The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 62: The Bell Above the Door
The moment the door opened, a brief burst of chimes rang through the room. The sound was neither harsh nor prolonged, lasting only a second or two.
The purpose of the chime was simple: to alert anyone inside that someone was entering. It helped avoid awkward situations, or at least bought a few seconds of warning.
Jorgreman rose to his feet. Three young men stood with him, all clearly taking their lead from him. They followed close behind as they stepped forward to greet William.
William approached with an easy expression and extended his hand. He shook hands with Jorgreman, who carried himself with a certain reserve. After exchanging a few polite pleasantries, Jorgreman introduced the three young men behind him.
“These are some of Golden Exchange Bank’s finest account managers.”
Ignoring their largely unimportant names, William immediately understood what Jorgreman meant.
Jorgreman had no intention of monopolizing this business for himself. In fact, he would not be directly involved at all. William would establish lending arrangements with these three account managers, and the pledged assets in his possession would become part of their performance records.
For someone in Jorgreman’s position, it made little difference who signed William’s business.
At his level, personal performance was no longer important. Even if he failed to close a single deal for an entire year, no one would consider him incompetent.
As Manager of the Credit Department, his “performance” was the collective achievement of the entire department. Since it made no difference whether he signed the deal himself, why not use those opportunities to buy goodwill?
Where there were people, there were conflicts. Where there were conflicts, there were factions.
The three young men were loyal supporters of Jorgreman. They were younger, with greater potential. If these deals, and the many that might follow, landed in their hands, they would rise much faster.
At the same time, Jorgreman himself would benefit as head of the department.
So why not be a generous superior?
It was also a precautionary measure.
If something went wrong on William’s side and the bank’s interests were harmed, Jorgreman could immediately distance himself from the matter.
He had merely made an introduction.
He had merely confirmed that the loan applications complied with the bank’s procedures.
Anything beyond that had nothing to do with him.
If there was anything illegal involved, it would not be his responsibility.
And if everything proceeded smoothly, he would still benefit. Several million dollars’ worth of loans would have been approved under his supervision. As the direct supervisor responsible for those results, he would receive favorable evaluations from both the Regional Branch Office and Headquarters.
The senior leadership of any bank, especially within a critical department like credit, always placed risk assessment and risk prevention above everything else.
They could tolerate earning less money.
They could never tolerate catastrophic losses.
With Jorgreman leading the conversation, everyone began with small talk. Before long, the discussion drifted from ordinary matters to the Federation’s current economic outlook.
Economic growth seemed to have suddenly lost momentum.
Small problems were appearing across nearly every industry.
A comparison between this year’s lending figures and those of previous years from the Six Major Banks made it obvious that society was quietly changing.
As the conversation continued, Jorgreman gradually relinquished control and allowed the younger men to carry it forward. He sat back and observed.
More specifically, he observed William.
Copies of Gatnau Finance Company’s new contracts had already been sent to the Regional Branch Office.
The legal advisers there believed the additional clauses contained in Gatnau’s lending agreements possessed enormous significance and practical value. They were even considering introducing similar provisions into the bank’s own contracts sometime between the second and third quarters of next year.
The delay served two purposes.
First, the bank wanted to exhaust its current supply of contract forms before printing new ones, saving a considerable amount of money.
Second, they needed time to conduct a thorough review to determine whether any of the provisions conflicted with local laws in specific states.
Overall, Jorgreman had already earned himself a merit.
He refused to believe that those barely educated finance company owners had come up with these ideas.
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