5:30 PM.
Sharma and Hols sat side by side in the back seat of a luxury sedan, traveling to their destination.
Sharma proudly recounted his interaction with Ha Si-heon earlier that day.
"When I told him to withdraw the investnt if he wanted, his attitude changed 180 degrees."
"You said that to his face?"
Unlike Sharma, who was intoxicated by his victory, Hols' expression was subtle.
As soone who had advised caution when dealing with Ha Si-heon, Hols seed displeased with Sharma’s aggressive approach.
"Don't worry. He gave in right away."
After a brief consideration, Hols slowly nodded.
"No, you did well. We needed to test him at least once anyway."
In truth, Hols was cleverly taking advantage of this aspect of Sharma’s personality.
She assigned him the role of the ‘villain,' entrusting him with threats she couldn't make herself.
"Still, don't let your guard down. That man is dangerous."
"Dangerous? Co on."
"In this day and age, public recognition isn’t sothing you can ignore."
According to their research, Ha Si-heon had no presence on social dia.
Yet, while Hols continued to emphasize caution, Sharma scoffed.
"Will he last even a month? He’s just soone people will soon forget."
As they conversed, the car arrived at their destination—the Fairmont Hotel.
They had been invited to a charity gala event that night.
"May I have your na, please?"
"Elizabeth Hols."
"Yes, here it is. And your companion?"
"Rahul Sharma."
As the staff checked the guest list, Sharma felt a flicker of anxiety.
A wave of worry washed over him—what if his na wasn’t on the list?
Despite having held the COO position for over five years, this was his first ti attending such an official event.
Up until last year, Theranos had been in ‘stealth mode.’
As a newly established startup, it had been operating in secrecy without exposing itself to the public.
But now, things had changed.
With Theranos stepping into the spotlight, Sharma had also joined the ranks of rising business figures.
"Here you go."
The staff handed him a small na tag and an event pamphlet. Sharma felt relieved as he headed toward the cocktail reception.
Just as the two stepped into the hall—
"Elizabeth!"
"Huh? Jessica?"
A familiar voice called out, and Hols turned to see a friend approaching.
After exchanging warm greetings, Hols quickly turned toward Sharma.
"This is my longti friend, Jessica Lambert."
The na was familiar.
The Lambert family was a renowned venture capital powerhouse in Silicon Valley.
Moreover, Lambert was one of Theranos' early investors.
"This is our company's COO, Sharma."
Hols introduced him simply as a colleague.
In reality, they were lovers, but they had to keep their relationship a secret in public.
Sharma forced a natural-looking smile.
"Nice to et you. I've heard a lot about you from Hols."
"You must be working hard to support Hols. She’s been ambitious since she was young."
Jessica offered a polite greeting before turning her full attention back to Hols.
"There's soone who’s eager to et you…"
Jessica gently tugged Hols' arm, drawing her attention elsewhere.
"Will you be okay on your own?"
"Of course. Go ahead."
Sharma responded calmly, but a sense of discomfort lingered within him.
‘Couldn’t I have gone with her?’
At that mont, a voice echoed in his mind.
—So there's a bamboo ceiling here too.
Sharma instinctively shook his head vigorously.
He was different from those lower-level employees.
He was a COO, after all.
Left alone, Sharma glanced around the hall. Groups of people were gathered in clusters, chatting.
He searched for others who, like him, were standing alone.
Just then, he spotted a white man entering the hall.
But monts later, the man greeted soone warmly and quickly joined a group.
‘They already know each other.’
Only then did Sharma realize—
Most of the people here were already well acquainted.
‘If Hols had been with …’
Soone would have approached first.
After all, Hols possessed an impressive network of social capital.
Few knew this, but Hols' great-grandfather had once run a major food conglorate that dominated the U.S. market.
Although the company had collapsed over several generations,
The social connections built during that ti hadn’t disappeared.
