Volume 4: White Devil Chapter 168 Welcome to Your TV Station
KeyBank New York Headquarters, 83rd Floor, One World Trade Tower, New York, NY.
In Ottilia's office, two stylists stood against the wall, staring at Ottilia who was sitting at her desk and talking with Heidi, an exclusive interviewer for the famous American women's magazine "Glamour". They kept an eye on the details of her makeup and whispered to each other from time to time, reminding themselves how to adjust her makeup details after the interview and before the photo shoot to ensure that Ottilia's image would add some independent temperament in the shots to be taken by the magazine later. At the moment, Ottilia looked a little too soft.
In fact, there are more than four people in the office. If you look a little further away, you can see two cameras at the entrance of the office and at the opposite corner, silently recording everything that happens in the office.
However, Ottilia, her assistant, and everyone at KeyBank have become accustomed to the cameras following their young lady wherever she goes.
"If you were asked to define your own identity, how would you define it?" Heidi asked, holding a recorder in her hand, looking at Ottilia opposite her with a smile.
Otilia thought for a moment and said, "Working woman, yes, I am a working woman."
"I thought you would pay more attention to publicizing and emphasizing your independence or charity activities. Why do you just simply describe yourself as a working woman?" Heidi continued to ask curiously.
Otilia said seriously: "I am just doing a job that I should do, that's all. It is not great or independent. On the contrary, people see Otilia Farrell doing charity work in Africa and Europe. In fact, she is not the only one doing it. Many people are doing the same thing as me. And this kind of thing is not great, but it is something that everyone will do, because I believe that every kind person will do it if conditions permit."
"Do you think it can be understood as a working woman independent of men?" Heidi thought of a short play and asked Ottilia.
"I am only temporarily independent at work. I have a boyfriend and I rely on him a lot in my life. He helps me take care of the two dogs I adopted in his free time." Ottilia said to Heidi seriously:
"In fact, I found that the longer I worked independently, the more psychologically dependent I became on him. I looked forward to finishing a period of work, then having a vacation, seeing him, and going on vacation and traveling with him. So, I am just an ordinary woman."
Seeing Otilia's expression, Heidi nodded in understanding, but then turned her attention to her relationship: "Don't men and women in love prefer to be with each other all the time?"
"He has his job and I have mine. Although work separates us, it also makes our lives more fulfilling. More importantly, it makes us realize that we should cherish every minute we spend with each other." Ottilia said to Heidi.
"Before this interview, I got some information about you, Miss Farrell, that my colleagues had collected, and I found something very interesting. Your boyfriend's name is Tommy Hawke?"
"Yes, that's right."
"You were his high school teacher."
"Well... I don't have a teaching certificate, I don't have a teaching position, I only hold an administrative position, but we did meet for the first time when he was in his last year of high school. However, we didn't have a teacher-student relationship. We only started dating after he went to college."
"Tommy Hawke was once a prominent figure in the computer software industry. At that time, newspapers called him the "Rogue Thief of the Software Industry." But soon there was no news about him. So is he still working in the software industry?"
"Are we really going to focus on my boyfriend in an interview with a women's magazine? I don't think that's a good idea." Seeing Heidi asking about Tommy's recent situation, Otilia couldn't help but laugh and asked Heidi: "This is so weird."
Heidi also laughed: "Well, in fact, many people still know your boyfriend's name, but he has been very low-key in the past two years, and people don't have the latest news about him. Let's get back to the topic, Ms. Farrell, I noticed that many of KeyBank's charity projects are placed abroad. Do you have similar charity plans in China?"
Otilia nodded. "Yes, there have always been. We have made experimental attempts before, mainly in Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and other places, to provide small loans to low-income people who have been blacklisted by the financial system in these areas to encourage them to get out of trouble. So far, the attempt has been very successful. Many people have changed their bad situation with KeyBank's loans and good repayment habits. As far as I know, there are at least dozens of low-income people in California who used to make less than $100 a week. Now they have founded their own companies and recruited other low-income people to provide them with jobs to support their lives. This is what all KeyBank colleagues hope to see. In addition to accepting interviews, another arrangement for me when I return to China this time is to go to Los Angeles, California, to listen to the experiences of those successful people and see if their success stories can be replicated in Africa or Europe."
"Speaking of accepting interviews, why don't we talk about why you accepted an interview with Charm magazine? I mean, your assistant has rejected me more than a dozen times in the past year, but the editor-in-chief of the magazine suddenly informed me last week that you would accept an interview with me."
"Uh... Sorry, Heidi, I've been abroad the whole time... It's a bit embarrassing to say this, because Ms. Dana Kant, the owner of Charm magazine, called me and told me that she was about to launch a charity project to fight drought in Africa, and asked me to give her some ideas. I said I could donate to her project, but she insisted that I co-found it with her. She thought that my experience in the past few years might be able to give the foundation some experience, and then... Because this kind of project requires three sponsors, we discussed it for a long time and then invited Ms. Hillary Clinton, the chairman of the New World Foundation. She did not reject us and was very happy that we invited her. So, the Mother Well Foundation of Africa was established."
