Chapter 177: Brian's Campaign

[Chapter 178: Brian's Campaign]

Ocean Park Avenue, Twitter Building.

These days, the company's entrance was bustling with a stream of job applicants.

Glimmer International had recommended five managerial candidates, from which Hawke selected two. Jet Brown actively started recruiting individuals. Regular programmers and architects were mostly recruited directly by Twitter itself.

Hawke had no specific requirements concerning ethnicity or gender for other candidates, as long as they met the qualifications. Twitter would provide them the opportunity to showcase their talents.

After several days of recruitment, over a dozen employees were brought on board.

Among them, more than two-thirds were men, with only a few women, which conformed to the normal trends of company development.

It was well-known that having too many female employees in a company, especially in the office, could create issues.

Of course, there were also outstanding women among the hires.

...

During the Monday staff meeting, Harland, the CTO, specifically mentioned a new hire: "One of our newly recruited female employees, Bella Sain, who previously worked in Silicon Valley, has proposed a new algorithm for user interaction that could potentially increase efficiency by 10 percentage."

Hawke asked, "Is it feasible?"

Harland replied, "We're currently testing it; she's highly capable and has a unique flair for creativity."

"Let's check it out after the meeting," Hawke said directly. "Tell her that if it works, bonuses and promotions won't be an issue."

After the meeting, Caroline planned to head overseas with her assistants to the English-speaking market. Hawke also exchanged a few words with her.

...

After the meeting, Hawke followed Harland to the technology department.

Kasim was leading a team to test the new algorithm.

Harland introduced the developer of the new algorithm to Hawke: "This is Bella Sain, she joined us last week."

Bella was serious, simply nodding to Hawke, politely saying, "Hello, boss."

"Hi," Hawke said, giving her a brief once-over.

She appeared to be of Latino descent, with a lighter skin tone than most Mexicans. In the midst of the department's crew of greasy programmers, she could be considered beautiful, reminiscent of Jessica Alba.

Hawke quickly redirected his focus. "Is the new algorithm practical?"

Kasim and Harland refrained from taking credit and let Bella respond.

Bella adjusted her glasses and, with a serious expression, stated, "There are a few areas lacking; it needs further optimization."

Hawke nodded.

Bella did not elaborate further, quickly returning to her workspace.

...

Hawke then went to the director's office and chatted with Harland and Kasim for a bit.

As he left, he stole a glance at Bella, who was intently typing away at her computer, lines of code flashing on her screen.

Hawke didn't understand code, so he soon left the tech department.

He casually swung by HR to check Bella's background. She was a Stanford graduate who had previously worked in Silicon Valley. Her prior company had encountered difficulties since 2003, causing a number of employees to seek new opportunities.

Bella was among those seeking other avenues.

This was all very normal; people looked for jobs primarily motivated by financial reasons.

"Drawing big dreams won't fill the stomach."

...

In the afternoon, Hawke received a call from Brian, asking him out for drinks that night.

The two had arranged to meet at 7:30 PM.

Hawke got out of the office a bit late. As he stepped out of the elevator, he encountered a few overtime workers from the tech department.

Kasim greeted Hawke, continuing his discussion on technical issues with the others.

Among them were two new employees, one of whom was Bella Sain.

She seemed entirely focused on the technical discussion, actively talking with Kasim about the feasibility of another algorithm.

These thorough professionals acknowledged Hawke, offering polite nods or quick hellos as he passed.

He didn't disturb them, heading to his Mercedes and driving to the bar Brian had mentioned.

...

It was a classy bar, nestled among skyscrapers in downtown Los Angeles.

By the time Hawke arrived, Brian had already ordered a bottle of tequila.

He poured Hawke a glass, saying, "This Twitter thing you've been working on has been making waves online for the last couple of months."

Hawke replied honestly, "Without support from your family, it wouldn't have gone so smoothly; who knows, a month ago, some big shot could have swooped in to take over."

Brian clinked glasses with Hawke: "Here's to you, future billionaire!"

Hawke took a sip, noting, "Right now, it's all about burning cash, with minimal returns."

"What about advertising?" Brian understood some aspects of the business.

Hawke replied, "We haven't officially launched that yet; right now, attracting users and building loyalty is the priority. Jumping into commercialization too soon won't be beneficial."

Brian quickly grasped what Hawke was implying: "So you're looking to bring in new investors?"

"That's necessary." For social media to expand, significant upfront cash was needed. Hawke and the current Twitter couldn't sustain it alone.

He also needed to find a way to start generating income.

Brian lamented, "Too bad my sights are set on politics."

