February 19, 1998.
The automotive market is one of the pillars of the global economy. It brings together manufacturers, suppliers, dealerships, financial institutions, insurers, and after-sales services, moving trillions of dollars and supporting millions of jobs worldwide. Yet it turns out to be one of the largest industries in decline in the United States, where thousands of engineers who dedicated their entire lives to their work were laid off, and factories were left empty; every state that once held the capacity of a major enterprise fell into total bankruptcy.
You do not play games with businessmen. When a businessman walks away from negotiation, he simply burns his remaining cartridges and takes whatever he can while poverty continues to grow.
-Look, it's simple,- Raimon replied. He had spent months negotiating with several states, but they only drained his already short patience, where the idea of the worker as a central figure clogged any future negotiation.
-We want to build a multi-billion-dollar industrial park. If you can't guarantee it, then it's better not to waste our time. Here is the phone number—I want a contract in writing and a state-backed guarantee. If not, I will take my billions of dollars in investments elsewhere and make money in states that actually want it,- Raimon replied. He had to go to South Carolina, which was offering the best conditions.
What happened was this: Billy invested a total of 900 million dollars in debt, taken from Swiss banks, states, and countries, and used that debt to build a fortune of 2.8 billion dollars. The rule was simple: pay everyone involved in the loans and interest, and buy shares in Toyota, which yielded around 800 million, but secured him 42% of the company—and counting.
The rest was invested in various companies and in reserves spread across different countries, passing through multiple accounts until reaching negotiations with luxury brands and Lamborghini, which he held in Italy. He would now use a branch in Asia, but also in the United States. Asia would supply that continent, Oceania, and, of course, part of Europe, while the United States would cover all of the Americas and part of Europe. But that didn't matter for two simple reasons. The United States was one of the largest consumers of cars in the world. They favored large vehicles, so slightly taller designs were needed—but that was irrelevant. Everything lay in the life and work of the automotive machines that moved the world. The design investment was covered by the blueprints Billy sent—plans that were true works of art—and by a museum in Italy that would house every Lamborghini vehicle, replicated in Tahara, where Lexus was based. Italy would now serve as the flagship, while the most important components were shipped from the metallurgical plants.
Raimon identified the main site where they would be allowed to build their automotive park: a full complex with a car factory, a racetrack, a NASCAR circuit, and a Formula 1 track. One billion dollars to spend, renowned brands, and, of course, one of the grandest ideas of all: turning a luxury product into something truly unattainable. The future—brutality, extreme design, and rebellion—introducing German engineering with engine improvements, one capable of reaching 400 kilometers per hour once fully unleashed.
A solid interior, F1-style steering controls, scissor doors, aggressive lines, and a brutal sound—an ignition that would outdo the scream of a horse. He was already planning to move it into action films and cinema, signing projects with future stars to showcase the capabilities of Lamborghini, improving the suspension, a nd making it easier to handle in high-speed racing.
Why a NASCAR track? Simple: to create a Lamborghini competition. That's what everyone wants to see—luxury cars racing. The goal was to reach 400 kilometers per hour. That was everything.
He already had two in his sights: the Lamborghini Murciélago and an Enzo Ferrari, completely placed under Lamborghini's control. Meanwhile, the Porsche Carrera GT would go to Lexus with some modifications—the design, German engine, and aggressive marketing that could sell anything—while Toyota continued to sell quietly to those who dreamed of owning a sports car.
This would be followed by the Bugatti Veyron for Lamborghini and the Aventador, the McLaren P1, Ferrari FXX, Pagani Huayra BC, and an Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, returning to an old-school elegance.
Lexus would take inspiration from the Audi R8, BMW i8, and Lexus LFA.
The market would cry like a child when it saw the cars—the curves, the stance, the way they seemed ready to launch forward. Billy would only add what they called a true Italian artillery mania into people's minds, taking designs and turning them into classics. The brand lines were many, and each carried an idea: from special engines, twin-engine concepts, to perhaps a handcrafted interior that would make Venetian chapels weep.
He would adopt the concept of subscriptions for his brands and push them to the limit, while entering different sectors of the racing world. In time, buying an F1 team was already in his calculations, and with so many companies in position, he only needed to break the common rules.
…
Billy kept a long account of the timelines and acquisition costs for each design he had in mind. The entry into the automotive market had already involved contracts, investments, system modifications, and the design of different structures.
-It seems you were right,- Anne whispered to him. She wore a white robe, her face completely unburdened, happy. For months, something had been building in her mind, and only sexual release had given her the decisive moment to leave that discomfort behind.
-About…-
-About the Asian market, and your move to invest in documentaries—it still makes me a little nervous,- Anne commented.
-That leaves us with only 50 million to buy more shares of Comedy Central,- Anne added.
Billy raised his eyebrows.
-You want to buy Comedy Central?- Billy asked.
-It's the best channel if we want to upload films and series that don't usually fit into the stories of the channels we already have. Growth can be fun, but I think five channels are enough. The content is there. And with the growth of production companies, I'd like to see what happens over the next few years,- Anne replied.
-I want to buy a studio focused on horror films—or the opposite; I want to build a studio. With that niche well-fed, alongside traditional films—Warner, Paramount, Universal—any company that wants to touch us will run into a violent limit, which is, and I repeat, the economics of libraries,- Billy whispered, finishing Raimon's reports. Many of them detailed the conditions offered by the states and how much money they were about to invest with all the incentives. Billy asked for 40 years of incentives; Raimon pushed for it, but everything capped at 30, and from there, the game became strange.
-Then it will be done. But not before I help you properly with that,- Anne commented, kneeling before Billy, her hair still wet, her breasts visible beneath the robe.
....