A Wall Street Genius's Final Investment Playbook-Chapter 297: Side Story, The Marquis (3)

Meanwhile, Gerard was staring intently at his smartphone. It was because of a single message floating on the screen.

<Can I come to your office today?>

A text from Rachel. Gerard’s brow furrowed immediately. They had clearly agreed to meet this weekend. So why insist on coming during a weekday, and to the company of all places?

‘What kind of bomb is she about to drop……?’

From experience, whenever Rachel acted like this, it usually meant she was about to cause some kind of trouble related to the family. The unsettling part was that there had been no warning signs. Normally, Rachel would cautiously sound him out with something like, ‘What do you think of this?’ But this time, that step had been skipped entirely.

‘That means she’s already made up her mind……’

In the end, when he pieced it together…… Rachel was planning some sort of stunt connected to the family, and no matter what advice Gerard might give, she had no intention of changing her plan.

<What time?>

<I can get there by 9, but if you’re busy, I’ll wait.>

Gerard stared at the screen, pondering for a moment. He wanted to see Rachel immediately and hear her out, but he already had three meetings scheduled for the morning. There was no way he could postpone them.

‘I’m the CEO.’

A leader has to keep even small promises in order to build trust.

<I have meetings in the morning, so come at 11.>

After sending the message, he immediately called for his secretary.

“Rachel is coming. When she arrives, bring her straight to the CEO’s office, but make sure her presence isn’t exposed as much as possible.”

Having given his instructions, he headed for the conference room. His stride was quick and confident. He maintained the same angle and pace he checked in front of the mirror every morning.

The meeting unfolded in the usual manner.

“Let’s proceed in the direction I suggested.”

“But this plan carries risks……”

Conservative employees raised their concerns. But Gerard secretly enjoyed moments like this.

“I’ll take responsibility. That’s what it means to be a leader.”

Pushing through resistance and enforcing his vision. That, he believed, was the true privilege of a leader. The conference room fell into heavy silence, but Gerard didn’t mind in the slightest. This pressure, this atmosphere…… It was the weight only a true decision-maker could bear.

“Sir, it’s time for your next meeting.”

“Understood.”

“Would you like to take even a short break…… maybe postpone by 10 minutes?”

“No, I’m fine.”

The secretary asked with a look of concern, but Gerard answered firmly.

“For a leader, rest is a luxury.”

The secretary made a faint, ambiguous expression, but Gerard didn’t notice. He was already striding toward the next conference room.

‘There’s no room to breathe.’

Thanks to Ha Si-heon, his term had been extended by another year, but his position was still precarious. His uncle’s cold warning lingered in his ears.

—We allowed your extension, but that’s it. Remember, if you’re deemed incompetent, you’ll be dismissed immediately.

In other words, he could be ousted at any time. In fact, his uncle had already tried to remove him twice, and was still waiting for another chance. It couldn’t be helped. His uncle’s goal was to kick Gerard out and seat his own son in the position.

The problem was……

‘I don’t have a proper defense.’

If Marquis had been a public company, it wouldn’t have been so easy to threaten him like this. Replacing a CEO required complex procedures, leadership changes directly affected stock prices, shareholders’ approval had to be considered, and above all, there needed to be justification. But Marquis was a private company. There were no external shareholders to worry about, and each of his two uncles held 30% of the shares. That meant that if the two of them agreed, they could replace the CEO in a single meeting…… but.

‘I can’t let myself be thrown out.’

He had fought too hard for this position to give it up so easily. So, he had made his own plan.

‘I just need to become the Jobs of the confectionery industry!’

Just as Jobs had become synonymous with Apple after the iPhone’s release. If Gerard could shake the market with an innovative new product…… If he could open a new golden era for Marquis and brand himself as ‘Gerard = Marquis’ in the market’s mind…… Then even his uncles wouldn’t dare remove him so easily.

That’s why he gave special orders to the head of R&D. To develop a groundbreaking new product that would rock the market. Today’s third meeting was meant to review that prototype……

“The head of R&D just called. He’ll be late.”

Right before the meeting, an abrupt change in schedule was announced.

“An urgent matter came up this morning…… He said he’ll arrive at 1:30.”

Gerard’s expression hardened. 1:30. He knew exactly what that meant. That was when his elder uncle would be visiting the office.

“And Chairman Rupert also said he’d like to attend this meeting.”

