A Wall Street Genius's Final Investment Playbook-Chapter 116

5:30 PM.

Sharma and Holmes sat side by side in the back seat of a luxury sedan, traveling to their destination.

Sharma proudly recounted his interaction with Ha Si-heon earlier that day.

"When I told him to withdraw the investment if he wanted, his attitude changed 180 degrees."

"You said that to his face?"

Unlike Sharma, who was intoxicated by his victory, Holmes' expression was subtle.

As someone who had advised caution when dealing with Ha Si-heon, Holmes seemed displeased with Sharma’s aggressive approach.

"Don't worry. He gave in right away."

After a brief consideration, Holmes slowly nodded.

"No, you did well. We needed to test him at least once anyway."

In truth, Holmes was cleverly taking advantage of this aspect of Sharma’s personality.

She assigned him the role of the ‘villain,' entrusting him with threats she couldn't make herself.

"Still, don't let your guard down. That man is dangerous."

"Dangerous? Come on."

"In this day and age, public recognition isn’t something you can ignore."

According to their research, Ha Si-heon had no presence on social media.

Yet, while Holmes continued to emphasize caution, Sharma scoffed.

"Will he last even a month? He’s just someone people will soon forget."

As they conversed, the car arrived at their destination—the Fairmont Hotel.

They had been invited to a charity gala event that night.

"May I have your name, please?"

"Elizabeth Holmes."

"Yes, here it is. And your companion?"

"Rahul Sharma."

As the staff checked the guest list, Sharma felt a flicker of anxiety.

A wave of worry washed over him—what if his name wasn’t on the list?

Despite having held the COO position for over five years, this was his first time attending such an official event.

Up until last year, Theranos had been in ‘stealth mode.’

As a newly established startup, it had been operating in secrecy without exposing itself to the public.

But now, things had changed.

With Theranos stepping into the spotlight, Sharma had also joined the ranks of rising business figures.

"Here you go."

The staff handed him a small name tag and an event pamphlet. Sharma felt relieved as he headed toward the cocktail reception.

Just as the two stepped into the hall—

"Elizabeth!"

"Huh? Jessica?"

A familiar voice called out, and Holmes turned to see a friend approaching.

After exchanging warm greetings, Holmes quickly turned toward Sharma.

"This is my longtime friend, Jessica Lambert."

The name was familiar.

The Lambert family was a renowned venture capital powerhouse in Silicon Valley.

Moreover, Lambert was one of Theranos' early investors.

"This is our company's COO, Sharma."

Holmes introduced him simply as a colleague.

In reality, they were lovers, but they had to keep their relationship a secret in public.

Sharma forced a natural-looking smile.

"Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Holmes."

"You must be working hard to support Holmes. She’s been ambitious since she was young."

Jessica offered a polite greeting before turning her full attention back to Holmes.

"There's someone who’s eager to meet you…"

Jessica gently tugged Holmes' arm, drawing her attention elsewhere.

"Will you be okay on your own?"

"Of course. Go ahead."

Sharma responded calmly, but a sense of discomfort lingered within him.

‘Couldn’t I have gone with her?’

At that moment, a voice echoed in his mind.

—So there's a bamboo ceiling here too.

Sharma instinctively shook his head vigorously.

He was different from those lower-level employees.

He was a COO, after all.

Left alone, Sharma glanced around the hall. Groups of people were gathered in clusters, chatting.

He searched for others who, like him, were standing alone.

Just then, he spotted a white man entering the hall.

But moments later, the man greeted someone warmly and quickly joined a group.

‘They already know each other.’

Only then did Sharma realize—

Most of the people here were already well acquainted.

‘If Holmes had been with me…’

Someone would have approached first.

After all, Holmes possessed an impressive network of social capital.

Few knew this, but Holmes' great-grandfather had once run a major food conglomerate that dominated the U.S. market.

Although the company had collapsed over several generations,

The social connections built during that time hadn’t disappeared.

