d find a place where both the food and interior could represent our culture. I hope it’s to your liking.”
“I already like the interior design,” Kelly spoke with glee.
Jasper smiled and cued Wendy with a look.
Wendy understood and pulled out the gift they had prepared in advance.
“I know you’re from Indiana, Mr. Malibu, just like the superstar Jackson, so I thought I’d get you a signed limited edition collectible album for you. I hope it’s to your liking.”
Taking over Jasper’s gift, Malcolm spoke excitedly, “Oh. This is the 1989 platinum collectible edition! I’ve been searching for it for a long time but couldn’t find it anywhere. Thank you, Mr. Laine, you’ve helped fulfill a dream of mine.”
Wendy was giving Kelly a gift too.
“Mrs. Kelly, this is a gift I got for you. It’s a small handmade panda pendant. Pandas are Somerland’s national animal. I heard you like pandas, Mrs. Kelly, so I hope you’d like this small pendant as well,” Wendy spoke amicably.
Mrs. Kelly was surprised. “Oh my God! I’ve been wanting my husband to go to Criucia Province with me to see the pandas since this is my first time in Somerland. I didn’t think I’d get such a beautiful gift before I saw them. Thank you so much.”
Seeing that the two of them liked their gifts, Jasper and Wendy locked eyes and smiled.
With a great head start, the conversation between the four of them became very joyful.
Jasper had also found out that other than the ability to manage finances, Wendy was also very talented when it came to socializing.
She had made a great impression on Mrs. Kelly at least, and she managed to join the conversation in a way that matched Jasper seamlessly.
With Jasper hosting and Wendy supporting him, the atmosphere at the dinner table was relaxed and jubilant.
Westerners did not have the habit of speaking about business at the dinner table, so Jasper waited until they were finished and were resting in the lounge before he delved into the topic.
Life at the Top Chapter 716
Malcolm was evidently prepared. Before Jasper could speak, Malcolm first gave his stance on the matter.
“To be frank, Mr. Laine, I came to meet you in hopes to change my career. As you know, I’m facing a small issue working with P&G, and I think that a change in my working environment might give me insight into my problems.”
This was the result of leaving a good impression. Malcolm would not have been so quick to speak if otherwise.
Jasper smiled. “My thoughts on the matter exactly, Mr. Malibu. You want a new job and I want a capable COO.”
“Not a CEO? Malcolm frowned and asked. This was not what he understood at the beginning.
Honestly speaking, Malcolm was slightly looking down on Jasper’s company. After all, as far as he was concerned, a modernized private enterprise did not exist in Somerland.
Even if there was, it was incomparable to P&G.
He was already the head of one of Procter and Gamble’s larger departments and there was no reason for him to accept anything less than the role of CEO of another company.
Why would he accept the position of COO?
“Mr. Malibu, my company is still in its initial stages and while there is quite an amount of funds, it has only just been established. I’ll take on the position of the company’s CEO, but that will not hinder your authority as the COO,” Jasper explained.
Malcolm shook his head and declined. “I’m sorry, Mr. Laine. I thought you would give me the position of COO, or I wouldn’t have come tonight. Thank you for hosting us. It’s getting late, I should return and rest.”
Malcolm then got up and moved to leave.
Jasper tilted his head down to drink his coffee. He narrowed his eyes slightly but did not call the man back.
This moment was key to the game Jasper and Malcolm were playing. If Jasper agreed to Malcolm’s whims, then he would be put at a disadvantage for the rest of the negotiation process.
Plus, Jasper refused to allow a professional manager to boss him around in his own company.
This was his company, so he had to have the final word.
Seeing how the negotiation was taking a turn for the worse, Wendy immediately thought of a plan and turned to Kelly, “Are you leaving already, Mrs. Kelly? It’s a shame, I was thinking of inviting you to the zoo. We have two large pandas there, a gift from the Criucia Province last year.”
Mrs. Kelly was surprised and she turned to tell Malcolm, “Can’t you be a little more patient, dearest?”
