America: My Time

Chapter 247 Morgan's Party

Chapter 247 Morgan's Party
The battle in New York came and went quickly. In less than a week, John had everything he wanted. After leaving $50 million for Hurricane Investment, the rest of the funds returned to their original accounts. Just as John was preparing to return to San Francisco, he received an invitation from Morgan and the other old guys. This wasn't an ordinary party; it was a pre-funding negotiation meeting! Perhaps the old guys were worried that John would postpone the fundraising, after all, John now had another $400 million in his hands, which was a huge blow to them.

The party was hosted by Morgan, leaving John no chance to refuse. He still had to give Morgan face. If it were those old guys, John wouldn't care. After all, they weren't on the same wavelength, and John didn't think he had anything to talk about with those old guys.

Because the invitation to the party was unexpected, John came alone without a female companion. When he arrived at the venue, he saw Jimmy, Morgan's manager.

Lin Xiaotian said with a smile, "Jimmy, are you worried that I'll go back on my word? You're in such a hurry to put on a party like this. I'm not the kind of person who breaks his promise!"

John spoke frankly and directly to Jimmy, the Morgan manager he knew very well, without any pretense, because John knew that Jimmy also knew what he was thinking.

“John, it’s not that we don’t trust you, but some people have concerns. You know that there are many times when we at Morgan are not in control of our own destiny. This time, the $400 million you got from Lehman Brothers has made some people uneasy. They are afraid that you will give up financing for Nvidia and Dreamworld, and they are worried that their previous efforts will be wasted!”

"Yes, there are always some people with all sorts of ideas and schemes. It's just that this time you gave me too little time, leaving me without even a female companion. That's rather impolite!"

Upon hearing John's words, Jimmy burst into laughter and said, "Come on, John, Wall Street parties are never short of beautiful women. You might not be familiar with this place yet, but if you live in New York for a while, you'll get used to it. Generally, there are three types of beautiful women at these parties. The first is the 'outsider' type, which you know is there to make money—models, etc. The second is the 'inner' type, consisting of beauties from various companies and high-achieving students from top universities. Unlike the outsiders, they participate in the entire party, providing various services; they possess both intelligence and beauty. The third type is the socialite. Different types have different pursuits, you understand!"

While talking with Jimmy, the two entered the venue. There were already quite a few people there, but John didn't recognize many of them, only about a dozen. Moreover, he only nodded to them and didn't really know many of them. As for the old guys, they were not among the crowd.

Looking at the people in the hall, each one was surrounded by several beautiful women, chatting and laughing. However, most of the guys were not young, at least much older than the women surrounding them, and quite a few were even their grandfathers. This is the norm on Wall Street. Most of these women belong to the former two categories, and there are not many socialites because their pursuits are different.

When Jimmy and John entered, many people saw them, especially the beautiful women, whose eyes lit up. The prepared and shrewd beauties naturally recognized John, knowing him as the American media and entertainment tycoon and gaming mogul. They all wanted to go up and greet John. For them, accompanying this young tycoon was much better than accompanying those old men. This was the thought of most of the beauties present.

However, their idea was destined to be impossible to realize. Jimmy and John did not linger in the hall at all, but went straight upstairs. The upstairs was the venue for those with status, while the guys in the hall on the first floor were just ordinary people.

Of course, it's understandable that some people unfamiliar with media and entertainment might not know John's identity, as they focus on finance rather than media and entertainment, and it's normal for them not to recall his background immediately. However, most of these people fall into the second category, being graduates of prestigious universities. As for the first and third categories, almost everyone knows John's identity. The first category consists of people involved in media and entertainment, so they naturally need to know the head of Hollywood's top tycoon. The third category comprises socialites; who doesn't know of John's extraordinary talent, and who wouldn't want to have some kind of relationship with him?

