Chapter 199
“Fine, fine. We’ll just stick to the thick, then p>
“If I ever end up broke in the gutter, I promise I won’t come crying to you. But if you hit rock bottom, don’t expect a dime from me either p>
Her friend was a genuinely good guy; he was just relentlessly stubborn.
The math was simple. They’d pull a hundred million from the company’s deposit reserves, another three hundred million from their combined founder’s fund, and Mira would throw in two hundred million of her own private capital.
That brought their total war chest to a staggering six hundred million dollars—an absolute powerhouse of liquidity, all handed entirely over to Mira’s control.
Standing on the sidelines, Derek Collins and the other executives were left completely shell-shocked by the casual banter between the two.
As the reality of the conversation settled in, pure envy washed over the room.
Who on earth had mentors and partners willing to toss hundreds of millions of dollars at them just to ‘test the waters p>
“Boss, I have a nest egg saved up. Could I pool it with yours for this trade?” Derek asked.
Hearing Derek make the leap, Felix Grant instantly snapped out of his daze and jumped in.
“Boss, I’d like to do the same p>
He had watched Mira build her empire firsthand. If she was confident enough to throw hundreds of millions onto a single bet, it was an absolute guarantee.
Felix had previously served as the marketing director over at Solflare Entertainment. Armed with a master’s degree in business management from a top-tier university, he was right around thirty.
Young, ambitious, and heavily experienced, he was in the prime of his career.
Fresh out of grad school, he had settled for a corporate job with a mediocre salary. It was incredibly stable, but completely soul-crushing in its monotony.
Without any high-stakes projects to cut his teeth on, opportunities for promotions or raises were practically non-existent.
The second he saw Solflare Entertainment headhunting for aggressive talent, he quit his comfortable corporate gig and leaped at the interview p>
He had thrived in the entertainment sector, but the man was a thrill-seeker at heart. He loved high-risk, high-reward ventures.
So, when news broke that Mira was launching a massive tech startup, he immediately submitted a transfer request.
Now, he sat comfortably as the Chief Marketing Officer for the bike-sharing enterprise.
Seeing the rest of the executives gearing up to throw their life savings at her, Mira held up a hand.
“First of all, every investment carries massive risk. I expect everyone in this room to understand that on a fundamental level p>
“I am not promising you a guaranteed win. There is always a very real chance we could lose every single dime p>
“If you want to buy in, go ahead. But you keep control of your own portfolios. Do not give me your money p>
Mira glanced out the floor-to-ceiling windows. The sky was rapidly turning dark.
“The market is already closed for the day. Head home tonight, get your liquid capital sorted, and set your limits p>
“The minute the bell rings tomorrow morning, buy in as fast as you can. Once your orders clear, drop a message in the private group chat p>
“I’ll give you exactly one hour. At ten-thirty sharp, I am entering the market p>
They were her inner circle. She didn’t mind making them rich, but the boundaries had to be crystal clear.
The sheer volume of capital Mira was about to inject would cause an immediate, violent spike in the stock’s price.
In reality, playing the stock market wasn’t all that different from a
frenzied mob at a grocery store retail investors thrived on blind momentum. fo
If a massive wave of day traders chased her aggressive buy-in, the stock would hit the circuit breaker almostinstantly locking her team out entirely.
They had to move first, while the price was still dormant.
“When the time comes to dump the stock, I’ll give you advanced warning p>
“One last thing: this stays strictly in this room. If a single word leaks out, I will hunt down the source, and I will not be merciful p>
She had no intention of dealing with the SEC or unwanted corporate espionage.
“Understood, boss. Not a word leaves this room,” they chorused.
With the financial play locked in, Mira pivoted to the bike company’s expansion roadmap.
It had been a week since their initial deployment. The iron was hot; it was time to blitz the neighboring metros.
“Which city is next on the chopping block p>
Mr. Douglas asked.
Mira shifted her gaze to Owen. “How thin can we stretch our current management pool p>
“Three ways. Including our home base here, we can dispatch two separate strike teams p>
“Then we’re hitting the major hubs. Jorvien and Hespera City p>
Mira laid down the law.
“Aren’t we funneling all our liquidity into the stock market p>
Mr. Collins raised a hand. As the man holding the purse strings, he was hyper-sensitive to cash flow
themselves.
al of overleveraging