The Greatest Conglomerate Ever With the American Lottery

20. This dying sh*t stock is a jackpot?

Jennifer is now 31, blonde and white, and I’m inwardly surprised because she’s quite beautiful.

I mean, what was she doing on Wall Street?

Shouldn’t she be hanging out in Hollywood?

“Nice to meet you, boss, I’m Jennifer.”

“Ohhhhh!

“Ho-ho-ho! Thank you.”

“I’m George, George Patton, and I’m currently the guy after Alex.”

George, this guy?

Why are you after me?

You’re after Jeffrey, right?

“Uh-oh! Take care, Mr. Patton.”

“Call me George, please. Uh-huh!”

“…”

“Humph, I know Jennifer from a company I used to run. She’s meticulous, quick with her hands, and surprisingly loud-mouthed and trustworthy, so I brought her along.”

“Oh, my God! John, why the surprise?”

“Jennifer, stop anyone on the street and ask them. Does Jennifer look like she works for an investment firm? They’ll probably ask if she’s a model.”

“Oh, come on, what’s the big deal? Ho-ho-ho!”

“…”

She seemed to have a bit of an attitude.

Well, at least he didn’t look like he had anything to say.

“Nice to meet you, boss. I’m Roy Clark.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“I’m George.”

“…”

The hospitality was a bit insincere compared to Jennifer’s enthusiastic welcome.

Maybe it was me, but this George guy was just throwing out names.

I can’t help it.

A young, attractive woman’s welcome is universal.

“Hum, Roy is another friend who used to work with me. He’s 34, and he’s the kind of guy you can trust with anything.”

“Anyway, welcome, Roy.”

“Thanks.”

“As for your accommodations, I’ve booked you a residence downtown for now, so you can take your time finding a place you like, and the company will cover up to $5,000 a month in rent, for a year, of course.”

If it works out, I’m willing to buy them a house later, but I don’t want to give them too much to begin with.

They said they were both single, so $5,000 a month should be enough to rent a nice place.

“Okay, so the office, we haven’t picked out an office yet because we’re going to pick it out when John gets here, so let’s take today off and tomorrow you can walk around with me and pick it out.”

“Hey, boss.”

“Um, why?”

“Well, for now, I think we can set up an office at the boss’s house.”

“Here?”

“Yes, there’s plenty of space and it’s comfortable, so I think we can just set up a computer and a desk wherever we see fit, and it won’t require a lot of commuting for me or the boss.”

“Hmmm—.”

John had a point, but I suspected there were other reasons.

Maybe he didn’t want to expose himself to a drug-infested environment like downtown—.

But I can’t say that in front of other people right now.

Anyway, I’m comfortable with it.

“Then let’s do it, but if we get more employees later, we’ll have to move then?”

“Of course, boss.”

“Wow, so I can use the pool when I take a break from work, boss?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah, of course—.”

Georgina’s bodyguards are about to get a nosebleed.

“Well, that leaves only one thing, do you have a name for your company?”

“Company name?”

“Yeah, it has to be a company name, right?”

“That’s right.”

I forgot.

The business name remained.

“You can think about it for a day or two and let me know.”

“No, I’ll tell you now.”

“What?”

“Karma!”

“What? Karma? Does that mean—.”

“Well, it’s a little hard to put it into words, because in Korean, it’s often called ‘karma,’ and it’s not really that cut and dry.”

“Apo? What does that mean?”

“Ehhh! I can’t really explain it either, because it’s religiously intertwined with Hinduism and Buddhism, but in modern times, it usually refers to the consequences of your thoughts or actions. It’s used more in a slightly less favorable way, but that’s a misconception.”

“That sounds profound.”

“Well, if someone asks, you can just say that if you do something good, you’ll be rewarded someday, even if it’s in the afterlife, and if you do something bad, you’ll be punished someday, even if it’s not in this life.”

“I see—. That means a lot to me, too.”

“Hmm? Oh, no, I didn’t write it with John in mind, so don’t take this the wrong way—.”

Somehow, that made sense in John’s case.

I was just thinking of the purification monk.

Oh, I don’t know.

He’ll figure it out.

We decided to use the back living room on the first floor for the office, and over the next two days we set up a desk, computer, and other office equipment.

When it was time to leave, Jennifer and Roy didn’t go home, but went splashing around in our pool, which of course George joined in on, and the bodyguards, in the name of security, hung around the pool and admired Jennifer’s bikini body.

“hahahahaha, she’s having fun.”

I said, feigning amusement.

“They’re always so cheerful to begin with.”

“It seems so. By the way, why don’t you talk to me for a minute?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

She came into the parlor and served tea.

“Please have some, it’s a Korean tea that’s good for you.”

“Hmm? It has a unique smell?”

“It’s ginseng tea. It’s a tea that Chinese people have been drinking since a thousand years ago.”

“Oh! Is that so?”

“Try it. I’ve cooled it down a bit on purpose, so it should be good for you.”