"I, the owner of Glamour magazine, Ms. Dana Kant, and Hillary Clinton, the president of the New World Foundation, met at the headquarters of the New World Foundation in New York. When we talked about the foundation, Ms. Dana Kant said that the three of us should tell American women what we were going to do, and maybe other women would be willing to join. She said that Glamour magazine was hers, and the first interview of the African Mother's Well must not be given to other media... Yes, I don't know much about her arrangements. I can only say that maybe in a recent issue of Glamour, there will be three consecutive interviews... Haha... This is crazy, right? When Dana brought it up, Diane (Hillary) and I burst into laughter. That issue of the magazine will definitely be criticized for being printed incorrectly."
"So, in addition to me visiting you, my colleagues may also be visiting my boss and the wife of the Governor of Arkansas at this moment?"
"Yes, the title of my interview is called "Charm" and the title of Diane's interview is called "Independence". All of them were chosen by Dana, but we also helped her choose the title of the interview, which is called "Immortality". The overall title of the three interviews is "Three Women."
“So, what is the Mother Africa Well?”
"It is a long-term project to ensure that every mother in Africa has access to clean and convenient well water. KeyBank will donate 5 million in the early stage, the New World Foundation will donate 3 million, and Ms. Dana Kant will donate 10 million. This is our initial disposable funds. According to forecasts, this money can provide clean and hygienic drinking water for hundreds of thousands of African mothers."
"This is a very great cause, worthy of the admiration of each of us. So what is your initial plan for this project?"
…
"Do you know how much money KeyBank paid to get your wife into the New World Foundation, the headquarters of the American New Left, Tommy?" Jim Manz looked around the office environment of BT TV and complained to Tommy Hawke with dissatisfaction:
"Five million , and we also need to help Hillary Clinton become a co-founder of the Mother's Well Foundation in Africa, and promise her husband that if he ever runs for election, we will provide a minimum of two million in campaign funds in exchange for Otilia's membership in the New World Foundation board of directors."
"You have to find enough like-minded people to do business. Doing business requires investment, Jim." Tommy said to Jim:
"Civil rights, political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights, racial equality... every political movement promoted by the New Left is actually a business. They know it, and so do we. We are all idiots who like each other and hit it off. When traditional capitalists have already taken control of other money-making industries, if everyone still wants to make some extra money with both fame and fortune, using this kind of broad political movement to expand their wallets is the smartest and safest way. Don't play dumb and tell me you don't understand."
"Understanding doesn't mean I don't feel bad. You guys always spend a lot of money just by talking, and I'm busy trying to find ways to make back the money. I'm so tired... I didn't even think about having sex with a woman for four days..."
"Better than being a mascot during the Lotus period?"
"I have to admit that although it's tiring, I earn enough, and the people I deal with are much higher in social status than software sellers and program developers." Jim sat in the boss chair behind Tommy's desk, feeling the comfort brought by the chair. "Actually, do you know how I convinced the board of directors that Ottilia joined the New World Foundation and the company paid five million?"
"That's not something I should consider."
"Hillary's husband, Bill Clinton, the governor of Arkansas, eliminated sales tax on drugs for people over 55 years old, so we will open six branches in Arkansas to support low-income people to start businesses around this welfare bill in Arkansas. According to the prediction given by the model, we can make back this money from Arkansas in about nine months."
"While you are in Los Angeles, I am calling you over for another reason. KeyBank and BT TV need to cooperate on some charity projects. Through our program, you can lend money to some black people in need, which will help increase the bank's visibility."
Jim put his legs up on the table and shook them. "So, if those black people can't pay back, can I sell their debts to Big Jack and his friends? They are really good at collecting and lending money among black people. I feel uncomfortable when black people wear gold and silver. But I won't be jealous of these three brothers and their great mother even if they have a mouth full of gold teeth. I just think that's what they deserve."
"It's up to you. I'm only responsible for introducing clients and advertising. As for how KeyBank operates, I won't interfere. If you have nothing else, you can leave. Someone else will come to see me later."
"I guess it must be a woman."
"No, it's a black man. The reason why you were able to deal with Ottilia last week was also a little bit because of him. He accounts for about 10%?"
Jim put his feet down from the table and said doubtfully, "You are unlikely to marry Otilia to him, right? And then you actually said that sending Otilia to the New World Foundation had something to do with a black man?"
"Of course, I've even thought of a name for the baby Ottilia will bear for me. Jim, how could I let Ottilia marry a black man?"
“Pa pa pa pa~” Jim stood up from his chair and clapped his hands: “Goodbye, and wish the black supervisor good luck for me. I’m glad that you were still a human being when I fucking met you, and I’m even more glad that I’m a white man, Tommy.”
"Yes, thank you for your praise and compliments. I know that in your heart, I am already a perfect righteous person..."
Jim walked out of Tommy's office without looking back: "Fuck You! Righteous Tommy!"
