American History 1988
Chapter 79 - 74 I Agree!

Chapter 79: Chapter 74 I Agree!

It was still the Youngstown West Hotel where Kent drove up punctually at two o’clock in the afternoon. As the president of the union, he had chosen the West for the venue of their recent meetings. There was no special reason, merely because the coffee at the West suited his taste better.

After parking the car, Kent first went to borrow the hotel’s phone to make a call. Unfortunately, as before, there was still no answer.

"F*ck!" Kent couldn’t help but curse under his breath. Had Rubin overindulged again? Or was he lost in some gambling game, forgetting their agreement?

After loosening his tie, Kent decided that after the meeting, he would personally make a trip to Rubin’s place.

If that guy had forgotten their business, Kent would later raise the cut to 9 US Dollars as a small punishment for Rubin’s capriciousness.

Before entering the meeting hall, Kent had already replaced his irritable expression with a professional smile.

"Hi~ Sorry to keep you all waiting." Kent pushed open the door and warmly announced his arrival. The hall was filled with most of the union members, totaling over eighty attendees at this gathering.

Seeing that it was him, many members also greeted him.

"Today I’ve got some good news for everyone," Kent said, impatiently ready to reveal his secret weapon as he just stood on the podium.

"Kent, could it be that the housing authority has relaxed the inspection of houses?" Lenny, wearing a camo hat, couldn’t help but tease.

Following Kent’s suggestion at the beginning of the year, the landlords present had opened up parts of the south and west of town to African Americans. Recently, they had made a fortune from the invisible benefits of the rent vouchers.

Having had a taste of success, many landlords now hoped that the housing authority would relax their inspections so they could rent substandard apartments to those with vouchers.

Facing tenants with vouchers, the landlords would not hesitate to raise the rent by 200 US Dollars on top of the original price. This was the wool sheared by the federal government, and both landlords and tenants had formed an understanding.

So now, hearing Lenny’s teasing, everyone laughed. Compared to their previous disdain for African Americans, at this moment, in the face of US Dollars, these white landlords even found these black people somewhat endearing—their business was too good.

"Lenny, if I were a state legislator, I would definitely take your suggestion!" Kent joked with him lightly.

"Come on! If you ran for office, Kent, we’d all support you!" Lenny heckled from below, and everyone else joined in the commotion.

"Alright~" Kent lowered his hand to quiet them down, "It’s time to talk business. As you all know, at the beginning of the year, thanks to Susie’s introduction, we landlords got hold of a valuable tool."

Below the stage, Susie’s expression shifted, and the people around her cast subdued glances in that direction.

"That’s right," Kent continued, smiling at Susie below. "It’s charge more rent! Its arrival has helped us avoid many losses. For 19 US Dollars, we can easily steer clear of a bad tenant. It’s a good deal, Susie, and we all thank you for your contribution to the union."

With that, Kent actually led the round of applause. The other people in the hall also cooperated and delivered their claps, even though some of them had inscrutable expressions.

Susie was taken aback but soon put on a charming smile, gracefully stood up, and nodded her thanks to everyone.

"However, it’s precisely the arrival of ’charge more rent’ that made me realize that intelligence is also a crucial part of the landlord’s business. So, to provide everyone with more options, and for the sake of fairness, today I introduce to you another credit check service." Kent looked directly toward Susie, revealing his hidden agenda.

"It’s called ’good rent collection!’ A credit software company that is more cost-effective, faster, and safer. I think some of our friends here have already enjoyed their services," said Kent, and some people in the crowd nodded in agreement, being the first users brokered by Kent for ’good rent collection.’"

Seeing the response from the audience, Kent nodded in satisfaction. "To be honest, as one of their users, I am very pleased with ’good rent collection’s service. Oh, and Susie, you don’t mind me recommending ’good rent collection’ to everyone, right? After all, as far as I know, you seem to have some cooperation with ’charge more rent’..."

"Of course," Susie still wore that captivating smile, "the choice is everyone’s freedom."

"Exactly, it is everyone’s freedom!" Kent emphatically gestured with his fingers. "Every market needs competitors, and why not go for a cheaper option, if there is one? Isn’t a 12 US Dollar fee per use more alluring than 19 US Dollars?"

"Yeah~" The audience responded warmly to Kent. They didn’t care much, opting for whichever was cheaper; nobody wanted to be at odds with money.

Looking at everyone waving in support, only Susie still held her arms and smiled just as before, and at that moment, Kent felt a surge of elation.

Mother F*cker! This bitch must be pretending to be calm. Perhaps later, she’ll run crying to Cleveland and seek comfort in the arms of her little boyfriend.

’Good rent collection’ was the gift he had prepared for this harlot; once ’charge more rent’ was squeezed out, her landlord handbook could only be sold through him. By then... A fiery zeal rose in Kent’s belly, and his mind was already racing with various ideas.