Malcolm could not help but smile wryly at how his wife was completely at Wendy’s mercy.
“I’d like to know about your company’s current situation, Mr. Laine,” Malcolm told Jasper who chose to sit down patiently in the end.
Jasper smiled and put the cup of coffee down. Then, he spoke loudly, “JW Capital is my parent company, and under it are a few holding as well as wholly-owned subsidiaries. Among which are two companies in the dot-com industry, two in the media and entertainment, one in real estate, and one in electronics.”
Malcolm’s frown deepened as he heard this. He could not help but feel like Jasper was bluffing.
“Pardon my bluntness, Mr. Laine, but you said that you were still in the initial stages of entrepreneurship? Involving your company in so many different industries at the same time makes your company really susceptible to crashing. This is a time where you should focus only on one industry.
“To be frank, I’ve seen many outstanding entrepreneurs who have ended their careers prematurely because they started branching out to other industries. It’s not easy to work in multiple industries, let alone like you, Mr. Laine, dabbling in so many industries at the very beginning. You’re not going to be able to do well in any of those industries.
“If I have to guess… the companies in the other industries you dabble in must all be small, right, Mr. Laine? Or perhaps, they’re just empty shells?”
Malcolm was direct. He was a little pissed about how Jasper got him to take a step back through his wife, so there was no reason for him to back down on a chance to offend Jasper.
However, in face of Malcolm’s words, Jasper only gave a mysterious smile as he sat before him.
Life at the Top Chapter 717
“Mr. Malibu, you might’ve heard of the two dot-com industry companies of mine.
“One of them is called Sena, Somerland’s first web portal.
“The other is Terizone Inc. Its main product is KK, an instant messaging software that currently dominates the most market shares within the country. It has no competitors.”
Mrs. Kelly suddenly gasped and interrupted Jasper.
“Terizone? Oh, their KK software is really nice. I have a KK number as well, their video calling function is just too convenient. Didn’t you register for a KK account too, dearest? And you complained about how their server only exists within Somerland, causing our video calls to lag all the time.
“I remember how you even emailed them and requested that they set up a server overseas as well.”
Malcolm flushed at Mrs. Kelly’s words.
She gave perfect assistance and Jasper could not help but smile.
“Thank you two for your suggestions. I’ll definitely bring it to Terizone’s managerial level and have them pay better attention to this matter.”
Malcolm spoke awkwardly, “Let’s not talk about this one anymore. What about your other industries? If your main business is the dot-com industry, then the development of your other companies in other industries must be rather average then.”
“The media and entertainment industry? One of them is Advent Entertainment Group. It used to be the best film company in Harbor City before I acquired it and more than 60% of Harbor City’s best actors are currently signed under it.
“There’s one more that’s slightly weaker, but it’s still one of the leading companies in Somerland’s media and entertainment industry. It’s called Easy Media.”
Malcolm’s features twitched, and he felt a little embarrassed.
He loved Jackson, so he was more or less aware of what went on in the media and entertainment industry. There had been numerous Hollywood reports about the founding of Advent Entertainment Group, so he knew about it.
He also knew that this Advent Entertainment Group had a very broad domain in Somerland.
As for Easy Media, while he did not know much about it, he could understand that it was to some degree formidable through its relation to Advent Entertainment Group.
“As for real estate, I have JW Real Estates which I founded half a year ago. As of now, we’re about to finish the Southface River Project in Nauritus City. Once the project is done, it’ll become the benchmark model for renovation in the other cities of Somerland.
“There’s another project still in its planning stage and that’s the construction of the world’s first skyscraper in Waterhoof City. It’s designed to reach a height of 650 meters and it’s been passed to Morgan’s team in Gensler Design and Architecture Firm. The actual design sketch should be completed soon and I’m estimating an investment of around 16 billion Somer Dollars.”
Malcolm’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Had he not done some digging on Jasper and found out that he was an exceptionally outstanding man, Malcolm would have mistaken him for a madman or a conman.