…
"Mr. Hawke, my name is Earl Rush, you can call me Earl." Earl Rush looked like the most honest and reliable black friend around him, with a mouthful of neat and white teeth and a simple and friendly smile on his face. He extended his hand to Tommy.
Tommy shook hands with the other party with a little force. "Delia didn't tell me that my friends usually call me Tommy? Mr. Earl Rush."
"Okay, Tommy, you have such a strong grip, do you exercise regularly?" Earl withdrew his hand, made an exaggerated hand-shaking gesture, and said to Tommy.
Tommy smiled and invited him into the living room of the villa where Martin was the only employee at the moment. "Actually, I just recently started looking for a fitness coach to help me develop a fitness plan, because I know that many black people like fitness, and this may give us some common topics to talk about."
"Racial stereotypes are everywhere, and it's this country's fault. When I was in law school, I was just like you. I thought every white person with good grades was gay because that's what my black friends said before. So I went to ask, but my white classmates thought I was retarded." After hearing Tommy say that black people like to work out, Earl Rush talked about his impression of white people in college.
"So, give me some advice. Should I fire that fitness coach? Her salary is still a bit expensive." Tommy asked Earl Rush with a smile after he sat down.
Earl looked at Tommy with a gentle gaze and said helplessly, "Your words convey a lot of information. For a moment, I don't know whether you want to fire her or want me to give you a reason to keep her, Mr. Hawke."
"Okay, I see." Tommy laughed. After Dorothy brought the drinks and left again, he continued to say to Earl: "Delia should have introduced some of my situation with BT TV and some of my needs to you, right?"
Earl Rush nodded. "Yes, Ms. Case told me a little bit about you."
"OK, let's skip the small talk and talk about topics that we are all interested in, such as why you think I should hire a lawyer instead of a professional manager to run the TV station?" Tommy picked up the juice at hand and took a sip, looking at Earl Rush expectantly.
Earl Rush did not answer immediately. He just smiled and looked at Tommy, watching Tommy sip the coconut juice. He did not speak until Tommy put down the cup.
"Because it's not business, it's politics, and what you need is not a black manager to help you increase your monetary income, but a black politician to help you gain political benefits?"
"Do you think you, Earl, are a good politician when you lost the Oakland City Council race?"
"Of course. It's not surprising to lose to the Republicans. California is the stronghold of Republican President Reagan. As long as you give me this stage to increase my popularity, the Democratic Party will give me the opportunity to nominate. I think this is my job, or should I say, cooperation?"
"You said it well, but it lacks depth, Earl. As a late bloomer, what you said is very good, but it is still not enough. However, it is enough for us to start the second topic. For example, CBS, NBC, and ABC, the three major TV networks, all lean towards the Democratic Party and liberals. In your opinion, what position should BT TV take?"
Earl laughed at himself: "Black Panther Party, Democratic Party, if I say now that BT TV station is better to support Republican Party, it means I have changed my position three times. If I were a businessman, I would certainly think that Republican Party is the best choice, which is convenient for cooperation and profit. But I am not a businessman, so I think the value of black people lies in not rushing to express their position, so it is more convenient for both sides to make offers, and everything can be discussed."
"If you were running BT TV, what would you do after it went on air?"
"I am not good at program production, but if the program is successful and has a small audience, and the capital flow is normal, then I will find an ordinary TV station with similar ratings as a target, create an opportunity to acquire it at a low price, and strengthen BT."
“You did a lot of preparation.”
"So, Mr. Hawke, was my guess just now correct?"
Tommy looked at the blank space for a few seconds before looking at Earl again: "If it's a lie, then what you said is impeccable. If it's true, Earl, you're just a candidate for mayor of a small city with tens of thousands of people."
"Very good, because that's what I said on purpose. You exposed me instead of continuing to praise me against your will. This makes me believe that you are not going to treat me as a puppet. After all, my answer just now sounded like a perfect puppet." Earl also smiled and looked at Tommy:
“Political and business peace talks have to go both ways, right?”
"Are you married?"
"I have a white wife, we've been married for seven years, and we have a good relationship."
"I suggest you change a black wife, because my woman is a director of the New World Foundation board, and she will not recommend another white woman to join the foundation. It's a two-way run, what's my attitude?"
“With great sincerity.”
"Then perhaps you would be willing to improve your candidacy a little in my mind?"
"We used the TV station to gather the black community and then triggered a black conflict at an important political node in California. After attracting everyone's attention, we perfectly resolved the conflict and proved to everyone that we have a strong sense of social responsibility. At the same time, we told potential partners about BT TV's leadership over black people."
“Before, you were only a candidate for mayor of a small city, but now, you are a candidate for mayor of a big city like Los Angeles.”
"I think the mayor of Los Angeles should be qualified enough to manage BT TV."
"Sure, welcome to your own TV station, Earl."
Much better. After a week of intravenous drip, the symptoms have been mostly relieved. I finally made it through it again...
