Chapter 78: Undercurrents
"Steven, are you sure we need him?"
Mr. Wagner asked with a frown on his face as he watched Rob disappear into the horizon.
"Willy, trust me, that kid is special. It is not that we need him in our camp. It is more of we need him neutralized if we want our vision to succeed," Steven said letting out a sigh.
"Do you think a kid like him could pose any danger to our plans? Seriously, Steven, I think you are overestimating his worth. What we need to concentrate on is how the other top promotions are going to react when they hear about our intentions," Mr. Wagner said shaking his head.
"You know, Willy, it is always the unpredictable that will truly trouble you. You have managed a lot of businesses, but you have never managed people at their core. The people who work under you are merely slaves in a sense. The true danger comes from people like him, people who have a vision and are willing to fight for it," Steven said with a soft smile.
Willy Wagner squinted his eyes hearing that. It was clear that he didn’t understand what Steven was trying to tell. Steven chuckled seeing his expression.
"We know how the top promotions will react. I have already told you how they will fight back and what to do to offset their attacks. We have a perfect plan for that and if everything goes well, this time next year we and AWF will be the only ones that will be left standing," Steven said lighting a cigarette from his pocket.
Steven took a leisurely puff and spoke once again.
"The thing with top promotions is that if you have enough money, we can truly rattle them. They never focus on creating stars. They only think of exploiting the stars that are already there. They lack a long-term vision to be precise. What happens when you take away those stars from them?" Steven asked conversationally.
"They would have lost their money printing machines. They will need to create more stars to recoup that loss. Even then, they will have a tough time for a few months," Mr. Wagner said smiling a little.
"Exactly, we already have roped in several top stars for our plan. These stars are humans and they only look at money. Throw enough money at them; they will cave under that onslaught. But, is creating a star that easy? It needs time, an organic buildup of a fan base, and sustained popularity among the masses. It can’t be done within a short period of time," Steven said taking another puff.
"I get it," Mr. Wagner smiled, "Taking away that star power will impact their revenue. Which, in turn, would make them concentrate on creating the next star for their promotion. That would take away their attention from us. It gives us enough time to execute our other plans."