A Wall Street Genius’s Final Investment Playbook Chapter 168

Saturday, 7 PM.

I got into a luxury sedan driven by a chauffeur.

The first destination was a high-end building located in the Upper East Side.

I was heading there to pick up Rachel, who would be attending the gallery event with .

She appeared right on ti for our appointnt.

"Have you been waiting long?"

Rachel asked in a soft voice as she got into the car, but I couldn’t answer right away.

Noticing my montary daze as I stared at her, Rachel gave an awkward smile.

"A bit… awkward, isn’t it?"

Rachel looked completely different from usual today.

Her black jumpsuit, with a deep V-neckline, exuded a bold charm, but the restrained silhouette added a touch of androgynous charisma.

Her neatly tied-up bun, along with erald earrings that accentuated her striking green eyes, stood out.

It was a minimalist yet provocative outfit, as if declaring, "Don’t underestimate just because I’m young."

"A battle outfit, I see."

When I finally spoke with a light laugh, Rachel hesitated for a mont before asking cautiously.

"Is it… too much?"

"No, it’s perfect."

She looked like she could walk straight onto a runway.

It was exactly my type of style, but, well, that wasn’t the important part.

"You don’t look like just a guest—you look like soone who’s about to own the art gallery."

"Then that’s a relief."

Rachel let out a sigh of relief and finally smiled comfortably.

"Let’s go."

As the car started moving, Rachel focused on one topic.

How she should introduce to Ichan.

"To be honest, I’ve only exchanged greetings with Ichan. If I praise you too much in front of him, it might feel overwhelming, so I think it’s best to introduce you naturally."

Ever since I ntioned that I was eting Ichan to stop the malicious Valeant, Rachel had been very proactive about this matter.

"Leave it to ! I’m confident in things like this."

However.

Rachel’s confident expression didn’t last long.

Because the mont we stepped into the gallery, we ran into an unexpected figure.

". . . . . . !"

A man standing not far from the entrance.

A man who looked so much like Rachel that they could be mistaken for twins—none other than Gerard.

‘So, he ca after all.'

I had a feeling he would show up.

My bad premonition was right.

As soon as he t my eyes, Gerard grinned and walked over leisurely.

"We et again."

Gerard greeted .

However, before I could respond, Rachel spoke first with a cold smile.

"What brings you here, Gerard? I thought you had no interest in Baez."

"I didn’t, back then. Now I’m trying to learn more."

"You didn’t seem interested at all when I explained it before."

"I only realized how much I missed out after letting the opportunity slip."

Though they were both smiling, there was clear tension between them.

Then, Gerard pointed to the man standing beside him and said,

"Let introduce you. This is Philip Crown."

Crown.

If my guess was right, he was from a billionaire family in the defense industry.

"Philip happened to be invited, and since he needed company, I ca along."

It was his way of explaining that he was only able to attend thanks to Philip’s invitation.

But then.

"He received an invitation, but he knows nothing about Baez. Rachel, why don’t you show him around?"

"……!"

It was obvious—he was trying to separate Rachel from .

Rachel shook her head.

"I’m a guest too—"

"Please, it would be a great honor to have such a beautiful lady as my guide…"

Just as Rachel was about to refuse, Philip smirked and asked again.

Rachel was about to look troubled when I spoke to her calmly.

"It’s fine. Go ahead."

"But…"

"In the anti, Gerard and I can have a conversation we never got to finish."

Rachel looked uneasy, but I smiled and reassured her.

"It’s really fine. In fact, this might be better."

On Wall Street, liquidity is key.

If the flow changes, you have to find new opportunities in the new flow.

My original plan was to use Rachel to get an introduction.

But with Gerard here, that plan was already ruined.

If I insisted on staying with Rachel, Gerard would find ways to interfere.

In that case, it was better to separate from Rachel and use Gerard instead.

***

"So it really was you."

