The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 108: The Old Guard Falls Away
The meeting between William and the president of the local Women’s Rights Defenders Association was destined to be a successful one.
As long as both sides came prepared, and neither crossed the other’s fundamental bottom line, there was nothing that could not be discussed or settled.
William told President Elena very directly that, for the early stage, he could first provide roughly one hundred jobs. Some would be related to women’s football players and the supporting work around them, while others would be connected to his Interstellar Trading Company.
The company needed to expand. It could not keep filling every room with grown men. Sometimes, having them fire one another up did indeed raise morale, but strengthening hardness while ignoring the loss of flexibility was no solution. Otherwise, even steel could shatter like glass when dropped.
To solve that problem, they needed to add some female employees as a balancing element. At the same time, William intended to set up telephone operations, which would require a number of telephone operators.
Compared with men, who were more prone to irritation and lacked patience, women were better suited to that work.
President Elena once again praised William’s honesty highly. Of course, she also had some demands and opinions of her own.
Job creation certainly could not be completed in three days. Otherwise, the women of the whole world would have stood up long ago. She could understand that it required time. However, she hoped that when William arranged these positions, he would communicate with the local association, even if only by placing a phone call.
That would help avoid misunderstandings between them, and also improve efficiency in certain matters. As president of the local association, she said there were some things William might not find easy to do, but which would be much simpler for the association.
In general, there were two matters. First, the Women’s Rights Defenders Association would fully support William’s plan to promote “professional female athletes” locally and across the state. Ms. Elena would also use her own influence to stir up, as much as possible, a nationwide sports equality movement.
Second, William needed to provide more jobs suitable for women for President Elena to handle, and only to her. This included jobs in other cities, which would also be handed over to the Sabine City Association to arrange. That was President Elena’s bottom line.
The two sides reached an oral agreement without any major disagreement. There were also other people present, serving as third-party witnesses. Such an oral agreement already had legal effect in itself. It was simply not as clear and straightforward as a formal contract, and certain variables could still exist.
Before new, irreconcilable conflicts broke out between the two sides, there was no need to worry about those.
After leaving the association, William went to the club. Once the agreement had been signed yesterday, the club had already become part of his holdings. Today, Kane had gathered everyone together, waiting for the new boss’s inspection.
The other people inside the club were also very happy that someone was willing to take it over. At least they no longer had to go to the Intermodal Authority every month and read other people’s faces just to collect their wages. At least they had a future that might still be considered bright.
The professional athletes who had been unwilling to transfer, mainly because no one wanted them, could finally return to the field. They had already had enough of the hardship of ordinary work. Being an athlete was easier, and it paid better.
After noon, William arrived there. He had only changed his morning hairstyle slightly, and put on a dark business suit. In an instant, a handsome, fresh young man had been turned into an adult who looked composed and mature.
On the training lawn behind the club, William saw these people.
Altogether, there were more than thirty of them. Their monthly wages alone exceeded seven thousand dollars. The moment William signed the agreement, the representative from the Intermodal Authority responsible for signing had looked ready to burst into flowers from smiling.
With William taking over, they no longer needed to bear the maintenance expenses of a useless club, not to mention there was also a “debt.”
Looking at these people, William did not state his position directly. He simply spoke briefly about his view of the club’s future, then told them to go about their own business first, and called Kane into the office.
Once the door closed, the atmosphere inside the manager’s office turned heavy. William sat behind the desk and looked at Kane without expression, his eyes deep and unreadable. Kane felt his heart sinking lower and lower, while a faint suffocating pressure made it hard to breathe.
“Boss...”
He opened his mouth and said one word, breaking the silence in the room. But before he could continue, William interrupted him. “Aside from the electricians and plumbers, fire everyone else. Including the athletes.”
Kane squeezed out an ugly smile. Among the thirty-odd people, the electricians and plumbers together numbered only three. The rest were athletes from the former first and second teams and related personnel, including the coach and assistant coaches, as well as cleaning staff.
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