America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 389 E-commerce

On the winding road, Reeves gripped the steering wheel tightly, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, while Linda beside him gently stroked her slightly protruding belly, a hint of barely perceptible tension in her eyes.

They had originally planned to go straight home, but as soon as the car started moving, they changed their plans and sped towards Google headquarters.

The tall, four-story parking garage at the side entrance was already bustling with people, as a large number of Google employees, like Reeves and Linda, were returning to work.

As the car window rolled down, a burst of boisterous cheers and car horns filled the air.

Some employees stuck their heads out of the car windows, waving their arms excitedly and shouting loudly.

Some, after parking, couldn't wait to jump out of the car and hug and high-five their familiar colleagues.

This enthusiastic atmosphere infected everyone, and even the air was filled with the scent of joy and anticipation.

Reeves glanced at Linda beside him. Considering her pregnancy, he didn't join the celebration like the other employees. Instead, he slowly parked the car in the designated spot and carefully helped Linda out of the car.

The two walked side by side toward the elevator, where several employees were already standing, their faces beaming with excitement as they whispered about stock options.

The elevator descended smoothly and quickly reached the first floor.

Stepping out of the elevator, rows of brightly colored sightseeing vehicles are neatly parked along the roadside, creating a beautiful scene.

Due to the vast area of ​​the park and the prohibition of motor vehicles within it, these sightseeing vehicles have become the main means of transportation for employees within the park in order to ensure their travel and improve traffic efficiency. They are equivalent to public buses within the park, not only stopping whenever you wave them down, but also running frequently.

The parking lot is one of the starting points for sightseeing buses, which depart every five minutes or when the bus is full.

The two didn't have to wait at all; a car arrived and the seats were instantly filled.

When the two arrived at Reeves' office area, the sight before them amazed them.

The entire office area had been transformed into a lively party venue. Apart from the absence of alcohol, several long tables were filled with all kinds of food, as well as a wide variety of desserts and rich, mellow coffee.

The employees had no interest in working. They enjoyed their food, cheered loudly, and some even danced to the upbeat music. The entire office area was filled with laughter and joy.

When Reeves and Linda walked hand in hand into the office area, the previously noisy scene fell silent for a moment, and everyone's eyes were focused on them. Clearly, no one expected Reeves to suddenly appear at this time.

Jeremy asked in surprise, "Boss, weren't you on vacation? Why are you back all of a sudden?"

Reeves smiled as he walked to the table, picked up a steaming slice of pizza, took a bite without ceremony, and then slowly said, "Do you think I'd be in the mood for a relaxing vacation at this crucial time? I bet all Google employees, unless there are special circumstances, are probably rushing to headquarters right now?"

Jeremy thought about it and agreed. He quickly leaned closer to Reeves and said, "It's good that our department hasn't gone through the stock option registration process yet. Otherwise, you would have to go to the HR department and wait in line, and who knows how long that would have taken."

This is the key reason why Reeves and Linda gave up going home and made a special trip to Google headquarters.

With Google's recent major restructuring of its equity structure, a new round of stock option allocation has been officially launched. All employees who meet the conditions and are eligible to receive stock options must complete the registration and signing procedures within the specified time.

Although the ownership of these option shares is already determined in principle and cannot be reversed, and the registration period is quite long, at this point, no one is willing to drag things out. The sooner the registration is completed, the sooner they can feel at ease.

Reeves picked up a fragrant cup of coffee, raised it, and shouted to his colleagues, "If there's not enough work, just order! I'll cover all the expenses today!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted, pushing the atmosphere in the entire office area to another climax.

Even Linda, who has always been a good homemaker, showed no displeasure. Instead, she joined everyone in enjoying the joy.

Amid cheers from the crowd, Reeves gently took Linda's hand and slowly walked into his private office.

He helped Linda to sit down in his office chair, then turned on the computer. While waiting for the computer to boot up, he never felt that this usually smooth-running computer was booting up so slowly. Every second of waiting felt like torture.

After waiting for the computer to boot up, Reeves quickly logged into his corporate email.

The moment the email interface successfully loaded, the two exchanged a knowing smile, their eyes revealing an undisguised tension.

Because the string of numbers they are about to see will directly determine the family's future quality of life and may even change the trajectory of their lives.

Reeves took a deep breath, and with his fingers trembling slightly, he opened the encrypted email that listed the distribution of stock option rewards. His gaze skipped over the lengthy terms and conditions at the beginning and was fixed on a string of numbers in the middle of the email.

42000 shares, with an exercise price of $85.

This means that in order to successfully acquire this equity stake, Reeves will need to pay a one-time exercise fee of $357 million.

However, Reeves and Linda showed no worry whatsoever when faced with this huge sum of money; instead, they revealed undisguised joy.

Because they knew very well that with these 42000 shares, their ordinary family was about to become millionaires.

Currently, Google's valuation has exceeded $1500 billion, and everyone firmly believes that once Google officially goes public, its market value will definitely not be lower than this price, and may even increase significantly.

According to conservative estimates, if Google's stock price reaches $300 after its IPO, then the total value of these 42000 shares will reach $1260 million.

