Chapter 439: No

[Chapter 439: No]

Unbeknownst to anyone, six hours had already passed. By 3 PM, to avoid missing any breaking news, all the reporters waiting outside Disney headquarters had chosen to stay. Those with partners could send someone to buy lunch, but lone reporters found themselves hungry.

Elizabeth from The Philadelphia Evening News was among those left starving. Compared to more nationally recognized newspapers, The Philadelphia Evening News was smaller and less famous, only able to send one reporter to Los Angeles to cover one of the biggest mergers in Hollywood history.

In January, Los Angeles was chilly even during the warmest part of the afternoon, hovering just above ten degrees Celsius. Elizabeth squeezed into the crowd, tightened her beige trench coat, and glanced again at the doors of Disney headquarters, eagerly anticipating any news.

Inside a conference room at Disney headquarters, the battle between Viacom and Firefly had reached its final moments. The bids had surged from an initial $5.5 billion to $6.3 billion, with Firefly currently in the lead.

On the Viacom side, as originally analyzed by Bernie Sanders, once the offer exceeded $6 billion, Redstone's demeanor had noticeably shifted to one of hesitation and anxiety.

Eric thought Redstone would increase his bid by tens of millions, but not long after, Viacom made a bold move and offered $6.5 billion.

"Eric, this has to be Viacom's final bid," Bernie Sanders said, leaning close to Eric's ear after hearing the new offer.

Eric checked his watch. It was 3:15 PM, less than two hours until the 5 PM deadline for this acquisition's final bidding. Redstone had raised the offer from $6.3 billion to $6.5 billion, clearly indicating a final push. Unfortunately for Viacom, they remained unaware of how much leverage Eric actually had, and in the face of his $8 billion war chest, Viacom's limit of under $7 billion would never suffice.

After some discussions, Firefly quickly raised their bid by another $100 million to $6.6 billion. An audible stir arose among the Viacom acquisition team upon hearing Firefly's new offer, prompting them to request a pause. Soon after, Redstone left in a hurry with several of his personnel.

...

It was a good half hour before Redstone returned to the conference room with a smaller entourage. Eric noticed that nearly half of the members on Redstone's side had disappeared.

"Redstone just had a loud argument with a few other shareholders. I suspect $6.6 billion has already exceeded the comfort level of the Viacom shareholders," Chris whispered to Eric and Bernie Sanders, just back from their earlier meeting. "The shareholders that fell out with Redstone have publicly voiced their refusal to support him in front of the reporters outside. If Redstone continues to push, they'll sue him for misuse of power. So, if he bids again, it exposes Viacom to great difficulty in finalizing this acquisition."

Eric glanced over at Michael Eisner nearby and asked, "Does Disney know about this?"

Chris understood Eric was referring to Disney's shareholders. The management had leaned toward Viacom, and if they learned this news, they would likely keep it under wraps: "I've already discreetly informed the Disney shareholder representative. They ought to know how to decide," Chris said, adding a congratulatory smile as he gently patted Eric's shoulder. "So, Eric, Disney is yours."

Eric finally breathed a sigh of relief. After six months of preparation and a whole year of hard work, things were finally falling into place.

As Chris had anticipated, the Viacom representatives soon announced their withdrawal from the bidding. Redstone looked utterly unwilling as his gaze towards Eric seemed to want to swallow him whole. Although he had considered raising the bid to $7 billion, he didn't lose his composure out of anger. This time was different from several years earlier when he attempted a hostile takeover of Viacom. Back then, his funding from National Amusements, Inc. was entirely his personal asset, giving him absolute control. Now, however, Viacom's shares were not solely in his hands. If he forcefully raised the bid without support from other shareholders, it would ultimately lead to a declaration of the bidding as invalid.

...

Michael Eisner had felt a sense of unease the moment Viacom requested a pause. When he learned Viacom had pulled out of the acquisition, the color drained from his face, engulfed by intense rage and helplessness.

Sitting next to Michael, Frank Wells noticed his reaction and stepped in to announce Firefly's victory. Although many had their own thoughts, as soon as the results were declared, applause erupted in the conference room. Redstone swiftly left, accompanied by his teams in silence. Recovering his composure, Michael Eisner took a long look at Eric and quietly communicated a few words to Frank Wells before exiting the meeting room. Meanwhile, a few Disney shareholder representatives cordially approached Eric to offer their congratulations.

...

Outside Disney headquarters, once the Viacom shareholders began to leave, all the reporters guessed the outcome of the bidding. Soon after, with the departure of Redstone and his team, the news was confirmed. However, the Firefly team took an entire hour to finalize paperwork with Disney management and did not emerge right away.

"Do you think they exited through the back door?" one reporter wondered.

"Firefly surely wanted to amplify the impact of the acquisition. They wouldn't sneak out the back. It's not a scandal," another pointed out.

"What do you think the final purchase price will be?"

"Maybe around $6.5 billion. I asked a friend who works on Wall Street, and he told me so."

Elizabeth listened as her fellow reporters speculated, silently checking her camera and recorder. Just then, someone yelled, "They're coming out!" Elizabeth quickly raised her head and saw, at the Disney headquarters entrance, security forming a barrier. A group of seven or eight middle-aged individuals were escorting a young man in his twenties toward them.

The reporters began to stir, and Elizabeth dove forward through the crowd, quite lucky to find herself at the front.

