Chapter 172 - 172: 168: Kay Lee is in Trouble
Chapter 172 - 172: 168: Kay Lee is in Trouble
The remaining houses, designed in Federal style, were assigned to the younger members of the family. After the viewing, everyone seemed happy, but his mother pulled Finn aside and whispered, “Finn, you’ve done a good job with these houses. But you’ve bought so many. Some of your younger brothers are still in elementary school, it’s not suitable for them to live alone yet. These houses cannot be left unoccupied. If they are, the stuff inside would get damaged, and we can’t rent them out either. So what do we do?”
Finn was taken aback, having overlooked this issue. Indeed, any house left unoccupied will eventually start to develop problems, no matter how exquisite It nugnt De.
“Don’t worry. You and Dad discuss with my Aunt and pick out the houses that need to be lived in. For the rest that will temporarily be vacant, let me know and I’ll sort it out. A friend of mine recently opened a company and his executives need somewhere to live. These executives earn more than a million annually and hence won’t damage the properties.” Finn quickly came up with an excuse.
“That sounds good.” His mother immediately looked pleased. As long as there were people living in the houses and those people being white-collar workers who won’t damage the property, she was content.
Actually, only a few properties would be left unoccupied, probably around seven or eight villas. The rest of the houses would soon be useful, especially to Olivia Lewis and Leo Lewis, who were about to graduate from university and would certainly need separate accommodations.
Actually, Finn had plans for the remaining villas when he purchased them, though they are not needed just yet and he didn’t feel the need to explain this to his parents. For the few houses that would be vacant, Finn had decided to house his bodyguards there. As the saying goes, by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. While his parents might not need bodyguards as of now, they certainly would in the future. It was better to arrange it before it was too late.
In the evening, his parents handed over the list of vacant houses to Finn. They were relieved, having given him their full trust. As for the rent, it was natural that nobody mentioned it. Finn had already said that the houses were meant for his friend’s company executives. Since Finn was gifting these houses, it was certainly not appropriate to ask him for the rent.
However, as the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes. Finn was originally planning to stay for another three to four days before he would leave. But that evening, he received a call from Hannah Lincoln.
“Boss, there’s a problem.” As soon as Finn picked up the call, Hannah began in a soft voice.
“Is there another commotion?” Finn immediately asked, hoping there wouldn’t be any more disturbances.
“No, It’s about Miss Kay Lee.” Hannah was now well aware of who Finn’s special guest at the restaurant was.
“Hmm?” Finn was surprised for a moment, but quickly asked, “What happened to her?”
“Miss Lee arrived here just a while ago with her assistant. They were having a meal, and halfway through, it looked like Miss Lee started crying. Her assistant was trying to comfort her. I’m not exactly sure what the problem is.” Hannah spoke swiftly, realizing the significance of Kay Lee for her boss, who was able to expend such an enormous amount for her, without even worrying about his own loss.
Upon ending the call with Hannah, Finn returned to his room. Once inside, he immediately spent 50 points to ask Zero for all recent information on Kay Lee. Fifty points were nothing compared to Finn’s current wealth. However, Finn also realized something else: despite the small amount each time, the frequency of using Zero’s powerful information gathering ability would mean spending lots of points in the long run. And it was a service he had grown quite fond of. It was frightening how habitual consumption can become once you get used to a certain service, Finn thought, as he perused the information in his hands.
After skimming through a few pages, Finn got an idea of the problem Kay Lee was facing: a smear campaign. For public figures, unless you were a star with a powerful background who could withstand such a blow, smear campaigns were the worst nightmare. Those who have such sturdy and powerful backgrounds probably wouldn’t choose to become celebrities. Kay Lee was an exception. Although she had behind-the-scenes support from her grandfather, the campaign seemed to be implemented through proper channels, which left Kay’s grandfather with no means to fight back.
Her grandfather could ask his old comrades for help when illegal tactics were employed, due to the special perks he had for being a war veteran. However, when it came to legal smear campaigns, they couldn’t get involved. If they did, it would be considered illegal on their part
Finn had come to understand the whole situation. The person behind the smear campaign was none other than Bryski Miller, the dude he had met at the Federal Restaurant. Bryski was a member of the Miller Clan, and his family’s corporation was a mega multinational conglomerate, with assets amounting to at least three to five hundred billion Flame Nation coins, spread across steel, petroleum, chemical, shipping, media, and many other sectors.
This was normal, as once a conglomerate reached such a level, they naturally diversified. Take G Company as an example. Despite the internet being their main focus, diversified development was the path they were following to avoid risk.
Bryski Miller was the eldest son of the eldest branch of the Miller Clan, hence the rightful heir to this huge conglomerate. Although Bryski’s morals were deplorable, he was genuinely talented. Zero’s report showed that he had already taken over a few companies under the Miller Conglomerate, each with a market value exceeding 80 billion Flame Nation coins. Bryski had managed to double the profits within two years.
For such a huge conglomerate, hyping a star was nothing. Kay Lee, as successful a star as she was, was still no match for the smear campaign initiated by the Millers. They were an overwhelming force, one that easily overshadowed Kay’s influence. Even a super celebrity would find their pressure hard to resist, let alone Kay Lee..