This explained why Theranos' early investors were particularly prominent figures.

From prestigious venture capital firms to well-known private equity groups, most of them were connections from Holmes’ father.

Of course, they didn’t have high expectations for Holmes.

They had merely provided a small sponsorship for the vision presented by an acquaintance’s daughter.

It was Holmes' ability that had grown that small gesture into something much bigger.

However…

Sharma emptied his glass with a bitter smile.

Along with the bitterness of the alcohol sliding down his throat, the harsh reality settled in.

He, too, had once dreamed of launching a startup.

Yet, despite his Berkeley MBA and extensive experience in top-tier IT firms, securing funding had been nearly impossible.

It was only after bringing in a white co-founder that he was finally able to attract investors.

Meanwhile, investors had eagerly opened their wallets for Holmes, a college dropout.

Thanks to the social capital inherited from her white upper-class background.

Once you reached that level, the most important thing was ‘client management,’ and for that, excellent ‘social skills’ were considered essential.

To succeed in this society, one had to be integrated into their network.

Sharma scanned the room and spotted a familiar face.

Owen Carson, the head of one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent private equity firms.

He was also a valuable connection for Theranos' fundraising efforts.

Without hesitation, Sharma approached and introduced himself as Theranos' COO.

However—

"Ah! Theranos, that’s the company led by Elizabeth Holmes, right?"

"Yes, that's correct."

Carson’s gaze skimmed past Sharma, glancing over his shoulder instead.

"Is Holmes not here with you?"

"She stepped away for a moment. Anyway, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you."

"From whom, exactly?"

Carson’s expression remained indifferent.

"From Mr. Houston, one of our board members."

"Mr. Houston mentioned me?"

Sharma name-dropped a board member, but Carson still looked unconvinced.

His gaze remained fixed behind Sharma, as if he was already thinking of an exit strategy.

"Would you be interested in investing in Theranos?"

"Haha, Theranos is already too big for us to get involved now."

"Not at all. In ten years, conventional diagnostic devices will become obsolete, and Theranos will be the only one left standing. Are you really going to miss this opportunity?"

Sharma’s tone became exaggerated and arrogant, finally drawing Carson’s attention.

"That’s a bold claim."

There was no other choice.

If he didn’t speak in such an over-the-top manner, Carson would have continued treating him as invisible.

‘…Because I’m Asian, huh?’

He had to speak louder, bolder, just to get a fraction of their attention.

Sharma continued his bluff.

"Of course, it’s not an exaggeration. Our product is already being deployed in Afghanistan."

"Is that so?"

That was a lie.

But discussions about field deployment had indeed taken place, so it wasn’t entirely false.

"We even have General Whittington on our board, as you know."

A war hero, highly respected in the field.

At that, Carson seemed to show interest—but then his gaze shifted again, past Sharma’s shoulder.

"Ah, excuse me. There's someone over there I absolutely need to say hello to."

With that, Carson walked away.

And in the direction he was heading—

Sharma froze.

Because standing there was someone he had never expected to see.

"…..!"

A man taller than those around him.

A young East Asian with black hair.

It was none other than Ha Si-heon.

***

This gala event was structured in six stages.

Cocktail reception, dinner, keynote speech, auction, live performance, and finally, the closing remarks.

The cocktail reception, the first event, was for networking.

But the board members wouldn’t show up for that.

Networking only worked among people of similar status.

For those at the top of the social pyramid, relationships at an event like this could only be one-sided—they would be the ones granting favors.

So they were likely to join from the main dinner onward.

Still, I couldn’t afford to arrive late myself.

There were too many things I needed to take care of.

"Fancy meeting you here again!"

The man approaching me was Owen Carson.

The CEO of a well-known private equity firm, whom I had met during a past business trip.

He was also a client of Pierce, thanks to an old ‘once-a-month project selection’ arrangement I had made.

Under normal circumstances, he would have ignored me.