After all, all the companies that Jasper listed held formidable positions in their respective industries. These were companies that normal people might not even own after slaving their entire life away.
Yet Jasper claimed that they were all his properties.
‘Just how wealthy is Jasper?’
Malcolm could not believe that all this belonged to this young man in his 20s who was sitting in front of him.
Jasper ignored Malcolm who was deep in thought and continued to speak.
“As for the electronics company, it’s the newest one and therefore the smallest. The company currently has one product only.”
At that, Malcolm finally let out a sigh of relief.
‘Thank goodness. So it seems that there are still industries that Jasper can’t tackle. It’s only one product and the smallest business among the rest. How formidable could it be?’
Malcolm thought that perhaps not all dignity was lost.
“It’s a product called Mellow, an improved version of the MP3 player. We have full patent ownership over it and it’s currently the best-selling MP3 player within Somerland. I have plans to export Mellow and sell it overseas, but I’m still contacting sales channels.”
Malcolm was utterly stunned by Jasper’s words.
‘I thought you said it was the smallest business?
‘I thought you said you only had one product?
‘Why are all of your products earth-shattering innovations?’
Malcolm flushed in embarrassment when he thought about how he had taunted Jasper earlier.
Jasper took in the change in Malcolm’s expression. He felt proud, but he made sure his expression was one of exhaustion.
“These are all my current businesses, Mr. Malibu. You’re right, it’s not easy broadening my spectrum and working in multiple industries. I’m exhausted and I need someone to help take some pressure off.”
Thank goodness that Malcolm was a foreigner who did not understand archaic Somerish, or he would have immediately thought of the saying, ‘The mouth parts, and in its place is utter gibberish.’
Everyone around the world desired this kind of exhaustion yet not many people could achieve it.
Smiling frigidly, Malcolm suddenly wondered if he was qualified to be the CEO of such a company.
Malcolm’s heart thrummed wildly in his chest.
While he had worked as a senior executive for P&G, he was only in charge of one single business in the group. JW Capital, on the other hand, was a multi-industrial group, and he did not know if he could do a good job alone.
“You’re an outstanding enough man, Mr. Laine. I don’t think you need the help of others,” Malcolm asked.
Jasper smiled. “There’s only so much one man can do, and there will always be things a person does not know no matter how intelligent they are. There is no promise that someone will never make the wrong choice in life.
“Every company in the world is backed up by a hardworking team. A company cannot be run by one person alone, not even if he’s the founder.
“I need your intellect and experience to manage my company, Mr. Malibu.”
Jasper’s last sentence was extremely sincere.
Hesitation appeared on Malcolm’s features.
“Mr. Malibu, I promise that as long as you wish to take the position of COO in JW Capital, you’ll be paid double of what P&G pays you now. And like the treatment given to the other senior executives, you’ll also enjoy annual company dividends.”
Jasper gave his condition.
Malcolm waved his hand and smiled. “To be frank, Mr. Laine, I’ve saved quite a bit from working all these years so I’m hoping to look for a more suitable platform for myself…”
“You will have the highest authority, and I promise that as long as you do not compromise the company’s major interests, I will not interfere with your decision.” Jasper showed his hand.
Malcolm looked at Jasper in shock and exclaimed, “Mr. Laine, are you sure? You have to know that no one’s ever given a professional manager so much authority before.”
“There’s a saying here in Somerland. To only hire the trustworthy, and to trust the hired. Plus…” Jasper smiled. “Those people you talk about aren’t me.”
“Alright then! I’ll be the COO!” Malcolm shot up excitedly.
Life at the Top Chapter 718
The hiring of Malcolm was an important turn of events for Jasper and JW Company.
In his future autobiography, this professional manager who had worked 25 years under JW Company until his retirement at the age of 70 described his meeting with Jasper as an important meeting that changed his life.
It was only second to marrying his wife, Mrs. Kelly.