This explained why Theranos' early investors were particularly prominent figures.
From prestigious venture capital firms to well-known private equity groups, most of them were connections from Hols’ father.
Of course, they didn’t have high expectations for Hols.
They had rely provided a small sponsorship for the vision presented by an acquaintance’s daughter.
It was Hols' ability that had grown that small gesture into sothing much bigger.
However…
Sharma emptied his glass with a bitter smile.
Along with the bitterness of the alcohol sliding down his throat, the harsh reality settled in.
He, too, had once dread of launching a startup.
Yet, despite his Berkeley MBA and extensive experience in top-tier IT firms, securing funding had been nearly impossible.
It was only after bringing in a white co-founder that he was finally able to attract investors.
anwhile, investors had eagerly opened their wallets for Hols, a college dropout.
Thanks to the social capital inherited from her white upper-class background.
Once you reached that level, the most important thing was ‘client managent,’ and for that, excellent ‘social skills’ were considered essential.
To succeed in this society, one had to be integrated into their network.
Sharma scanned the room and spotted a familiar face.
Owen Carson, the head of one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent private equity firms.
He was also a valuable connection for Theranos' fundraising efforts.
Without hesitation, Sharma approached and introduced himself as Theranos' COO.
However—
"Ah! Theranos, that’s the company led by Elizabeth Hols, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
Carson’s gaze skimd past Sharma, glancing over his shoulder instead.
"Is Hols not here with you?"
"She stepped away for a mont. Anyway, it’s a pleasure to finally et you. I’ve heard a lot about you."
"From whom, exactly?"
Carson’s expression remained indifferent.
"From Mr. Houston, one of our board mbers."
"Mr. Houston ntioned ?"
Sharma na-dropped a board mber, but Carson still looked unconvinced.
His gaze remained fixed behind Sharma, as if he was already thinking of an exit strategy.
"Would you be interested in investing in Theranos?"
"Haha, Theranos is already too big for us to get involved now."
"Not at all. In ten years, conventional diagnostic devices will beco obsolete, and Theranos will be the only one left standing. Are you really going to miss this opportunity?"
Sharma’s tone beca exaggerated and arrogant, finally drawing Carson’s attention.
"That’s a bold claim."
There was no other choice.
If he didn’t speak in such an over-the-top manner, Carson would have continued treating him as invisible.
‘…Because I’m Asian, huh?’
He had to speak louder, bolder, just to get a fraction of their attention.
Sharma continued his bluff.
"Of course, it’s not an exaggeration. Our product is already being deployed in Afghanistan."
"Is that so?"
That was a lie.
But discussions about field deploynt had indeed taken place, so it wasn’t entirely false.
"We even have General Whittington on our board, as you know."
A war hero, highly respected in the field.
At that, Carson seed to show interest—but then his gaze shifted again, past Sharma’s shoulder.
"Ah, excuse . There's soone over there I absolutely need to say hello to."
With that, Carson walked away.
And in the direction he was heading—
Sharma froze.
Because standing there was soone he had never expected to see.
"…..!"
A man taller than those around him.
A young East Asian with black hair.
It was none other than Ha Si-heon.
***
This gala event was structured in six stages.
Cocktail reception, dinner, keynote speech, auction, live performance, and finally, the closing remarks.
The cocktail reception, the first event, was for networking.
But the board mbers wouldn’t show up for that.
Networking only worked among people of similar status.
For those at the top of the social pyramid, relationships at an event like this could only be one-sided—they would be the ones granting favors.
So they were likely to join from the main dinner onward.
Still, I couldn’t afford to arrive late myself.
There were too many things I needed to take care of.
"Fancy eting you here again!"
The man approaching was Owen Carson.
The CEO of a well-known private equity firm, whom I had t during a past business trip.
He was also a client of Pierce, thanks to an old ‘once-a-month project selection’ arrangent I had made.
Under normal circumstances, he would have ignored .
