Real Man

Willie Thompson was the person that Yoo-hyun hired based on Paul Graham’s recommendation.

He was a former BCG consultant and an investment expert, with a high reputation in the industry.

He also took care of Yoo-hyun’s various needs besides giving him investment advice.

He was the one who prepared a white limousine at the airport.

Clank.

“Please get in. I’ll take you to your destination right away.”

“It’s an honor to serve you, Master.”

Along with Willie Thompson’s suggestion, his chauffeur bowed his head.

He had a striking white beard and he was also planning to help Yoo-hyun until this job was over.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

Yoo-hyun greeted the two men and climbed up to the back seat.

He liked the soft feeling behind his back, but the luxurious interior design was also exquisite.

It was obvious that they paid attention to the details.

Vroom.

As they started, Willie Thompson took out a soda from the refrigerator in the back seat and handed it to him.

“Steve, please quench your thirst. It will take about an hour and a half to get to the Permian Basin.”

“Thank you. This is a nice car.”

Tap tap.

Yoo-hyun tapped the seat and Willie Thompson explained the reason.

“Right now, we are going to meet people who would flip their eyes for money. A good car is essential when negotiating with such opponents.”

“You mean we have to show off our wealth?”

“Yes. Exactly. No matter how much the chairman is behind you, you are a newcomer in this industry. And you are young and Asian. You need to get rid of those prejudices first.”

“I see. Thanks to you, I’m wearing a nice suit and an expensive watch.”

Yoo-hyun showed his wrist with the watch and the sleeve of his suit with a smile.

These were prepared by Willie Thompson, and Yoo-hyun wore them when he stopped by the Dallas airport.

They were high-end items among the luxury brands.

They were not flashy, but anyone who had been in the business for a long time would know their value.

Willie Thompson looked relieved to see his positive reaction.

“I’m glad you like them. I was worried that you might not care about these things.”

“Do I look like that?”

“That’s what the chairman said. He said you would do well without these things. So I thought I might have overstepped my bounds.”

It was as Paul Graham had guessed.

Yoo-hyun was confident that he could overpower his opponents without any pretense.

But this was not the time to waste time on unnecessary things.

There was no reason to go around when he could go comfortably.

Yoo-hyun looked into Willie Thompson’s blue eyes and said.

“Willie, don’t worry about that. I will follow your opinion completely. Just keep one thing in mind.”

“That Alice Jung is the top priority?”

“Yes. That’s right. The real game will start after that.”

“Got it. I’ll try to proceed as quickly as possible.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

Willie Thompson gave a firm answer and picked up his phone.

Yoo-hyun smiled and looked out the window.

The car had already left the city and entered a vast wasteland.

There were no buildings, let alone people passing by.

Only oil rigs shaped like rocket launch pads were seen sporadically.

He felt the ground shaking and the noise coming from afar.

Alice Jung had endured two years alone in this barren place.

And now she was facing a sudden encounter with Yoo-hyun.

What would her reaction be?

-Looking back, I think I was very happy when my brother suddenly appeared at the LA Design School. I’m sure your sister will feel the same. Who doesn’t like a surprise gift?

It didn’t matter if her reaction was different from Han Jae Hee’s expectation.

To Yoo-hyun, the fact that he could be with Alice Jung was important.

‘Alice, I’ll be there soon.’

Yoo-hyun’s lips curled up with a bright smile as he thought of Alice Jung.

At that moment, EnerTex, located in the southwest of Midland, was busy preparing for the visitors.

It was because the representative of the legendary investor Paul Graham was coming.

The president of EnerTex personally supervised the preparation.

His secretary came up to him urgently and said.

“Sir, we got a departure message from Willie Thompson.”

“They’re finally coming. How’s the oil plant tour preparation?”

“Well… They want to skip all that and start with the presentation right away.”

The secretary scratched his head awkwardly, and the president was dumbfounded.

“What? That was scheduled for tomorrow.”

“They want to do it right away. And they also want to call all the subcontractor presidents.”

“Ah! They’re so arrogant just because they have some money, really.”

The president pounded his chest, but there was nothing he could do.

That’s how bad EnerTex’s financial situation was.

The secretary who was watching him asked.

“Sir, what should we do?”

“What do you mean, what should we do? We have to call whoever is nearby first.”

“The problem is the investment presentation. We don’t have anyone to respond to the schedule change. And we can’t call Alice Jung back, who sent the subcontractor status report…”

The president was startled by the secretary’s words.

“Alice Jung can’t show up here. That would be the end of the investment. Never let her come, never!”

For some reason, his face was full of desperation.

The car carrying Yoo-hyun was approaching the EnerTex site in the Permian Basin.

EnerTex had more than 40 oil wells in this area.

It was such a large scale that it took a long time to get to the central building.

Meanwhile, Yoo-hyun was listening to Willie Thompson’s report.

“As I told you before, the background of EnerTex’s financial problem is ExxonMobil’s decision to withdraw its investment.”

“They’re asking for money back from EnerTex in Texas. It must be a burden for ExxonMobil, the parent company, to invest more.”

Yoo-hyun nodded and Willie Thompson added.

“That’s right. Plus, there’s the profitability issue due to the recent drop in oil prices. EnerTex, who has expanded its business, needs to inject funds somehow.”

“So they’re pushing some subcontractors to the brink of bankruptcy?”

