Chapter 244: Milo (1)
Teterboro Airport.
My steps feel unusually light today.
And for good reason...
"Today, you’ll be flying on my private jet."
At last, I’d received it.
A custom-designed private jet made exclusively for .
Originally, there was a 12-month wait due to backorders, but thanks to greasing so palms, I managed to speed up the delivery significantly.
It cost quite a bit, but it was worth every penny.
After all, I saved half a year of waiting.
“You seem excited. Not like you.”
I barely managed to compose my expression after hearing Gerrard’s comnt.
To be honest, I was a little thrilled.
It was the first private jet I’d ever owned, even across two lifetis.
Unlike rentals, this plane could be decorated entirely to suit my taste.
The first feature revealed itself the mont I stepped inside.
A transparent cylindrical booth located right at the entrance.
“It’s a disinfection booth. It removes all kinds of contaminants, harmful microorganisms, and bacteria from your body in three seconds.”
I couldn’t allow any impurities into my precious private jet.
[Disinfection complete.]
After passing through the booth, a pair of neatly placed white slippers greeted .
Once I changed into the slippers, a crew mber placed my dress shoes into a separate sterilization unit.
Yes—no shoes allowed on my plane.
“Are you... a germaphobe or sothing?”
I frowned slightly at Gerrard’s question without aning to.
Do you have any idea how filthy shoes are...?
To , walking around the house in outdoor shoes was just incomprehensible.
Swallowing my words, I gave a gentle smile.
“Germaphobe? Not at all. I just think there’s nothing wrong with maintaining cleanliness.”
Today, I was ready to be forgiving no matter how Gerrard reacted.
This was the historic maiden flight of my private jet, after all.
“Anyway, would you like a tour of the interior?”
With that, I began walking him through the custom-made anities.
“This here is the oxygen bar.”
I pointed toward a bar counter set up on one side of the cabin.
On top were several flasks and a system of tubes.
“Breathing purified oxygen with much higher purity than regular air helps relieve fatigue and boosts concentration. And not all oxygen is the sa, either. You can choose from air collected in the Alps, the diterranean coast, or the Himalayan plateau...”
And that was just the beginning.
“All the leather seats were custom-ordered from Ferrari. You can feel the difference yourself—it’s a whole different level from standard leather.”
“......”
“The sound system was tuned by the chief engineer from Abbey Road Studios. The speakers were custom-made with lunar rock dust mixed into them, creating the purest, cleanest sound possible.”
The highlight of the tour was the bedroom in the rear.
As soon as the door opened, a majestic king-size bed commanded attention.
“It’s a Hästens Vividus bed. Handmade by Swedish artisans, and they only make a few a year. It’s filled exclusively with natural materials. They even use horse tail hair for the filling—it gives an incredibly unique floating sensation. It’s like sleeping on a cloud.”
This bed costs $400,000—over 500 million won.
It might sound excessive at first, but once you lie on it, it makes perfect sense.
This bed can lt away even the worst insomnia in just ten minutes.
However, despite seeing all of this, Gerrard seed unimpressed.
“Ah... yeah, that’s impressive.”
Well...
It kind of killed the vibe.
Still, I did my best to smile brightly and suggested, “Why don’t you try the oxygen bar after we take off? It’s incredibly refreshing.”
“No, actually, I wanted to ask you sothing about the China deal...”
Even before we took off, Gerrard had already started talking—and he kept going about business in China well after we were airborne.
“Because of you, I’ve got way too much on my plate over there. I swear, I need five bodies to handle it all!”
But even though he was complaining, Gerrard’s face was full of energy.
Seems like the CEO role suits him quite well.
“Especially when I said we wouldn’t convert yuan assets—I got so much pushback... In the end, I just told them flat out. ‘Can you take responsibility? Because I can.’”
He was brimming with confidence, like he’d never been gaslit a day in his life.
Good for him, I guess...
But honestly, all I could think was, ‘Shouldn’t have brought him.’
Our destination was Virginia.
It was a short flight—barely an hour.
Which ant there really wasn’t enough ti to enjoy any of these anities...
And all he was doing was talking about boring business stuff.
‘I’m never letting him on again.’
He’s not worthy of flying on my jet.
