Sibling Reunion

After taking a shower and putting up a black suit Simon looked in the mirror. Blond hair, around 1,86 meter in height and a lean build, but by no means extremely muscular. He didn't look fancy or wild, just a casual handsome friendly guy.

After taking the elevator to the underground garage he met up with his driver and bodyguard Dennis Miller, who retired at the age of 38 after nearly 20 years as a special forces soldier. Dennis accompanied Simon on his trip to Europe and took great care of him. Over the two years both became very familiar with each other and formed a great working relationship. Both of his siblings have similar arrangements made by the family and have an additional secretary once they enter the working mode. Simon will probably receive a secretary picked out from his elders as well.

After taking the back seat of his 1970 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Limousine, Dennis started their drive through the busy streets of New York. The New York of the 70s' was already extremely busy, but completely different from the New York of the 21st century. You must imagine a time without personal computers or the internet. For someone like Simon it was uncomfortable.

After arriving at the service desk of the law firm they were warmly welcomed by the service staff and led directly to the workspace of his brother on the 68th floor. A large corner office with wide glass windows and a lot of sunshine. A perfect view over New York city.

Alexander and Caroline were already eagerly waiting for their little brother, as they hadn't seen him in person for nearly a year, last time at Christmas in 1968.

Caroline instantly hugged her little brother and started teasing him.

"The golden child of the family is finally back. I have shown mum all the pictures of you and your little girlfriend. I didn't expect Italy to turn you into a playboy. You had a new girlfriend in every city you went to!" 

On the other hand, Alexander welcomed his brother rather calmly with one of their favorite handshakes. They used to do this every time one of them had a major achievement.

Overall, the three siblings were very harmonious, which partly resulted from Simon not having any interest in the law firm. He even privately told them he would sell them his shares at a low price in the future. In the eyes of someone from the future, holding on to the family inheritance and causing conflicts with his siblings, after finally having a complete and nice family, was not worth it.

Alexander and Caroline wanted to help their brother with setting up his own company partly as a compensation for not taking part in the family law firm. Even if Simon couldn't make his own achievements, they would still finance him a wealthy life while he spent his time learning about and creating art. They would have never guessed what kind of achievements their little brother would have in the end. Alexander quickly took over the role of the older brother.

"Simon no matter how much the family loves you, if you dare to be absent for Christmas and your 18th birthday our parents and grandparents would be really sad. You had two years to do whatever you wanted around the world, now you need to take their feelings into consideration a little more."

Simon honestly felt a little guilty when his brother pointed this out. But only he knew how busy he would be in the future and that he would probably never be able to travel around the world for two whole years anymore. At least not within 10-20 years.

"Don't worry. I plan to focus on my new company in New York for the next year. After our grandparents heard about my plan, they were willing to give me a loan of one million US dollars and even helped me to rent a large factory building in the Staten Island industrial park. I will commit 100% to this. I pretty much bargained my inheritance on this."

Alexander and Caroline were impressed by their younger brother's determination and entrepreneurial mindset. Caroline was the first to express her willingness to support her brother with action.

"I know you lack pretty much anything, and you can't throw too much money at people in the beginning to hire experienced people. Even if you could, not many would join a company with only an idea and a loan as a startup. I contacted many people from Oxford that I met and appreciated. Young people with a drive that don't have a wealthy family as a background and don't want to slowly climb the career ladder in the next 20 years. They were willing to bet on you and start with a low income if you promised them some stock options in the future. Not too many options, just enough to make up for the risk they were willing to take. I could offer you one boy and one girl with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and one girl with a master's in advertising. I truly value them a lot, they can definitely support a small company at the start."

Simon was very pleasantly surprised by this offer. Having reliable young people with a drive for success is exactly what he was looking for. His brother Alexander had the same idea as his sister.

"I also hired some of my contacts from Harvard, they are pretty much in the same situation. I can offer you two law students with a bachelor's degree. They would have the potential for a master's degree, but their family can't pay for the high fees. Additionally, I have two people with a major in finance, you will probably need them too. This should be enough for a small startup team. I must admit that Caroline's contacts are much broader than mine. I could only refer you to high level law contacts, but you honestly don't need them, don't you?"

The siblings looked around and started laughing at the same time. Simon was very grateful for their help. Having supportive siblings was really a great feeling.

I truly appreciate your efforts, but I insist we get a cup or two of coffee. 

The two had a pensive look on their faces but eventually gave him a gentle nod, accompanied by a warm smile.