After all, approaching an Asian-born Goldman rookie at an event like this was considered ‘beneath him.’

But right now, I wasn’t just any ordinary Goldman rookie.

"I was so surprised to see you on TV! I knew I had seen that face somewhere before…"

"I’m honored that you remember me from our brief encounter."

"Someone like you is hard to forget. By the way…"

Carson suddenly lowered his voice.

"That White Shark shareholders’ meeting—how long have you been preparing for it?"

He hadn’t approached me out of mere curiosity.

As someone in finance, he naturally wanted to gather information on a critical issue.

The Epicura incident had been a defining moment in the history of activist investing.

As the key figure at the center of the event, they sought to extract information from me.

I responded with a smile.

"I'm afraid this isn't the right place to discuss that."

"Haha, of course. That was thoughtless of me."

Carson laughed heartily and nodded.

"Do you have any plans later? After the gala, we're heading to the yacht club."

"If you still remember me by then, I'd be happy to join."

"Haha, as if I'd forget! Just in case I get a little too drunk, give me a call if you don’t see me."

He handed me his business card, and I offered mine in return.

At that moment, another figure approached.

"Carson! What’s got you in such a good mood?"

"Ah, let me introduce you. Spencer Sinclair from Innovate Ventures. And this is…"

"Oh! The guy from the White Shark incident!"

"I'm Ha Si-heon. You can call me Sean."

As expected of someone in finance, Sinclair recognized me instantly.

With a curious gaze, he asked,

"What did Slater say after the broadcast?"

I smiled once more.

"That’s another topic that might not be best discussed here…"

"Haha, he's saving all the good stories for the club later."

"Really? Then I might just have to stop by as well."

The corners of my lips lifted naturally.

One of the key tasks I needed to accomplish here was progressing smoothly.

What I needed to do was secure ‘connections who would introduce me’.

To get closer to the top tier, an introduction from the right person was essential.

If someone like me—an Asian with no privileged background—tried to approach the elite directly, I would immediately be viewed with suspicion.

In that sense, an introduction served as a kind of endorsement, lowering the barriers to entry.

Of course, a casual introduction wouldn’t instantly earn trust.

But the fact that a high-status individual was willing to introduce me sent a signal that I had some kind of value.

For a while, I moved through the hall, shaking hands, exchanging greetings, and immersing myself in networking.

Then, I suddenly felt a sharp gaze from behind.

Turning around, I saw Sharma striding toward me.

‘He came to me himself?'

That saved me some effort.

"We meet again."

I greeted him with a bright smile, as if genuinely pleased.

Sharma muttered in slight bewilderment.

"How the hell did you end up here…"

I turned to Carson beside me and introduced Sharma.

"This is Sharma, COO of Theranos. I met him during due diligence for an investment. And this is…"

"We’ve already met."

Carson’s response was rather cold.

Not intentionally rude, just the natural distance maintained by the upper class.

I shifted my gaze back to Sharma and offered a ‘polite apology’—loud enough for others to hear.

"I truly apologize for today. I have a bad habit of not being able to overlook problems when they’re right in front of me…"

This subtly implied that I had discovered issues during the due diligence process.

And I made sure to say it in front of a ‘high-profile private equity figure’.

I noticed Sharma’s expression twitch slightly.

Come on, don’t start crumpling your face so soon. We haven’t even begun.

"Please, forgive me."

I bowed deeply.

Such a gesture might be common in the East, but in the U.S., it was ‘eye-catching’.

As expected, all eyes in the hall turned toward us.

Sharma’s face stiffened instantly.

Meanwhile, Carson, intrigued by my exaggerated politeness and Sharma’s icy reaction, seemed genuinely curious.

"What happened?"

"Oh, nothing serious. Just a minor disagreement during the due diligence process."

I replied with a smile before offering Sharma a ‘sincere piece of advice’.

"But for a company of Theranos' scale, I strongly recommend hiring a CFO."