“Tell my uncle I’ll brief him separately, and tell the R&D head to get here right now.”

“Well……”

The secretary looked uneasy.

“He says he’s on the way, but it seems impossible to arrive before 1:30.”

‘Not this again.’

Saying he was “on the way” was clearly just an excuse. In reality, it only meant he was prioritizing Gerard’s uncle over the CEO himself. It was an all-too-common occurrence. The company’s key executives were always eager to curry favor with his uncles.

‘There’s no helping it.’

From their perspective, it made sense. Rather than side with a CEO who could be ousted at any time, they saw it wiser to look to the two uncles who together controlled 60% of the shares.

“Bring me the list of R&D head candidates I asked for earlier.”

“Excuse me? You don’t mean—”

“It looks like we’ll need a new head. Canceling a meeting unilaterally on the same day? That’s a failure of basic business standards.”

The head of R&D was supposed to be Gerard’s key partner in carrying out his ambitious plan. That’s why he needed someone who would be loyal to him alone. Of course, abruptly replacing the head of R&D would inevitably spark conflict with his uncles…… But Gerard wasn’t afraid of such clashes. An irritating voice he once heard came back to him.

—I told you before. There are only two types of people in this world. Leaders and followers.

Collisions with his uncles were unavoidable. When leaders meet leaders, conflict is inevitable. He disliked the man who said it, but he couldn’t deny the truth of the words. This friction itself was proof that he was a true leader! Muttering that to himself, he began reviewing résumés.

“Rachel has arrived.”

Unfortunately, the bomb Rachel brought was a far more troublesome problem than he had expected.

“So to summarize…… you want to invite ordinary interior firm owners, along with the dignitaries, to your charity event?”

“Yeah.”

She was saying she wanted to bring commoners into a nobles-only charity event. Gerard rubbed his forehead. He could already imagine how the family elders would throw a fit.

‘I have to stop this somehow……’

But he couldn’t just shout “No” outright. That wouldn’t be the behavior of a proper leader.

—A great leader doesn’t coerce. A great leader convinces so the other person accepts it themselves.

A line from the “Leadership Principles” he read every morning flashed through his mind. Gerard tried to persuade her calmly.

“Do we really have to insist on B2B? Growing via B2C word-of-mouth step by step seems much more stable……”

He tried to remove the justification for pulling in corporate clients, but Rachel shook her head.

“No. Individual demand is too volatile and unpredictable. If we want to give artists stable income, long-term contracts with companies are key. B2C should be treated as a supplemental revenue source.”

“But that’s just dangling bait in front of companies that don’t care. Without intrinsic motivation, it’ll hit a ceiling eventually……”

“Do you really think there’d be a limit when there’s a ‘golden ticket’ like this?”

At that point, Gerard had nothing to say. In truth, for ordinary businesspeople such an invitation was irresistible. A once-in-a-lifetime chance. If you could get privileges money couldn’t buy just by purchasing a few artworks, who would hesitate?

‘If word gets out, people outside the interior industry will swarm in……’

Outwardly he remained composed, but inwardly Gerard was impressed. His younger sister, whom he had always thought of as an innocent idealist, had created such a sophisticated lure. Beyond surprise, he even felt a strange pride.

‘You can’t fool Marquis blood!’

The family elders had always whispered about Rachel. “She’s too nice to be one of our family,” or “It’s because she has Judi blood mixed in,” they’d say. But they were all wrong. Rachel, too, was born with a talent for seeing the essence of business.

‘Now’s not the time to be admiring her.’

Pride was one thing, but this bomb had to be defused. Of course, not by force, but by leading Rachel to reconsider on her own.

“This idea is great, but execution is the problem. A charity event invitation directly affects the organization’s external image, and you’ll need the board’s approval, right?”

Art Nest, the group Rachel ran, was not independent; it was under the Marquis Foundation. That had the advantage of allowing shared legal and administrative infrastructure. But it also meant major decisions required board approval.

And—

“Uncles aren’t going to approve that, are they?”

The uncles were entrenched on the board. There was zero chance that those who lived and died by “prestige” would approve a ‘invite commoners’ system. Especially now, when they were constantly looking for ways to pressure Gerard’s weaknesses.

‘Unless they use this as leverage to pressure me……’

Gerard was prepared to confront his uncles, but if this went poorly it could also blow back onto Rachel. He wanted to avoid that at all costs.

