[Chapter 1038: A Decade]
At the headquarters of Firefly Group in Burbank, Elisabeth stepped out of the car with her assistant and headed straight into the building. Compared to usual days, the Firefly headquarters was noticeably busier today. The first-floor lobby was bustling with people, as well-dressed men and women gathered in small groups, engaged in conversation.
Elisabeth recognized these were mainly high-level executives and their aides from the Firefly network arriving for meetings. She left her assistant behind and went straight toward the VIP elevator.
Upon reaching Eric's office on the top floor, she greeted the secretary outside and pushed the door open.
Inside the office, Elisabeth was momentarily taken aback. Eric was standing by the window, chin raised, while Kelly Haynes meticulously adjusted his tie.
When Kelly noticed Elisabeth enter, she paused for a moment before smiling and saying, "Good morning, Liz! You're just in time. I still have work to do, so you might as well help Eric with his tie."
After saying this, Kelly released her grip on the tie, picked up some documents from Eric's desk, nodded at Elisabeth, and left the office.
Once Kelly had exited, Eric held onto his half-tied tie and looked at Elisabeth with a grin, "What are you staring at? Come over here and help me with this."
Elisabeth pursed her lips as she approached, took the tie from him, and couldn't help but tug on it as she replied, "Aren't you worried I might strangle you? There's a crowd waiting outside, and you're being so reckless."
"Well, I know you wouldn't believe my explanation anyway," Eric joked.
Ignoring him, Elisabeth leaned in and sniffed him a few times, then gave him a playful look, "You made such a fuss over this, what do you really intend to do?"
Eric shook his head, "Nothing much, just thought it would be nice for everyone to get together. Of course, I'm handling a few small matters at the same time."
Elisabeth frowned, "Hmph! You'd better be careful keeping secrets from me, or Fox might not cooperate."
"Not a problem. If Fox dares not to cooperate, I'll go handle the boss's daughter tonight," Eric replied.
Elisabeth's eyes widened, and she tugged at his arm again, "You jerk!"
"Easy there, you'll actually strangle me at this rate," he chuckled, grabbing her small hand. "Now, come on and tie this up for me. I've got something good for you."
Elisabeth increased her pace as she tied the tie, curiosity bubbling up, "What is it?"
Eric smiled but didn't answer. As soon as Elisabeth finished tying the tie, he pulled out a script from a drawer under his desk and handed it to her, "Here, this is for you."
"You wrote a script?" Elisabeth asked, glancing at it before exclaiming, "Gladiator? That's Ridley Scott's project, isn't it? I thought it was a done deal with Amblin Entertainment?"
Projects from Hollywood's top directors usually made it on the radar of studio executives, so it didn't surprise anyone that Elisabeth mentioned Gladiator's details.
Eric explained, "Amblin ran into some funding issues, and maybe they were just not confident in the project, so they scrapped it. I happened to bump into Tony Scott last Saturday, learned about this, looked at the script, and thought it was really good. However, our major projects are scheduled three years out, so I'm letting you guys handle it."
Flipping through a few pages, Elisabeth hesitated, "An epic film? Everyone knows epics come with high risks. Even that Braveheart from a few years ago wasn't a big hit."
Eric replied, "The script for Gladiator has broader appeal than Braveheart, and Ridley Scott's directing skills are reliable."
"Alright, I'll head back and discuss it with everyone," Elisabeth nodded, fully trusting Eric's judgment.
Just then, the office door swung open again, and Drew, dressed unusually formal in a little shirt and white trousers, smiled widely as she bounded over to Eric, wrapping her legs around his waist in a playful manner. She didn't hold a candle to Natasha's 'impact.'
Eric hugged the girl and playfully patted her on the backside, shaking his head, "No fooling around, Liz is here."
The girl giggled and planted a kiss on Eric's cheek, then stood upright and suddenly reached out to snatch the script from Elisabeth's hands.
However, Elisabeth was ready. She dodged effortlessly and shot back, "Little brat!"
The girl withdrew her hand, clinging to Eric's arm with a pouting face, "Eric, she called me names!"
Eric separated the two squabbling women, declaring, "Alright, no fighting! Let's head to the conference room. Everyone is almost here."
...
In the largest conference room at the Firefly Group headquarters, it was already packed with people. Eric, accompanied by Elisabeth and Drew, headed to the door just as Kelly emerged.
Eric paused and asked, "Are we all set?"
Kelly replied, "There were some connection issues with Nokia, but it's all sorted now."
Nodding, Eric opened the door and walked in.
As he entered, the chatter immediately ceased, and all eyes turned toward him as everyone rose from their seats.
At this gathering, alongside Eric were executives from the Firefly Group, Fox, and MGM in Los Angeles, as well as top brass from Firefly Electronics in San Francisco and Qualcomm's key executives from San Diego. Others connected via video were displayed on ten 32-inch wall-mounted screens lined up along both sides of the conference room.
Eric took his place at the head of the table, receiving a folder from Caroline while nodding at the attendees, "Please, have a seat."
As everyone settled, Eric remained standing; there wasn't a chair prepared for him at his spot today.
