Without waiting for Conrad’s reply, Steven gave his opinion.
“Because you’re a Monty. You started on a finish line that most people could never reach even if they worked hard from the moment they were born till the end of their lives. You’re used to living a pampered and protected life. You were set for a comfortable life even without fighting for it.”
Steven tossed the fishing line out and spoke calmly, “That’s also the difference between a king who fought for his throne and one who inherited it.”
Conrad clenched his jaw. “I lost almost a billion dollars again this time. It’s not fair!”
“What’s a bit of loss? The Monty family can take much more than that. Jasper is the best target practice I can give you. This isn’t an easy target and you might get hurt if you’re not careful. You’ve lost twice against him, each loss worse than the last.
“Meanwhile, Jasper is growing stronger every day. He gains profits every time you lose and if this keeps going, the distance between the two of you will only reduce until you two end up as equals.”
Conrad was not pleased with Steven’s words. “Who does he think he is? As if he’s worthy of being my equal!”
“In reality, I’d say he’s somewhere above you in my eyes,” Steven spoke solemnly.
Conrad clenched his jaw. “I won’t let him get away with this!”
“Calm down and clear your mind. Then decide what you want to do next.” Steven passed Conrad the fishing rod.
“Come fish at the pond when you’re free. Take a breather and focus, it helps with pondering many important things. The more important a decision, the more calm and open an environment you need to be in to think.
“Don’t think about going in until you’ve caught at least three fishes.”
Steven then got up to leave.
“Oh, one more thing.”
Steven suddenly turned to Conrad while he was walking and asked, “You have a Valentine Estrada by your side, right?”
Conrad nodded. “I do, but he’s decided to resign.”
“He’s promising, keep him by your side,” Steven spoke.
Conrad frowned slightly and replied, “He’s skilled, but this incident…”
“Con, as superiors, we must learn to accept others’ flaws. More importantly, you have to know how to get your men to be utterly loyal to you. How will he see you if instead of pushing all the blame to him, you keep him by your side?” Steven prompted calmly.
Conrad thought about it before nodding slightly. “I understand.”
…
While Conrad and Steven conversed in the villa, Jasper had returned to the investment company as well.
Chad, who had been receiving phone calls the entire way over, was flushed with excitement.
“Its popularity is exploding, Mr. Laine! Mellow’s popularity is exploding! Countless merchants are begging us for products! They’re all willing to pay in advance as long as it means they’ll get the product!”
In the office, Jasper smiled as he sat down. “I expected no less. But I need you to make sure that we will only manufacture according to what we’ve predicted—not one device more.”
Chad was confused. “But why, Mr. Laine? Mellow is in very high demand right now. We should take this chance to manufacture in large quantities. Why do you want to keep it at 30% of our manufacturing capacity?”
Jasper chuckled. “The scarcer something is, the more precious it becomes. The best way to get someone to remember our product in the shortest time possible is by making it something everyone wants to buy but may not be able to even if they’re willing to pay. This is the brand effect.”
It made sense that Chad did not understand. For this was the hunger marketing strategy that a mobile phone company would be using in the future.
Jasper, though, could not be more familiar with the strategy.
