American History 1988
Chapter 232 - 226 Internal Referral Meeting

Chapter 232: Chapter 226 Internal Referral Meeting

"How’s it going, Dean? Ready to face even more cameras?" Richard greeted him cheerfully.

"If you could give me a heads-up about such events next time, that would be even better."

Because of the rushed schedule, Dean hadn’t even had time to prepare properly.

"Don’t always expect to be given time to prepare for everything. Besides, this is Time Magazine we’re talking about, the dream interview for many."

It was foreseeable that, with the next week’s issue of Time Magazine, Dean would become the darling of numerous media pursuits.

"Alright, I’ll try to adapt to them," Dean acknowledged, aware that this was a publicity opportunity specially orchestrated by Morgan Stanley for him.

After they had signed the contract two days earlier, Richard had informed him of this part of the plan.

To kick off the roadshow and attract more investment firms, such essential publicity was, of course, indispensable.

And in terms of influence, Time Magazine, headquartered in New York, was naturally the top choice.

Most importantly, Morgan Stanley had a special connection with Time Magazine, a relationship that dated back to the time of J.P. Morgan.

In the 1920s and 1930s, J.P. Morgan partners like Henry Davison funded the creation of Time Magazine by Luce.

Later, due to the Glass-Steagall Act, J.P. Morgan could only separate their investment banking from commercial banking operations.

J.P. Morgan retained its commercial banking business, while the next generation of its partners set up Morgan Stanley independently.

See, their connection was extraordinary.

This was also why Richard could secure a feature in Time Magazine, a top-tier business publication, for Dean.

The financial titans of Wall Street had in their arsenal not just capital, but vast networks of personal relationships and influence in various fields.

"So what’s next on the agenda? I need to plan ahead."

In the time leading up to the official listing, Dean had entrusted his schedule to them, and he was prepared for that.

"Next week there’s an internal introduction meeting in New York, with participants being internationally renowned investment funds.

It’s important. It’s also our first roadshow, and it will play a significant role in determining whether we can sell our shares or not."

"OK, I’ll prepare well," Dean said, knowing that it was time to polish his speech-making skills again; he might need to prepare some remarks.

Essentially, a roadshow is like a sales pitch, except the product being sold is the unissued new shares.

"Before that, you can take it easy, maybe accept some other interviews, which will be beneficial for us.

After the New York presentation, we have Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and Europe should also be on the schedule."

Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch had everything in place, responsible for coordinating with international investment banks.

"This is a marathon. I guess I’ll be spending most of the summer on planes," Dean mused. An IPO might be exciting, but the process is anything but pleasant.

...

"Miranda, that’s enough," Dean said wearily as he lay on the bed.

"Darling, have you found another girl lately?" Miranda teased as she brushed his face with the tips of her golden hair.

"Come On, you’ve seen it, I’ve been dealing with all sorts of media," Dean complained, playing the innocent.

"Alright, since you flew to Washington especially for me, I’ll let you off the hook today," Miranda said with a seductive smile, then got up and walked toward the wardrobe.

As a diligent gardener, Dean was almost worn out.

During the few days’ breather before the roadshow, he had made a special trip to comfort our Miranda.

Cough, mainly because of the recent news about him. Apart from Byte Company, there was also some Hollywood actress.

"Dean, get up quick, my father will be here any minute," Miranda hurriedly hung up the phone at that moment.

"What?" Dean jolted up, still undressed.

Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~

The dreaded doorbell was already ringing; Miranda gestured for Dean to hurry out of bed as she went to answer the door.

In a frantic scramble, Dean haphazardly threw on his clothes. Getting caught in the act would be no fun at all.

"Miranda~"

"Daddy~"

During their exchange of greetings, Dean appeared at the doorway with the speed of lightning.

"Mr. Mather, a pleasure to meet you," Dean said, meeting Miranda’s father for the first time; he looked younger than Dean had imagined.

"Dean?" Surprise and a hint of inexplicable rejection crossed Mather’s face.

Under Mather’s scrutinizing gaze, Miranda stammered an explanation, "Dad, this is Dean... the one I’ve told you about... I think you should... meet..."

Well, Miranda had told Dean that her father would visit. But she hadn’t told Mather that her boyfriend would be there too.

"OK, Miranda, go make us a cup of coffee," Mather managed to maintain his gentlemanly composure.

"No problem," Miranda agreed cheerfully, but as she reached the kitchen door, she turned back, "You two... will have a great chat, right?"

"Of course"

"Absolutely"

The two men responded in unison, reassuring her.

