Trish O'Connor (2)
Sean kept talking.
"The truth is, we're in the middle of raising investment right now. I’ve been looking around for funding, and there’s one firm that seems interested."
"How much are they willing to put in?"
"I don't know whether it’ll happen or not, but they said they’d be willing to invest $100,000. I’m planning to meet them and hear them out first."
"And the terms?"
"Fifteen percent equity."
So that was why he’d come back to New York for a short while?
Come to think of it, I vaguely remembered seeing an article about the company that had backed him after O'Connor Burger went public and hit it big.
That was because the company he was running now eventually became O'Connor Burger itself. The app had died, but once the investor saw the food truck doing well, they poured in even more money.
I had never intended to invest in a hamburger joint, but this changed things. If it was O'Connor Burger, then it was worth backing.
Maybe I could bring it to Korea faster than before, too.
I said quickly, "I’ll invest."
"Pardon?"
"You don’t need to go around meeting that firm and lowering yourself. I’ll put in that $100,000."
Sean’s eyes widened at my words.
"Really? And the terms?"
"Let’s keep them the same. Fifteen percent of the company."
His face lit up.
"You’re serious?"
"I am."
Trish looked at me in surprise.
"Why would you invest?"
"I don’t know about anything else, but I’ve fallen for the taste of this burger. If a man can make something like this, I can trust the business he’s running."
She stared at me like I was absurd. "You’re really going to decide on an investment that casually?"
If you knew the future, you could.
I pulled out a check on the spot, wrote in the amount, signed it, and handed it to Sean.
"I’ll send the contract by email later. Sign it and send it back when you get it."
Sean took the $100,000 check with barely contained joy.
"Oh! Thank you. Today really is my lucky day."
From his point of view, it must have felt like sudden, impossible fortune.
In reality, I was the lucky one. Who would have thought that following a stranger into a bar would lead me to the founder of O'Connor Burger?
The three of us clinked our beer glasses together.
Just from the mood, it already felt like success had been decided. Sean was buoyed by dreams of a breakthrough, and so was I.
How much had we drunk?
By the time I was starting to feel the alcohol, Trish said, "Get up."
"Where are we going?"
"I’ll show you somewhere good."
"And where exactly is that?"
"Come with me and you’ll see."
We left the pub and walked through the night streets. The sea wind was sharp enough to make me shiver; it felt much colder than Korea.
She led me up to the rooftop of a shabby building.
From there, I could see Upper Bay in the distance, along with the Statue of Liberty.
She leaned against the railing and took out her camera, snapping a photo.
"This is my favorite place. Isn't it amazing that if you follow that sea, you end up in Europe?"
New York was practically the gateway from Europe into America. Even now, ships and planes crossing the Atlantic were still arriving.
"Our ancestors came to America through this place. America is the land of opportunity. That was true then, and it’s still true now."
Compared with the past, the door to opportunity had grown narrower on the road to success.
Still, opportunities existed everywhere if you looked hard enough. The difference was simply between those who could see them and those who couldn’t, those who could seize them and those who couldn’t.
I looked at the Statue of Liberty and smiled.
"I’m glad I came to America."
Trish held out her hand to me.
"I’ll be watching how far Continue Capital grows."
I took her hand.
"Thanks."
* * *
Shark Management.
It was the investment firm founded ten years ago by Michael Preston, the eldest son of the Preston family, one of America’s financial dynasties.
With the backing of his family and Michael’s own sharp instincts, Shark Management had grown at a blistering pace and now stood shoulder to shoulder with the old-line private equity giants of Wall Street.
It had already expanded its investments beyond the United States and Europe into Asia, including China, Korea, and Japan.
The problem was that money was pouring in faster than anyone could manage it.
They’re all idiots.
In the financial markets, one genius could do the work of ten thousand people. What Michael needed were capable hands.
And loyalty on top of that.
Investors who succeeded and made a name for themselves often went off and started their own firms. Michael had no intention of letting people he had trained leave and go independent.
In that sense, David Lockhart was the perfect fit.
He had excellent investing skills, but he was also rigid and principled. Even when others were jumping ship from the sinking vessel called Victory Investment, he had stayed behind and cleaned up the mess to the end.
Even though he’d ended up wearing the stigma of a failure for it.
A man like that is worth trusting.
When he heard that Victory Investment had gone bankrupt, Michael had immediately recognized it as a good opportunity.
But instead of hiring him right away, he’d used his journalist friends to write stories that highlighted David Lockhart’s mistakes.
The company hadn’t failed because of him. It had failed because management had been stupid.
Michael already knew that, but he spread the rumors anyway to corner the man.
Just as expected, David had been branded a failure in the market and left with nowhere to go. He had a sick daughter, too. Because of that, he was behind on hospital bills and in debt to anyone and everyone.
Then, when he’s at his most desperate, I step in.
David would have no choice but to take the hand Michael extended, and once he did, he would be loyal to the bone.
"About time."
Michael sent David an email under his own name, telling him to come in for an interview, and as expected, David replied right away that he would.
