Booking Glory-Chapter 108: Backup Plans

"And it won’t stop with just that, will it?" Rob asked already having some idea who was behind this.

"True, it will only escalate from there," Todd said sighing forlornly. "The paper will start to become a tool in their hands. They will use the paper to attack their opponents and suppress any other rhetoric than what they want out there. They can whitewash anything and make people believe what they are telling is the truth. That is the power of having Wrestle Report in their corner." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Who are these people?" Nelson asked sharply. "I don’t think ordinary people will be able to move something as big as Wrestle Reports."

"True," Todd said with a sad smile. "I never expected my idol to be the one to do this. However, that is the world we live in."

"You mean?" Nelson said catching on. "Steven Rush..." Nelson whispered in a hushed tone.

"... and probably Willy Wagner," Rob said grimly.

Todd nodded glumly. Even Dacey appeared to be too shocked by the news to comment on anything. After all, Steven Rush was someone legendary in the wrestling industry. To hear him being the person behind such a disgusting change made it hard for her to believe.

"Rob, you need to be careful now," Todd said recovering. "I don’t think the articles about you will stop anytime soon. They are going to tout you to be the next big thing."

"What?" Rob asked in surprise.

"I don’t entirely understand the reason," Todd said looking at Rob a bit seriously. "But, it is what they have planned. Something feels off about it. Someone is pushing you into the limelight. I have been in this industry for some time and know that getting suddenly popular is never a good thing."

"The first article on you was something very organic. It was done after reaching a consensus among several editors. But, the ones that will appear in the next week will be different. They have a plan for you. I don’t know their end goal, but I advise you to be careful. Do not let that publicity get to your head," Todd warned grimly.

"I understand," Rob said thinking hard. "I know how to act. In a way, it is good as well. As long as I am careful, I can use it to my advantage."

"Don’t underestimate them," Todd shook his head. "If a journalist wants to ruin your life or a career, it is very easy for them. It is doubly so if there are multiple journalists that were hired to ruin you."

"Don’t worry, I won’t underestimate them," Rob said nodding grimly.

Rob understood that both Steven and Mr.Wagner must have some sort of plan. They would try to pressure Rob into accepting their offer at this rate. But, Rob wasn’t worried about the kind of pressure they would put out.

If it was before, he needed to be a bit cautious. Now, he didn’t need to worry about anything. He was financially secure and it wouldn’t bother him much if they tried to block his career as revenge for not joining them.

However, what surprised Rob was Mr. Wagner’s keen business sense. There are at most two to three major wrestling newspapers like Wrestle Report in the industry. They are major players in the sector even if they are mostly invisible to others.

The power and influence they possess were not small. Most fans of wrestling receive their wrestling news from these newspapers. If someone could control them, they would effectively control most of the wrestling business.

If Rob’s hunch was true, then Mr. Wagner wouldn’t stop roping in Wrestle Report. He would probably rope in the others as well. If not, he would at least strike a deal to keep them pouring black water on his new promotion.

Rob didn’t know what Mr. Wagner gave in return for that. But knowing how business savvy the man was, Rob didn’t doubt that he would have given back something important as well.

Whatever the man gave in return will be like a shackle keeping these newspapers from rebelling later on. This effectively put him in control of the wrestling industry before he even stepped in.

With Steven Rush to aid him, it looked like Mr. Wagner’s entry into the sector was unstoppable. And all the small fishes in this pond will soon be devoured by the big shark that was Mr. Wagner.

The conversation didn’t flow much after Todd’s warnings. Things soon petered out and Rob and Dacey took their leave from the bar after some time.

When Rob dropped her off at the home, Dacey looked at him with slight worry in her eyes and asked, "Will you be fine? I have a bad feeling about this."

"I will be fine," Rob said with a reassuring smile. "Don’t forget, you are talking to a millionaire."

Dacey chuckled seeing that Rob was able to joke about it and kissed him goodbye. Rob watched her go into the house and waited till the lights turned on. Moving away from her house, Rob flipped open his cell phone and dialed a number that he has been wanting to speak to all day.

