[Chapter 782: This Thing is Free]
When the plane landed again in Los Angeles, it was already late March. William White's trip to Asia hadn't been short.
"Man, the game's about to start, and you didn't even come back early."
"Ha ha, George, they won't let me play. Besides, it's the host country; no qualifier games required."
"Don't worry. I'm organizing a big league, and naturally, I'll make it a spectacle. This pathetic league -- when am I going to make money off of it?"
Bush Jr. sought him out, and it wasn't about soccer. This was just business to William White.
After the mess last year with Citigroup, they needed to bring it to a close.
The notion of shaking hands and making peace was entirely unrealistic; no one thought that way. But everyone had to follow the rules.
"Come on, George, what kind of talk is that? Do you think I break the rules? See, I've not only given up my phone, but I'm even considering fleeing the country."
Bush Jr. chuckled. "That's not running away, with a few old geezers getting scared to death. You're practically manufacturing your alibi."
It was truly absurd to this degree. You wouldn't believe the lengths some people went to in business.
"Alright, alright, I'll give you that. Shall we call it quits here?"
"It's always been my point, and if there's a next time, it won't just be a heart attack; those old guys might overdose on their meds.
"This isn't your war, George. Just relay that to him."
"Cough, cough, got it," George replied.
William White was genuinely unafraid of them now; his plans had been completed. Frankly, even if he had to start over, he still had a shot at success.
...
"An overdose? Alan, our richest guy is still not calmed down." Greenspan was also speechless. Why did you bother him for no reason? Is he really old and confused?
"There's no right or wrong, Paul. We underestimated his destructiveness. Citigroup? That's just a laugh."
"Ha ha! They don't follow the rules but expect others to? There are still fools like that in the world. Good kids are easy to bully? You should know what he's been up to lately. Anyway, what's the deal with that security company?"
The older guys were concerned about William White's security firm. From a legal standpoint, this company had nothing to do with him. It was a mere employer-employee relationship; could you seriously stop wealthy people from hiring bodyguards?
...
"Dear, you truly have foresight?"
"What are you talking about, Nastassja? How is this foresight?"
"Tom Hanks, the Oscar-winning actor? That guy's stock is high right now."
"Ha, that's not foresight. I've seen Philadelphia; the film wasn't great, but his acting was top-notch."
"Not great? You'd better watch out," Nastassja replied pointedly, rolling her eyes.
"I've been on my best behavior lately; you wouldn't believe it."
"Pah, who cares to see?"
William White was thrilled. Forrest Gump paired with a freshly minted Oscar winner -- well, he should be racking up some awards.
...
William White was flying high, but fat Harvey was a bit miffed. Those investors didn't give him the time of day. Damn, facing off against William White's film was enough to make things lively.
What did you care about a century of cinematic excellence? They had no interest in that. So many great films piling up was truly a headache.
Honestly, though, fat Harvey didn't care that much. Well, he wasn't that fat right now.
"Those damned jerks will regret this."
"Harvey, things not going so smoothly?"
Harvey glanced at Quentin Tarantino but didn't voice anything too overboard. This director had talent, and if he wanted to thrive in Hollywood, he absolutely relied on support from people like him.
"No, Quentin, the filming expenses were sorted. I even planned to do some PR for the awards."
"Harvey, with all due respect, you should speak to Warner Bros. It's just a matter of exchanging interests. If they still can't see the value in this screenplay, they should quit making movies altogether."
"They don't know a tomato; if they had any skills, they wouldn't have ended up in this situation. Did you know, Quentin? Quentin, Hollywood is still the same as it was decades ago; it hasn't changed one bit."
Harvey's frustration was understandable. He truly wanted to team up with William White. It's always easier to thrive in the shade of a big tree -- an old adage that rings true everywhere.
Too bad, no one knew what went wrong, and his negotiations with Disney ended without a deal.
...
"Tom, no issues this time, right?"
"Sir, it's undergone strict testing. This instant messaging tool is fantastic. The key is the file transfer feature; that's a genius idea. But, sir, why is it free? You could absolutely offer a professional version."
"I don't want the profits. What you need to do is make this software widespread in a short time. By the way, has the other language versions been completed?"
"Several European languages are done, along with Chinese, but Japanese and Hebrew are still pending. However, they'll be ready soon -- in a month at most. Sir, do you want to wait?"
"No need; it goes live on April Fool's Day. All the ads should concentrate on that day. We want people to think it's an April Fool's joke."
"Alright, as you wish," the chubby Tom said with a baffled expression. His boss was going crazy again. A perfectly good product launch had to be turned into entertainment news.
Tom had no idea this was truly an era of entertainment at all costs. If you were to hold a serious launch event on April Fool's Day, you'd be seen as foolish beyond belief.
Why free, you ask?
Simple: if you didn't make it free, you were just waiting for others to copy you. Right now, even if it was free, you had to keep improving it.
Just look at the mess Microsoft made; even bundling it with the OS couldn't beat Google Chrome.
...
"Larry, have you tried ICQ?"
Larry Ellison shrugged; forget trying it -- his company was almost all aboard. But his boss had said that the higher-ups would have new toys that wouldn't be made public.
"Steve, they've had it in development for over a year."
"Free? You sure? When did William White become so generous -- offering benefits to all internet users?"
"No idea, but I think there should be a paid professional version; maybe it wouldn't allow file transfers or wouldn't be bundled with a free email. This is an independent company; I'm just responsible for the database -- the rest isn't my problem."
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.