"Giovanni, I'm leaving things here in the city to you. Remember what I told you — sit tight for now. We make the final call, so there's no rush to commit to anything. If something comes up, call me right away — I'll be waiting back at the office," Nick told Giovanni, the deputy head of Marketing.
"Don't worry, Nicholas. I'll let you know the second anything moves," Giovanni said with a nod and a smile.
Nick nodded, then looked at him and grinned. "Take care of yourself. Skip the extra dinners if you can, and go easy on the drinking.
We're still young — got a long road ahead."
"Got it. Same goes for you — don't skip rest just because you're busy," Giovanni said, a little caught off guard, nodding back.
"Ha, I'm out!" Nick laughed and hopped into the van waiting at the curb.
Watching this, the rest of the staff piled into the two escort vehicles, and the little convoy pulled off. Giovanni and the remaining crew watched until the cars vanished, then sighed and headed back inside.
For Giovanni, being left in charge of ongoing talks was a sign of trust from Nick. But it also came with heavy pressure — dealing with all these different parties wasn't easy.
Luckily, Nick trusted him enough that he didn't have to worry about anyone second-guessing him internally. And everyone involved knew Nick was the real decision-maker anyway, which took a little heat off Giovanni personally.
Once through the VIP lane and settled in first class with a glass of milk from the flight attendant, Nick reclined his seat and closed his eyes. Five straight days of meetings, back-to-back — not just talks with different groups, but press interviews too.
Every night ended with an internal debrief back at the hotel, going over the day and prepping for the next one.
It wasn't as simple as chatting for a bit and moving on. Prepping for each meeting — knowing who you're dealing with, what they actually want — mattered just as much as the debrief after, which shaped his next move.
There was no way Nick could handle all that solo, so he'd brought a full team to help manage it.
Despite the packed schedule, Nick still carved out an afternoon to meet with local officials. In fact, the local government had reached out the moment he landed, politely asking for a sit-down.
Nick knew exactly why they wanted to talk, but he showed them the respect they were owed anyway. Partly to hear out their offer — even if nothing came of it, they'd likely be doing business again down the line, so no point burning that bridge. Partly it was strategy — the company had grown to a point where building an actual headquarters was now on the table. And where that headquarters landed would depend heavily on who showed the most sincerity.
Obviously, staying in their home base was the easiest option. But some people take things for granted once they already have them.
And where a headquarters lands says a lot about a company's future direction — it's a huge decision.
This time, several cities — LA, the capital, a couple of coastal metros, even Miami — had all reached out with interest.
Plenty of options, but deciding where to actually settle needed real thought...
"Mr. Dye, Nick's already left the capital and headed back home. I need you to show the right kind of sincerity and attitude to keep Militech here."
"Our region finally raised a golden goose, and before it's even fully grown, everyone else is already trying to poach it. From what I hear, half a dozen major cities have already sent teams to make contact with Militech directly."
"On top of that, Nick got face time with top officials in two major cities. Not sure exactly what was discussed, but the intent is pretty obvious."
"I need you to get on this immediately and come up with real countermeasures. First, keep these other cities from poaching our talent out from under us. Second, put together something solid that actually ties Militech down here for good."
"This isn't just about the local economy or even the province — it's about our standing in tech, internet, and cutting-edge industries as a whole."
"And I need to stress this — mind how you handle it. Militech isn't some small operation anymore. Domestically and internationally, their influence rivals a major player like Amazon, and down the line it could even outgrow Huawei.
A company like that has a massive ripple effect on a region, a province, a whole area. So play the long game, and bring real sincerity to the table.
We don't just need to keep their company and their talent — we need to win their loyalty."
Hearing this over the phone, Dye nodded seriously. "Understood, Secretary. We'll call a leadership meeting right away to hash out a real plan to keep Militech here."
"Mm." The voice on the other end softened a bit. "Move fast. Everyone else is moving too. From what I hear, some places are going all-out on this one, so don't take it lightly."
"Mr. Dye, got any ideas already?"
Dye thought it over. "As far as I know, Militech doesn't have its own headquarters building yet. I was thinking we start there — help them solve that problem."
"If we get them to build their headquarters here, it'll be a lot harder for them to leave."
There was a pause on the line before the voice spoke again. "Not bad as a starting point, but it's not enough.
From what I understand, Militech's revenue last year was massive — dropping a few billion on a building is nothing to them. Yet they haven't made a move. I think that kid Nick's got something else up his sleeve.
Building a company from nothing to this size, this fast — that kid's no pushover.
Don't get careless and end up running into a wall with him."