Celeste was flustered.
The Del Rosario Insurance matter, which she had regarded as trivial, had grown serious.
It was nothing much, yet everyone was making an enormous fuss.
It was hard to understand.
Was someone saying they wouldn’t pay?
They were making a scene just because it was being delayed a little, since there was no one to handle it.
If they waited just a bit, they said they would pay everything.
Celeste had both the ability and the intention to pay that money.
It was merely that the procedure to confirm whether that money could be paid was dragging on a little, and they were making this much of a fuss over it.
That was why YouTube was the problem.
How nice would it be if it only reported what it was told to, like broadcasts or newspapers?
Celeste resolved that if she became president, she would be sure to block YouTube.
Without YouTube, politics would be much easier.
.
.
.
Brian, the head of Del Rosario Insurance’s management team, eventually submitted his resignation as well.
Just as he had watched his subordinates leave, Brian, too, ultimately decided to resign.
He could not endure it.
The executives hurled abuse at Brian every day.
Why aren’t you hiring employees?
Why isn’t the work getting done?
If you can’t do it, shouldn’t you at least outsource it?
Are you really a team leader? If you are, then act like one.
Why are the reports always late? We have to go report as well, so bring them quickly.
Stop making excuses about manpower. Anyone can do it when everything is in place. Being able to do well when you have nothing is what makes someone first-rate.
He had to do practical work he had never done before, and on top of that, listening to the executives’ abuse made it difficult to bear.
The work did not decrease no matter how much he did; it only piled up. That alone was overwhelming, and with the executives’ verbal abuse added on top, he began to wonder what riches and glory he was trying to enjoy by staying here like this, and he decided to leave.
When he submitted his resignation, the very words Brian had said to his subordinates came out of an executive’s mouth.
“How about enduring it just a little longer? One more step from here and you’ll be an executive.”
“Your promotion is right around the corner. Look around you. There’s no one left. You can move up.”
“I admit I’ve been harsh on you lately. But Brian, you know too. You know what the situation is right now.”
“At times like this, we should join forces and overcome this crisis.”
“Do you think resigning will solve this situation?”
“Don’t do this. Let’s think it over again.”
Hearing those words, Brian let out a hollow laugh.
Brian had said the exact same thing to his subordinates.
In other words, those words were not sincere at all.
They were nothing more than whatever nonsense came to mind in order to hold him back.
How did he know?
Because Brian had said them with that exact mindset.
Because he had said them thinking that if that person left, things would become harder for him, so he should keep them for now.
He had never had any intention of promoting them.
Brian had not even possessed that kind of personnel authority.
The executive promising Brian a promotion was surely thinking the same thing.
Hearing the executive’s words made it even easier for him to quit without lingering regret.
“Thank you for everything.”
Brian turned around and left the office.
The funny thing was that there was no one to process the resignation letter Brian had submitted.
The HR department was empty.
Someday, his resignation would be processed.
When he stepped out of the building, the scenery he had seen every day looked different.
He felt anxious, but he was also excited to see what kind of future awaited him.
Brian walked into the city like that.
His steps looked light.
*******
“I think you need to take action somehow.”
“Why are you asking me that? That’s something you should do. Aren’t you the president?”
Francis had come to see Celeste.
The situation had become so serious that he felt they had to take some kind of measure.
But Celeste instead raised her voice at Francis.
Saying that since he was the CEO, it was his responsibility.
My responsibility?
I’m the CEO?
How absurd.
Francis was indeed the CEO, but he had no authority whatsoever.
Ah! There was one thing.
The corporate card?
Other than using the corporate card for external matters, everything required Celeste’s confirmation.
If he handled something on his own and Celeste found out, there would be hell to pay.
That was why he had come today as well, to receive orders.
Seeing how she had dragged the situation this far, she must have had something in mind.
Francis only had to receive that order and execute it.
He had come thinking Celeste would have a solution.
Celeste was that kind of person.
And yet she was saying that was something Francis should do.