To add to the joy, Jasper received good news from Jack the following day as well.
After a few rounds of negotiation, Midas Company had finally agreed to package sell the gaming project, United Legends.
It was not cheap, costing 40 million US dollars.
It cost Jasper all the profits he made from Mellow MP3 players as of late.
Even then, Jack had gone through a lot to get the deal. First, he used his connections with Weresoft to find one of Midas Company’s shareholders. Then, he spent millions on that man just to get him to agree.
As far as Midas Company was concerned, this was an ordinary game with an average beta testing score from Coreana, so the deal had them profiting greatly from Somerland.
Yet to Jasper, excluding the MP3 business, United Legends would be another source of cash flow. The game would spark the beginning of the online gaming market in Somerland that would eventually reach the value of 100 billion.
Only time would tell who truly profited.
Jack was indeed an exceptional professional manager. He remembered Jasper’s instructions clearly.
After buying the United Legends project, he had then taken advantage of the extreme rift between the game’s developers and the company due to conflicting reasons about whether to sell the game or not. Doing so, he managed to bring in the better half of the project’s technicians to Sena.
As a result, Sena now had the most top-notch and highly sought-after game developers and technicians in the country. This had saved them a lot of time and cost.
After Jack’s return, Chad had also successfully managed to cultivate the senior executives who would make up the backbone of the electronics company. He had now arrived to work in the investing company.
Since everyone was around the area, Jasper took the opportunity to send an official notice under JW Capital’s name. He called over all persons in charge of the subsidiaries under JW Capital to rush over for a meeting in Nauritus City.
Despite having an abundance of funds, the investment company was still based in the same villa. The office space was a little tight and the meeting room was also just the renovated living room on the second floor.
Despite how pitiful a sight it was, people who knew the power of this company knew better than to look down on JW Capital just because of this.
In the room were Hudson Moore from Terizone Inc, Jack Tanner from Sena, Lance Baldwin who Jasper had approved as JW Electronics’ new general manager, Sean Tucker from JW Real Estates, Ryder Lawrence who was the president of Advent Entertainment Group, and Ted Swanson who was the president of Easy Media.
Then there was also the parent company, JW Capital’s core decision-makers. Malcolm Malibu, the COO, and the director of the Human Resources Department, Chad Wright.
The group of people filled the meeting room. Every single one of them held formidable positions in their respective businesses.
This was his team.
Including Jasper and Wendy, who was hosting the meeting, there were ten in attendance.
“This is the first important meeting JW Capital is having with the persons in charge of its subsidiaries. There should be ten in attendance and ten have arrived. Would JW Capital’s CEO, Jasper Laine, please begin?”
Wendy spoke rigidly and then took her seat.
Jasper took in the shining pairs of eyes directed at himself and smiled. “While this is technically a meeting, it’s essentially just a space for us to discuss the problems the companies have faced and their solutions. There’s no need to be too tense. This is just a conversation between friends.”
Life at the Top Chapter 719
While Jasper did say it would be a friendly chat, the mention of talking about problems faced and their solutions had everyone sitting straight and becoming attentive.
Everyone present was an elite, so they understood the importance of the first formal meeting.
No one else spoke and Jasper continued.
“While the investment company has always been considered the parent company, system and organizational structure-wise, we have yet to make clarifications on the parent company and its various subsidiaries’ functions. That was due to both my negligence and the fact that we were lacking people in the parent company.
“So now with Mr. Malibu and Mr. Wright joining us in the parent company, I believe it’s time to solve the issue.
“Does anyone have any thoughts on the matter?” Jasper asked.
Jack spoke first, “This is great. But Mr. Laine, will JW Capital take this opportunity to change its nature of business, from being a company to a group?”
Everyone was interested in this.
Jasper shook his head. “Not yet, it isn’t time yet. Plus, it’s just a different name. The internal structure will not change.”
Jack nodded and remained silent.
Seeing how no one spoke, Jasper continued, “Then how about I give my thoughts on a solution that I’ve come up with from my conversations with each of you?
