Volume 3: My days in a college fraternity Chapter 131 Who is Daddy?
"They are guilty and hope to provoke us with those words, hoping that I think you may bring unnecessary trouble to this case. Don't worry, Jim, we won't fall into the trap. Those investigations have nothing to do with this case."
Mickey Kapur stared at the chess board in front of him, thinking about how to defeat his other self. At the same time, he tried to comfort Jim Manz, who was sitting next to him with a cup of coffee and a grim look on his face.
Jim Manz drank the coffee. He didn't even consider whether the other party really wanted to find those country people in Montana to get to know him. He didn't care even if they brought those farmers to him. The most important thing for a bastard is that the other party can scold him, but he will never leave any weapon that can knock him down.
Even if he stood in court, the other party would only be able to say some irrelevant dirty words and would not be able to produce any bullshit evidence. He was very sure of this.
What he was worried about now was that after the first brief contact, both Tommy Hawke and the other people from Actor Company gave him and Robert the feeling that they had never thought about reconciliation, and even expected Lotus to use the final court hearing to resolve the issue.
Provoking Mickey, some loopholes left in the words of others all pointed to this point. Although this kind of bilateral meeting will continue several times, the first bilateral contact can easily set the tone for subsequent contacts and is unlikely to change.
Robert Morley and his team of lawyers were interpreting the information obtained from the other party letter by letter at this time, trying to determine the other party's courage and determination to respond to the lawsuit.
Precedents are not something that can be talked about casually. What is the specific entry point for the precedent that Delia wants? As long as she finds that series of problems, whether it is to lay out in advance to block the other party's trump card to respond to the lawsuit, or to force the other party to settle, or both parties cooperate to cheat another company, it can be said that she can move forward and backward calmly. It depends on whether Robert and his team can find the truth from the massive amount of information from Delia and her legal team.
Ordinary people would quickly become dizzy just by looking at the testimony, evidence, investigation reports and the like provided by the other party . There are countless trivial materials, and the lawyers on both sides are all from the White Shoe Firm. They know very well what to give to the other side to avoid the other side judging their true thoughts. It is a battle of wits between professional lawyers. Even Jim Manz would not interfere with Robert's decision. This kind of thing must be trusted by professionals.
"I agree with you. They are indeed guilty, Mickey." Jim exhaled and looked at Mickey who was playing chess. "So, I think it's better to authorize Robert to talk to the other party's lawyer about the possibility of a settlement."
Mickey shifted his attention from the chessboard to Jim's face and asked uncertainly, "They are guilty, and we offer to reconcile? It sounds more like we are guilty."
"We are not the same size as Actor, Mickey. They are no longer that small company. Or rather, they are still small companies, but they are not the small companies we killed before. They are more bastards." Jim tried hard to explain the difference between Actor and those small companies without provoking Mickey:
"For example, when we dealt with those small companies before, we never needed you to show up in such occasions, right? This is the difference between them and our previous opponents."
He couldn't just tell Mickey Kapur that the founders of those small companies before were all fucking nerds with no other strengths except computer technology, and that he, Jim, was like a bad student on a high school campus who would hand over his pocket money obediently with a little intimidation.
But now the person at the helm of Actor is just as much of a jerk as him, a tough guy who bullies people in school all the time, while Lotus is still a nerd in the other's eyes, except that it's richer than the nerds in high school.
The best way is to win over a bastard like Tommy Hawke, and then let him continue to be a bastard, helping to protect Lotus while causing trouble for other companies for them.
"Jim, Jonathan is a little dissatisfied with you, but I am not. I always believe in your feelings for Lotus. You are an excellent manager. You have shared a lot of work that is not suitable for us. You have dealt with those software dealers, investors, media and even the government. You have also given a lot of pertinent suggestions for the development of the company." Mickey held the chess piece in his hand and said to Jim a little at a loss:
"But... I still don't understand. You went from being tough on Actor in the beginning to quickly turning into a dove towards Lotus. You became a pacifist. What's the reason? Is it just because the other party is not afraid of you? But dares to face the intimidation you launched?"
"Isn't that enough? Mickey? The money from those other small companies is not enough to go to court. Mickey, you became a billionaire with Lotus 1-2-3 right after you graduated from college. You didn't encounter the same problems that other entrepreneurs or poor people would encounter. If you want to get justice in this country, you must first pave a way with money so that you have the opportunity to stand in front of a judge. Most people can't do this little thing that you think is natural, because even if they take out all their money, it's not enough." Jim said:
"I was tough at first because I thought Actor was no different from those small companies and studios. Just hiring a team of lawyers to collect evidence and disclose these small things would be enough to empty their wallets. But now, the information I have obtained shows that they have at least one million in funds lying in their account, which means they can at least accompany us for a year. At the same time, they continue to sell software to make money, which means that we will be involved in a long and ineffective struggle with them. If they lose the case in the state court, they will appeal to the circuit court. If they lose the case in the circuit court, they can also ask the lawyer to arrange for the Supreme Court to intervene. However, it will take at least two years to go through these three levels of court, because we have to repeat the same process every time: lawyer's letter, response, evidence collection, jury selection, public relations jury, court session, motion, recess, public relations lobbying, and then court session..."
Mickey assured Jim, "They don't have as much money as we do."