What authority did Francis have?
Because people said the insurance terms were difficult, he had made them easier to understand and was summoned to the audit office.
He changed the Christmas gifts once and was scolded for three years.
He added sandwiches to the snacks the employees ate, and was chewed out for spending recklessly because it wasn’t his money.
Me, of all people.
Me, who has no power at all.
Me, who can’t even add sandwiches, am supposed to devise and carry out a plan that controls the company?
It was absurd, but he was used to it.
Any office worker had gone through things like this dozens, even hundreds of times.
It was not as if he had only seen people change their words right in front of him once or twice.
There were plenty of people who lied without batting an eye and insisted on unreasonable demands.
Dealing with people like that every day was what it meant to be an office worker.
It did do some damage, but this much he could overcome.
That was how Francis had climbed to this position.
“So that is what I wanted to discuss. What if we hired the employees we are currently recruiting under somewhat different conditions?”
“Different conditions?”
Celeste seemed interested.
“There aren’t any other problems right now, are there? Isn’t it a simple structure of work overload due to a document bomb, employees resigning, and operations being paralyzed? In other words, it’s a problem that can be solved at any time as long as we replenish manpower.”
“So how are you going to change it?”
“First, we raise the base salary and incentives, and expand welfare benefits. If we provide meal allowances or fuel expenses, or implement things like self-development funds, congratulatory and condolence payments, holiday gifts, and housing loans, I think better talent than now will come in.”
Celeste, who had been quietly considering Francis’s words, spoke in a low voice.
“Francis. Is that how you’ve been working until now? Without any standards? If we give new employees those benefits now, what about the existing employees? We won’t raise theirs?”
“Of course we would have to raise theirs as well.”
“Then how much fixed cost would we be spending? Huh? Are you seriously saying that?”
Celeste’s shout burst out, and Francis shrank back like prey.
In Francis’s view, improving compensation was the most effective and best method, but apparently Celeste did not think so.
It seemed she begrudged the labor costs and fixed expenses that would result from it.
“Francis, if I leave this place, I have it in mind to hand it over to you. But if you keep showing me such disappointing sides of yourself, wouldn’t my feelings waver?”
Celeste once again toyed with Francis in a gentle tone.
“I think there should be a better way than this. Can you not think of one?”
Urged on by Celeste, Francis thought for a long while before carefully speaking.
“What I am about to suggest would apply to other companies, but I don’t know if it would apply to you, Chairwoman.”
“What is it?”
“Sell Del Rosario Insurance.”
“What?”
“To be frank, if things continue like this a little longer, the government will have no choice but to take action. Of course, I’m sure you have made preparations in advance, Chairwoman, but public opinion exists, doesn’t it? Given the atmosphere, they will have to come out for an inspection, and if they come, we can’t avoid a fine or a business suspension. On top of that, there are an enormous number of lawsuits filed right now. Our reputation has worsened as well. At a time like this, selling it may be one method.”
“Francis. Do you know what Del Rosario Insurance means to me when you say that?”
“Of course I know very well. Didn’t you grow the Del Rosario Group starting with this insurance company? I know you are that attached to it, but…”
“But?”
“I’m worried that this might hold you back later when you do something greater, Chairwoman.”
Only then did Celeste understand what Francis was saying.
He was saying that they should sell it off in case it became a problem when she ran for president.
Soon, she would have to begin preparing for the presidential election.
At that time, they might seize upon Del Rosario Insurance’s suspension of insurance payouts and attack her over it.
People might say that if she could not even run a company properly, how could she run a nation?
Francis wanted to prevent such words from coming out in advance.
If she sold it, she could shift all legal responsibility to the buyer.
Once Celeste sold Del Rosario Insurance, she would be free in legal terms as well.
Only then did a faint smile pass over Celeste’s lips.
Honestly, it was a shame.
Even if Del Rosario Insurance was not number one in the industry, it was like a honey pot that steadily brought in cash.
