Chapter 51: Acquiring a Website

[Chapter 51: Acquiring a Website]

In response to the news about the Oakland Paints, the other competitors hardly reacted at all.

The Los Angeles Times commented, "Ian Carr has run out of tricks; he's turned to business news."

Nonsense! The news might not have been sensational, but that didn't mean it was easy to acquire. How had he run out of tricks?

Besides, economic news was still news!

USA Today noted, "The Los Angeles Herald's shift to economic news shows their ambition to expand their news coverage."

That was true enough.

The New York Daily News said, "It's shocking that the Los Angeles Herald released this action! What has The Wall Street Journal been doing all this time?"

Ha! Was that a jab at Wall Street?

The Wall Street Journal replied, "Publishing economic news from a paper focused on gossip and violent news is a foolish business decision."

This was pure jealousy, no doubt about it.

...

"Cheers!"

In a lavish mansion in Montecito, Ian, Gaskill, and Lena raised their glasses to toast their success in short-selling stocks.

This move had netted Ian five million dollars.

Interestingly, Gaskill's residence was not far from Congressman Brand's house, and from there, they could even see the Brand's backyard.

After drinking, the three sat down.

Ian opened his laptop and handed it to Gaskill, saying, "Take a look at this report, what do you think?"

Gaskill glanced and saw it was a news piece about Oakland Paints' exceeding standards -- if they wanted to boost the stock price, they needed to clean up the narrative.

The article pointed out that Oakland Paints had long abandoned high-formaldehyde paint and had a new formula that passed inspection.

Gaskill chuckled, "Investors never care about the ethics of the companies they invest in; they care about profits. To restore market confidence, the best strategy is to convince them of predictable profits from the paint company, not to tell them whether the paint is good or bad... The quality of the paint doesn't matter; what matters is that it makes money."

The old man was sharp -- his words were practically truth!

Ian nodded vigorously, taking back his laptop. "I'll have the team revise it to highlight the bright future for Oakland Paints. We'll release this tomorrow and follow it up with news of Lino Bank's support the day after."

Gaskill furrowed his brow slightly, "That's a bit rushed; it could benefit from spacing things out a little. Iverson is negotiating a big deal; if he secures it, it will have a better effect."

Ian replied, "I won't hold onto the paint company's stock for too long, at most a month."

"Why?"

"I want to invest in a news website for internet journalism. The Herald has too many limitations; online news is the future!"

Gaskill was surprised, "But that's a money-losing venture! Just look at Yahoo; their stock has plummeted."

While the old man was clever, his understanding of the future couldn't compete with Ian's.

Ian responded firmly, "The internet will make money, and it has enormous influence. Now is the perfect time to buy in at the bottom."

Gaskill began to grasp his point.

The real power of media lay in its influence!

This time, Ian had leveraged his media outlet to release significant news and then short-sold stocks to earn five million, all while continuing to hype up Oakland's stock price for even more profit.

Gaskill nodded, "Then let's keep borrowing money; Lino Bank will support you. You need to learn to leverage, kid. Did you know that most business owners spend a third of their time borrowing money or funding? And with me around, you won't need to spend that much time and energy on it."

Ian laughed.

He looked over at Lena; the beautiful woman was teasingly licking her red lips at him, her eyes dancing with affection and allure. Her fingers delicately parted her clothing to reveal shapely curves, her long legs gracefully extending to their full length, while soft moans tumbled from her lips.

Gaskill cleared his throat lightly, "Hold on, sweetheart, we haven't finished our work yet."

---

With Gaskill's guidance, Ian's business acumen visibly improved.

In the coming days, Gaskill imparted a wealth of knowledge accumulated over many years, sharing insights on finance, politics, and management philosophy with Ian, leading to his rapid growth during this time.

Ian started attending various events with Gaskill, gatherings, polo matches, golf outings, and so on, meeting powerful figures in various domains while enjoying time with Lena in the evenings.

No specific targets were needed; he would take whatever he could get -- most of this intel wouldn't blow up, but it would become valuable for future business.

For example: "I trust you wouldn't want this to reach your wife, would you? You're wondering what I want? Simple, the Los Angeles Herald is eager to provide you with top-notch advertising services."

Of course, specific offers depended on the relationships -- having a good rapport meant he wouldn't need any dirt on them, and they wouldn't mind supporting his advertising endeavors.

Ian enjoyed the business environment; it was all about business, with no room for sentiment.

It was perfect!

In the evenings, he would accompany Lena, occasionally spending time with Kate.

...

Kate also sensed something was off and one night, she asked him mournfully, "Do you have another woman?"

Ian could only smile and kiss her, "Don't say silly things."

He worked hard to prove that there wasn't anyone else affecting their relationship.

Fortunately, Kate was much busier than Lena due to the Charlie Mills incident. She had gained fame before Pearl Harbor premiered, with a steady stream of film and advertising offers, so he at least didn't have to be by her side every night.

Still, she would call Ian from time to time.

Once, while Ian was enjoying his time with Lena, Kate called.

Lena let out a loud moan, causing Kate to quietly hang up.

Ah, the jealousy that women could show!

Ian could only sigh; at worst, he would just have to make it up to her later.

...

Not long after, Gaskill helped him find a suitable target.

WND News Network.

*****

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