Hawke spoke seriously, "I'm looking forward to colluding with you and leveraging traditional skills."

"I know; you excel at high-stakes business warfare." Brian's past collaboration with Hawke had proven that; that was why he sought out Hawke again: "Do you remember the thing I brought up last year?"

Hawke responded in a mock-serious tone, using sarcasm: "You mean the AIDS testing initiative?"

"Hey, buddy!" Brian exclaimed, curling his fingers to knock on the table, the conversation derailed: "Do you have any idea? I haven't gone out to see any women for five months!"

Fired up, he continued, "Do you know how I've managed during these five months?"

Hawke nodded, "I'm sorry, man! Just before I came in, I saw an adult shop across the street. After we finish drinking, you should go buy a fleshlight..."

Brian continued to glare at him.

"Alright, I'll cover the cost," Hawke brazenly said. "I heard they even sell dolls."

Brian insisted, "I don't need any of that stuff."

Hawke rebutted, "No, you do." He anticipated Brian's next statement: "You're preparing for your mayoral campaign in Covina, right? Don't go messing around with women. Watch out for traps; if any sexual scandals come out about you, you'll be finished."

"I thought you had forgotten about what we talked about last year, you helping me campaign for mayor of Covina." Brian hadn't planned to let Hawke work for free; he knew how to get Hawke's creativity flowing. "After the family dividends came in earlier this year, I haven't touched it, just to afford your hefty salary."

Hawke said candidly, "It's a fair trade; I provide labor, you provide the funding."

Brian nodded seriously, explaining, "To my knowledge, the Governor's Assistant's Office in Sacramento sent someone to Los Angeles specifically for the Covina mayoral election."

He detailed further: "Los Angeles has always been a deep blue city, with almost all satellite city mayors belonging to the Democratic party in recent years. This time, I'm also aiming to break this deadlock. But the Democrats won't give in easily; our last attempt in Sacramento weakened our position, leading to Governor Gray Davis nearly entering a recall election..."

Hawke inquired, "Is his opponent Arnold Schwarzenegger?"

Brian replied, "If the recall goes through, Schwarzenegger takes the helm; if not, Davis remains the governor."

He continued, "The people Sacramento sent are mainly there to thwart my campaign and reclaim some dignity after the previous failure. They might just use simple and crude tactics against us, like last time."

Hawke chuckled: "Then you need a doll even more."

"No, what I need is you," Brian quickly poured more tequila into Hawke's glass: "We mess with them, they'll mess with me back; without you strategizing, I wouldn't feel safe at all."

Hawke thought about the trouble he'd caused and refrained from downplaying his abilities: "I'll likely become a target for retaliation too, so I should be cautious."

Brian rebutted, "I'm the shield taking the hits; they'll likely come after me first."

Hawke contemplated before stating, "This must be entangled with your Covina campaign. Gather all the related material on the Covina campaign; the more detailed, the better. Get it to me as soon as possible."

Brian took a sip of his drink: "Okay."

Hawke continued, "Make sure your bodyguards follow you around 24/7; don't let anyone take you out."

"I've got a team following me always," Brian reminded him. "You need to be careful too, don't get caught."

This drinking session didn't last long; they barely finished a third of the tequila bottle.

...

Brian had prepared thoroughly; by the next morning, he sent detailed information directly to Hawke's office.

Hawke wasn't overly busy, so he took the time to go through the material Brian had sent carefully.

Brian's main competitor was a man named Owen Nester, who happened to be Covina's current mayor, a member of the Democratic party and already serving his second term.

Cities across America operated differently; some had a city manager system, where the mayor was appointed by the council, often just a figurehead.

Some towns even appointed cats or dogs as mayors, purely for symbolism.

Los Angeles practiced a mayor-council system where mayors were elected.

Covina was generally like Los Angeles but had some differences.

For example, one could run for mayor after living in the town for three years.

Also, adults over 18 who have lived there for at least two years have the right to vote.

Similar campaigns traditionally focused on promoting the candidate's image while disparaging the opponent.

Hawke barely hesitated in focusing on diminishing the opponent's image.

He grabbed a pen and marked the critical points in the materials.

...

On the second floor, at the tech department, interviews were still taking place.

Harland and Kasim served as interviewers, handling the sessions due to the numerous technical questions involved.

In the tech department's open workspace, several programmers busily worked.

Bella Sain, typing away on her keyboard, paused briefly.

She removed her USB drive from the computer, temporarily locking her screen, and stood up to head to the restroom.

Once inside a stall, Bella took out her specially prepared perfume from her bag and sprayed some on.

This had an aphrodisiac effect.

*****

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