Insurance premiums were deposited every month, but that money did not immediately go out as insurance payouts.
The money received as premiums turned into policy reserves and accumulated within the company.
They did not let the policy reserves sit idle.
With that money, they created and sold more protection-type and savings-type insurance products.
With the money they earned that way, this time they established an investment company.
They poured the policy reserves into the investment company.
This was possible because while the premiums paid into the insurance company every month were constant, there were not that many insurance payouts.
With that money, the investment company secured real estate development, M&A, overseas resources, and logistics systems.
That money then returned to the insurance company, which acquired other insurance companies, secured stakes in media companies, and expanded its influence.
Through this method, Celeste had grown.
The Del Rosario Group had been born that way as well.
Now, whether it was investment companies, real estate, or private equity funds, they had grown large enough to exert power independently, but the beginning had been Del Rosario Insurance.
Selling such a Del Rosario Insurance was not easy for Celeste either.
But if it was for the sake of becoming president, it was not something she could not sell.
And if she sold the company now, she could get through the current crisis without lifting a finger.
If she made a contract in which the buyer even took on the current liabilities, perhaps Celeste could make the best possible deal, one where she shifted away all the risk and kept all the substance for herself.
To be honest, she did not even want to pay those small insurance benefits.
She did not want to give back money that had come into her hands.
If she could shift even that part entirely onto the buyer, it did not seem bad.
“So, is there anyone who will buy it?”
“There are several interested parties. Shall I look into it a little?”
“Find the person who will pay the most.”
******
I am at Del Rosario Insurance.
After hearing the rumor that Del Rosario Insurance was being sold, I was able to meet Celeste as a prospective buyer.
Of course, my identity had been somewhat disguised.
I used the name Alex as it was, but I had to become someone who had made a lot of money through business in China.
There was no way Celeste would not know someone in the Philippines who could buy Del Rosario Insurance.
Since I thought Celeste would also know all the fairly successful figures in China’s business world, I had to become a nouveau riche who had suddenly made money through cryptocurrency.
I had to become an immature, reckless punk with too much money and no experience running a company.
Fortunately, I had never appeared publicly anyway, so there was no one who knew me.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time. I’m Alex.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Celeste.”
“It is an honor to meet someone so famous.”
“Hohoho. Thank you for saying that. I, too, hope this meeting becomes a good connection.”
“Whether it becomes a good meeting or not will be decided by today’s conversation.”
At my somewhat prickly answer, Celeste’s expression distorted slightly, but in an instant she returned to her usual self.
“Of course. Let’s make it a good meeting through conversation.”
Celeste smiled lightly.
Who would think this woman was someone who held the Philippines in the palm of her hand?
She seemed like nothing more than a successful CEO.
That was how skilled she was at presenting herself.
“I heard you made a lot of money with cryptocurrency?”
“Yes. I invested in something called Candycoin, and it shot up through the roof. When I opened my eyes, I had become rich.”
“Hohoho. Congratulations. That is not easy to do.”
“I was lucky.”
“So you came because you want to buy Del Rosario Insurance with the money you made after liquidating your crypto?”
“That’s right. I heard Del Rosario Insurance had been put up for sale, so I came to take a look.”
“What? What do you mean? You’re saying we put Del Rosario Insurance up for sale? Not at all. We merely met with someone who said they were interested in our insurance company because we were curious what sort of offer they might make.”
Celeste answered with a serious expression.
She knew full well what the current situation was.
Did she really want to drive up her price that badly?
“Is that so? Then I must have been mistaken. My apologies. I came because I heard it was on the market and that I could buy it easily. I absolutely hate complicated things, you see. I thought I could just pay money and buy it. Like coins.”
I summoned every ounce of sucker energy I could and worked hard to become Celeste’s prey.
“Of course we didn’t put it on the market, but since you’ve come all this way, I think we could compare our cards and see…”
Celeste quietly wrote a number on the paper in front of her.
[200,000,000]
“Pesos?”