Linda stared at the numbers on the screen, her throat bobbing involuntarily. She swallowed hard, her voice trembling slightly as she said, "Ten million dollars—"

After saying that, her eyes were filled with confusion and disbelief as she turned to look at Reeves. "We—we've become millionaires just like that?"

"No, that's not it." Reeves shook his head slightly and said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Linda's smile froze instantly, her eyes filled with doubt and confusion as she stared intently at Reeves, awaiting his explanation.

Reeves pointed to a line of small print in the email and patiently explained to Linda, "Look closely here. This option will be redeemed in four installments, one installment per year. So after we complete the registration today, we can only receive the first installment of 10500 shares. The remaining three installments will be redeemed gradually over the next three years."

After listening, Linda rolled her eyes at Reeves, annoyed. "What time is it? You're still fussing over these details. In my opinion, those 42000 shares are already ours."

Working at a thriving company like Google, and being a key middle-level manager being groomed by the company, how could Reeves possibly resign?

Linda then frowned and said with a troubled expression, "Although it's only the first phase of 10500 shares, exercising the option will require about $90, which we can't afford right now. We need to contact the bank as soon as possible."

Seeing Linda's anxious expression, Reeves gently patted her hand and reassured her, "Don't worry, take a close look at the last line of the email."

Linda looked in the direction Reeves pointed and saw at the end of the email that it read, "To facilitate employees' exercise of their rights, the company has reached cooperation agreements with several banking institutions to provide employees with exclusive low-interest loan services. For specific loan amounts and interest rates, please consult the relevant bank account manager."

After reading this, Linda finally felt relieved, and Reeves seized the opportunity to say, "I think maybe we don't need to take out a loan to buy a house anymore."

"With these 10500 shares, getting a $200 million loan from the bank shouldn't be a problem. Since we have so much capital, why should we apply for a mortgage and let the bank earn those exorbitant interest rates?"

Linda fell into deep thought. After a while, she looked up at Reeves and offered her idea: "That's true, but if we only use a portion of the funds for the down payment, the rest can be used for other investments."

In the United States, middle-class families with spare money often choose to invest in the stock market to obtain greater returns through long-term investment, rather than keeping it in the bank to earn interest.

Reeves retorted with a laugh, "Who says buying a house isn't an investment? After the Google stock options are distributed, a large number of employees will definitely use the funds to buy real estate, and the housing prices in the entire Charleston area will likely see a new round of increases."

"If we buy a house now, we can not only own our own home, but also enjoy the asset appreciation brought about by rising house prices. Isn't this a worthwhile investment?"

17

Reeves's judgment was correct. Apart from Google employees, the happiest people at this moment should be the construction companies, especially those that hold land reserves in the Charleston area. They seem to have already seen the huge profits brought by rising house prices, and they are probably laughing in their dreams.

However, it wasn't just the construction companies that were laughing all the way to the bank in this options turmoil; Google itself was the biggest beneficiary, being the largest landowner in the Charleston area.

In the Google CEO's office, sunlight streams through huge floor-to-ceiling windows, making the entire office bright and spacious.

Hamilton stood by the window, overlooking the bustling park below, a report on the land values ​​in the Charleston area in his hand. He turned around and exclaimed sincerely, "Sergei was truly prescient. Acquiring such a large piece of land in Charleston back then, it seems like such a wise decision."

Ernst smiled and shook his head. "You're just as good, practically putting Charleston's council on a drop tower. I wonder if their hearts can handle this kind of stimulation."

With Google's IPO imminent, Hamilton used this opportunity to submit another land application to the Mountain View city government, citing the need for rapid development after the financing, hoping to obtain 50 acres of land for the expansion of the headquarters campus.

The City of Mountain View readily agreed to Google's application with almost no objection, but the Charleston Regional Council found itself in a dilemma.

On the one hand, they are well aware of Google's importance to the local economy and are unwilling to offend this benefactor.

Giving up so much land was heartbreaking for them.

Upon hearing Ernst's words, Hamilton smiled confidently and said with a hint of arrogance, "Do they dare refuse? Let alone 50 acres, even if we asked for 100 acres, the Charleston district council would have to obediently accept."

Before Google moved its headquarters to Charleston, it was a desolate suburb. Although it had the largest park in Mountain View, it lacked adequate residential facilities and its economic development was relatively lagging.

Since Google moved in, the entire Charleston area has undergone tremendous changes, with construction booming everywhere and presenting a thriving scene.

Today, the Charleston area has become a city within a city for Google.

Because Google employees and their families make up a significant portion of the population in the Charleston area, their voting power directly determines the career paths of officials.

Ernst listened to Hamilton's words and shrugged indifferently. He hadn't come to Google to discuss land issues or stock option allocations; he was there for someone.

Alfie Scott is one of the most trusted lieutenants of Google's CMO, Marissa Mayer.

He was in charge of planning and executing all of Google's previous member reward programs, which is also a talent Ernst was cultivating for his e-commerce company.

Now that the enemies have all banded together, the e-commerce business must begin preparations, and he is the CEO that Ernst thinks is the most suitable candidate.