America 1982-Chapter 256 - 2: Tommy’s Encounter with Betrayal_3
"Tommy~" came Sophia’s voice over the phone, "As you wished, that Black CEO of the Black TV station you admired and appointed has finally, due to your dragging and inefficiency, decided to take his people and jump ship to SBG. I once reminded you to set up non-compete clauses, but you completely ignored my advice. Now what are we going to do? I’ve heard that SBG will launch their Black channel in six months..."
"Six months? What a joke. It’s like I’ve done all the groundwork for SBG’s Black channel, and they still need six months to launch? This efficiency is truly eye-opening..." After hearing this, Tommy first expressed his speechless amazement, then immediately instructed Sophia on the other end of the phone:
"Alright, according to plan, fire those dozen or so Black employees we hired for show. Prepare their severance packages to be generous enough. You need to sincerely tell them that their termination is solely because the person in charge has left, and that the young, passionate, equality-seeking investor is now at a loss in New York. He doesn’t understand why, just by wanting to do something good for Black people, he’s been betrayed by the Black elite he trusted. Unfortunately, it seems that the TV station may not continue running, so we have to regretfully let them go."
"After dealing with this batch of Black employees, buy up all the newspaper space that Black Californians like to read. Find some Black journalists to tell their fellow Black people that there was a Black elite who could have independently controlled a channel to speak for them, but instead, he chose to be SBG’s dog."
"After that, despite recently being betrayed by Black people, Tommy Hawk is willing to remember why he started and will personally travel to California to provide Black people with job opportunities, communication channels, and high-quality television programs."
"Is that all?" Sophia asked, unsurprised by Tommy’s reaction to the news that more than half of his employees were switching allegiance, and simply followed up with a question.
Tommy walked back to the dining table and sat down, holding the phone in his left hand and gently kissing the fair and tender fingers of Odilia with his right, laughing as he said into the phone:
"The Black elite left me, and I can’t find suitable Black professionals to take over right now, so I have to temporarily resort to a few white production teams to get through this difficult time. So, pull up the list of white alternatives that Mark gave you, have them head to Los Angeles to meet up with me, and I will fly back to California as soon as possible to let Black viewers discern for themselves which TV channel truly serves them."
...
California, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills.
"I always thought you were frugal, Tommy," said Delia, dressed in a proper woman’s suit, as she walked through the two-story mansion’s hall to the backyard accompanied by a servant, smiling at Tommy who was swinging a golf club in the backyard.
"Then I find out you’re actually renting in the wealthy and distinguished Beverly Hills Estate?"
"Long time no see, Delia. And by the way, congratulations on becoming a senior partner at Davis Polk, the first female in the white-shoe firm to hold that title, even more exceptional than Elizabeth Mig," Tommy said lightly with a putt, hitting the ball as he spoke with Delia.
Delia looked around the villa’s surroundings: "I thought you’d prefer to settle in glittering New York."
"New York is no place for a hustler like me." Tommy handed the golf club to a servant and embraced Delia with open arms, "I prefer the freer California."
Construction noise came from the distance, and Delia lightly pointed in the direction of the noise, saying to Tommy with a smile, "Are you sure you like noisy California that much? Do you need me, as your lawyer, to go warn your neighbors to keep the construction noise down? Considering our close relationship, I won’t charge you for this service."
"That’s my house. I bought it two years ago, and it took two years just to get all the permits for construction. Plus, to avoid complaints from the neighbors, I had to rent the three residences closest to me, those within five hundred meters who could falsely claim to be disturbed by the noise. The one we’re in now is one of those," Tommy said, somewhat dispirited at Delia’s suggestion.
"I should have thought of asking you earlier, Delia."
"Which celebrity mansion did you manage to snag and then mercilessly tear down to rebuild from scratch?" Delia inquired curiously.
Beverly Hills Estate has always been an old-money, white-affluent neighborhood. When properties were first sold to outsiders in 1907, the advertising slogan proclaimed:
"This community is all white. If you see any Jews or Blacks within the community, please don’t worry. We guarantee they are not your neighbors but rather your devoted servants."
Moreover, every homeowner had to sign the "Beverly Hills Neighbors’ Pact," committing not to rent their property to Jews or Blacks, or else the Homeowners’ Association had the right to evict those who broke this agreement from the community.
It wasn’t until after World War II that Jewish and Black businessmen were permitted to purchase property in Beverly Hills. As people of color appeared, a large number of the original white homeowners with serious racist attitudes sold their property and left Beverly Hills. Many mansions put up for sale were bought by white Hollywood actors, and it even later became an unwritten rule that one couldn’t claim to be a Hollywood star without owning a residence in Beverly Hills.