"Good~" Miranda walked into the kitchen with a spring in her step.

Once the living room fell quiet again, Mather’s smile disappeared.

"Kid, Miranda is a kind girl, and I will not allow anyone to hurt her!"

"Coincidentally, I have the same intention," Dean replied with a smile.

Mather glanced at the kitchen, then leaned in slightly closer.

"Listen, pack up your pretentious act! I’ll be in Washington from now on, and I’ll be watching you!"

"Do you perhaps have a misunderstanding about me, Mr. Mather?" Dean had no idea where his hostility came from.

"Don’t think I don’t read the papers; you’re playing around with some other girl at the same time.

I won’t allow such a thing to happen, Irishmen never betray their family!"

Dean’s body shook, and he lifted his head to look straight at Mather, but the latter did not return his gaze.

Because Miranda had already walked out of the kitchen with the coffee in hand, "How is your chat going?"

Faced with Miranda’s expectant eyes, Dean and Mather both smiled at each other.

"We’re getting along very well."

"Yes, we both like to go to the beach for vacations."

"Great! I think we can go on a trip to Hawaii together!" Miranda was eagerly planning a family trip.

"I’ll get my work stuff sorted out first, dear."

"Me too."

The two exchanged glances and then chuckled awkwardly.

"I look forward to that day; now I’ll go prepare lunch for you." Miranda walk happily into the kitchen to get busy.

"I’ll see if there’s anything I can help with." Dean stood up and quietly followed her to the kitchen.

"Dean?" Miranda was surprised to see him follow her in.

"Miranda, Mr. Mather he..." Dean glanced outside and whispered, "Is he of Irish descent?"

"Mmhmm~" Miranda nodded with a smile, "Just like you, so I guessed you two would have a lot to talk about."

"Oh~" Dean opened his mouth in surprise.

Suddenly, he felt that Mather’s voice was familiar, even though they had met for the first time.

...

"Byte Company has one philosophy: we want to be the first in the industry!

Two years ago, I was still a penniless country boy from a small town in Youngstown, Ohio.

Back then I didn’t have a penny, my father was detained, and my mother had just passed away a month ago.

I once thought I would drop out halfway through school and then spend my life as a factory worker in the Packard factory to the north of Youngstown.

I’m not disparaging that job, or prejudiced against factory workers.

I was just very certain that I wouldn’t like that job and didn’t want to spend ten or even decades of time in a factory.

I longed for change, I longed to do the job I was truly interested in, like in computers.

It was with this motivation that I came to Stanford, came to Silicon Valley.

I was infected by the open business environment here, so I decided to do something.

But there were too many jobs related to computers, in Silicon Valley you could find everything from hardware to software, all design and production links.

Then I was asking myself, what are still some undiscovered or intentionally ignored directions?

After careful consideration I found that, too, was too many."

Ha-ha, a burst of laughter erupted below, and the people from Morgan Stanley started to lead the applause.

As the crowd quieted down a bit, Dean walked and talked with the microphone in hand on the stage.

"I told myself at that time, since there are so many fields that the industry hasn’t ventured into, why don’t I give it a try?

And so Byte Company was born, we are the first company to commercialize instant messaging software!"

Cheers and applause came again, and Byte Company proved its worth.

"Gentlemen, please note, this was still at the end of ’89, and many people told me ’you are crazy’ at that time!

They didn’t believe Byte Company would have such a day, but I did. Because I firmly believed communication is always present, and the internet would change everything!

I also believed that Byte Company would definitely change the lives of Americans, and in the near future we might even change the world.

We strive to prove that if we can succeed, then every young person with creativity also has the potential for success.

I believe everyone has their own dream, and I want to tell everyone a fact.

Just dreaming is not enough, we must try.

Tomorrow might be very cruel, but the day after tomorrow may turn out to be beautiful.

If you don’t try, you may not even have a tomorrow!"

Wow~! Flashlights, applause, and cheers, they surged continuously below the stage.

"Wow, what a wonderful speech," Larry King with his silver hair combed back and old-fashioned black rimmed glasses walked onto the stage to take over.

He was the host for today’s internal promotion, and at the same time, the host for CNN’s "Larry King Live."

Being one of the world’s most renowned ace hosts to moderate the event signified the high standard of this internal promotion.

"So... gentlemen, on this exciting night, is there anything else you would like to know about Byte Company?"

Dean stood not far from him, smiling and looking at the crowd below, knowing there was a Q&A session to follow.

Suddenly, just as the lights shifted away from him, Valentine rushed up to him and handed him a note.

"Dean, we have a competitor emerging."