Noah Scott scrutinized Simon's expression and said, "Soros himself is also responsible for the Quantum Fund incident. He demanded that we sell all contracts, and no one knew where the information came from. The result was another sharp drop in the S&P 500 index, and we had no choice but to forcibly liquidate his positions.
Now, Soros insists that it was our operational error and even suspects that Lehman Brothers conspired with you to manipulate the market. With the media fanning the flames, this matter has become increasingly troublesome".
After listening to Noah Scott, Simon's last shred of hope vanished, but he retorted without hesitation, "Noah, this has nothing to do with me".
"I understand," Noah Scott said sincerely. "However, Simon, the situation now is that everyone needs to resolve this matter as soon as possible so that you can extricate yourself from the recent turmoil, and Lehman Brothers too. You should have felt it; the FBI, SEC, and CFTC clearly hope to use this incident to get a handle on you. $1.6 billion is a huge sum of money, and they will stop at nothing to issue a fine".
Simon turned his head, idly looking at the somewhat blurry glass window, and asked, "What do you plan to do?"
Noah Scott sensed Simon's change in mood and still said, "We have already contacted Soros. A settlement is beneficial to everyone. However, Soros still insists on demanding $50 million in compensation".
Simon fell silent again, raising his hand to draw a diagonal line on the glass window, then pointing to the other side of the slash, but then withdrew his hand, feeling somewhat disheartened.
Seeing Simon lost in thought, Noah Scott looked at the strange pattern he had drawn on the window and continued, "Simon, for the $50 million compensation, Lehman Brothers will pay $40 million, and you will contribute $10 million. How about that? This way, everyone can get out of trouble. $10 million is nothing to you now. But if you are investigated, the legal fees you spend could easily exceed $10 million".
"Noah, I originally thought we might become friends," after a moment of continued silence, Simon finally turned to Noah Scott and spoke again. "Now it seems there's no chance of that. Westeros Company has not violated any regulations. So, tell whoever sent or forced you to come here that I will prepare $10 million to deal with the lawsuit. If $10 million isn't enough, then it will be $100 million, or $1 billion. To be honest, I don't really care about this money, because making money is simply too easy for me.
However, I'm not used to people trying to take what's mine. If you do a little digging, you'll find that I'm actually a very vengeful person. Last year, a few bastards attacked me at night, and all five of them ended up with a broken leg. Hmm, actually it should have been six, but the woman by my side didn't want me to be too violent, so I let the one behind the scenes go. This time, she definitely won't intercede for certain people again. So, you can let those people try and see; if they want this money, come and take it".
Noah Scott's expression grew increasingly awkward as Simon spoke. After a moment, he said, "Simon, I don't understand what you're saying".
"I don't quite understand either. Perhaps I've been under a lot of stress lately and started talking nonsense," Simon shook his head with a seemingly puzzled expression, then made a gesture to see him out: "Noah, don't contact me again".
According to James Rebold's judgment, after media pressure, private wiretapping, and indispensable covert investigations, and still no evidence of Westeros Company's violations, Rudy Giuliani might proactively create evidence, forcing other targets who have been caught with leverage to accuse Simon.
Ivan Boesky, the Wall Street insider trading magnate who was convicted earlier this year, agreed to accuse five other insider traders during negotiations with Giuliani, which earned him a lighter sentence, ultimately resulting in only three years in prison and a $100 million fine. He managed to keep half of his fortune.
Ivan Boesky is the real-life inspiration for Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas in the movie 'Wall Street', which is set to be released next month. The classic line "greed is good" in the film is a viewpoint Ivan Boesky expressed in a speech at the University of California.
Now, Lehman Brothers has likely become the one caught with leverage, which is why Noah Scott just paid a visit.
Since it was a non-existent fact, the investigative agencies obviously couldn't find any concrete evidence of Simon conspiring with Lehman Brothers to manipulate the market. However, if Simon had just agreed to contribute $10 million to settle the lawsuit between Lehman Brothers and Quantum Fund, he would immediately fall into a magical logic of 'if you didn't hit them, why did you help them up,' and Westeros Company would also find it difficult to emerge from this storm unscathed.
Walking out of the apartment building, Noah Scott looked at the reporters still waiting despite the snowy weather, and quickly got into his car parked nearby. The reporters, braving the snow, realized that Noah Scott was not Simon or anyone close to him, so they didn't swarm around.
