American History 1988
Chapter 294 - 284: Power in Position

Chapter 294: Chapter 284: Power in Position

"The biggest change in the next decade will be the restructuring of work itself, a new revolutionary wave is unfolding,"

In this new type of economy, strategic resources will no longer be earthbound resources such as oil, wheat, and coal.

Instead, it will be the ideas and information produced in our minds, which will become the most prominent battlegrounds in future competition."

These were Dean’s words to the gathered experts at the Little Rock Economic Summit.

Although he didn’t mention Silicon Valley once in his speech, everything at its core was closely related to Silicon Valley.

As one of the representatives of Silicon Valley at the conference, he had to consider the collective interests of Silicon Valley.

Dean knew very well that they, hailing from the West Coast, could only make their voices heard as a united entity under Clinton’s new administration.

It would have been too shortsighted to seek benefits solely for Byte Company at a time like this.

The economic summit was over by Christmas, and this year Dean spent the holiday in Cleveland.

Since Miranda’s due date was just over three months away, she had returned to Cleveland ahead of time.

Here was America’s top-notch hospital, the Cleveland Clinic.

And as it was also where Miranda grew up, she was adamant about returning to Cleveland to welcome the birth of her new life.

"Miranda, next month we’ll hire a full-time, 24-hour doctor from the clinic,"

Dean couldn’t always be by her side, so having a family doctor on call for emergencies was crucial.

"Dean, my mother will be here with me," said Miranda, popping nuts into her mouth with a clickety-clack as her belly protruded.

Her appetite had increased during this period, feeling hungry every couple of hours.

But to avoid growing horizontally, Miranda could only snack on nuts to stave off hunger.

She had gotten used to her identity as a mother-to-be and was no longer as tense as before.

Even she thought Dean’s reactions were somewhat overblown, especially since Mrs. Mather was with her.

"No, this is the minimum safeguard," Dean strongly arranged everything for her.

He wasn’t short on money, so of course, he wanted the best service available.

As they were talking, Dean’s phone rang in his pocket.

He got up to answer the call, said a few brief words, and stepped out onto the balcony outside.

Miranda’s rate of tossing nuts into her mouth evidently slowed, and a few minutes later, Dean was back in the living room as if nothing had happened.

"Who was it?" she asked casually.

"Company matters," Dean shrugged.

"Her, right?" Miranda asked, more earnestly.

She had always been aware of Jennifer’s existence.

She used to pretend not to know, but a recent news story had left her feeling troubled.

Under Miranda’s piercing gaze, Dean fell silent; some things couldn’t be feigned ignorance forever.

"Is that Jennifer also pregnant?" Miranda asked, her tone unfriendly.

She had seen the entertainment news report: Jennifer, pregnant, walking within the grounds of her San Francisco estate, had been caught perfectly by paparazzi.

"Miranda, I am sorry," Dean said sincerely, knowing it was time to make concessions.

She was carrying a child, his child, in her womb.

"You’re such a jerk, Dean!" Miranda yelled, throwing a pillow at him.

She was brought to tears by anger—Dean had actually gotten another woman pregnant, and the nature of their problem had changed.

"Hey, hey, calm down, Miranda," Dean kept comforting her, as it was a critical period.

"We’ll sign the contract tomorrow!" Miranda pushed his hand away crossly.

"What?" Dean was taken aback.

"The Washington house! I’ll have my lawyer contact you," Miranda said as she rose and left the living room, unwilling to deal with Dean anymore.

She had never cared about Dean’s wealth. She came from the Mather family in Cleveland, one of the four families that made up the Cleveland consortium.

So Miranda wasn’t short on money, nor did she plan to claim a hefty child support from Dean.

But now that Dean had more than one child, things had changed.

As a mother, and also as a warning to Dean, she needed to make him pay a price.

The ultra-luxury mansion in Washington was worth nearly 6 million dollars, a substantial sum for child support.

"WTF?" Dean, utterly perplexed and staring at the closed door, was quite frustrated.

Things had changed abruptly, and now he faced the day he would be asked for child support.

Mrs. Mather, who heard the noise from the kitchen, looked over with concern.

Dean smiled and gestured with his finger, "Just a little problem."

Mrs. Mather nodded understandingly; she too had had many fights with Mr. Mather when she was pregnant.

...

"Both of your girlfriends are pregnant?" Susie asked, panting.

"It was accidental, I wasn’t even ready," Dean, who had been stifled lately, was very irritable.

Susie let out a light laugh and continued her yoga exercises.

As one of Dean’s long-term lovers, Susie knew about the women he was involved with.

But Susie had no concerns, as she was a non-marriage believer.

