Re: Life - Business & Technology

Chapter 148 Thought Leaders

While Vince and his guests made their way towards Future Couture's afterparty venue, The Rainbow Room, a few of JP Morgan Chase's underlings discussed Jamie Dimon's meeting with the young CEO on a secure voice channel.

The middle-aged man was very disappointed with Vince's response to his offer during the runway event and pondered, [Who does that little punk think he is?!]

One of his banking executives inquired, "Mr. Dimon, how do you think we should proceed with the Future Tech problem?"

They expected Vince Dalton to capitulate, but Jaime replied, "He didn't seem too concerned with my threats of lobbying the government to regulate cryptocurrencies. Still, we'll do what we promised and payoff our contacts within the US Treasury and Federal Reserve."

An underling interjected by asking, "But will it be enough to change their minds in cooperating with us?"

Jamie considered his options, then answered, "Future Tech is primarily a utilities and technologies business, so I think disrupting its operations until they lose consumer trust is the play. It would be the most effective method in forcing that disrespectful kid's hand to work with us."

One of his bank's lead security officers inquired, "Future Tech is a fairly new corporation, but it services hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Therefore, it will require extensive resources to tackle their defenses, and success is not assured."

Everyone in the security industry acknowledged Future Tech's newfound position in the business as a reliable partner by numerous significant entities such as the Pentagon, the United Nations, and the Afghanistan government.

Jamie Dimon understood what his security officer meant and confidently replied, "It will be expensive, but I'll approve $5 billion in cash to fund the operation. So money is no issue."

When it eventually entered the cryptocurrency credit business, his bank's income was expected to soar as interest in Bitcoin and Bitcash worldwide had increased tremendously due to Vince's numerous projects.

Jamie could quickly recoup the cost of eventually putting Future Tech in its place.

The lead security officer respectfully said, "Give me a week to speak with my contacts and plan the coordinated attack."

The middle-aged CEO was a banker and unfamiliar with the specifics of cyber warfare but was aware an operation like this required patience.

It was especially true for a corporation such as Future Tech, famous for earning money by securing other entities' assets and its own.

A smile of hubris was on Jamie's face while he imagined Vince Dalton begging for mercy after his corporation had imploded into chaos.

A bank with more than a thousand years of accumulated history, built by the elites among the western settlers of the United States, would not readily accept Future Tech's discourtesy.

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The Future Couture afterparty held at the Rainbow Room within the 30 Rockefeller building was as exquisite as the runway event earlier.

Guests of different backgrounds enjoyed the food and drank alcohol served at the buffet table sponsored by Future Tech while waiting for Leah Dalton to make her appearance.

The people present shared one similarity; it was the fact that they were very wealthy New York socialites willing to donate money for a good cause while lowering their annual taxable revenue. A win-win situation for people in the non-profit industry and their affluent patrons.

There were a few outliers, such as the Future Tech event staff and the many beautiful models featured by Leah during the runway show, like Gigi Hadid and Dua Lipa.

The emcee of the afterparty, Diana Strong of IC News, garnered everyone's attention using her microphone and announced, "Future Couture would like to thank everyone for supporting its Fashion Week events. Every generous donation received will help initiatives in Africa to provide clean water for many of its communities in need. Before we continue enjoying this wonderful evening, I'd like to welcome our valued Future Tech executives."

The spotlight was directed to one side of the venue showing Vince and Leah making their way toward the stage.

It was a rare opportunity to meet the young CEO in such an intimate venue in public. Most of his appearances were held in massive venues during the Arena Pro League events and the random Jimmy Kimmel interview.

Vince Dalton earned respect and admiration of many due to his young age and accomplishments and was considered the pioneer of his generation.

The megacorporation had its fair share of haters and critics. Still, many of its business partners and millions of customers appreciated its positive impact by increasing revenue and providing quality services.

It wasn't an exaggeration when people compared him to the likes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, but with so much more potential to change the world.