Just as I made that decision internally, Gerrard suddenly changed the subject.
“By the way, earlier you said sothing about ‘persuading Uncle Rupert’…”
“Oh, that? Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
“You’re not planning to threaten him again or sothing, are you...?”
I gave him a strange look.
Seriously, what was with him always acting like I’m so kind of criminal?
And what did he an by ‘again’?
“I’ve never threatened anyone in my entire life.”
“Sigh... Sure, let’s say that’s true. But even if your intentions are pure, the other person could still take it as a threat, right?”
“Yes, that kind of misunderstanding does happen from ti to ti.”
“...I’m saying, just don’t let Uncle Rupert misunderstand. If it becos a problem in the family council...”
He clearly looked worried that things might escalate from a simple misunderstanding.
But I smiled brightly.
“It’s fine. Rupert will promise us his vote.”
“Why? There’s no reason for him to.”
“Well, creating that reason is what persuasion is all about, isn’t it? You don’t need to worry. Oh, but whatever I say—Gerrard, it would help if you stayed quiet.”
“W-What are you planning to say...?”
Just then, the cabin intercom chid.
[We will soon be landing at Manassas Airport. Passengers, please fasten your seatbelts.]
***
“If you’re here for tomorrow’s eting, I’ve got nothing to say.”
As expected, Rupert imdiately shut down as if he had no intention of listening.
Still, I spoke calmly.
“As I ntioned before, Delphi would like to build a cooperative relationship with the next CEO of Marquis. We’re hoping that Gerrard takes that position…”
“That’s your concern, not mine. I have the right to vote however I see fit.”
He was completely unwilling to compromise.
The ssage was clear—‘If you want my vote, do as I say.’
Well, Rupert had every reason to feel confident.
‘He must think we don’t have any alternatives.’
To make Gerrard CEO, we needed a majority vote from the family council.
And the voting power was split like this:
Collateral family mbers: 20%.Trust manager: 20%.Uncle Rupert: 30%.Uncle Henry: 30%.
I had already secured the collateral votes through Patricia, and won over the trust manager by offering insider investnt tips.
But even when combined, they only made up 40%.
In the end, if Gerrard wanted to beco CEO, he had to win over at least one of his two uncles.
However—
"Desmond would never vote for Gerrard."
Uncle Desmond, who was pushing for his own son to be the successor, was never a viable option to begin with.
That left only one choice: the elder uncle.
Rupert had clearly seen that and was leveraging it to his advantage.
I let out a soft sigh and asked gently, “May I ask why you’re against Gerrard?”
To my surprise, Rupert answered without hesitation.
“Gerrard is too independent. He’s not even blood-related to , so why should I support a successor like that?”
“So basically, you want soone who’ll do as you say.”
“That’s right. I’d rather have soone a little naïve but obedient to my instructions.”
What he wanted was a puppet who would follow his every command.
At one point, he had hoped Gerrard would be that puppet.
But now that Gerrard had regained his autonomy, Rupert could no longer control him.
I nodded and continued.
“So, what you want is influence... In that case, how about this? Gerrard could visit you once a week to seek your advice.”
Rupert stared at as if I were insane, then scowled and shot back.
“Are you seriously calling that a deal?”
“Why not? I think it’s a fairly decent offer.”
“Co see every weekend to listen to my advice? He’ll just hear it in one ear and let it out the other—what’s the point?”
I nodded calmly.
“Yes, it may not be much in terms of real influence. But from the outside, you’ll appear to be the wise uncle ntoring his nephew.”
“Even so, I’d have no real power!”
“So, are you rejecting the offer?”
“It’s not even worth considering.”
I sighed and replied with mild frustration.
“That’s unfortunate. We were hoping to resolve this matter quickly.”
Then I looked him straight in the eyes and added,
“If you insist on this stance, then I only have one option left—I'll go speak to Desmond.”
“That bastard would never vote for Gerrard...”
“No, he wouldn’t. I know that. But it doesn’t matter.”
“?”
“What if we simply support Desmond’s son as the next successor? At the very least, the next CEO would be decided quickly.”
“What did you just say?”
Rupert’s face contorted even more.