As long as Dean came over on time to accompany her in her exercises, she had no additional demands.

"You’re the best, Susie~!" Dean took the initiative to go on the offensive.

He had been intimate with many women, but some positions could only be achieved with Susie.

However, having learned from his previous experiences, Dean now obediently suited up in protective gear, determined never to swim naked again.

If it meant losing a super-luxury villa every time, even someone with Dean’s wealth would feel the pinch.

After all, most of his wealth was tied up in stocks; there wasn’t much cash in his bank account.

...

January had already arrived, and Dean had returned to San Francisco a week ago.

"Darling, should we consider buying a property in Beverly Hills too?

I have many friends there; when I have some free time, I could hang out with them," Susie suggested recently, having spent the last while at their estate in San Francisco, even though she had invited many friends to visit.

But still spending most of her time alone, and not having filmed for six months, she was growing bored.

So, she felt a bit of nostalgia for the familiar Hollywood or, at the very least, Los Angeles.

Dean, who was reviewing the company’s financial statements, nodded upon hearing this.

"OK, you can start by contacting the real estate agency. We can go house hunting together when the time is right.

However, I suggest that we stay in San Francisco until the baby is born."

Dean didn’t have the time to travel back and forth to Los Angeles; his main businesses were based in Silicon Valley.

It was fine for the occasional vacation, but clearly, it wasn’t suitable for a permanent residence.

"I’ll listen to you," said a compliant Jennifer, who, despite her growing belly, never opposed Dean’s decisions on certain matters.

They had been together for a few years, and she understood Dean’s personality very well.

She knew that as long as she wasn’t too extreme, she would be the envy of countless people in Hollywood.

Dean had nearly become one of the wealthiest individuals in America and didn’t have any abnormal hobbies.

He has a kind nature, and sometimes, he even went out of his way to make her happy—isn’t that enough?

Since having a child, Jennifer had pondered many things; she no longer cared as much about Dean’s other women as before.

By holding tightly to what she had in hand, there was no need for her to worry about the future.

Oh, by the way, the baby in Jennifer’s womb is also a boy.

This was clearly stated in the reports from an examination two months earlier.

Jennifer was now discussing baby names with Dean, eagerly anticipating their little one’s arrival.

After accompanying Jennifer to Stanford Medical Center for an examination, Dean hastily flew to Washington.

...

On January 20, 1993, Clinton would officially be sworn in as President in Washington.

As one of Silicon Valley’s representatives, Dean, of course, would also be attending this grand event.

The weather on this day was quite nice; although the East Coast was still a bit chilly, the lively crowd made it feel as warm as spring.

It was Dean’s first visit to the Oval Lawn, and his car followed right behind Clinton’s, entering the heart of power.

The onlooking crowd and media had jammed the outside areas so completely that over 20,000 police officers were deployed in Washington to maintain order.

When Dean and the others disembarked, former President George and the First Lady were already waiting at the door.

Their meeting was harmonious, with George maintaining a constant smile.

"You’ve done a great job, America needs young people like you!" George greeted him with these words as they shook hands.

"Thank you; we are equally grateful for your service to this country."

Regardless, Dean had no conflicts of interest with him.

Even during his term, the Byte Company had secured contracts worth tens of millions of dollars.

Dean was a businessman and could be friends with anyone.

After exchanging pleasantries, they approached Capitol Square, ready to begin the inauguration ceremony.

Everything had already been set up: the audience, the band, the podium...

After a series of key figures delivered their speeches, the oath-taking segment followed.

Clinton and Gore alternated taking their families up to Chief Justice William Rehnquist to take the oath of office.

"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

The oath was solemn but due to the cold weather and the large number of people present, in reality, nobody could really hear clearly what was said.

This was more of a formality, as there had been many who misspoke the oath before.

Next came the President’s inaugural address, which was Clinton’s first appearance before the nation in his new role.

"My fellow citizens: Today we celebrate the mystery of American renewal...

The Bible says, ’Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.’

We have heard the trumpet sound and have changed guard.

Now we must answer the call in our own way, with help from God."

Below this grand stage of power, Dean realized he was seated at the right hand of Hillary.

To her left was another former member of the Republican Party, the chairman of the Fed, Alan Greenspan.

This arrangement clearly illustrated the new economic order and Clinton’s team’s plan to reshape the relationship between government and business.

On one side was Silicon Valley, and on the other was Wall Street, with a particularly assertive First Lady in between.

Alright, the power Dean needed was in place, and he could finally act freely in the field of the internet.

He knew who his future competitors were, and he had to be fully prepared to face such behemoths.