‘I wish she’d wait just one year.’

If Gerard’s “become Jobs” project succeeded, he could let Rachel do as she wished afterward. So he was about to ask her to hold off, when Rachel spoke first.

“If the foundation doesn’t grant permission, I’ll do it alone. I’ll separate Art Nest from the foundation entirely.”

“What?”

“Then I can do it without approval, right?”

Well…… that would work. If Rachel ran an independent organization, she wouldn’t have to watch the board. But—

“The important part isn’t holding the event, it’s what happens after. How will you handle the fallout?”

The problem was the aftermath. The dignitaries attending Rachel’s charity event would be doing so because she was a member of the Marquis family. If those dignitaries encountered guests deemed unworthy at the event, their complaint would be directed not at Rachel but at the entire family.

“If that happens… things could escalate and you might be excluded from inheritance!”

The Marquis family’s trust inheritance included strict “reputation” clauses. In other words, if Rachel’s actions were judged to have damaged the family’s prestige, they could use that as grounds to revoke her inheritance rights. But Rachel didn’t flinch.

“That’s fine. Even if I can’t inherit.”

“You… do you know how much that is you’re talking about?”

“If you had to choose between money and your dreams, it’s not a hard choice.”

There was no wavering in Rachel’s eyes. Facing a massive inheritance and remaining so composed—

‘Unbelievable.’

Gerard felt conflicted. On one hand he admired Rachel’s incorruptible purity. On the other, worry surged up.

‘Giving up inheritance is extreme.’

Above all—

“Even if you go that far, you still won’t be able to build this into a system. The dignitaries come to charity events because of the ‘Marquis’ name, but if Uncles step in and publicly mark you as ‘excluded from inheritance for inviting unworthy guests,’ what then?”

From the dignitaries’ perspective, they’d have no reason to keep attending. And if they turned their backs, the vendors you want would also have no reason to come.

“Would you really give up your inheritance for that one event?”

Rachel was silent for a while. But what Gerard read in her eyes was not defeat but hesitation. She looked like she was weighing whether to speak. Finally she spoke.

“What if it’s not just a one-time thing?”

“Huh?”

“What if I create a reason for the dignitaries to keep coming?”

“There’s no way……”

There wasn’t. What would dignitaries gain from mixing socially with commoners? Still, Rachel continued as if resolved.

“For example…… what if I publicly announce that I’ve been excluded from the Marquis inheritance? And state the reason—‘for inviting guests who are not of the proper rank’—everything.”

“Huh? That’s the sort of thing Uncles would announce anyway…”

Gerard stopped mid-sentence.

“Did you just say… ‘publicly’?”

“Yeah, not just among a certain class—tell the public via SNS or interviews.”

“……!”

Gerard felt dizzy. Rachel was saying she would reveal this not only to the aristocracy but to everyone in the world.

“Are you out of your mind? Then Marquis would—”

“We’d become a symbol of the closed-minded upper class.”

The Marquis family would be labeled an elitist group.

“But wouldn’t that force the dignitaries to attend? If they refuse my invitation, they’ll be criticized as being part of a ‘closed-off upper class’ too.”

“So… you’re saying you’ll take the family hostage?”

This was… a strategy unlike anything Rachel would normally use. Just as Gerard thought that, Rachel, looking reluctant, admitted,

“Honestly… I don’t want to go that far either. I want to try negotiating first. Peaceful resolution is best. But…”

She lifted her head resolutely.

“If negotiation fails, I’m prepared to carry it out.”

After saying that, Rachel finally got to the point.

“But if I say this directly, the uncles will probably scoff… so can you step in for me, brother?”

She wanted Gerard to deliver everything she’d said on her behalf. Gerard felt like his head would spin.

“Now… you want me to threaten the family on your behalf?”

“No, negotiate—”

“How is this negotiation! This is ‘if you don’t listen to me I’ll make the family a symbol of white supremacist elitism’—it’s basically a nuclear bomb: ‘If you don’t meet my demands, I’ll detonate it.’”

Gerard stopped speaking mid-sentence. The tactic was eerily, painfully familiar. Outwardly it was called “negotiation,” but at its core it was blatant extortion. There was no need to speculate who had taught Rachel such a method.

“I told you… not to get close to him!”