“I plan to completely change the structure in the parent company. I’ll be the CEO while Mr. Malibu will take on the position as COO. He’ll be in charge of the company’s day-to-day transactions. Mr. Wright, as the director of the Human Resources Department, will be in charge of internal affairs and be the link between the parent company and its subsidiaries.
“Miss Schuler will assume the position of the CFO, and I think you all know what that means so I won’t delve into that.”
Hearty chuckles rang out in the room at Jasper’s words.
Everyone knew about Wendy and Jasper’s relationship, so with the knowledge that it was Jasper’s girlfriend watching over their money, no one disagreed.
“In addition, a real estate group will be founded within the company’s organizational structure. Sean will assume the position of president temporarily.
“As well as a dot-com group. Hudson, the situation with your Terizone is a little different since it’s just a holding company under JW Capital and I promised not to interfere with its operations, so Jack will assume the position of president. You can get a position if you want, as vice President.”
Hudson nodded. “No objections.”
Jasper had already talked to him about this and Hudson could not ask for better.
Nodding, Jasper continued, “Then the entertainment and media group. Ryder, you’ll assume the position as president, and Ted, vice president.
“Next, the electronics group. Chad, you’ll be the president concurrently and Lance will be vice president. But considering how Chad is in charge of quite a bit of business, you’ll oversee the daily business, Lance. Just make sure to ask Chad for his opinion for bigger projects.”
Lance, who had just joined JW Electronics, was shaken from the attention. “I understand, Mr. Laine. I’ll do my best.”
Smiling, Jasper continued, “While the company is undergoing a change in structure with groups through vertical management, there is no change in the workload or type of work you do.
“As I said before, JW Capital will not interfere with the day-to-day operations of its subsidiaries, but any important issues are to be reported to the parent company for approval and issuance. Anyone who dares to go around me on this will be fired.
“I’ll be mean now so we can all do great work in the future. I will not tolerate the breaking of rules that the company has established. If I find you in breach of anything, you will be dealt with strictly.”
Life at the Top Chapter 720
This meeting and company restructure was in truth a chance for Jasper to completely comb through and straighten things in JW Capital and its subsidiaries.
Not only had he clarified the authority and responsibilities of each group, but he had also straightened out the system of forces within the companies.
Now that the companies could work together and complement each other, they had finally taken the form of a strong system.
There were also some more secret changes but Jasper did not plan to tell them.
For example, there was now an investment group within the parent company and Jasper planned to have Jake Cullen in Harbor City be in charge of it. Business would mainly be financial operations.
“The company’s only growing larger with each day and I’m likely to reduce my investments under my own name but do it on behalf of the company instead. This is a very important task and I need you to take it upon yourself.”
Jasper’s words had Jake feeling inexplicably excited on the other end of the video call.
He had not expected his relationship with Jasper to develop to such a degree—from being on opposing parties to him following Jasper’s orders to becoming a core member of Jasper’s company.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Laine. I’ll do my best and follow your instructions,” Jake proclaimed his loyalty.
After all, the benefits of being one of the company’s core employees were evident. All he used to get was a commission from Jasper but things would be different now.
A hefty salary and great benefits, as well as company dividends. There was no better job elsewhere.
“I’ve been hosting meetings all day so I’m a little tired now. If there isn’t anything else, let’s end the call here,” Jasper spoke with a smile.
Jasper had put a lot of thought into whether he should appoint Jake or not. After a long period of observation, Jasper realized that Jake was exceptionally talented in his field and his only issue was that he was a little stingy. Still, that was a small issue.
Jasper knew that he was not perfect, so he did not expect others to be perfect.
“There is something else, Mr. Laine. Did you perhaps offend anyone in Coreana?” Jake’s sudden question had Jasper halting just when he moved to end the video call.
“What do you mean?” Jasper frowned.