"... Tomorrow morning at 9, Firefly will hold a press conference at the headquarters. We hope everyone will attend," Eric briefly stated before signaling for security to clear the area.

As Elizabeth raised her camera to take a few shots of Eric, she quickly realized he was finishing up and preparing to leave. The throng of reporters clearly weren't satisfied with his brief statement. They had waited the entire day just to get a piece of news and, as Eric barely lifted his foot, the crowd suddenly erupted into a fervent push towards him.

"Ah!!!"

With her camera raised, Elizabeth lost her balance as someone stepped on her heel and fell forward. The sound of her camera smashing into pieces echoed as she screamed.

Seeing a woman in a beige coat go down, Eric immediately signaled for his security to assist. Injuries at this point would turn a good situation bad. Fortunately, the crowd retained some sense, and upon hearing a woman scream, the jostling lessened considerably. Two of Eric's bodyguards quickly arrived to help Elizabeth up while shielding her and guiding her towards the parking lot.

"My camera! My camera!" Elizabeth quickly regained focus, realizing her costly Canon was missing. It was company property worth over $5,000. The editor had specifically instructed her to be careful. If she lost it, she would have to pay for it herself, essentially wiping away her two months of work.

A strong hand pulled her back from rushing into the crowd. "Miss, wait. I'll have someone retrieve it. Let's just get out of here first."

Elizabeth looked at the young man holding her and then at the crowd. Feeling bewildered, she complied and followed him to the parking lot, climbing into a black sedan.

"Carter, please find that young lady's camera. It seems to be in the area she fell," Eric instructed after settling himself.

"Understood, Mr. Williams," the bodyguard replied before communicating over his radio.

...

The car slowly pulled away, and it took a while before Elizabeth realized her situation. In a confused haze, she found herself sitting next to Eric Williams.

This revelation instantly distracted her from the hurting knee she had from falling. She glanced sideways at the young man, noticing he was also studying her, which made her feel uneasy. She raised her hand briefly to fix her hair but hesitated, fearing it might come off as too forced, so she simply let it fall again.

Eric appraised the petite woman beside him. She had short black hair, large eyes, and slightly thin lips that carried an odd allure.

"Can you smile for me?" Eric suddenly asked.

Elizabeth paused momentarily, then realized, "Mr. Williams, are you talking to me?"

Seeing her turn towards him confirmed his guess, and he repeated, "Can you smile for me?"

"Um... okay," she nodded shyly, avoiding direct eye contact with Eric's sharply handsome face as she managed a small smile.

With a signature mischievous grin before him, Eric chuckled, recognizing he had the right person: "Has anyone told you that your smile looks like you've got some mischief brewing?"

Elizabeth instinctively nodded before shaking her head emphatically. "No, no one has."

Observing her unsure demeanor, Eric chuckled again before asking, "But I still don't know your name?"

"Oh, hello, Mr. Williams, my name is Elizabeth Fey," she replied politely.

Eric continued, "What's your middle name? I happen to know another Elisabeth, and I might mix you two up."

"You can call me Tina. My full name is Elizabeth Tina Fey."

So, it was indeed Tina Fey. Eric found this amusing. "What made you want to become a journalist?"

"I submitted articles to newspapers in high school, then went to college for journalism," Tina replied, sensing his question was a bit odd but responding earnestly.

"Didn't you ever consider doing something else?"

"Oh, I did. I applied to the drama program at the University of Virginia but didn't get in."

"That's unfortunate," Eric said, shaking his head. In his original timeline, Tina had actually written several notable works. He remembered seeing her film Mean Girls and the TV series 30 Rock, both showcasing her exaggerated storytelling skills, perhaps a result of having been a long-time writer on Saturday Night Live.

Tina was unaware of Eric's thoughts but soon recognized her situation, tentatively asking, "Mr. Williams... may I interview you?"

Reconnecting with a 'familiar stranger' was always an interesting experience, and Eric didn't refuse. He nodded with a smile, "Sure."

Tina's excitement surged as she fished out a recorder from her bag, pressed the record button, hesitating before asking, "Mr. Williams, what is the final bid for Firefly's acquisition of Disney?"

"$6.6 billion."

Tina was taken aback by how straightforward he was. Gathering her courage, she boldly asked, "After this acquisition, will Firefly fall under Disney?"

"No, Disney will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Firefly, similar to Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures."

"Will Disney World be renamed Firefly World?"

"Disney World is a well-established brand, and Firefly won't recklessly rename it."

"Becoming one of the big seven Hollywood studios by twenty, how do you feel about it now?"

"Just getting started; the road ahead is long."

"So, will Firefly continue to expand?"

"Of course."

"Which direction will Firefly expand next?"

"Currently, there are no specific plans; our primary focus for the next few years will be integrating with Disney and our own development."

"..."

"..."

As they continued their quick-fire Q&A, a gleam of mischievousness flashed across Tina's face, and she suddenly asked, "How many girlfriends do you have?"

"Um..."

Eric abruptly stopped short, glancing at Tina's sly expression. In a flash, he reached out and snatched the recorder from her hands before she could react. Seeing him rewind the tape, Tina quickly pleaded, "Don't, don't erase too much! Just that last part, please! I'll handle it; I'll take care of it!"

Eric swiftly blocked her small hand as he expertly pressed the erase button. The sound of her 'lament' filled the car.

*****

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