America: My Time

Chapter 120 Confrontation
Chapter 120 Clash
Although John and Naoko were only on Fifth Avenue for a short time, they still attracted attention. The paparazzi were curious about John's sudden appearance in New York, and even though they saw the beautiful Naoko with him, they didn't believe he was there simply to shop. If it were shopping, there would be no need to come to New York, so these people instinctively ignored Naoko. This was partly because Naoko wasn't a big American celebrity and had no fame in the US.

Big news! There must be something big going on behind this. Soon, the paparazzi started following John, all wanting to get the first scoop and find out which hotel John was staying at! John's bodyguards had already noticed the presence of these paparazzi and didn't give them any chance to get close to their boss.

After a peaceful dinner, John and Naoko returned to the Plaza Hotel, letting the paparazzi know where they were staying. The paparazzi then went into overdrive, keeping a close watch on John and trying to find out his next move!

It has to be said that these paparazzi are really dedicated. They didn't give up even after a long night. The next morning, when John and Naoko had breakfast and headed to Wall Street, the paparazzi followed them. Paparazzi were following well-known newspapers.

This time, Naoko didn't accompany John. Instead, she toured New York with her bodyguards. There were no paparazzi following her. The paparazzi were more interested in the big news about John than Naoko's identity. It's perfectly normal for a billionaire like John to have women around him. This kind of news is nothing special. Nobody would choose such trivial matters!

Although John knew that today's meeting would not be easy, he was not afraid and maintained the upper hand. When John's car stopped in front of Morgan's building and the paparazzi saw him enter, they went crazy. It was indeed big news; for John to personally appear at Morgan, there must be a major acquisition behind it.

When John entered Morgan without any attempt at concealment, followed by a group of paparazzi, it infuriated the old guys who had already arrived at Morgan. In their view, John's actions were a show of defiance against them, which was intolerable.

"Look at him, what kind of person is he? He didn't even try to hide himself, just showed up in Morgan like that. Does he even respect us? What is he trying to do?"

"That kid really didn't behave properly. He shouldn't have been so arrogant and showed no respect for us at all!"

"Enough, don't make a big deal out of this. Respect is necessary, but do you think John is begging us or we are begging him to acquire Bell Labs and Motorola Semiconductor? Besides, do you really think this kid is a fool? Do you really think he knows nothing?"

Stop playing these unnecessary tricks and schemes. Nobody's a fool. If you truly want to cooperate and shed the burden of Bell Labs, this is your last chance. I, Morgan, have already kept my promise. If the acquisition fails due to your own reasons, it will be none of our business, and you will bear the consequences yourselves. This is Morgan's final stance!

Seeing that these old guys were still so arrogant, Morgan's bigwigs could no longer hold back. The meeting was about to begin, but these old guys were still thinking about this and that, always trying to cause trouble and gain benefits. They didn't take Morgan's hard work seriously at all, as if Morgan should serve them in their hearts!
"Alright, don't be angry. There's no need for that. The kid's here now. We can sit down and talk things over!"

"Heh, with your attitude, do you really think there's any need for a detailed discussion? Do you really think this kid has no temper at all, that he can be slaughtered by you? I've said it before, Morgan's attitude won't change. If you insist on being so arrogant, we'll have to part ways and go our separate ways. We, Morgan, don't want to bear the consequences for you! John hasn't come up yet, we still have some time. Give me a definite answer, are you really going to insist on this? If so, there's no need for this meeting!"

Jimmy had already said that John's attitude was very assertive, so at this moment, Morgan didn't want to compromise with these old guys and directly stated his decision. Trying to use Morgan as a pawn was impossible; Morgan wouldn't take responsibility for their stupidity or pay the price for it.

"Alright, everyone, let's all keep quiet and not give up so easily. We definitely need to talk. Everyone knows what's going on with Bell Labs. We won't get involved in Motorola Semiconductor's situation; Morgan will handle everything. That's your deal. Today, we'll only talk about Bell Labs."

