After finishing his report, Dick prepared to stand up and leave.
Leo waved his hand and said to him:
"Dick, go wait in the next room for my call. After we complete the acquisition of Sears, you might need to change jobs."
"Ah!"
Dick was a little surprised. To be honest, he quite enjoyed working at the James River Foundation—having huge amounts of funds at his disposal and interacting with various high-ranking officials and tycoons who benefited from the foundation gave him a strong sense of self-fulfillment.
In the past, because he lived off his wife's wealth, even the servants at home looked down on him. But now, after following Leo and breaking free from his wife's influence, not only did the servants treat him differently, but his wife had also become much more obedient. At the very least, if Dick wanted to try something new now, his wife would play along; and as long as it wasn't too excessive, she would turn a blind eye to his desire for novelty.
Honestly, Dick was unwilling to be transferred suddenly. He wanted to fight for his current position, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Leo's cold gaze swept over him.
"Go to the next room, Dick," Leo said.
That uncompromising tone left Dick with no thought of resisting. Over the past two years, Dick had been transferred to several positions, all basically following Leo's orders. And this kind of treatment was something almost everyone who entered Leo's inner circle had to go through.
To be honest, frequent job changes among his close associates were definitely not good for the development of each company, but Leo had no choice. His power was expanding rapidly, and all companies prioritized business and profits above all else. There was simply no time for Leo to establish an effective supervision system.
Large enterprises, like countries, would inevitably face various corruption problems when they developed to a certain scale. For example, none of the grass-roots project managers at American Real Estate could completely stay out of trouble. But now was a time for entrepreneurship—for expanding business and influence—not a time for Leo to crack down on internal issues. So he chose to turn a blind eye to some problems among middle and lower-level employees.
However, the senior management was the core of his power, and he couldn't sit back and allow the emergence of "warlord-style" forces in his early years. Therefore, when Daniel had enough power to influence American Real Estate Group, Leo transferred him and replaced him with Charlie. William had almost taken control of the entire underground world in Virginia, so Leo sent him back to play football. Although Sean and Kevin were far away in the West, Leo also placed a "watcher" beside them—Joseph.
And Leo had similar considerations for transferring Dick this time. Five thousand years of Chinese history had taught Leo that human nature couldn't withstand temptation; one shouldn't test brotherhood with huge allures.
"Leo, there's a new guest here," Yelena interrupted Leo's thoughts softly.
After Dick left, Leo was greeted by a guest whose face was streaked with tears—Giannini's daughter, Corea. This woman, who exuded charm with every frown and smile, sat very close to Leo and kept apologizing as soon as she arrived.
Even though the warmth of her skin and the faint scent of her perfume teased Leo constantly, his self-control was extremely strong. Faced with Corea's performance, he just watched coldly.
The reason for this scene was that Corea had overstepped her bounds. Simply put, after Leo introduced Corea to Count Robert, instead of coming to Leo first for advice (despite her father's dissuasion), Corea met the count privately, trying to take charge of the business deal on her own.
Leo could understand her motivation. After all, no one would be willing to let their family's wealth fall into the hands of outsiders eventually. He could also understand Corea's desire to prove herself. But if the world really operated solely based on subjective will, billionaires would be everywhere.
Robert knew very well what the loan was for—it was to invest in Leo's International News Group. Naturally, he wouldn't sign a loan contract with Corea without Leo's approval. Corea wasn't stupid, but the reason she acted so foolishly was not only due to her motivation, but also largely because of information asymmetry.
The establishment of the news group required absolute silence before its public stock offering, so Leo didn't tell Corea the reason for the count's loan. And before signing the contract, the count also didn't tell Corea that the money would be transferred directly to Leo.
Among everyone involved, only the frail Giannini saw through this, but as he lay bedridden, his authority had weakened more and more. Neither his biological daughter Corea nor the old subordinates who had fought with him to build the business took his opinions seriously anymore.