“Where?”

John picked up the teacup and put it to his mouth.

And.

“Ahhh! This is really good, isn’t it? It seems to clear my head as soon as I drink it.”

“Really? You’re going to use a little?”

It was red ginseng, so it wouldn’t be too bitter, but it would be to our taste, and it would definitely be bitter to Westerners.

“It might be bitter to the average American’s palate.”

“But?”

“My taste buds are pretty much dead from my junkie days, so what would they say if I drank this tea and said I had a taste for it? Would they think I was crazy?”

“…”

Actually, I kind of was, but that’s not my place to say.

Anyway, I’m glad to hear it’s going over well with John.

“I’ll always have it brewing in the kitchen medicine cabinet, so don’t drink coffee or anything, just drink this, it’ll help you get well.”

“Thank you.”

When I came back from Korea, I bought several tins to give to my parents and to eat myself, and it’s a very high-end product that costs a whopping 3 million won for 600 grams.

They say it’s called cheon sam, but it’s only the top 0.5%, so I don’t know what it is, but it’s supposed to be better for you.

“Also, as you’ve seen, they have a great workout facility, and I work out a lot.”

“Yeah, I see.”

“Well, to cut to the chase, there’s something I need to tell you John.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“I don’t have $300 million dollars, and I didn’t tell you that when I was interviewing for the job, I didn’t tell you that because there’s Steve, and I don’t think I told you everything.”

“Okay, then how much?”

“The money I have to invest in karma is $950 million.”

“Ninety-five hundred million dollars? No, how can you have that much money—.”

The money I won from the Powerball first prize is exactly $1.249 billion.

From there, I spent it on my family and daycare in Korea, and $32 million on buying a house in the US.

Honestly, I bought a few supercars, like a Ferrari and a Porsche, but you wouldn’t know it.

That leaves me with $1.092 billion.

Of course, I cut a few hundred thousand dollars off the back end.

But I couldn’t invest it all.

We have taxes coming up next April, and there’s a “what if”, so we’re going to keep all but $142 million.

“We agreed not to ask that question, right?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just so surprised that—.”

“Well, whatever. It’s not a problem, is it?”

“Really? The more ammunition you have, the better, hahahahaha!”

“Isn’t that right, hahahahaha!”

More ammunition is always better, whether it’s in the East or the West.

“How long will my instructions last?”

“I’ll organize it and report back to you in a week.”

“I told you, it doesn’t have to be too detailed. Just put your company name on the cover, with some back data, an overview of the company, where it is now, and why you’d recommend it. Remember, it’s the cover that counts.”

“Excuse me, but why do you want me to make the cover page so big?”

“Because I don’t actually have very good eyes.”

“…”

I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that prayer beads are for photography.

“Oh, I see.”

“Don’t forget, you don’t have to limit it to IT, and you don’t have to limit it to stocks. Bring me anything, as long as it’s not bad.”

“Yeah, okay, boss, but there’s one thing you need to keep in mind.”

“Um, what’s that?”

“The U.S. stock market is having a bad year this year, the worst since 2008 when it dropped over 30%.”

“Oh, I’ve heard about that.”

“So, all of our karma’s investments should be strategized in anticipation of growth after the first half of next year.”

“hahahaha, I see what you mean, don’t worry, I won’t argue with the results in front of me. “

“Thanks, boss.”

“For now, we just need to make sure the cover page is prominent.”

“…”

It’s going to be a tough adjustment, and I wish you the best.

Honestly, I’m still a little nervous, so I don’t know what to say.

So, John has been working really hard with his staff to pull together investment materials to present to me.

And because I can’t rely on him alone, I’ve been searching for US stocks on my computer in my room.

I had the Microsoft Stock window open, just in case, and I held my prayer beads to the screen.

“Hey, fishing!”

I yelled, but the beads didn’t budge.

Maybe it was because Microsoft’s stock had already risen.

Maso’s stock price today is $43 per share.

It didn’t look like it was going to go much higher, even to a novice like me.

Either that, or typing on a screen doesn’t work.

Let’s try this.

I pulled up Alphabet, which launched as Google’s holding company last month.

Current stock price: $653 per share.

That’s darn expensive.

“Pfft!”

Bullsh*t.

Let’s try Apple next.

Currently $28 per share.

“Job!”

f*ck it.

No, Apple?

Surely this isn’t supposed to be on the screen?

Okay, let’s do a dog-and-pony show this time.

I start with A, and then I see a company whose name I recognize.

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.)

How dare they resist the Intel empire and then get bulldozed or something?

I thought the company was pretty much dead or alive.

Current stock price of $1.73?

Is this a true story?

“You assholes, get a grip. Or sell it to the four seas?”

I smirked and held the prayer beads to the screen.

Of course it wouldn’t glow—.

Shiny! Shiny!

“Hey, what is this, why is it glowing here?”

This sh*tty stock is a jackpot stock?