One Click Billionaire-Chapter 42: CEO (4)

"I can give you an opportunity," Adam said his eyes fixed on Smith. "Will you run a business for me?"

Smith looked at Adam. He thought What? He was completely speechless. This was the last thing he had expected. He did not know how to react. He just stared at the teacher in stunned silence. Adam understood that Smith was a little surprised by his offer. "I am going to open a bank in this city right now," Adam said his voice low and serious.

"And my dreams are much bigger than your dreams."

Smith was very surprised to hear this. A memory from Adam’s first day in class surfaced in his mind. "I remember," he said his voice barely a whisper. "You said on the first day that you are very rich. But I didn’t believe it."

Adam did not say much after hearing Smith’s words. He just looked at the boy with a calm unreadable expression.

Adam leaned back in his chair. He looked at the young boy standing before him. He saw the intelligence in his eyes.

"So," he said his voice casual but his eyes sharp. "What do you think? How beneficial would it be to open a bank in our country?"

Smith was really put on the spot. He was not expecting a business consultation with his new PE teacher. But he was not one to back down from a challenge. He thought for a few seconds organizing his thoughts. He had spent countless hours thinking about business about the economy of their country Viper City.

"Actually it’s a bad idea," he said finally his voice surprisingly firm for a boy his age. "Opening a bank in the current climate is a very bad idea. It’s almost like a charity. It means giving away money for free."

Adam was not surprised by this answer. He just nodded his head slowly. "And what else?" he asked. He wanted to see how deep the boy’s understanding went.

Smith thought some more. "The biggest problem is our country’s economic structure," he said.

"There is a lot of corruption. And most of the money is concentrated with a few powerful families. A very small percentage of the population holds almost all the wealth. Even our country’s middle class is not so powerful that after opening a bank it can be made profitable. They don’t have enough savings to create a large enough capital base. And they don’t have the financial security to take out large loans."

Adam nodded his head again. He agreed completely with Smith’s analysis. The boy had a clear and realistic view of their country’s economy. "And what else?" he asked again.

Smith was a little surprised by Adam’s calm and continuous questioning. He was used to adults who would dismiss his ideas. Who would tell him he was just a child and did not know what he was talking about. But this teacher was different. He was listening. He was actually considering his words. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"In my opinion these are all the things," he said.

"The corruption the wealth disparity the weak middle class. Because of these factors I believe that opening a bank is a totally useless idea." He paused for a moment. Then he added with a touch of sarcasm "Yes if you have a lot of money and you feel like donating it then a bank is a good idea."

Adam smiled a slow smile. He had tested the boy. He had seen the limits of his conventional thinking. Now it was time to show him a new perspective. A bigger vision.

"Okay," he said his voice now low and intense.

"What if I told you that I don’t want to make a small profit? What if I told you that my goal is not to serve the middle class? What if I told you that I want to make an entire industry dependent on me? On my own bank?" He leaned forward in his chair. His eyes locked with Smith’s. "When I say that what if I told you that I want to make an entire country dependent on me?" He let the words hang in the air between them. He watched Smith’s face. He saw the flicker of shock.

"With just the help of my bank," Adam finished his voice low and compelling. "Then what would you say?"

Smith was suddenly silent. His mind was racing processing this new insane information. He had always thought on a small scale. How to grow his vegetable business. How to expand from one city to the next.

But Adam was talking about something else entirely. Something on a national level. Something that could change the entire country.

"It’s not totally impossible," he said slowly his voice a mixture of awe and disbelief.

"Actually it’s a very good solution. A brilliant one. You wouldn’t be competing with other banks for profit. You would be using the bank as a tool. A weapon. You would fund strategic industries. You would create dependencies. You would control the economic lifelines of the nation." He was talking more to himself than to Adam now. His mind was on fire with the possibilities.

"But this method is mostly used by big countries. By governments with vast resources and geopolitical ambitions. It is not used by a small businessman."

Adam kept looking at Smith. He saw the gears turning in the boy’s mind. He saw the spark of genius. "What I said on the first day in class I say the same thing to you now," he said his voice steady and confident.

"I have a lot of money. More than you can imagine. I want to open a bank. I have people for the legal things. Kim and Andrew are already working on it. But I don’t have people who can think about the future. I don’t have strategists. I am giving you a position Smith. Be the CEO of my new bank. Spread that bank as much as possible in our country. Within six months that bank should have a presence in every major city. It should be a name that everyone knows. I will give you all the money you need. But it will be your job to spread that bank everywhere."