*SPLASH*
"Damn."
Clara’s hand slipped, and her phone fell straight into the small pond. Megan sat up to get a better look at the sinking phone. The two of them were seated in the garden of the Peacock Inn, with the small pond there to give the whole place a more natural vibe.
"That... that was an expensive mistake."
"No shit, Sherlock... my phone." SNIFF
"You’ve got a rich boyfriend, so if I were you, I would’ve just asked for a newer model. This one was old, right?"
"It was my sixteenth birthday present from my dad, an iPhone 5. I have so many pictures and memories on it."
Clara pulled the phone out of the water since the decorative pond was shallow, but unfortunately, the phone didn’t survive the swimming lesson. It wasn’t even turning on anymore, and Clara’s usual cheerful expression suddenly turned grim as she stared at the dead screen.
"I am sorry. I was being insensitive."
Clara, taking her phone in hand, just looked at Megan without an ounce of emotion on her face before leaving the garden while clutching her dead phone tightly in her hand.
...
[Updated]
[New Side Mission: Repair Clara’s phone at any cost] [Skip for $2]
"So, here is your credit card, Mr. Carter. This has almost no swipe limit. You can swipe ten million if you ever need it."
A black-colored card was placed in front of Liam. Before he could even have a good look at it, a translucent system panel suddenly appeared in front of him.
Dismiss.
"So, Mr. Scott, as I was saying, after I buy AMD shares, I will need to leverage them, get more money, and pour it into AMD again." [Charisma: 30] [Speech: 50]
"I’m not certain why you would pick a loss-making company to invest in, Mr. Carter, but I can certainly help you with the credit line. Still, a forty-million-dollar loan against forty million dollars worth of shares is a bit tough nowadays. That’s essentially a hundred percent leverage, and in this economy..." [Charisma: 55] [Speech: 79]
"How much can you manage?"
Taking the card in his hand, Liam glanced at the blond banker in front of him before his eyes shifted back toward the card. A smile appeared on his face when he saw his name engraved on it in golden letters.
"As you’re an HNI for us—a High-Net-Worth Individual—and on your way to becoming a UHNI, an Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individual, I can certainly offer you a substantial credit line against the AMD shares you buy as collateral.
It’s not like I can’t give you a hundred-percent loan, but for that, you have to put even the shares you bought using the loan up as collateral. That’s why I didn’t present you with this idea in the first place." [Speech: 79]
Daniel Scott smiled and behaved like the ball was now in Liam’s court. He had played his part of the game. Then, he leaned back slightly into his chair and relaxed, calmly waiting for Liam’s response.
Liam smiled. Being Level 1 in his own game had its advantages, like being able to see exactly what the other person was using against him. Daniel was actively using his fluent wording to negotiate with him, and sometimes, even his Charisma.
"Make it a hundred and we have a deal." [Speech: 50]
"I am sorry? You want to take a hundred percent as a loan? Even though that essentially takes away everything you own as collateral?!"
"No, I mean, make it a round figure. A hundred million dollars. As you said, I am on my way to becoming a UHNI? Whatever. I can take my business elsewhere if you don’t comply."
Liam smiled. This was private banking, where an individual could discuss terms directly with the bank and sometimes even bend the rules to get whatever they wanted because that individual was rich enough to make the bank listen.
"This... Sir, I’m only a Vice President for this region. I’ll have to discuss this with the higher-ups. Don’t worry, it’ll be a quick meeting, and I’ll let you know." [Ten Second Persuasion Skill.] [Charisma: 55][Speech: 79]
[Intermediate Prediction Skill is currently being used on Host.]
He’s even using a fucking skill?
"Okay, call me as soon as possible. Also, please do it before my meeting with Dr. Su so that I can have more leverage when talking with her." [Charisma: 30] [Speech: 50]
[Prediction Skill: Successful.]
"Sir, with the way you deposit money, I predict your business will deposit another ten million within a week. If that happens, we may not even need another meeting with the higher-ups. I can take everything as collateral and structure a massive one-hundred-million-dollar buying facility for you. That’s just a little prediction of mine—or you could call it a small hunch about you." [Charisma: 55]
Daniel smiled while looking at Liam. Liam, on the other hand, perspired slightly in shock. The True Status Panel was actively showing him what Daniel was doing, and the scary part was that Daniel might not even be doing any of it intentionally.
So, this is how everything operates. I wonder what my skills were when I used to get in line just to deposit a few hundred dollars as savings each month.
It might be [Struggle 101 Skill]...
Liam stood up. His work here was done. Daniel stood up as soon as Liam did, and Liam even saw a smile followed by [Charisma: 55] popping up in front of his eyes.
...
"So, you lost your mother a while back, and her photos are inside this phone?"
Megan was currently using a hair dryer to dry Clara’s phone, while Clara sat beside her with a sad face. She looked like she was just waiting for someone to complain to about her entire situation.
"Y... yeah."
"I’m sorry. When did she pass away?"
"Passed away? She’s alive and kicking. It’s just... my parents got divorced, and my mother’s girlfriend doesn’t like me much."
"Girlfriend?"
"It’s 2015."
"I... I know."