“I’m not too sure either, but someone sought me out for intel on you. Quite a few people know about you since the Harbor City market rescue plan and that person seems to be aware of our history. But I don’t think they know how our relationship is now and they asked me about your current situation. It seems like they’re looking to trouble you.
“From what I understand, I think his partner over in Coreana tasked him with this.”
Jasper frowned at Jake’s words.
If there was anyone he had offended in Coreana, then it had to be Jonathan Lang.
‘But does he have great enough connections in Harbor City to get someone to deal with me?’
“Who’s the man who asked you about me?” Jasper asked.
“Also someone extremely wealthy in Harbor City. His name is Fabian Atticus!”
‘Fabian Atticus?’
Jasper felt enlightened now.
This man was rich and as much of a flirt as Bob Lancaster. He only began to keep a low profile after he married the beautiful Miss Harbor City, Roxanne Hart.
However, just because he was low profile did not mean he was truly low profile. He still had ambiguous relationships with young models, and there were rumors about how exciting his gatherings were.
As one of the richest men in Harbor City’s construction industry, there should be no reason for Fabian to be ordered around by someone like Jonathan.
Jasper could feel that there was more than met the eye.
“Alright, I got it. Don’t worry about it anymore, but do tell me if you have any new updates.” Then, Jasper ended the call with Jake.
Jasper gave it some thought and was about to call Henry when the man looked for him first.
“Holy sh*t! I can’t f*cking take this anymore. It’s literally just a small issue and they’re looking for me? I might as well just not f*cking do anything at all and follow them every day like their f*cking nanny or some sh*t!”
Henry began to complain the moment he walked through the door. He was pissed in a way that reminded Jasper of a mistreated wife.
Jasper asked curiously, “I thought the amusement park project was done? What more is there to do than pay them?”
Henry replied angrily, “I’d be free a long f*cking time ago if I just had to pay them. We’ve already checked everything and they’ve passed all the safety measures but my dad just had to say something about the importance of safety, so he got another f*cking team from Harbor City to come check and look for problems.
“Who knows what f*cking drugs those stupid f*ckers took from my dad but they pick on the littlest of issues, oh my God. It was fine until they somehow came up with 36 f*cking things to change. It’s so annoying I’m going to rip my hair out.
“F*cking hell, I’m going to kill every single one of them when I get back to Harbor City!”
Jasper frowned. “They’re just doing what they’re paid to do. The fact that they managed to find problems even when facing pressure from you means there really is an issue. Why would you take revenge after all of that?”
Henry slumped in the chair limply with his legs hooking over the armrests. “I wasn’t actually going to do it. My dad would be the first one to get his hands on me if I actually did it. Argh. It’s so annoying!”
Jasper smiled. “How about I take you out for some fun once this is over?”
Henry’s eyes shone and he was immediately energized. He sat up straight in the chair. “Really? Where are we going?”
“Probably Waterhoof City.” Jasper leaned against his chair and smiled. “I’ve got to take a trip to Waterhoof City in a bit. I thought I’d bring you too but you’ve got to finish things for your amusement park first.”
Henry asked confusedly, “The amusement park and your Southface River Project finish at the same time, though. How are you free?”
“I just need to come back on the day of the completion ceremony. It’s just for formality’s sake anyway.”
Jasper then suddenly asked, “Do you know anything about Fabian Atticus?”
Henry scoffed. “Who? Fabian Atticus?
“That f*cker’s the same age as Kayden, he’s ten years older than me. We’re not close at all, but Harbor City’s also very small so I do know a bit about him.
“How should I say this? I wouldn’t be surprised if that guy died one day while he was f*cking a woman. Why’re you asking out of the blue?”
Jasper narrowed his eyes slightly. “Do you know if he’s got any partnerships over in Coreana?”
“You’ve got to ask my dad about that. But his family is in the construction business, so why would he have partnerships with Coreana? It’d be more believable if you told me he was playing with women there.”
Henry’s mindless comment had Jasper frowning immediately.
‘Now that I think about it, it’s not impossible!’