Chapter 321
I grinned and shook my head, "Sure, Mae can come over, but you two can't be in the same department. And seriously, don't let anyone at work know you're a couple."
Before I became the boss, I thought this kind of rule was heartless. But now, I get it.
So, Daniel ended up at LuxeLore e-commerce, and Mae, who’s all about beauty, joined Ruyi Cosmetics.
HR handled their onboarding. As the boss, I didn't want to be too visible and stir up gossip.
As soon as they left, Mia slipped in, "Are those two your relatives?"
I looked at her, surprised, "How'd you figure that out?"
"Been here long enough to know you don't usually care this much. Anyone you personally greet must be special."
I hugged her, "You're sharp."
She giggled, sat on my lap, and wrapped her arms around my neck, "Mr. Cena, it's time for some fun again."
Fun? Man, that stuff was exhausting.
"Not today, got stuff to do later."
She didn't push it. With WY Media Company blowing up, I had a ton on my plate, and Mia handled a lot of the paperwork for me.
Gotta say, these two girls were really on top of things.
"Once this busy spell is over, let's take a trip."
"You better not be lying."
We kissed for a while, then I bounced from the office.
I had Ava drive me to Nexus Enterprises.
"John, got some killer news for you!"
"What's up?"
He tossed me a cigar, "Sevan City Beer Festival's daily sales just hit over ten million bottles!"
"Whoa, that's nuts."
Patrick grinned, "Sevan City beer is blowing up, everyone loves the taste and price."
"We've expanded to Silverlake and Windermere, and by the end of the month, we'll be even bigger."
"And guess how many investment firms have hit me up?"
I shook my head.
Patrick started counting, "Vanguard Wealth Advisors, Liberty Capital Group, BrightStar Financial Services."
He listed six or seven firms, with the first three being top-tier venture capitalists.
"Guess how much they think we're worth?"
"How much?"
"Twenty billion dollars!"
What! I was floored, twenty billion dollars?
Patrick laughed, "Yep, twenty billion! And that's just the first round!"
Twenty billion meant my fifteen percent stake would be worth three billion if I cashed out!
A billionaire!
I was a freaking billionaire.
I took a deep breath, trying to stay cool, "Patrick, did you take their money?"
Patrick kicked back, blowing smoke, "Twenty billion is too low. We snagged the gold award at this year's wine tasting. Our daily sales are over ten million, and we've got channels in three provinces. Hitting fifteen million daily sales is just around the corner. With monthly revenue easily over five hundred million, annual revenue of at least ten billion, twenty billion is peanuts."
I calmed down. Yeah, Sevan City beer was raking it in. Twenty billion was lowballing us.
Look at those tech companies hitting ten billion easy. Sevan City beer was in retail, so twenty billion was a joke!
"Even BrightStar Financial Services valued us at twenty-five billion, but that's still too low."
Patrick said, "In the future, Sevan City beer will be a hundred billion dollar brand!"
A hundred billion, just thinking about it got me hyped.
"So, what's the plan then?" I asked. "We're not raising any capital?"
Patrick smirked, "John, you got it wrong. We're not saying no to investments, we just won't sell our shares for cheap."
"For instance, if Liberty Capital Group values us at fifty billion dollars, I'd definitely sell some shares to cash out. You know the muscle behind Liberty Capital Group, right? They can help us dominate the domestic market fast."
"Plus, think about it, we could gain a lot. Your WY Media Company would benefit too since Liberty Capital Group controls the biggest traffic in the country. That'd be a huge boost for you."
I mulled over Patrick's words and they made sense.
But at the end of the day, it's all about making bank. The main reason for doing projects is to rake in the dough.
Take Liberty Capital Group, for example. A lot of their capital is foreign. Sure, we could go without their money, but that means going solo, risking getting crushed or bought out.
I nodded, getting the picture.
"The new round of offers is still rolling in. By the end of the month, we'll probably take the first round of investment. Honestly, fifty billion isn't much. I'll sell ten percent of the shares. You wanna sell some too?"
I thought about it. If we're valued at fifty billion, my fifteen percent would be worth seven hundred and fifty million. As a major shareholder, not taking investment would dilute my future stake.
"Alright, I'll sell a bit less, maybe three percent?"
Three percent would still be around one hundred and fifty million. Cashing out a bit sounded good.
"Cool, three percent it is."
Patrick grinned, "Sevan City beer will definitely go public someday, and we'll be rolling in it."
I was buzzing with excitement.
The thought of becoming a real billionaire soon had me hyped.
I even wondered if WY Media Company Group would go public one day.
To grow fast, going public is the quickest route.
Suppressing my excitement, I said, "Patrick, I'll leave this to you."
Patrick waved it off, "No need for formalities between us."
"Oh, by the way, what's up with Skyliart Group?"
Patrick's face turned serious, "It's a mess!"
"What do you mean?"
"Media companies are ganging up on Skyliart Group. The misappropriation of channel funds is out in the open."
"Why haven't I seen it in the news?"
"Skyliart Group used their connections to bury it. Don't forget who's backing them!"
I suddenly got it.
"But Skyliart Group is in deep trouble. Joseph's scrambling for cash. Banks won't lend because of the high risk, and familiar companies won't either. Anyone lending now would be a fool. So he hit the black market and borrowed two hundred million to calm things down temporarily."
"Isn't that a loan shark?"
"Desperate times, man. Even selling real estate to plug the hole is on the table."
I sighed, "So Skyliart Group got away with it?"
Patrick smirked, "Got away with it? Not really. The Garcia Family has skills, but others aren't pushovers either!"
"Are you saying someone wants to take down Skyliart Group?"
"It's not about taking them down. It's about testing the project's risk resistance."
I got it. This so-called risk resistance test was just a setup, right?
"Don't rush. These games take time. Just watch and wait."
I nodded. Compared to Patrick, I was still a bit green.
After leaving Nexus Enterprises, I headed to Sevan City University.
Ella's class was on Monday afternoon.
Lately, Rita had been traveling all over, scouting brands and recruiting. Like me, she didn't want to create a temporary product, which would be unethical and against the original goal of Ruyi Cosmetics.
In several video calls, she kept reassuring me, but I knew she was stressed.
As the man in charge, I had to nail this.
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