“Yes. If the subcontractors become unstable and the profitability worsens, it will exceed the guarantee range offered by Sprint Company. Then they can claim the deposit under the name of compensation.”

The relationship between profitability and guarantee range mentioned by Willie Thompson was not exactly verified.

This was an internal document of Sprint Company, who led the contract, and EnerTex had no idea about it.

But still, EnerTex pinpointed the weakness of the contract.

And that was at the end of the project.

The situation was clear.

There was a traitor in Sprint Company who colluded with EnerTex!

Because of that, Alice Jung, the person in charge, had to take all the blame and responsibility.

Yoo-hyun had already confirmed her hardship through Willie Thompson.

Yoo-hyun asked with a serious expression.

“How much is the amount?”

“It is estimated to be at least 10 million dollars (12 billion won).”

Yoo-hyun couldn’t help but laugh at the amount.

“That’s all they get for abandoning the company they devoted two years to… How petty.”

“They can save not only the deposit, but also the contract termination fee and the commission for the future consulting. It’s a mouth-watering deal for EnerTex.”

Some subcontractors would go bankrupt in the process, but EnerTex wouldn’t lose much.

They just had to sell off the assets of the existing subcontractors and buy other companies with that money.

There were plenty of companies here who would work for money.

Yoo-hyun nodded and asked.

“I see. Of course, Alice Jung won’t show up at the presentation, right?”

“Of course. EnerTex is putting a lot of pressure on her, so there’s no way they’ll let her come. They’re probably hiding our meeting itself.”

Yoo-hyun made up his mind in front of the expected situation.

“I’ll have to call her out myself.”

“Tell me what you need, and I’ll support you right away.”

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

Yoo-hyun’s answer and the car entered the entrance of the EnerTex plant building.

Flutter.

A banner was hanging on the large iron gate that was open.

-We sincerely thank you for visiting EnerTex, who will be responsible for the future of shale oil.

It was obvious that they prepared this for Yoo-hyun’s visit today.

There were also signs of preparation everywhere.

Click.

The security guards standing at the entrance saluted.

On the right side, there were tables and signs on the long red carpet.

They were supposed to have a field presentation here and then take a tour of the oil drilling with the tour cart that was set up.

They seemed to try to treat him as a VIP, but this was not Yoo-hyun’s interest.

The car passed everything and went straight to the central building.

Clank.

As Yoo-hyun got out of the car, a middle-aged man approached him.

He had curly hair and a snub nose, and his appearance was familiar to Yoo-hyun.

He confirmed Yoo-hyun’s face and greeted him in an oriental style.

“Hello. I’m Jack Cruji, the president of EnerTex.”

“I’m Steve Han.”

Yoo-hyun calmly shook his hand.

Jack Cruji took the opportunity to bend his waist slightly and quickly scanned Yoo-hyun’s outfit.

From shoes to watches.

They were all luxury brands, and they looked very natural on him.

In a word, he looked rich.

Jack Cruji, who was confident in judging people, smiled.

“A young Asian tycoon. Not bad.”

He didn’t need any trivial steps for such an opponent.

He stood up and suggested to Yoo-hyun.

“You must have had a hard time coming all this way. It’s hot outside, so let’s go inside.”

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

Yoo-hyun smiled and followed his guidance.

It was a long time since he met someone who showed his greed so clearly on his face.

He felt that things would go easier than he thought.

Yoo-hyun entered the conference room on the second floor for the executives.

The presentation was already prepared inside.

It was Willie Thompson’s strategy to suddenly move the schedule that was originally planned for tomorrow.

-You can easily tell the internal situation by just looking at who is presenting in an unprepared state.

He didn’t have to go this far, but Yoo-hyun followed his words.

The person who would face them in front was Willie Thompson, not Yoo-hyun.

Grind.

Yoo-hyun got up from his seat and looked at the man who was heading to the podium.

He was Joseph Kyle, Jack Cruji’s secretary, and he was in charge of this presentation.

He gave an awkward smile as he met Yoo-hyun’s eyes.

He looked nervous and tried to hide it.

The screen changed and his presentation began.

“The current shale oil production in the Permian Basin is huge enough to compete with the Middle East region…”

It wasn’t a bad progress.

But Yoo-hyun saw some stiff and sloppy aspects in his eyes.

He also made some mistakes that he couldn’t do if he made the materials himself.

Just by looking at this, he could tell that EnerTex had relied on the consulting company for external presentations.

But they didn’t call Alice Jung, who was in charge.

There were no other preparation staff either.

There were no deputy managers or supporters, and Alice Jung had to handle the work alone.

Yoo-hyun guessed the internal situation and looked at the faces of the men sitting across from him.

They were the subcontractor presidents who looked angry.

They had a field-like vibe, contrasting with Jack Cruji’s neat appearance.

Willie Thompson had a reason to make them attend this place suddenly.

It was to check their relationship with EnerTex.

Willie Thompson whispered to him.

“It’s clear that the subcontractors are dissatisfied with EnerTex.”

“They’re being squeezed for money, of course.”

“Yes. It would be better to use their relationship to solve the problem.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Okay. I’ve checked what I needed, so you can do whatever you want now.”

Willie Thompson stepped back with Yoo-hyun’s permission.

Then he pretended to exchange some important words with Jack Cruji and gave him a serious look.

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