"Hello Brent, I am fine. Look, I am coming to your office now. I need to discuss something urgent," Rob said in a serious tone.

Receiving Brent’s confirmation that he would be present, Rob floored his pickup toward Brent’s office.

It was time to create his own layout and backup plans.

When it comes to long-term vision, Rob was confident that he wouldn’t lose to Mr. Wagner or anyone else. After all, he was a transmigrator and the advantages he had wasn’t limited to knowing the computer industry will do well.

*****

Rob woke up the next morning late.

He had gone to bed late last night after being immersed in discussing things with Brent. Rob knew that he had to secure his own footing first in this world before planning to take on other established sharks.

When Rob revealed his interest in becoming Brent’s partner, Brent had been overjoyed and was almost jumping to the moon with happiness. He knew that Rob investing in his company was a sign of Rob’s acknowledgment of Brent’s progress.

Brent didn’t even ask why Rob wanted to do it. He was just happy that Rob was willing to do it. They had discussed late into the night about the various possibilities they could explore with Rob’s new capital investment.

Rob had to restrain Brent a lot of times. He had to make Brent look at things realistically not slip back to his old practice of wallowing in just theory. The first order of the business was the contract with IndiSoft.

However, Rob urged Brent to give a demo of Excel as well to IndiSoft and fight for a bigger contract. He warned Brent to never sign an exclusive as it would limit their business scope.

Right now, the computer industry was relatively open and there wouldn’t be many hazards in not signing an exclusive. However, as IndiSoft’s position in the industry become stronger and stronger, they would try to become monopolistic like Microsoft in his old world.

It was the natural progression of things.

However, Rob didn’t want to become a subsidiary of IndiSoft in the future. He wanted to stand alone. So, signing an exclusive would be a huge headache. Because IndiSoft can always target them and pressure them with that bit in the future.

To avoid such future troubles, Rob urged Brent to never sign an exclusive. It wasn’t hard as Brent in his heart was an open market supporter. While he didn’t understand Rob’s concerns, he was all for being able to supply software to whoever would pay them,

The next order of business was to hire more computer programmers. As the workload will begin to increase in the near future, Rob asked Brent to plan ahead and have some surplus staff in case of emergency needs.

With Brent’s connections, it wasn’t going to be a big hassle. Especially, when Brent will soon be conducting a party to unveil their two new software and talk about their collaboration with IndiSoft.

This was yet another idea Rob came up with.

By throwing this party, they can announce to the world that they are merely partners with IndiSoft and not their subsidiary. Moreover, it would also make them a signature company in the emerging computer sector.

It would also help Brent brag a little among his peers. He could also use this opportunity to establish himself as a leader in the computer sector. This would have many immaterial benefits in the future.

As for IndiSoft’s agreement with Brent’s company to launch this product earlier, Rob didn’t worry about it much. He was sure that IndiSoft will not be bothered by the free publicity that was going to be given. In fact, they would welcome it with both hands.

Rob was also planning to use IndiSoft’s name to get the product more popular. With the recent upheaval in the stock market, Rob was sure that IndiSoft’s abrupt rise to prominence would have already caught the eyes of the public. So, tying their company name to IndiSoft would only increase their credibility and boost their sales figures.

But, Rob knew the real change in the computer sector will only begin when the Internet took over. As much as he wanted to point Brent in that way, Rob knew that before someone developed something worthwhile, it would be hard to capitalize on the development of the internet.

He knew that if he wanted to make it big in the Internet sector, he needed to take hold of a few crucial components. As long as he held them, it would be fine. Dreaming to control everything would only end up in disaster.

The incident with IndiSoft’s stock had given him a harsh lesson in reality. Even if he wanted to hang on to those stocks, he couldn’t. The sharks at the top would never allow it.

In the same way, he can’t be high profile and control everything in the computer sector. He needs to pick and choose and be low-profile. If he was able to fly under the radar for some time while cementing his status in key areas, then it would be fine. If he had to choose, then only the ones that gave him the most profit would be considered.

For now, he can only wait and watch.

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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