After all, approaching an Asian-born Goldman rookie at an event like this was considered ‘beneath him.’
But right now, I wasn’t just any ordinary Goldman rookie.
"I was so surprised to see you on TV! I knew I had seen that face sowhere before…"
"I’m honored that you rember from our brief encounter."
"Soone like you is hard to forget. By the way…"
Carson suddenly lowered his voice.
"That White Shark shareholders’ eting—how long have you been preparing for it?"
He hadn’t approached out of re curiosity.
As soone in finance, he naturally wanted to gather information on a critical issue.
The Epicura incident had been a defining mont in the history of activist investing.
As the key figure at the center of the event, they sought to extract information from .
I responded with a smile.
"I'm afraid this isn't the right place to discuss that."
"Haha, of course. That was thoughtless of ."
Carson laughed heartily and nodded.
"Do you have any plans later? After the gala, we're heading to the yacht club."
"If you still rember by then, I'd be happy to join."
"Haha, as if I'd forget! Just in case I get a little too drunk, give a call if you don’t see ."
He handed his business card, and I offered mine in return.
At that mont, another figure approached.
"Carson! What’s got you in such a good mood?"
"Ah, let introduce you. Spencer Sinclair from Innovate Ventures. And this is…"
"Oh! The guy from the White Shark incident!"
"I'm Ha Si-heon. You can call Sean."
As expected of soone in finance, Sinclair recognized instantly.
With a curious gaze, he asked,
"What did Slater say after the broadcast?"
I smiled once more.
"That’s another topic that might not be best discussed here…"
"Haha, he's saving all the good stories for the club later."
"Really? Then I might just have to stop by as well."
The corners of my lips lifted naturally.
One of the key tasks I needed to accomplish here was progressing smoothly.
What I needed to do was secure ‘connections who would introduce ’.
To get closer to the top tier, an introduction from the right person was essential.
If soone like —an Asian with no privileged background—tried to approach the elite directly, I would imdiately be viewed with suspicion.
In that sense, an introduction served as a kind of endorsent, lowering the barriers to entry.
Of course, a casual introduction wouldn’t instantly earn trust.
But the fact that a high-status individual was willing to introduce sent a signal that I had so kind of value.
For a while, I moved through the hall, shaking hands, exchanging greetings, and imrsing myself in networking.
Then, I suddenly felt a sharp gaze from behind.
Turning around, I saw Sharma striding toward .
‘He ca to himself?'
That saved so effort.
"We et again."
I greeted him with a bright smile, as if genuinely pleased.
Sharma muttered in slight bewildernt.
"How the hell did you end up here…"
I turned to Carson beside and introduced Sharma.
"This is Sharma, COO of Theranos. I t him during due diligence for an investnt. And this is…"
"We’ve already t."
Carson’s response was rather cold.
Not intentionally rude, just the natural distance maintained by the upper class.
I shifted my gaze back to Sharma and offered a ‘polite apology’—loud enough for others to hear.
"I truly apologize for today. I have a bad habit of not being able to overlook problems when they’re right in front of …"
This subtly implied that I had discovered issues during the due diligence process.
And I made sure to say it in front of a ‘high-profile private equity figure’.
I noticed Sharma’s expression twitch slightly.
Co on, don’t start crumpling your face so soon. We haven’t even begun.
"Please, forgive ."
I bowed deeply.
Such a gesture might be common in the East, but in the U.S., it was ‘eye-catching’.
As expected, all eyes in the hall turned toward us.
Sharma’s face stiffened instantly.
anwhile, Carson, intrigued by my exaggerated politeness and Sharma’s icy reaction, seed genuinely curious.
"What happened?"
"Oh, nothing serious. Just a minor disagreent during the due diligence process."
I replied with a smile before offering Sharma a ‘sincere piece of advice’.
"But for a company of Theranos' scale, I strongly recomnd hiring a CFO."
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