Chapter 52: I am Inevitable
Don was short of words, his chest heaving up and down in a scattered rhythm while Raze watched him calmly. Everyone was shocked that Raze wasn’t scared of a figure like Don.
"Do you honestly think you can stop my growth with who you are?" Raze asked. "What I have, no one can offer, and no one will be able to offer," he said as he scanned all their faces.
"Each of you has definitely given my products to your teams to find out what they are made of and how they could be so cheap, right?" he asked. Their eyes widened in shock; they didn’t think he would know that detail.
Raze saw the shock and smiled. "You don’t need to worry, I understand what it takes to be a business person. You also want to be ahead. But the fact that you all came here is a clear indication that you failed in doing that," he added, then leaned back into his chair.
"The perfume and soap are a few of many to come." His smile got wider. "Something that only I can produce, and the products will keep getting better. I am not scared that anyone can put me out of business, because I know that I’ll rise again easily. No matter your influence, people will always buy what saves their pocket.
So, Mr. Don, it doesn’t matter what you do. I am inevitable. You knew that, and that is why you came to me. I offer something you need, wealth. Sadly, you have missed out on that wealth, and I’ll have to ask you to leave," he said, grinning ear to ear.
Don looked at him, his eyes widened as he came to the realization that this kid wasn’t a kid, not one bit. This kid was a demon, and he knew what he was doing. He had no other choice now but to plead or allow his ego to win.
But for someone who had lived many years and done business longer than Raze had been alive, he wasn’t going to allow it to fly.
"You’ll regret your decision today, I’ll make sure of it," he growled and walked out in anger. He slammed the door behind him, headed outside the manor, and went straight into the carriage.
Raze walked up to the window and watched as he rode off. He kept looking with his hands behind his back until the carriage was out of view.
"Elaine, please have some tea and snacks ready for our guests," Raze said while looking out the window. She nodded and walked out. Then finally, he turned to look at them.
A smile was still on his face, but to the three that sat there, that wasn’t the smile of an innocent kid anymore, it was the smile of someone smart and decisive.
Raze walked back to his chair and sat down. "Sorry for all that. I hope his leaving has not soured the possible business we can have together," he said.
"Not at all," Lady Terra replied. "If anything, it’s better that there is less competition. That Don is a real pig," she added. She took in a deep breath to relax. "But I have to say, Don isn’t the type of man you step on and walk away from. If he can’t come for your business, he’ll definitely come for something more," she said.
"Young master Raze is now a student of the Raven Academy, and a special student. Don will dare not touch him, or else Lady Green will surely make him suffer," Lewis said.
"Attacking Raze might be out, but men like Don never give up. He’ll find a way; I’ve seen people like that," Ken said. "Give a slightly evil man money and he becomes near unstoppable," he added.
"Hmmm, I see. Then all I have to do is make more money than Don, right?" Raze said with a smile. They heard his words and found it funny.
"That was a nice joke," Ken said.
"Joke? Who is joking?" Raze asked. They looked at him, confused.
"It wasn’t a joke?" Terra asked. "Don’s wealth isn’t something he built all on his own, it’s generational. His father before him, and his father’s father. What people even see isn’t the surface of the wealth he has.
You might be a genius, and maybe in a few tens of years, you’ll come close, but to surpass him would be extremely hard," she explained.
But Raze just smiled at her. "You can watch and see." He sounded extremely confident, and it was that confidence that unsettled them, making them wonder what exactly he had in mind.
"Let’s get on with what we have to talk about. I have to get on with other things as well," Raze said.
"Alright, I for one want as much of the product as possible. We will open by auctioning them in Ravenhold and maybe even cities beyond," Terra said. "It would sell like hotcakes, and even beyond the initial price we bought them for, you can get a commission as high as five times ten percent," she explained with a smile.
"Auctioning them, hmm, that sounds like a good way to make money. But what about the normal people? They wouldn’t be able to get it," he said. She immediately wanted to answer, but then he continued speaking.
"I already have a solution that works. There is something called a launch, when products are made, they are sold for the highest amongst rich people when launched.
Then after a while, it is released to the public. What I want to do is have you sell them at auction houses, that’s the only way people outside the town of Ribest can get them. Then, when I am about to release a new product, you can release the old one to merchants all over the kingdom and have them sell them," Raze explained.
The plan downright stunned Terra. She just looked at him for a few seconds, unable to say anything. It was simply genius, but for Raze, it was a concept he stole from Earth.