When Corea saw that the deal was about to fall through, she panicked. She tried every means to impress the count but failed, so she had to turn back to Leo. However, Leo—who had given her father face many times before—chose not to tolerate her this time. He had lost patience with Corea, who always had her own ideas and hindered his complete control over the Italian-American community.
After failing to contact Leo multiple times and receiving news that American Real Estate Group and the James River Association had withdrawn huge amounts of funds, Corea finally panicked. She went to all the places where Leo might be to wait for him, but Leo's residences had multiple entrances and exits—how could she possibly block him?
In the end, Corea had to turn to her father. Leo still answered Giannini's call. When Giannini offered to sell 10% of Bank of America's shares for $20 million just to get Leo to meet Corea, Leo agreed. That was how this meeting came about.
Corea wiped her tears, looked at the indifferent Leo, then glanced at Yelena and Malena beside him—their beauty and figures were no worse than hers. She sighed, realizing that her attempts at seduction seemed useless.
Her mind recalled her father explaining to her, while enduring his illness, why he had to sell the family's wealth at a low price:
"Corea, remember this—for Leo, Bank of America is not the only option. But for you to survive and preserve the Giannini family, Leo is the only one. Without him, you can't hold onto anything!"
"What do I need to do to regain your trust and forgiveness?"
Corea stopped trying to be charming. She dropped the disguise she had worn in front of others for so many years. Beneath her fiery red clothes was a cold, calm face.
To be honest, Corea's sudden change in demeanor surprised Leo. He hadn't expected that Corea was also a master of pretense, capable of fooling his eyes. At the same time, he had no interest in her previous coquetry; instead, her current combination of coldness and passion had a unique appeal.
Leo had understood the many implied meanings in Giannini's call that day. When Corea entered Leo's estate today, she was basically like fish on a chopping board. However, before enjoying all this, he needed to take care of business first. Leo signaled to Yelena to go next door and call Dick.
The moment Dick saw Corea, he knew what his new job was. As an insider in the banking industry, Dick knew exactly what was happening at Bank of America. Earlier, he had even joked with friends, analyzing that Bank of America was in an "Age of the Three Roman Triumvirs" now.
Giannini supported Corea and held the most shares; on the surface, he seemed the strongest. But in reality, once Giannini died, all traces of Italian-Americans in this bank would be erased instantly.
The second group was the minority shareholders. Back in the day, they had helped Bank of America survive several crises, and when facing the acquisition threat from Eastern tycoons like Morgan, they had firmly supported Giannini and protected everyone's interests. But that was in the past. In those years, large Eastern companies were very clumsy in their acquisition attempts, mainly relying on their dominant power. Faced with the "vast ocean" of the Western people, no matter how powerful they were, they couldn't fully exert their strength.
After failing in two or three acquisition attempts, the Wall Street bankers led by Morgan finally wised up. They abandoned the idea of taking down Bank of America in one go and instead spent more time, using multiple approaches to gradually infiltrate the large number of minority shareholders. After twenty years, this tactic had finally begun to work today. The so-called "minority shareholders" were actually controlled by three forces: Morgan, Rockefeller, and the emerging Jewish capital.
There was also a fourth force: the state governments in the West, especially California. For a super bank that affected thousands of households in the West, the government naturally wanted to take it over and nationalize it. They had made many attempts before, but all were cleverly defused by Giannini. Nevertheless, their efforts were not completely fruitless—they had also gained control of 15% of Bank of America's shares.
Dick and his friends had enjoyed discussing the situation and commenting on current affairs, never expecting that events would unfold so quickly and that he would soon be drawn into this arena of multi-party rivalry. Before Leo could speak, he put on a mournful face and begged:
"Boss, I don't think I can handle Bank of America. It's not that I'm worried about myself—it's mainly that I'm afraid of disrupting your plans."