Leah and Vince provided a short speech to share their gratitude for their guests and the Future Tech staff directly involved in the event's success.

A few minutes went by after Diana Strong welcomed the guests of honor. Vince observed how Leah and the rest of his friends were enjoying the event, especially Kyle speaking animatedly with Kylie Jenner about Everlife Online.

He didn't want to break the celebrative mood. Hence, he decided to postpone leaving New York in a hurry and instead contacted his Director of Cybersecurity, Anthony, to monitor Future Tech and its partners' network services before returning to Austin.

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Leah and Sera kept busy conversing with Tamara Mellon, the founder of Jimmy Choo Shoes, while her daughters entertained Rick and the rest of the young entourage.

Vince enjoyed a Vesper Martini with his other arm wrapped around his elegant companion. They courteously spoke to Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark, a well-known New York socialite and legitimate royalty.

Her family lost control over Greece due to a military coup in the 1970s and was a prime example of society's fragile power structure.

Vince Dalton decided to cooperate with the US military due to the unfortunate realities of politics. Influential historical figures such as Julius Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte displayed the critical role the armed forces played in securing political positions and valuable assets and imposing radical changes in society.

Vince pitied the 17-year-old princess for only a moment before realizing she lived a privileged life as a trust fund socialite but allowed Hailee to experience speaking to royalty for the first time.

While the two young ladies complimented each other's outfits, Vince noticed a familiar Chinese man in his mid-40s conversing with a few Asian businessmen and women.

Vince would much rather cooperate with people like Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group, compared to banking cockroaches. The former shared the same vision of a market-driven and open economy and was highly respected in the international business scene.

Vince sincerely said, "It was a pleasure meeting your acquaintance, Princess Olympia. Please continue your conversation with Hailee while I entertain an important client of mine."

The princess felt a bit odd hearing such professionalism from a person younger than her but elegantly curtsied for Vince as a sign of respect before he left.

He was escorted by an FS operator toward Jack Ma's group and interjected their conversation by saying, "Good evening, everyone. I apologize for disturbing your discussion, but I'd love to speak with Mr. Ma for a few moments."

The people in the group recognized the young man as Vince Dalton before Jack Ma replied, "No need for apologies. Please allow me to introduce my companions first. My wife, Zhang Ying, and that gentleman is Joseph Tsai. They're both executives of Alibaba Group."

Vince shook their hands as he received compliments from Zhang and Joseph, considering Alibaba's highly profitable partnership with Bitcash by facilitating transactions of Asian consumers through AliPay.

Their partnership was similar to his current deals with MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal but remained the only legal provider for the Eastern market.

Jack Ma hailed from a humble background like Vince and shared an optimistic vision of the future for young people. So when he found out the small company called Future Tech, helmed by a teenager, wanted to pursue digital e-commerce, he immediately accepted the proposal.

War Online's success in China can be mainly attributed to Jack Ma's foresight and open mind in cooperating with the relatively unknown tech startup.

Vince sincerely said, "It's an honor to finally meet you in person, Mr. Ma. I'm glad you were able to attend the afterparty."

The Chinese CEO happily replied, "Future Couture is supporting a noble cause, and it would only be right for me to donate to one of Alibaba's most important partners. During our last meeting, President Xi Jinping had mentioned the success of another project your corporation was conducting with our government."

Vince honestly replied, "True. The Chinese National Petroleum Corporation had recently begun increasing crude oil extraction in Afghanistan, and the South Asian utility grid project negotiations look promising."

Jack Ma specialized in e-commerce and promoted its normalization in China to increase productivity and accept globalization as a positive rather than a negative.

The two businessmen had plenty of similar views and opinions regarding the future of the young generation. Vince had so much fun conversing with Jack that he forgot about the unpleasant meeting with Jamie Dimon an hour earlier.

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Collaborators (Epic, Koenegisegg, SpaceX, Tesla, Hyundai C&E, Disney, Lockheed Martin, Alibaba, Deloitte)

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