Perhaps it was the cold wind that had just cleared his mind, but as Noah Scott sat in the car, he suddenly understood why the eyes of the people in Simon's apartment living room had seemed a little strange when he first arrived.
Those people had likely understood his intentions before he even arrived, and he had just acted like a clown.
Realizing this, a strong sense of embarrassment welled up in Noah Scott's heart.
After sitting in the car for a while, Noah Scott started the engine and quickly returned to his parents' apartment on Second Avenue. American Express headquarters are in New York, and Nelson Scott, as one of American Express's vice presidents, naturally also lived in Manhattan.
Noah Scott walked into the house, where three other middle-aged men were sitting in the Scott family's living room. Besides James Robinson, the CEO of American Express, and Noah Scott's father, Nelson Scott, there was another somewhat balding middle-aged man, who was casually sitting on the sofa with a cigar in his mouth, his legs crossed.
His mother never allowed his father or him to smoke in the house, and would always throw a fit whenever she found out. Looking at the middle-aged man puffing on a cigar, Noah Scott could only frown slightly, walk over, take a miniature recorder from his suit pocket, and respectfully hand it to the other party: "Mr. Giuliani, he refused".
Rudy Giuliani unhurriedly picked up the recorder and immediately pressed the play button.
However, when he heard Simon's last words, the tough-minded middle-aged prosecutor's expression immediately turned sour.
The Scott father and son simply sat obediently beside him. James Robinson looked at the star politician opposite him, who had become somewhat overconfident due to his "sweeping victories" in recent years. Despite his inner distaste, he politely said, "In that case, Rudy, I'm afraid we can't help. If you insist, Lehman Brothers will pay a fine for the previous irregular transactions. Or, after you leave office, whether you open a law firm or a consulting company, American Express would be happy to be your client".
Rudy Giuliani, however, did not look at James Robinson. He held the recorder, his expression fluctuating for a moment, before finally standing up. Still clutching the recorder tightly in his hand, he glanced at the other three, his gaze finally settling on James Robinson, and said coldly, "Jim, don't let it happen again".
James Robinson and the other two quickly stood up as well. When the other party reached the door, Robinson pressed on, "Rudy, in that case, can we settle this case with the Quantum Fund?"
Rudy Giuliani took the overcoat offered by Noah Scott, nodded slightly, and then added, "Tell that kid that I will be watching him closely. Don't let me catch him slipping up".
Having said that, Rudy Giuliani pushed the door open and left.
The three standing in the living room breathed a sigh of relief after Rudy Giuliani left. Due to some prior manipulations, that transaction, while not causing them too much trouble, was still trouble, and now that it could be easily dismissed, it was naturally for the best.
Closing the door, Noah Scott went to open the window, then looked at the two elders who had already sat down again, and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Didn't he ever consider that he might be the one being watched? Watched by a billionaire who once broke five people's legs".
Nelson Scott listened to his son's words, turned his head, and reprimanded, "Noah, this has nothing to do with us. You'd best not get involved again".
Noah Scott's tone carried a hint of indignation, saying, "Even if I wanted to get involved, it's impossible. You all just heard it; Simon Westeros has cut ties with me".
"Alright, although losing this client is a bit of a shame, it can't be helped," James Robinson said at this point. "Noah, you can fill Will Green's vacancy next. Don't disappoint me".
Will Green was the senior vice president responsible for the Quantum Fund who had made a major blunder.
The previous dispute between Lehman Brothers and Quantum Fund was already destined for an out-of-court settlement. However, even though some preparations had been made in advance, Rudy Giuliani still discovered American Express's follow-up transaction with Westeros Company in September and used it to demand that Noah Scott involve Simon Westeros.
Unexpectedly, it was seen through at a glance.
James Robinson and the Scott father and son were actually also relieved. If Simon Westeros had truly agreed, even if Giuliani's main target was Westeros Company, Lehman Brothers' reputation would certainly be affected.
Now, with the last tactic failing, Giuliani dismissed American Express's September transaction and tacitly approved the settlement between Lehman Brothers and Quantum Fund. Their side had survived a crisis. Whether Simon Westeros and Rudy Giuliani would continue their confrontation was no longer their concern.