Becoming a Money God with My Kickback System

Chapter 7

The next day came almost immediately, and Chase woke to the sound of his phone ringing.

"Good morning, sir," a man's voice said on the other end. Chase didn't recognize it.

"Who is this?" Chase asked.

"My name is Lucas, sir. I am your personal assistant at Northline Logistics. Miss Vanessa just handed the arrangement over to me," he said.

"Oh, I see. Is there any issue?" Chase asked.

"Well, sir, there is a company meeting scheduled this morning, and I wanted to know if I should come and pick you up."

"Never mind. Tell them I'm coming now," Chase answered, and he got up to get ready.

Since he was entering an office, a suit would have been the appropriate thing to wear, but he still didn't have the time or the money for one. So he grabbed his normal grey T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

He left the apartment, hailed a cab, and told the driver where to go. The drive wasn't far, and when the cab pulled up in front of the company building, he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

The building was bigger than he expected. The surroundings were still well taken care of, and he could see one or two cars parked in the lot.

Before he could finish taking in the view, Lucas came dashing towards him. "Welcome, sir!"

"Thank you," Chase said.

"Please, this way."

Chase followed him through the lobby, up the elevator, and straight to a meeting room.

"Good morning, everyone," Chase said, walking towards the chair at the head of the table.

"Good morning, sir," they replied, but from the way they said it, it sounded like they were still sleepy.

After he sat down, he turned to Lucas, who sat close beside him.

"I'm sorry for their low energy, sir," Lucas whispered. "The meeting was supposed to start hours ago, but because you were not around..." He didn't finish, but Chase understood.

They had been waiting for him, and now they had lost their motivation. As a new leader, maybe they had hoped he would come in and do something. But because he came late, it seemed they were expecting the same old story.

"Oh, I see," Chase said. "I apologize for coming late, everyone. I should be leading by example, and I let you down from day one. But trust me, working with me will be a good experience."

"We hope so, sir," they responded, without much confidence.

"Let's start with the first item," Chase said, pulling the files in front of him closer.

"My name is Helen, sir, and I will give my report on logistics," a woman in a grey blazer said, standing up. "As of today, we made zero deliveries. We lost three of our biggest clients this month, and most of our trucks are grounded. Our share price has crashed, and more and more clients are canceling their contracts before their terms even start."

"Okay. So more bad news," Chase said. It sounded like an oversimplification of their problems, but he didn't pay attention to their displeasure. "Next?"

"Acer, sir, head of operations." A tall man with a thin mustache stood up. "Our supply chain has also broken down, because we haven't invested in our transportation system for years. Our trucks are old, our tracking software is outdated, and our fuel suppliers are demanding payment upfront."

"Anyone else?" Chase asked.

"Yes, sir." A woman with jet-black hair, glasses, and a neon blue suit stood up. "Serena, head of finance. Our biggest problem is that our funding has been cut off by the Aldridge Group's holding fund. That is the main issue you are currently dealing with."

"Funding, huh?" Chase asked rhetorically.

It seemed Anna wasn't joking at all when she said things were very bad here.

"Funding," Chase said, after a minute of contemplation. "I believe that is our most important task right now. Other things can be dealt with when the money is available."

"Yes, sir, but how do we get money?" Serena asked. "We have no funding, no insurance, and no revenue coming in. We have been cut off from the main source."

Ding!

[New Mission: Take a loan of $40,000,000 from Crown Ledger Bank.]

[Interest rate: 75%.]

[Repayment period: 24 hours.]

Chase almost laughed. Seventy-five percent interest, in one day. Just as unfair as the previous missions.

"What about loans?" Chase asked.

Everyone in the room seemed to disagree with the suggestion.

Acer took the question. "Sir, while a loan sounds like a good idea on paper, the practical reality is different. We have already tried, and most of the banks refused. Our company's reputation has dropped so low that it has ruined our credit score, and we can't use our shares as collateral anymore."

"So you're saying the banks are not disbursing?" Chase asked.

"Yes, sir. The ones we've asked are not disbursing."

Chase digested the sentence and picked out one word. "The ones we've asked?"

"Yes, sir," Acer said. "These are the ones that are supposed to negotiate with companies like ours, so that they can see what interest we can pay. But because they've seen that we couldn't afford it, they decided to withhold the loans rather than throw money into a black hole."

"Hmm," Chase said, looking at the paper in front of him.

Then his eyes stopped on a name in the company's financial records.

"What about this bank, specifically?" he asked, pointing at a line in the book.

Everyone in the room leaned back at the same time.

"Crown Ledger Bank?" Helen asked.

"From the description, they are technically supposed to give us a loan," Chase said. "I think our pre-degradation credit and scores would still qualify for a loan from them. Doesn't it?"

"Well, yes," Serena said with trepidation. "But you have to understand, sir, that they are evil banks. They purposely raise their loan prices and interest rates, because they know companies in desperation will take anything. If we can't pay on time, they will take everything the company owns, and we will be stuck with generational debt that we'll continue to pay for years. So we never asked them."

"I see," Chase said. He closed the book and smiled. "Well, that is what we are going to do."

"What?" Almost everyone blurted out at the same time. It was as if Chase hadn't heard them, and he wondered if he had to repeat himself.

"But, sir, these people are very ruthless!" Serena voiced out in concern. "They have been growing their profits through legal loopholes for years. They will stop at nothing to get their money back!"

"Don't worry, I'll handle it," Chase said, standing up. "I think this meeting has come to an end, since we have discussed the most important details. All of you should continue doing what you're doing, and I'll come back and give you an update."

He walked out of the room, leaving murmurs behind him.

"Is he really serious?"

"I just pray he doesn't get us that loan!"

"What is he thinking?"