On the day of the interview, Michael entered the office in a high-rise at the center of Wall Street and skimmed through the applicants’ dossiers. Every résumé was impressive. But the name he wanted wasn’t there.
"Where’s David Lockhart’s file?"
At his question, the secretary answered, "He called yesterday and said he wouldn’t be able to make the interview."
Michael Preston was stunned.
"Why not?"
"He said he found a new job."
"What?"
After sending the secretary out, Michael barked, "Damn it!"
He had dragged things out for no reason and might lose the talent he needed.
There weren’t many companies willing to hire a failed investor. And even if there were, it wouldn’t be easy for them to match the conditions he wanted.
Where the hell did they hire him?
Michael rated David Lockhart’s investment skills highly. He needed to bring him under his wing, whatever it took.
After a moment’s thought, Michael picked up the phone himself.
* * *
David Lockhart had gone to the hospital to see his daughter and pay the bills that had piled up.
Then he handled the stack of utility notices, contacted the people he had borrowed money from, and thanked them while paying them back.
After spending the weekend running himself ragged on those errands, he headed back to the place where he was supposed to meet me.
Did I really make the right choice?
Thinking about the Asian man he had met yesterday made him uneasy. Was it really all right to trust him and follow him? But at the same time, curiosity stirred in him.
It felt as though he had stepped into an unknown world.
If I hadn’t signed the contract the day before yesterday, I’d probably be heading to an interview with Shark Management right now.
As he was thinking that, his phone rang from an unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Is this David Lockhart?"
"Yes, it is."
"Pleasure to speak with you. This is Michael Preston."
Michael Preston... Shark Management’s CEO?
David was startled, but he kept his voice steady.
"Hello."
"We had an interview scheduled for today, but you didn’t show, so I’m calling."
"Ah! I emailed yesterday to say I couldn’t make it. Didn’t you see it?"
"I checked the email. May I ask why you can’t make the interview?"
"Because I’ve already accepted a job at another company."
"Is it a company larger than Shark Management?"
He didn’t understand why Michael was asking that, but David answered anyway.
"No, it isn’t."
After a brief silence, Michael’s voice came over the line.
"I’d very much like you to come to our company, Mr. Lockhart. I don’t know what terms you’ve been offered, but I’ll give you more than that, no matter what. And if there’s any penalty for breaking your previous agreement, I’ll cover it myself."
......
It was an outrageous offer. Of all people, Michael Preston himself was making this kind of proposal!
Fortunately, David still hadn’t signed anything with Continue Capital. He could simply return the $1 million he had received.
"I think highly of your abilities, Mr. Lockhart."
"Y-you do?"
"Yes. If you come to Shark Management, I’ll spare no support in helping you realize your ambitions."
This was the opportunity of a lifetime.
Shark Management was a private equity firm with a huge name on Wall Street.
Compared to the Victory Investment he had worked for, it managed assets worth dozens of times more. And behind it stood the Preston Group.
There was no way to compare it with the mysterious investment firm an Asian stranger had just created a few days ago.
If he had to choose between the two, he wouldn’t have needed to think twice. He would have picked Shark Management.
But...
David said calmly, "I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to decline."
It was such an unexpected answer that Michael took a moment before responding.
"Why?"
"Because I’ve already signed a contract."
This wasn’t a matter of preference.
The Korean young man had believed in him, handed over the $1 million first, and done so without even drawing up a contract. Whether the paperwork had been signed or not, the contract was binding the moment he accepted the money.
To break that contract just because a better opportunity had come along was unthinkable.
Michael sounded regretful. "I see. If you change your mind, please call me anytime."
The call ended.
David stood there for a moment and let out a dry laugh.
I can’t believe I just turned down Michael Preston’s offer.
Maybe he would regret today for the rest of his life, but it couldn’t be helped.
He started walking toward the meeting place.
* * *
After sleeping at the hotel, I went to the café where I had met him the day before.
I was drinking an iced Americano and settling my stomach when David Lockhart walked in.
"Glad you made it."
He asked, half joking, "Were you worried?"
"Of course."
That was a joke, naturally.
If I hadn’t trusted him in the first place, I never would have handed over $1 million up front.
"Actually, I had an interview scheduled today with Shark Management. I told them I couldn’t make it, but on the way here, the CEO called me."
I was startled.
"Michael Preston?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"He said he wanted to hire me."
If the CEO had called him personally, then maybe he had intended to hire him from the beginning regardless of the interview.
"That was the right call."
"How so?"
"You turned him down."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because you showed up here. If you’d accepted, you would have run straight to Shark Management."
David nodded.
"You’re right. I turned him down."
I was relieved he’d rushed to America as quickly as he had. If he’d been even one day later, things could have gone badly wrong.
Clap, clap, clap.
I gave a light round of applause.
"Congratulations."
"For what?"
"You made the best decision of your life. Ten years from now, you’ll probably look back and think, ‘Thank God I turned down Michael Preston.’"