"So how did you plan on telling Lucia about this surrogacy thing?" Lionel inquired, his eyes focused on the road and his hands firm on the car steering wheel.
"Don't know yet, but I'll figure out a way to pitch it to her." I replied
"And do you think she'll agree to do the surrogacy? Surrogacy is one hell of a request from someone like Lucia."
"True, but if the offer looks promising, she'll hop on the deal," I said confidently.
"So how much are we talking about?"
"I was thinking twenty thousand dollars a month."
"Twenty thousand dollars? Don't you think that's outrageous? She would be fine with seven or ten," Lionel countered.
"C'mon, Lionel, the money is not only for her but for the baby. Her apartment is not an ideal place for our baby to stay, and moreover, her diet will determine our baby's diet."
"Maybe you're right," Lionel agreed. I looked at Lionel with a smile. After some discussion in the car, we got back home. Lionel dropped me off and headed to his company.
Lionel's POV
I dropped Larissa off and headed to Lion Capital, my company. It was a tough journey building and sustaining Lion Capital, and my mother was a major contributor to the success. As I was heading to my company, I had a flashback of my past—the day I lost my father. It was a day I never hoped for. The old man died of cancer, but the most painful part was that he didn't tell anyone. He knew he had a few months to go but still acted like he had till eternity. The day before he died, he took me out to an amusement park and made me swear that I would take care of my mother.
After I lost him at the age of thirteen, the weight of responsibility dawned on me. My father never supported me working after school; he was paid well and did everything to make life easy for us. But after he died, I had to start working after school so that my mom and I could live comfortably. The responsibility on me made me grow faster than usual. The promise I made to my father became my driving force, and that's what brought me here today, what gave me the status and value I have right now. Sometimes I ask myself this question: would I become who I am if I hadn't lost my father at that age?
As I got to the front of my company, I halted, slid out of the car, and threw the key to the car guy.
"Park it in my usual spot," I said as I walked inside the company. As I made my way to my office, I was approached by Robert, one of my traders and my best analyst.
"Good morning, Leo. According to the analysis and research I did on Silicon, their stock will go down soon. I think we should pull our capital," he said as he got closer to me. The two of us ascended the stairs to my office together.
"Send all the analysis and research you did to my email."
"Okay, right away," he said and descended the stairs to get the research and analysis he did on his laptop. I strutted to my office and pushed the transparent glass door as I got to the front of my office, where Rudy, my manager, who is also a partner employee and the closest person to me, was waiting for me.
"Good morning, Leo," he said, sitting on the grey couch with his hand on the couch arm.
"Good morning, Rudy. How was your meeting with the Arab guy?" I inquired as I sat on my chair and rotated it in Rudy's direction.
"He said he's not talking to me; he wants to talk to you personally," Rudy revealed.
"What difference does it make?"
"Are you really asking me that? I'm a millionaire with no name, and you're a billionaire with fame. Maybe he felt less important because you didn't show up."
"Or he's not okay with the 2-to-20 terms you gave him and hopes he can negotiate with me. There's no way I'm going to drop the terms for the deal," I said with a determined look on my face.
Rudy looked at me and gave me his usual villainous-looking smile. "So when are you planning to meet him? We should meet him soon. I'm certain other hedge funds might also be planning to move on him, and this new zealous guy without an understanding of how hedge funds work might actually pitch 1-to-10 to him."
"C'mon, there's no way someone new can know Fareed. But Fareed might know them, though," I said and continued, "And if he chooses not to invest here, then that's his choice."
"But his money would go a long way. Having an extra 2.2 billion capital would be beneficial to us."
"I know, and that's why he's not taking it anywhere. Schedule a meeting for us at Imperio Real," I instructed.
"Oh, oh, seems the prodigal son is back home," Rudy teased with a smile on his face.
"C'mon, I'm going there for business sake, nothing else. I'm committed, and I will never go back to that old life again."
"You're talking like someone who just gave his life to Christ."
"You're right, but mine was to Larissa," I said. "Go schedule the meeting and give me the update when you're done."
Rudy walked out of the office to go schedule the meeting as instructed, while I rotated my chair back to the initial spot to check the analysis and research Robert did. As I got to my email and thoroughly checked the research he made and his proposed analysis on them, I could see that the ten-bagger stock we bought might go down in less than twenty-four hours.
I stretched my hand to my telephone to reach him and commanded, "Robert, pull everything out ASAP."