"I hope so. If this meeting fails because of you, you will be responsible for the acquisition of Bell Labs yourselves. It absolutely cannot affect the breakup of Bell Corporation. Since you have objections, you must bear the consequences yourselves. Morgan has done everything he can. We have done our utmost and fulfilled all our responsibilities!" At this moment, Morgan still did not back down, nor could he. He knew perfectly well how greedy these old guys were for profit. If he yielded even slightly, these bastards would ruin everything. In the minds of these old guys, everything could be discussed. They weren't afraid of disputes; they believed that repeated discussions would create opportunities for de-escalation and solutions. However, Morgan knew John well; such methods wouldn't work. This would be the final decision. If the meeting failed, all of Morgan's previous efforts would be in vain.

Silence fell. For a moment, the old men remained silent. Although they did not agree with Morgan's words, they knew even more clearly that they could not confront Morgan directly at this time. Otherwise, in a fit of anger, Morgan might abandon the meeting and push the troublesome Bell Labs problem onto them, making them bear all the responsibility.

John appeared in the conference room quickly. The moment he appeared, these silent old men finally breathed a sigh of relief. They had remained silent, using this tactic to stall for time, hoping John would break the deadlock, because they didn't want to bow to Morgan. Although it was somewhat underhanded, it worked. For these old men, their interests were paramount; being a rogue was acceptable.

"John, you've arrived. Please sit down. Jimmy has already told you Morgan's stance: we support your acquisition of Bell Labs. It's just that some people can't accept it, hence this meeting!" Morgan wouldn't let those old guys' schemes go unpunished. As soon as John appeared, he directly pointed out Morgan's attitude and decision!
"Damn it, how dare Morgan do this? Does he even respect us old guys?" Some people cursed Morgan inwardly, but they didn't dare say it out loud. It was clear that Morgan's patience with them had reached its limit. He didn't want to waste any more words with them, so he made his attitude and position clear and pushed the blame onto these old guys!
"Hehe, I naturally understand Morgan's attitude and position. Mr. Jimmy has said more than once that I am here today only because of Morgan's kindness, after all, our cooperation has been very pleasant. Although some people are arrogant and think I am not qualified, I have to give Morgan face, and my attitude is only one: since you want to split up Bell Labs and share Bell Labs' patents in communications, then there must be a reasonable price. As for your other ideas, in short, I do not accept them. If you feel it is inappropriate, there is no need to continue the discussion, and we can all part ways!"

"What kind of attitude is this!" Soon, someone couldn't hold back any longer and stood up to criticize John's attitude.

"Is there anything wrong with my attitude? Bell Labs is not something I need. If you think there is a problem with this acquisition, I can back out. I have said that I am only here today to give Morgan face. Either agree, or we part ways. There is no other choice. I will not accept any conditions. That is my attitude."

In an instant, John became incredibly assertive, completely ignoring the angry stares of the old men. Although Bell Labs had many patents and technologies that John wanted, they weren't indispensable. Moreover, he couldn't back down in the face of these old men's greed, or there would be endless entanglement. A swift and decisive approach was the best choice.

"Are you Morgans just going to ignore all of this?" When they couldn't persuade John, these old guys thought of Morgan again, bringing him up as a shield, hoping to use Morgan to solve the problem!

"What do you want me to say? Didn't I already say that Morgan has fulfilled its obligations and responsibilities and offered reasonable solutions? It's just that you yourselves are unwilling to accept them. Now what do you want me to say? It's the same thing: Morgan is not involved. We have always agreed to this reasonable acquisition, but we can't do anything about your opposition!"

“John, we agree to your acquisition in principle, but the details still need to be discussed. This is not just about the laboratory, but about the entire Bell Corporation. So we need to discuss the details of the split in detail!”

"Heh, what does this have to do with me? I'm only acquiring Bell Labs; it has little to do with the breakup of Bell Labs. If anything, it's just you guys. I'll say it again: either agree, or we part ways. I don't have the time or energy to argue with you over such a trivial matter again and again. If it weren't for Morgan's repeated persuasion, there wouldn't be today's meeting, and this acquisition wouldn't have happened. I've stated my demands; now you can reconsider. Whether you agree or refuse is entirely up to you!"

John smiled calmly, sat down, and ignored the anger in the old men's eyes. He looked at their angry gazes with indifference, showing no concern for their thoughts.

(End of this chapter)