“Hoho. What a joke. Dollars, of course.”
I know.
I’d only asked, just in case.
Two hundred million pesos would be around five billion won.
But two hundred million dollars came to three hundred billion won.
To be honest, it wasn’t a terribly burdensome price.
I had plenty of money.
I could buy it.
But if I bought it at that price, I’d be a sucker.
No matter how much I’d cranked up my sucker act, I had no desire to become an actual sucker.
“Hmm…”
When I stalled, Celeste added an explanation.
“Originally, this is an asset worth three hundred million dollars. It’s the third-ranked insurance company in the Philippines. Things are a little noisy right now, but this is trouble caused by staffing issues, so it will pass quickly. If you get through this period well, you’ll live without ever having to worry about money again. Wouldn’t it be better to receive money steadily every month like a salary than to put it into coins and sit there with your heart pounding? Coins can be a hobby.”
Three hundred million dollars, huh.
This woman really knew how to bluff.
Del Rosario Insurance, even at its best, would fetch under two hundred million dollars.
And yet, despite unstable issues scattered all over the place right now, she was calling out two hundred million dollars and talking big.
Did you have to be that shameless to become the power behind the Philippines?
“There’s a difference between the price I had in mind and yours. Things have been so noisy lately that I thought I might be able to buy it cheap, but it isn’t cheap at all.”
“That’s because it’s that good of an asset. I told you, it’s third in the Philippines.”
“A third place that’s almost no different from fourth and fifth.”
At those words, a crack briefly appeared in Celeste’s mask-like expression.
“We focused more on customer service than growth, so our growth rate was a little slow, but now that preparations are complete, all that’s left for us is to grow.”
“Yes. I understand. I’ll take a look at some other insurance companies first. I can come back then, right?”
“You can, but I don’t know whether it’ll still be unsold by then. Good assets move quickly, after all.”
“You said it wasn’t on the market.”
“If the price matches, it becomes one.”
Celeste showed me a brazen smile.
“For now, the gap in price is too large, so I don’t think this will work.”
“Then how much were you thinking?”
“One hundred million dollars.”
“No.”
“And that was Del Rosario Insurance’s price at its peak. Right now, the system is paralyzed, there’s a manpower shortage, lawsuits on top of that, and the reputation—which is the most important thing for an insurance company—has been shattered. Even one hundred million dollars is more than generous. Around eighty million dollars, perhaps? Of course, that would come with the condition that your side take responsibility for and compensate for every incident that occurred before the sale.”
“Eighty million dollars? How amusing. Who says anyone would make a deal at such a ridiculous price?”
Celeste’s tone changed.
It seemed she’d decided this contract had fallen through.
So there was no need for her to bother looking good anymore.
“You don’t like that price?”
“The price I set is two hundred million dollars. I won’t make a deal for anything below that.”
“Then how about seventy million dollars?”
“Hah! Are you joking?”
Celeste’s voice turned sharp.
I, too, no longer needed to hide who I was.
Enough playing the sucker.
“Who said I was joking? You’re going to sign the contract. From what I saw, you did the same thing when you merged with other companies, forcing them to stamp their seals by power and coercion. So I figured I’d try doing the same.”
“What are you talking about? Francis, what are you doing? Throw these bastards out.”
Francis, who had been sitting beside her like a scarecrow, stood up.
“Scott.”
“Yes~ I’m coming. I’m on my way.”
Scott waddled over to Francis and struck him once, deep and solid, and Francis collapsed without being able to utter a single word.
No matter how much he’d trained, he couldn’t handle Scott.
“Let’s hurry up and sign the contract before we go. You said you were busy, didn’t you?”
“No, I can’t sign it.”
“Then would you like to write a will instead? Would that be better? To be honest, I’m not interested in Del Rosario Insurance.”
“What?”
“I didn’t come here to buy Del Rosario Insurance. I came to buy the position of head of La Camara.”
At my words, Celeste’s face turned deathly pale.