The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 59
“Come to my office for a moment...”
Jorgreman returned straight to his office without even eating lunch. Compared to the documents in his hands, a thirty-nine-dollar steak could not possibly divert his attention.
Two minutes later, a middle-aged man wearing a lawyer’s badge on his chest walked in.
Any student of jurisprudence who successfully graduated from the academy and obtained a lawyer’s license could wear one of those Initiate Badges.
Though it was only an Initiate Badge, even the Federation’s foremost top-tier lawyers wore them every day. It was a symbol of their identity, and a kind of nobility all its own.
“Naf, take a look at these documents.” When he left, William had not only actively handed him two pledge agreements, but he had even prepared copies of the other files as well. That made Jorgreman think a little more highly of him.
There was a saying that was quite right, everyone gets opportunities, but not everyone can seize them, and still fewer are prepared to face them.
Not everyone can seize them, that much most people understand. Ninety-five percent of people remain mediocre, and in their mediocre lives there are always a few chances to change their fate, they simply cannot see them, cannot catch them.
People understand the middle part of that saying, but not the last half. Sometimes you seize an opportunity and think that alone means your life has changed ... and of course, in a sense, it has.
But that is only when you are already prepared. Then opportunity gives you wealth, status, and reputation proportionate to your greatest capacity. In the hands of such people, opportunity is like a woman, gentle as water.
But if you are not prepared, then opportunity is like a train crashing headfirst into your skull. There is no shortage in this world of stories about people who “seized an opportunity” only to see their homes ruined and their families destroyed.
Opportunity will certainly change a person’s fate, but not always for the better.
William had prepared himself, and could even create opportunities. Jorgreman had seen people like that before. In his position, he had met enough local and regional notables. In William, he saw their shadow.
Ambitious, like a hunter hidden in the dark, always ready to strike at any time, such people rarely failed to succeed. That was also why Jorgreman was willing to give William a chance.
No one ever complained of having too many high-quality connections. So long as a man lived in this society, he could not avoid such things.
The man he called Naf was a member of the Sabine City Golden Exchange Bank legal team. Every year, the bank had a great many lawsuits to fight. Hiring outside counsel every single time was too extravagant, so they had cultivated their own team of lawyers to save costs.
Naf studied the documents in his hands with great seriousness, not overlooking a single mark. He even took out a sheet of paper to note down some of his views and certain clause numbers.
About half an hour later, he let out a breath, arranged the files in the order he had read them, set them on the desk, and looked at Jorgreman.
“Are there problems with these documents?” Jorgreman took out two cigars, truly pure-color cigars, and handed one to Naf. Naf thanked him and accepted it.
As he cut the end, he answered, “There’s nothing wrong with them at all. This pledge agreement was formed by taking the loan contract we currently use and adding certain supplementary clauses.”
“Two of those clauses are very interesting. The first is that if, within a very short time after the signing date, the borrower cannot repay the money, then not only must he forfeit the pledged collateral, he must still repay principal and interest as well.” A strange smile appeared on Naf’s face. “This should be some new agreement being used by those outside finance companies. They never used things like this before!”
There was a mocking look on Naf’s face. He looked down on those outside finance companies, and Jorgreman was the same.
In the past, when Mr. Fox extended assistance, he mostly had people write out an IOU. If it was some resident off the street, they often did not even need to write that much. All of that had changed only because William had arrived.
Jorgreman nodded, and Naf moved on to the next clause. “I noticed there’s a line in their supplementary terms...” As he spoke, he pointed it out for Jorgreman to see. The content roughly stated that this agreement had been signed voluntarily, without coercion, and in the presence of a third-party witness, and it even listed the third party’s name along with all three signatures.
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