Gerrard also seed surprised, but since I had already given him a heads-up, he didn’t react much.
I went on calmly.
“As I said, our goal is just to secure the next CEO. We prefer Gerrard because we work well together, but it doesn’t have to be him.”
Once I made it clear that I was open to abandoning Gerrard, the color drained from Rupert’s face.
Because that changed everything.
“I hold 40% of the votes.”
If I joined Desmond’s side, they would win without question.
I couldn’t make Gerrard CEO with 40%, but I could certainly make Desmond’s son the next successor.
Rupert shouted, his face red with anger.
“Nonsense! There’s no way you’d abandon Gerrard. If you were going to do that, you wouldn’t have backed him in the first place!”
I simply shrugged.
“As I said, I prefer Gerrard. But I’m not related to him by blood either. I have no reason to blindly support him.”
That was true.
I had no obligation to go out of my way and suffer losses just to help Gerrard.
“All I’d have to do is say ‘sorry’ to Gerrard, and that’s it. But what about you?”
“......”
Rupert had an extrely bad relationship with his brother, Desmond.
And if Desmond’s son beca CEO?
He wouldn’t just lose influence—he could be completely pushed out.
“Wouldn’t it be better to choose Gerrard? That way, at least you get to remain the wise ntor and advisor.”
“Y-You...! This is blackmail!”
I let out a sigh before I could stop myself.
These kinds of accusations were starting to get old.
“This isn’t blackmail. I’m not forcing you to do anything. The choice is entirely yours.”
I never force anyone.
So this wasn’t blackmail.
Having made that perfectly clear, I turned my gaze to the work of art on my wrist.
“However, I would appreciate it if you could make a decision now. If you refuse, I’ll need to go visit Desmond today—and it’s rude to visit soone too late.”
It took so ti, but in the end, Rupert made the ‘rational decision.’
Having successfully ‘persuaded’ him, I boarded my private jet again.
This ti, without Gerrard.
Shortly after takeoff, I headed for the bed to enjoy a mont of peace onboard.
Bzzzzzz.
My phone vibrated.
[Dex Slater]
The caller was none other than the Great White Shark.
I could already guess what this was about.
“The Triangle Club, huh?”
It’s a secret gathering of Wall Street’s top hedge fund managers.
So call it the financial world’s version of a summit.
A while back, the Great White had invited to the eting.
But only as a guest.
Becoming a full mber required the approval of existing mbers—a tedious condition.
So I had declined, or rather, postponed it for months now.
“I had no choice.”
At the ti, I was in the middle of a war with China.
Attending a hedge fund summit under those circumstances would’ve been reckless.
People could easily misunderstand and think ‘Ha Si-heon orchestrated everything in collusion with the hedge funds.’
The law is funny like that.
Stirring people up on TV or in the dia is perfectly legal, but doing the sa thing in a private eting? Suddenly it’s illegal.
Anyway—
[Are you a bit more available now?]
“Yes, I think I can make ti.”
[Then about that eting I ntioned before...]
As expected, it was about the club.
“I’ve been caught up with a lot lately... But if you’ll have , I’d be glad to attend.”
[I see.]
There was a brief silence.
Then the Great White continued.
[But there’s one rule in this eting.]
“A rule?”
[Yes. Newcors are required to bring an investnt idea to prove their qualifications.]
“Prove myself, huh...”
From the way he trailed off, it was clear he felt a little awkward saying it.
After all...
I’m the one who brought down China, and I’ve already been picked as TI’s ‘Most Influential Person of the Year.’
Talking about “qualifications” with soone like that? It was kind of ridiculous.
Even the Great White sounded a little sheepish as he added,
[Anyway, rules are rules.]
“No worries. I understand. Rules are rules—I’ll co prepared.”
Just as we wrapped up the call—
Ding!
The seatbelt sign turned on.
We were already about to land.
Because of the call, I didn’t even get five minutes of sleep in the sky.
“Well, can’t be helped…”
The flight wasn’t that long anyway—it was just a 30-minute hop from Virginia.
[We will soon be arriving in Philadelphia.]
However—
The mont I heard “Philadelphia,” my mood sank.
There was only one reason I ever ca here.
Another Russian Roulette patient had appeared.
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