"Regarding the other information about ’good rent collection’ and their contact details, I will distribute that after the meeting...."

Thud, thud, thud~ The knocking on the main hall door interrupted Kent’s speech.

WTF? Hadn’t he told the front desk not to let anyone disturb them?

"Okay, gentlemen, someone go open the door, let’s get this sorted out quickly."

"Let me," surprisingly, Susie rose and walked towards the door.

Watching her back, Kent felt a bad premonition.

Click, the door opened, and outside stood the FBI in uniform.

"Is Kent Talsi here?"

Susie stepped aside, still smiling at Kent on stage, just like the charming look she had before.

"Wait! I don’t understand what’s happening?" Kent was half in a panic and half bewildered as he watched the approaching FBI agents.

"Kent Talsi, you are suspected of participating in illegal operations of Good Rent Company, profiting through illicit means. You are accused of violating seven provisions including the Computer Security Act, Fraud and Abuse Act, Privacy Act, and face a total of thirteen charges. This is your arrest warrant!"

There’s nothing more persuasive than an arrest warrant. Everyone in the hall was stunned by the scene, and after a two-second freeze, they began to whisper among themselves.

How could the Good Rent Company, just moments ago praised by everyone, suddenly become a target of the FBI?

"This is slander! I want to see my lawyer! I won’t say anything!" Kent finally snapped back to reality, struggling to leave the place.

But that was impossible. The FBI agents had seen too many scenes like this. They skillfully pushed Kent to the ground and presented him with a pair of silver bracelets.

After everything was settled, the officer wiped his hands contentedly. "All right, you have the right to remain silent, but it seems you have your own lawyer, so we don’t need to provide one additionally."

"I want to see my lawyer, you have no right to treat me like this!" Kent kept struggling as he was pushed forward.

As he bent his head to move on, he suddenly saw a streak of blue flash before his eyes. Looking up, there was Susie, smiling and wearing a blue shirt.

That woman always had the same expression, "You bitch! F*ck you!" Kent knew she must have a hand in all this from behind the scenes.

Responding to him was Susie’s smile and a raised eyebrow, the last to smile was the true winner.

Kent wanted to rush up and punch her, but after taking a hit from a police baton, he became docile.

Under the watchful eyes of all, Kent was escorted off the stage. But just as he was being led out of the hall, he saw another figure.

It was him! That scruffy kid Dean!

He stood in the corner of the hall, leaning against the wall, quietly watching the scene.

When Kent’s gaze turned to him, Dean pointed to his forehead, made a slight swipe forward, and mouthed, "See you!"

Kent understood everything then; Dean was the mastermind behind it all. Rubin... Rubin, that idiot, was right; Dean had been waiting for them all along.

The reason Rubin had been unreachable today was surely because of the same reason, perhaps he had been arrested before Kent.

And him, Dean! He had been waiting here all along, in the hall, watching his presentation like it was a joke!

He was humiliating him! "F*ck you, Dean! F*ck you!" Kent pushed past the officers and charged toward Dean.

Crack! Zzz~

Kent’s body stiffened and fell forward, a bullet with wires trailing behind it stuck in his back. Zzz~ Another surge of electricity passed through, causing his body to twitch.

"Wow~ this thing is really handy." The officer bragged, blowing onto his stun gun.

"Thank you for saving me, Officer," Dean said, extending his hand for a shake.

"It’s my duty." The officer withdrew his hand, subtly pocketing the extra hundred US Dollar bill.

Kicking the motionless Kent lying at his feet, and seeing no response, the other two officers had to step forward and carry him out of the hall.

The farce finally ended, but the people in the hall were still dazed, clueless about what had happened.

"Thump thump," the sound came from the speaker, quieting the hall. Everyone looked up; it was Susie knocking on the microphone.

"I just thought I heard Mr. Kent say that someone here has used Good Rent Company’s services?"

Everyone looked at each other, unsure of how to respond.

"No!" Lenny, donning a camouflage hat, was the first to stand up and deny it, "I’ve never heard of the damn Good Rent Company!"

"Yeah~" With the people coming to their senses, many echoed Lenny’s denial, one after another.

Joking aside, they had all heard the FBI’s charges clearly; no one wanted to be associated with Kent or the Good Rent Company now.

"I propose that Miss Susie take over as the new president of the Real Estate Investors’ Alliance!" Lenny stated his opinion loudly, clapping enthusiastically as he did so.

"I Agree!" Gradually, more people joined in, and the applause grew louder.

Until everyone in the hall was looking up at Susie on stage with joyous expressions, warmly giving their applause as if nothing had happened.

Susie’s smile became even more charming, while Dean also smiled, clapping his hands.

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PS: This Chapter is nearly fifteen thousand words long; read it for now, I’m still organizing the rest, aiming to post up to twenty thousand words today!

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