"I don't think so. I think they will quickly accumulate wealth and fame during this long lawsuit, and turn from a rival that can barely hold their own against us into an evenly matched rival, because the software industry is not just about our two companies. If I were Soft Art, MicroPort, Bolan, or Microsoft, what would I do? Invest in it, support it in its fight against Lotus. For those companies, the answer to whether Actor or Lotus is a bigger threat is obvious without any thought. Killing Lotus is the only answer, because Actor has not yet had a direct conflict with them. After all, it only sells software to individuals, but Lotus has snatched countless large corporate customers from those companies." Jim looked at Mickey calmly:
"Is it difficult to decide whether to create another opponent or turn this opponent into your own power? Look at the United States. In order to compete with the Soviet Union, it has tried hard to win over many countries that previously gave it the middle finger, such as China, India, and even Vietnam, where countless American soldiers were buried. This is true for countries and companies. It is normal for us to show goodwill and reconcile. There is no shame or insult as Jonathan thinks. Profits are paramount. As for after this potential trouble is resolved and Actor becomes yours, you can torture Tommy Hawke however you like, even if you can drive him to the streets. But not now. Now, reconciliation is the best solution in my opinion."
Mickey Kapur looked at Jim, and Jim looked at him affirmatively.
Finally, Mickey dropped the chess piece on the board and nodded. "I don't understand business, but I believe in you, Jim. Follow your idea and talk to the other party about the possibility of reconciliation. I will go and convince Jonathan."
"Thank you for your trust, Mickey." Jim breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Mickey Kapur with gratitude.
…
Old Corner Bookstore, 283 Washington Street, Boston.
Holly, Jason and others had never visited Boston before. Led by Sophia who had been there once, they walked into this three-story building built in 1718, known as the "Cradle and Birthplace of American Literature," with an almost pilgrimage mood.
Almost all highly educated outsiders who come to Boston will choose this bookstore as a fixed attraction, walking around, taking photos, and selecting a few books.
After all, Longfellow, Emerson, Hawthorne, Dickens, Fuller, Holmes, Thoreau and other authors who have left their names in the history of American literature have all appeared in this bookstore. They met here and initiated regular gatherings.
Walking through the bookstore that retains its ancient decorations, one can imagine the expressions and states of those literary masters at that time. Perhaps they were standing in the middle of the bookstore, loudly rebuking the bookstore owner for being stingy while accepting royalties from him. Or perhaps they were gathered together to chat about each other's recent creative ideas. Or, on a whim, they simply leaned over the desk in the corner and excitedly used a feather pen to record the inspiration they had just gained under the gaze of other authors.
"Why don't you go in with Jason and the others and buy a book? And take a picture?" Susan closed the book in her hand and asked Tommy, who was sitting next to her on the bench and staring at a public sign outside the bookstore.
Tommy kept his posture unchanged and said, "When I was a child, my parents took us to Boston for a trip and came here on purpose, hoping that this bookstore with countless literary masters would have a special magic that could influence my brother and me and make us fall in love with learning. For this reason, my mother bought two Bibles here. Later, it was proved that visiting here and buying books would not make children fall in love with learning. Instead, it made my brother and I realize that there is a better magazine in the world, Penthouse, than Playboy. Penthouse must thank this bookstore because it gave it two more stable readers."
"It's just a slogan. What's there to pay attention to?" Susan followed Tommy's gaze and saw a simple sign prohibiting smoking and cigars in public places.
Tommy pointed to the sign. "There's another line of very small words at the very bottom."
Susan followed Tommy's instructions and observed carefully for a long time before nodding: "That line of words is except for Red Auerbach."
"So, smoking and cigars are banned in public places , except for this man named Red Auerbach?" Susan asked curiously, "Who is he? A former president?"
"No, the general manager and head coach of the Boston Celtics," Tommy said.
Susan asked in confusion: "Why does he...have privileges?"
"Because he brought glory to this city, and he only had one hobby, smoking cigars, the grateful Boston citizens decided to thank him in this way. I was just thinking, one day, can Stanford University also introduce such a rule, prohibiting smoking on campus, except for Tommy Hawke." Tommy smiled and said to Susan.
Susan shook her head decisively: "I don't think it's possible. You haven't brought glory to Stanford. If you win the Nobel Prize, maybe you still have a chance."
"Let me make a bet. When we're forty, the slogan I mentioned will appear at Stanford University," Tommy said to Susan.
Beep beep! The pager is ringing.
Tommy glanced at the number, then stood up and walked to the phone booth nearby: "Delia?"
"The other party's lawyer wants to meet with me to discuss an out-of-court settlement between the two parties. You'd better tell me a price that will make the other party feel that you are sincere. Let me remind you that Actor is the party being sued." Delia said on the other end of the phone.
"If you want to acquire Actor, I think 30 million is a reasonable price. This is Actor's sincerity. But if you want me to join Lotus with the acquisition, you need to add 10% of Lotus shares. This is Tommy Hawke's sincerity." Tommy said to Delia on the other end of the phone:
"Of course I hope they only acquire Actor, which means I still have three years of college, which means I can start three more businesses and sell them three more times."
Delia chuckled on the other end of the phone. "What if there's another piece of news? Our investigator just pried open the first mouth and got some of the updated plans."
"Then tell them the update plan and the quotation. 80 million, 30%." Tommy immediately changed his tone arrogantly: "We have to let Lotus know who is the father."
