[Chapter 66: It's All About the Capital]
"Warner is Warner, and we are who we are. We can leverage some of Warner's power or follow arrangements that benefit us," Orlando said as he sipped juice at the Garden Steakhouse in Lower Manhattan.
He was talking to Seymour and Frank. "But we can't just sit back and do nothing, right?"
After saying that, he smirked slightly and turned toward Seymour alone, "If I can't drink, Seymour, this is pretty good. Today's mango juice is really fresh."
It was four in the afternoon. Orlando and the other top two executives from Orlando Records had skipped lunch and met for this meal.
Thanks to the strict alcohol laws, Orlando -- almost nineteen -- could only have the mango juice. He could freely buy marijuana in most states, and it wasn't illegal at all. Some states even allowed smoking it openly on the street; others limited it to private or non-public places.
But sorry, no alcohol to be bought.
Seymour couldn't drink either, due to high blood pressure and age, so he followed his doctor's advice.
Only Frank could have a drink.
So at that table, all three were drinking different things.
"No, thanks," Seymour waved off the offer. "I'm not allergic to mango, and I like mango juice, but my recent health check showed my blood sugar is high too. Man... getting old is just slowly draining my energy."
"Never mind all that, Seymour. You still got twenty, thirty years of God's grace left," Frank said, not in the mood for any more talk about aging. "The first thing we have to do is get Kurt come out to prove those pictures were taken recently -- not three or four years ago."
"That's step one," Frank added, "Then we hit the newspapers, take on media outlets led by the New York Post! We can't let them run wild without a fight -- otherwise the public will assume it's all true."
"Get Melvin involved!" Orlando growled. "I want to sue the New York Post. I want to make things worse for that Kalikow guy! Even if it costs millions!"
Honestly, the New York Post had really gone too far this time.
They ran a full-page feature.
And it came off seriously.
Other tabloids' smear campaigns multiplied by ten times couldn't touch the damage from the Post's single big attack.
Orlando hated Kalikow now.
And those people from Sony who made Kalikow do it.
"Suing is a must," Seymour suggested. "This time the impact is quite large. I think it shouldn't just be the three of us discussing it. We need Kurt, Melvin, everyone involved -- even Mr. Morgenthau if possible."
"But this isn't political, right?"
"How's it not political? Japanese people are attacking America's up-and-coming entertainment star!" Seymour winked. "That's political!"
"All right," Orlando agreed without hesitation.
Surely Daisy's cousin shouldn't just take the money and do nothing.
Isn't this the crucial moment when the U.S. and Japan are signing a trade agreement?
When a U.S. company controlled by Japanese interests attacks an American, that's political in more ways than one.
So the political consultant George Morgenthau couldn't just sit on his hands.
The three of them agreed on this plan.
But just as they were about to leave, with Frank reaching for the check, Orlando suddenly said to the two, "I mean, I'm just asking... hypothetically."
"Yeah?"
"What if I accepted Jewish status? What would happen?"
Frank and Seymour exchanged glances, then Seymour spoke.
"We all know they're stronger in the film industry, but just as powerful in music. In fact, at least half of the shareholders at Time Warner are Jews."
"But if you want to get noticed by them, just openly admitting it will only get you more votes at the VMAs or Grammys. If you want to truly get close, you gotta go cry under that wall," Frank whispered.
"What a hassle," Orlando shrugged. "Let's just stick to what we agreed on for now."
---
With Orlando Records being part of the Warner family, they were caught in the middle of a massive battle between Warner Music and Sony Music.
It was really a fight between Time Warner and Japanese interests in the American entertainment industry.
Orlando felt powerless.
He didn't have the convenience of small tabloid attacks to fight back like last time.
Against this storm of corporate warfare, Orlando first felt like a small fry.
That feeling of being the star -- the main event with fans and paparazzi chasing him everywhere -- had faded a lot.
It hit Orlando that even if he made it to MJ's level -- or surpassed MJ - -what good would it do?
MJ nearly fell from grace because of capital moves.
His death remained mysterious.
Part of it was MJ's immature personality, and his distancing himself from the Black community's protection while chasing big money.
But truthfully, no matter how big the star or powerful the singer, in front of the capital, they're just small fish.
---
After the meeting that evening, once the response plan was set, Orlando dove into Wall Street.
He spent all day at Goldman Sachs, dragging Brand along, making his private investment manager a tour guide and finance teacher again.
Brand grumbled but didn't dare complain.
Not only because of Daisy Cuomo, but also because Brand was surprised.
All ten stocks Orlando asked him to buy had gone up over the past two weeks.
Especially Dell Computers, which skyrocketed following a news report a week ago about the U.S. military possibly choosing IBM and Dell as the military suppliers.
Compared to when Orlando first bought in, Dell stock jumped 18%!
Brand had bought $6 million in Dell stock for Orlando.
In less than ten days, Orlando's $6 million in Dell shares had become $7.08 million.
Counting the other stocks, Orlando's $30 million principal grew to $33.8 million in about ten days.
That's a return of over 10%.
It would be lucky if just a few of those ten stocks rose.
Half or more rising would be impressive.
But all ten moving up, even some up just 3%, proved this high school dropout -- who might never even go to college -- really had some talent in stocks.
So although a little annoyed, Brand carefully played his part as tour guide and finance teacher, spending the last few days with Orlando on Wall Street.
*****
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