Chapter 65 Garrett
'I can't give up. I really like Lisa and I absolutely cannot let her end up with a loser like Noah. I won't let her live a difficult life!' Ivan silently thought to himself.
After arriving home, Noah and Lisa had dinner together.
"Honey, the redevelopment project for the slum officially started today," Lisa said while eating. "The resettlement compensation for all the residents in the slum is being handled by a person named Ethan. Do you think he can handle it?"
Lisa looked worried. "This project has a risk of incidents of violence, especially when dealing with issues like demolition compensation with the residents. And there are always some who ask for exorbitant amounts and refuse to move.
"In the end, it’ll lead to conflicts and even casualties."
"Don't worry, Ethan can handle it," Noah replied, scooping food into his mouth.
"How can you be so confident when you haven't even met Ethan? Do you know him?" Lisa asked curiously.
"Ethan is Heather's grandson, the old woman your dad accidentally hit with his car last time. Ethan grew up in the slum, and he knows everyone there and has good relationships with them." Noah didn't hide the truth. "I believe he can handle the resettlement compensation work."
"I see." Lisa understood. "It seems like Noah Capital made a wise decision in choosing people for this."
"Of course, I think so too." Noah grinned, feeling pleased by his wife's praise.
"There's one more thing, the outsourcing of the construction projects in the slum," Lisa continued. "Most of the projects are outsourced because, Noah Capital is primarily an investment company, after all, with limited experience in actual construction operations.
"One-third of the projects are being outsourced to a person named Garrett. I'll have to talk to him in a few days to discuss the specific plans."
"One-third?" Noah was a bit surprised. It wouldn’t be easy for Garrett to handle one-third of the construction projects in a slum redevelopment project that was worth billions. It showed that he had some capability.
"This Garrett seems quite remarkable." Noah chuckled.
"That's right. They say that Garrett has connections with various developers in Oceanbridge City, and he has tens of thousands of migrant workers working for him," Lisa said.
Noah nodded, his face thoughtful, and he didn't say anything more.
...
The next morning, at the first building in Wealth Plaza.
Noah stood at the very top, leisurely watching the bustling traffic outside.
"Garrett seems like a man of great importance since he managed to secure one-third of the outsourcing project in the impoverished area," Noah said expressionlessly.
"Garrett has a deep background in Oceanbridge City. He came from a rural background and lost both his parents at a young age. Thirty years ago, he came to Oceanbridge City alone and started as a laborer at the dock. He went through a lot of hardships," Samuel respectfully explained.
"After saving up some money, he leased a small dock and began his dock trading business. Opportunities were everywhere with the booming economy and influx of foreign investment at the time. Garrett happened to seize that chance.
"That was when Garrett made his first fortune.
"Later on, with the development of the national real estate industry, Garrett once again seized the opportunity and entered the real estate business, gradually gaining strength and expanding to his current position. He has tens of thousands of workers under his command."
Samuel continued, "At the same time, he also has some connections in the underworld. As you know, in the real estate industry, disputes involving demolition, compensation, and construction can occur at any time. Garrett used his iron-fist approach and those connections to suppress the disputes."
"This Garrett does seem accomplished. He has made significant contributions to the rapid development of the real estate industry in Oceanbridge City," Noah praised.
The relationship between Garrett and the real estate industry in Oceanbridge City was interdependent. Garrett was developing real estate for profit. It was precisely because of his development that the real estate industry in Oceanbridge City was prosperous.
"How does Garrett compare to treal estate tycoons in Oceanbridge City like Charles and Max?" Noah asked again.
"Well, Garrett holds about 40% of the market share in the real estate industry in Oceanbridge City, which is close to half. Charles, Max, and a few other real estate tycoons together have fragmented shares of about 60%," Samuel explained.
Noah nodded.
"Therefore, we have outsourced one-third of the project to Garrett for the redevelopment of the impoverished area," Samuel said. "Without him, it would be difficult for us to complete this project. If we outsourced it to someone else, Garrett would probably have obstructed it. We didn’t want that."
He continued, "We want the project to be perfectly completed. We don't care who it is outsourced to and who gets the profits. We only care about the results.
"It's obvious the success rate of this project will be higher if we give the majority to Garrett."
Noah nodded. Samuel was right. He was inquiring about Garrett was because he was afraid that he might harm Lisa, the CEO.
"Okay, that’s fine," Noah said as he walked toward the exit.
"Goodbye, Noah!" Samuel immediately bowed.
Noah left and took the elevator to the first floor.
He was planning to see Mason and investigate this Garrett to be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances.
"Hmm, Noah, what are you doing here, you good-for-nothing?" Noah suddenly heard a voice.
Noah saw a man with glasses standing not far from him.
The man had a bandage on his nose and a Vacheron Constantin watch on his wrist.
It was Ivan!
"Noah, this is the headquarters of Noah Capital in Oceanbridge City. How could someone like you, a loser, come in here?" Ivan scolded loudly.
He was angry now. He hadn’t expected to encounter Noah, a loser, on his first day at work.
This was the headquarters building and anyone who came in and out was well-dressed and presentable, exuding a gentlemanly demeanor.
But here was Noah, wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and sandals, looking completely out of place.
"Noah, someone of your caliber shouldn't be in a place like this. Now, get lost!" Ivan continued.
"I shouldn't be in a place like this?" Noah looked at Ivan in surprise. "This whole building belongs to me. Coming here is like coming home. And you’re saying I shouldn't be in a place like this?"
Ivan was stunned, then burst into laughter.
"Noah, am I hearing that right? You're saying this whole building is yours? Do you think you're the boss of Noah Capital?
"I think you're crazy. You must be daydreaming to be able to say something like that!"
Noah shook his head, not interested in wasting his time talking to Ivan.
"Security! Where is security?" Ivan shouted. "Someone has entered Noah Capital headquarters without permission. Get him out of here!"
"What's going on?" a security guard asked as he approached.