"Ron, who is this person who came in with Manager Morgan? Is he also a Wall Street professional? Why does he look so familiar?" It was obvious that this woman was neither the first nor the third type of person, but rather the second type—a high-achieving student from a major university. If she were a beauty from within Wall Street, she wouldn't have said such a thing. John had become quite famous on Wall Street these past few days. As the madman who brought down Lehman Brothers, who wouldn't know him?

"You don't even know who he is? It seems your insight is lacking. You can't survive on Wall Street like that. He's the man who brought down Lehman Brothers, America's number one media and entertainment tycoon, gaming mogul, Silicon Valley magnate, and also the owner of Hurricane Capital. Don't even think about him. You're not even close enough to be a match for him. Not to mention you, most of the people here today are no match for him. Right now, he's the one person you absolutely can't afford to offend on Wall Street!"

"So it was him! No wonder he seemed so familiar!"

"Just look at the reactions of those people around you, and you'll understand who this guy is. Those socialites are all staring at him with gleam in their eyes, practically wanting to devour him whole!" Nowadays, almost everyone on Wall Street knows about the failure of Lehman Brothers, and that Lehman Brothers had to bow down and admit defeat to save itself, paying $400 million to settle its feud with John, this madman. Who wouldn't be afraid of a powerful figure who could bring down Lehman Brothers in the financial market? Don't be fooled by the fact that these guys in the meeting are all Wall Street elites; compared to John, they're not even in the same league.

John and Jimmy went upstairs together. Several bodyguards were standing at the entrance on the second floor. When they saw John and Jimmy, they quickly made way for them and let them in. After the two went in, they blocked the doorway again.

Upon entering the second floor, John discovered that it was truly a hidden paradise, significantly better furnished than the first floor. Moreover, the quality of the women here was far superior to that of the downstairs, completely outclassing the first floor. The women here were all top-tier beauties, and many of them even had impressive social standing.

"John, you're a bit late today. We've been waiting for you for ages!" Morgan's big boss's voice came over, and John couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Sorry I'm a little late. I'm not very familiar with New York. Look, I don't even have a female companion with me!"

Upon hearing John's words, some people in the room couldn't help but laugh. There really was no need to bring a female companion here, because there were beauties everywhere. This was a Wall Street party, this was a Wall Street banquet.

“John, it would be a huge loss if you really brought a female companion!” At this moment, Julia Robertson of Tiger Fund spoke up. John actually knew this man. Although he didn’t work on Wall Street, he still knew about Tiger Fund.

"Mr. Julian, hello! I didn't expect to see you here!" John was very happy to see this big shot. Tiger Fund's returns are top-notch on Wall Street, and John had great respect for this big shot.

Up on the second floor, every Wall Street guy is a big shot. You can't gain their approval unless you're at a certain level, and they won't take you seriously unless you have a truly impressive track record. Although John's record wasn't extensive, and he wasn't a true Wall Street professional, no one dared to underestimate him because he had brought down Lehman Brothers, a force that no one dared to disregard.

Birds of a feather flock together. People who are not of the same kind will never get along well. John's ability to gain Julian Robertson's approval is enough to prove his status on Wall Street. If anyone dares to look down on John now, they are ignorant and foolish.

However, Julian Robertson knew the purpose of tonight's party, so he didn't talk to John much and chose to leave, leaving John to Morgan and the old guys. After all, they were the main characters tonight, and even Julian Robertson had to give way.

“John, let’s go. Let’s go talk to those old guys first. You know how worried they are. If we keep them waiting too long, they’ll only get more anxious. It’s better to talk to them first before discussing anything else, to avoid any unnecessary trouble.”

John nodded and said, "I understand. After all, everyone is worried that I will break my promise after getting the $400 million from Lehman Brothers, and that their previous investments will go down the drain. The cost to Sikorsky may not be small for them either. If they don't get anything at all, it will be enough to break their hearts."

As John said this, a faint smile appeared on his face. It was a mockery of those old guys. He could only say that those old guys were overthinking things. He wasn't that stupid. He wouldn't ruin his relationship with Morgan for such a small amount of money. His vision was not that shallow.

(End of this chapter)