Once Rachel had walked away and we were alone, Gerard whispered in a low voice, making sure no one else could hear.

"Why didn’t you respond to my ssage?"

I shrugged and answered.

"Was that ssage ant for ? The question was so out of context that I thought you sent it by mistake."

"……"

Gerard stared at for a mont before scoffing and continuing.

"You said she was just a coworker, yet you’ve been keeping in touch even after quitting your job."

"We don’t talk that often. I only contacted her today because I had a request."

"A request?"

"I asked her for an introduction."

At my response, Gerard smirked as if he had expected it.

"So, you were trying to use Rachel’s connections?"

"That’s right."

"Of course, I had no intention of just using her one-sidedly. If Rachel ever needs my help in the future, I’ll gladly return the favor. That’s the kind of relationship we have."

For the wealthy, credibility is crucial.

Lies were out of the question.

After admitting that I had used Rachel, I threw a question back at him.

"Or do you prefer actually building a real connection with Rachel instead of just using her?"

I was asking whether he preferred a real friendship over a give-and-take relationship.

Gerard was silent for a mont.

Then, after watching intently, he said sothing unexpected.

"If you’ve been around Rachel this long, you must know sothing about her. She’s… a bit too kind."

There was genuine concern on Gerard’s face.

"Rachel trusts and empathizes with people too easily. That’s why I worry that one day, she’ll end up in trouble, despite her good intentions."

This side of him was unexpected.

Gerard continued speaking with a serious expression.

"I’m not saying you have bad intentions. I know you’re capable. But… you and Rachel are too different."

Gerard, firm in his stance, continued seriously.

"When people et you through Rachel’s introduction, they’ll naturally expect you to have a similar personality to hers. But you’re a completely different person, aren’t you?"

That was true.

Rachel and I had polar opposite personalities.

"And even if the outco is good, your thods are never smooth. People who et you through Rachel’s introduction won’t be expecting such an aggressive approach. So might even feel betrayed by her."

I found myself nodding unconsciously.

There was nothing wrong with what he said.

Gerard lifted his gaze, looked at , and finished his words.

"If you care about Rachel even a little, don’t get her involved in your affairs in any way. Please."

His words were both a sincere warning and a request as an older brother.

I nodded in response.

"I understand."

But perhaps because I agreed so readily?

Gerard looked at with a puzzled expression.

As if he hadn’t expected to comply so easily.

Of course, that didn’t an I was agreeing for free.

"In return, I’d like to ask you for a favor as well."

"A favor? From ?"

"Yes, there's soone I’d like to et, and I’d prefer if you introduced instead of Rachel."

I smiled confidently as I made my request.

‘If I’m going to get an introduction, this side is better.'

Compared to Rachel, who had just left Goldman and was new to the business world, Gerard, who had been involved in the family business for years, was far more reliable.

The question was whether Gerard would agree to my request.

"Why should I?"

As expected, he didn’t seem inclined to help.

But persuading Gerard wasn’t difficult.

Because I already knew his weakness.

Rachel.

"Or should I wander around on my own? I’m not familiar with events like this, so I might make a mistake…"

"……"

"…If I make a big blunder and soone gets angry, asking how I got in, I’d have no choice but to say that Rachel invited ."

The person who brings soone along is responsible for them.

If Rachel left unattended and I caused trouble, it could end up hindering her future.

Wouldn’t it be better for him to personally escort and guide instead?

Faced with my argunt, Gerard reluctantly nodded.

I smiled brightly.

"Thank you in advance."

"This is Ha Si-heon from Pareto Innovation."

"Yes, I know. These days, there’s no one who doesn’t know Sean…"

"But I didn’t realize you had such close ties with the Mosley family."

"He was just my father’s fund manager."

Gerard dutifully carried out his role, introducing around.

However, his intentions were clear.

"My father has always been particularly interested in early-stage investnts, and among them, his fund has shown remarkable performance."

He was keeping his distance.