In the conference room, Hollywood luminaries including Katzenberg, Frank Wells, Drew, Elisabeth, Amy Pascal, John Calley, Joe Roth, and Victor McNally from Firefly Electronics, as well as Qualcomm's CEO Irwin Jacobs, were seated around the expansive table. The ten 32-inch screens displayed executives from ABC in New York, including Robert Iger, Chris from Firefly Investments, Emily from Brighton-LTD, John Chambers from Cisco, Ian Gurney from Yahoo, and others from leading firms like Apple, Sprint, and Amazon.
Scoping the room and feeling the eyes of dozens focused on him, Eric felt a kind of triumphant determination wash over him.
This was his business empire.
The Firefly Empire.
Such was Eric's feeling, and it mirrored the astonishing surprise shared by all in attendance, both in-person and via video link.
Unknowingly, they all found themselves enveloped within such a colossal business foundation.
At that moment, the combined market value of the Firefly network had exceeded $400 billion, with Cisco alone having surpassed $100 billion. Even though AOL had been pushed out of the Firefly framework yet still held over 15% of shares, it had surpassed a $50 billion market cap.
Other major players like Yahoo, Nokia, Firefly Electronics, and LTD also reached impressive valuations of tens or hundreds of billions each.
According to the latest global statistics, India, in 13th place, had a GDP of $429 billion, while Australia, in 14th, stood at $380 billion.
Drawing comparisons, the Firefly network could be equated to controlling an economic entity equivalent to the 14th-ranked nation on the planet, indeed a financial force to be reckoned with.
...
After a brief silence, Eric clapped his hands together to regain everyone's attention, smiling, "At the Yahoo annual meeting two years ago and last year at Chris's wedding, we all gathered together. I had hoped for these kinds of gatherings to happen every year. However, with eight months of this year already gone, all of us -- myself included -- have been quite busy. It seems this year's real gathering may not happen, which is why I chose this format to connect instead. Starting next year, I hope to formalize these gatherings and plan ahead."
As nods of agreement rippled through the crowd, Eric took a few steps around the room before continuing, "Of course, many of you might have noticed that one of our partners is missing from today's meeting. That's regrettable, as I had envisioned every company within the Firefly network as essential. AOL's departure makes me aware that many situations in this world just don't go as planned. However, I hope we can find a way to fill the gap left by AOL in the coming years."
Pausing, Eric scanned the room again and smiled, "Well, I'm sure you've all heard what's been happening lately. It's been quite lively. I've suddenly come to feel that even if I had to rely on script assessments or whatnot, I'd still manage just fine. After all, just my endorsement could elevate the value of a $100,000 script to $7.5 million."
With a chuckle escaping the crowd, Eric clapped his hands again and continued, "Let's save that conversation for later. Looking at all of you gathered here in person and via video, I still struggle to believe that this is all real."
As he spoke, Eric casually rolled up his shirt sleeves and shared his thoughts, "Thinking back to ten years ago -- wow, exactly ten years. It was 1988, probably around this time, and I was working as a waiter in an Italian restaurant. Due to some life changes, I suddenly found myself all alone in the world. When I wasn't serving tables, I spent my days daydreaming about my life and future. I realized I couldn't just drift along aimlessly; I needed to do something to prove I truly existed. So, I wrote my first novel, my first script, appeared in my first movie, and even directed my first film. Looking back, I realize how lucky I was. Along the way, I always encountered people willing to help me.
After establishing my footing in Hollywood and founding Firefly Group, I soon wished to do more. I admit that in the beginning, I was holding onto a very naive, speculative mindset with my ventures -- like investing in AOL, Cisco, and even Nokia. I thought I could sell my investments for a lucrative profit once these companies took off."
As laughter echoed throughout the room once more, Eric chuckled too and added, "But now, I've left all speculation behind. Even with AOL, which is about to part ways with our family, I'm sure you all understand, it's not financially driven. The divergence was simply due to differing visions for the future, leading to the split. In fact, if it were possible, I would prefer we could all walk this road together indefinitely. Because, as I said earlier, every team within the Firefly network is indispensable to me."
With that, Eric gestured towards Caroline, who had been quietly sitting nearby. He took a prototype tablet model from her and displayed it to the audience, "You might think my words were polite rhetoric, but they're absolutely sincere. In simple terms, the future of the Firefly network can essentially be encapsulated in this small device. As you know, this is the tablet that Firefly Electronics is collaborating with Yahoo to develop. You might wonder how this concerns me -- well, it absolutely does.
In my vision, this device can link the entire Firefly network together..."
For the next half hour, Eric elaborated on the planned tablet and further smartphones, aiming to interconnect all internet devices, content, service providers, communications firms, foundational tech startups, and even Hollywood media's content production into a grand and cohesive information age landscape.
Since Monday, Eric had been preparing for today's speech, combining insights about the future of the information industry with his years of experience. Eric's vision for the future of the Firefly network captivated everyone's hearts.
To put it bluntly, if Eric's vision came to fruition, the 21st century could very well become the era of the Firefly network, much like how the Morgans and Rockefellers once controlled the globe through energy, automotive, and finance in the 20th century.
Originally, the workplace elites in attendance, who had overlooked Eric due to his youth, felt a newfound respect wash over them. This young man might not have attended Ivy League schools or amassed the years of experience they possessed, but his demonstrated foresight could very well explain how he managed to lead the Firefly network to its current height in just a decade.
After all, the world has never lacked talent or even genius. What it lacks is individuals maintaining a clear vision, steadfastly walking down the right path.
*****
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