"Dick, I know your abilities very well, and please don't worry. When you go to Bank of America this time, I won't give you any specific tasks. Your only mission is to stay there, watch more, listen more, talk less, and observe more. Even if Corea asks you for help, you don't need to pay attention to her. You will represent me, hold 10% of the shares, and watch the storms unfold at Bank of America. My only requirement for you is: when the day comes that I want to make a move, I can immediately find partners and targets to act against. Do you understand?"
Leo's words made Dick breathe a sigh of relief—if it was just this, he could do it.
"I understand, Boss. I can definitely complete this task."
"Oh, right—take your wife with you," Leo said.
"Ah?"
The moment Dick agreed, his mind was filled with thoughts of the sunshine and beautiful beaches in the West. But taking his wife along would definitely ruin that wonderful life.
"Listen, Dick. If you make a mistake regarding Bank of America—especially because of your little 'indiscretions'—I promise you, I won't let you be happy. By the way, I've kept this thing for many years. It's time to return it to you."
As Leo spoke, he threw a box of film to Dick. Dick looked at the slightly yellowed film. The dim light in the room shone on it, and he could vaguely see the image of a cramped small room and a small bed inside—and his own panicked expression from back then.
Dick didn't pick up the film. Instead, he pushed it back to Leo and said:
"It's better to keep this film in your hands, Boss. I will work hard in the West."
Leo had given back the film because he himself had already become Dick's greatest fear; there was no longer any need to use this film to threaten him. Dick pushed it back not because he naively wanted Leo to keep holding his "weakness" over him—he also understood that this was no longer a weakness. He did this only because he was smart enough to want to continue using this matter as a unique bond between him and Leo.
"In that case, I'll keep it for you a little longer. Go now, Dick, and get your work done."
After Dick left, Leo stood up, lifted Corea's chin with his hand, and looked down at her:
"This is the first step in my trusting you, Corea. You can only take what I give you. What I don't give, you can't take."
Corea had clearly seen how Leo had just "put a collar" on Dick. She realized that Leo was completely different from her father. Her father was like a leader elected by the Greek city-states, while Leo was like a tyrant with unpredictable moods and arbitrary power. At this moment, she gained a new understanding of her father's words: a leader would sacrifice his daughter for the greater good, but a tyrant would not—because that would challenge the monarch's authority and go against the monarch's fundamental interests.
"What is the second step to gaining your trust?" Corea asked.
Leo smiled slightly and said:
"Go upstairs."
Upon hearing this, Corea instinctively resumed her coquettish manner, but the next second Leo's voice came again:
"I still prefer your cold look."
If you asked Corea what the tyrant was like that night, she would tell you he was a cruel beast that never tired.
When the morning sun shone into the room, Corea, waking up from her sleep, felt as if her whole body was falling apart and couldn't move at all. At that moment, the door opened, and Yelena walked in with breakfast.
"Just put it there," Corea said.
Yelena gave her a knowing look and said:
"We all know how this feels. You can't lift your arms—let me feed you."
Since she was a child, this was the first time Corea had been fed by someone like this. She felt extremely ashamed. Perhaps to divert this embarrassing shame, she asked:
"Where's Leo?"
"He got a call early in the morning and left right away," Yelena replied.
"Who was the call from?" Corea asked curiously.
"I'm not sure who exactly it was, but it sounded like someone named Rockefeller," Yelena said.
Corea's eyes widened. She instinctively thought that Leo had betrayed her—using her and then dumping her, turning to cooperate with the Rockefeller family instead. If there was any family that coveted Bank of America the most, the Rockefellers were definitely at the top of the list.
"Do you know what they were going to talk about?"
Corea struggled to sit up and looked at Yelena with hope.
"Something about real estate, I think," Yelena said.
"Not banking?"
"I didn't hear much clearly, but there definitely wasn't any mention of 'bank'," Yelena replied.
While Corea was worrying unnecessarily, Noodles had already driven Leo into a large brownstone building on West 54th Street in Manhattan. This was one of the residences where John D. Rockefeller had lived after moving to New York. Now, it was home to his son, John D. Rockefeller Jr.—the person who had called Leo early that morning.