He was making it clear that my relationship with the Mosley family was purely business, not personal.

‘Well, that’s understandable.'

So people prefer to avoid attention altogether.

Especially old-money families tend to be like that.

If word got out that an old-money family had made a huge success through investnts?

All eyes would turn to their wealth, how they accumulated it, and… inheritance matters.

Naturally, they’d want to avoid that kind of scrutiny.

‘Defining my relationship as purely business isn’t bad… but…'

The real problem was Gerard’s overprotectiveness.

I could understand it, but if he stepped in every ti I tried to use Rachel’s connections, it would be an unnecessary waste of effort.

‘It might be better to take care of this in advance…'

Just as I was thinking that, an interesting opportunity arose.

"Oh? Gerard!"

A middle-aged man approached with a friendly expression.

After exchanging greetings with Gerard, he recognized and nodded.

"From Pareto Innovation!"

"Ha Si-heon."

"So, you know Gerard as well. I’m Cooper from Morgan Stanley."

Judging by his position, Cooper seed to be an executive at Morgan Stanley.

After shaking hands with , he imdiately turned back to Gerard.

"Gerard, I heard you've been expanding aggressively lately. Are you sure about this? Isn’t it a bit too risky…?"

"……"

"Wouldn’t it be better to discuss that later after this event? Do you have any other appointnts afterward?"

Gerard maintained his smile, but he seed a bit anxious.

It was clear that he didn’t want to hear about this matter.

So this was his weak spot.

Good to know.

However, Cooper, oblivious to the tension, continued speaking.

"But a pet business… Are you really sure about getting into that? Not just dipping a toe, but diving in completely…"

"We’re not in retail. We’re simply identifying a new growth engine."

The conversation might have seed disjointed, but I understood it perfectly.

Thanks to my knowledge of the future.

‘A move into the pet industry, huh…'

Gerard’s family, the Marquise Group, was a traditional confectionery company producing candies and chocolates.

Not exactly a high-growth industry.

However, astonishingly, within the next ten years, they would double their revenue.

And the secret to that success was the pet industry.

Through bold rgers and acquisitions, they wouldn’t just enter the pet food market, but also expand into veterinary services and diagnostics.

‘So that was Gerard’s doing.'

From a business perspective, this decision was absolutely right.

If he was the one driving it, he had sharp foresight.

But I was the only one who knew that.

For now, Cooper was expressing concerns in a cautious tone.

"Since it’s still in the early stages, wouldn’t it be better to take things slowly?"

It was probably because Gerard was still young.

If an experienced executive made such a bold decision, it would be seen as "a strategic move."

But if a young businessman did it, it was labeled "reckless."

"If you miss the timing, the opportunity could slip away."

"…?"

"…?"

Both of them turned their attention to as I suddenly joined the conversation.

"The pet industry is driven primarily by millennials, and it’s expected to see significant growth. Because of the culture of treating pets as family, the market has endless expansion potential, from premium pet food to various related products."

"But… isn’t this outside your area of expertise? Your focus is on healthcare, isn’t it?"

"We’re also closely monitoring pet healthcare. Not right now, but in ten years, we believe it will be a promising industry."

Cooper looked at in surprise before nodding slightly.

"That’s an interesting theory. By the way, I’ve heard about you… You predicted the Black Swan event?"

Yes, I’m the infamous Black Swan predictor.

And if soone like said the pet industry had a bright future, it would inevitably change perspectives.

I continued discussing the topic for a while.

After the conversation wrapped up—

"What are you scheming?"

Now alone with , Gerard looked at suspiciously.

I smiled lightly.

"Scheming? I simply spoke the truth."

Gerard remained silent for a mont before finally asking.

"But… were you serious about that?"

His expression showed that he wanted advice but was too proud to ask outright.

However, I didn’t have ti to answer.

Because in the distance, I spotted my real target.

"If you introduce , I’ll tell you everything I know."