Chapter16 : The Billionaire
Ethan paced around the office, his expression caught somewhere between shock and disbelief. "Three buildings. Three buildings, Leo. And their combined worth is over six hundred million? How did you even—where did you get that kind of money?"
Leo leaned back in his chair, his usual nonchalant smirk in place. "Relax, Ethan. It's not that big of a deal."
"Not that big of a deal?" Ethan practically yelled, gesturing wildly. "You just casually dropped half a billion like it was pocket change. You better start explaining."
Leo tapped his chin thoughtfully, pretending to wrestle with how much to reveal. He already had a plan in place, one he'd crafted carefully to explain his sudden bursts of wealth without arousing suspicion.
"Well..." he began, feigning hesitation. "It's kind of a long story. Let me show you something."
He grabbed his laptop from the desk and opened it, pulling up a meticulously crafted file. It contained a fake yet convincing trading history—a fictionalized account of his supposed "lucky day" in the cryptocurrency market.
"So," Leo said, angling the screen toward Ethan, "this was the day that changed everything. I call it my 'very lucky day.'"
Ethan leaned in, his eyes scanning the numbers on the screen. "You're telling me you made all of this in one day?"
"Yep," Leo replied, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. "I had this gut feeling about a specific crypto asset. Decided to go all in—200 million with 10x leverage."
Ethan's jaw dropped. "You leveraged 200 million?"
Leo shrugged, feigning modesty. "It was a gamble, sure. But the market swung in my favor, and I got a 39% return. That turned into 780 million by the end of the day."
Ethan sat back, shaking his head. "That's insane. Who takes that kind of risk?"
Leo grinned. "Sometimes, you just have to trust your instincts."
Ethan frowned, clearly not satisfied. "But how did you know? What indicators were you looking at? What was your strategy?"
Leo paused for a moment, scrambling to string together something coherent. He launched into an explanation filled with half-truths and jargon he'd picked up from online videos, mixing technical terms with vague notions of market timing and sentiment analysis.
"And that's how it all came together," Leo finished, his tone making it sound like the most logical sequence of events.
Ethan stared at him, his expression blank. "Leo, I know the market better than most people, and I'm telling you—whatever you just said makes absolutely no sense."
Leo laughed. "Maybe you're overthinking it."
Ethan groaned, finally throwing up his hands. "Fine. You're a mystery, man. But if you ever get another one of these 'gut feelings,' let me know, okay?"
"Will do," Leo replied with a wink.
Later that afternoon, Emma walked into the room, holding her phone. She looked a little nervous, which immediately caught Leo's attention.
"What's up?" he asked.
"The chairperson of the college board wants to meet me," Emma said. "She wants to talk about my thoughts on college and, I guess, my business plans. I'm not sure why, but I feel like it's a big deal."
Leo nodded. "It is. You should go."
Emma hesitated. "I was hoping you'd come with me. You know, for support."
"Of course," Leo said without hesitation.
As they prepared to leave, Rebecca passed by, her sharp gaze landing on Leo. She smiled slyly. "So, Mr. Billionaire, what's it like crossing the one billion mark?"
Leo blinked, caught off guard. "Wait, what?"
Rebecca's grin widened. "Do the math, genius. Between your crypto gains, the real estate investments, and everything else, you've officially crossed into billionaire territory. Congrats."
Leo opened his mouth to respond, but Ethan beat him to it. "You're so weird, Leo. How do you not notice something like that?"
Leo shrugged, brushing it off. "I've been busy."
Ethan rolled his eyes as Leo and Emma headed out the door.
When they arrived at the chairperson's office, the woman greeted them warmly but couldn't hide her curiosity.
"Emma," she began, gesturing for them to sit, "I've been hearing a lot about your business ventures. It's rare for a student to balance college and entrepreneurship so effectively."
Emma smiled nervously. "Thank you, ma'am."
The chairperson's gaze shifted to Leo. "And you're here because...?"
Leo leaned back in his chair, exuding his usual air of confidence. "I'm the one financing her company."
The chairperson blinked, momentarily caught off guard. Then she smiled. "I see. Well, that makes a lot of sense. You've certainly been a great supporter of this college as well, with your generous funding."
Leo gave her a small nod. "Just trying to help where I can."
The chairperson looked between them, clearly impressed. "Well, I won't keep you long. I just wanted to get a sense of your perspective, Emma. Will you still be attending classes regularly, or will business take priority?"
Emma hesitated, glancing at Leo. "I'll do my best to balance both."
The chairperson nodded approvingly. "That's good to hear. I'll be keeping an eye on your progress. Both of you."
As they left the office, Leo couldn't help but feel a twinge of satisfaction. Things were falling into place.