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Chapter 40
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Just for two weeks Chapter 41
Ivy lived in a one-bedroom apartment on Franklin Street - one of the few streets in San Francisco that never went to sleep. At all hours of the night, just like the day, cars accelerated down the hill, filling the air with exhaust fumes that rose to the level of her second floor apartment. The noise of engines, brakes and the occasional blaring of horns meant that the night was never silent and nor was it dark. There was always a steady stream of headlights and sometimes the whirling lights of emergency vehicles, their sirens piercing the night with their high-pitched wails. Sleep was hard, but then it always was these days. If Jason did fall asleep, he dreamt of a negative outcome of his visit and awake sweating.He had two recurring nightmares: one where he was drowning in a prison cell and the other where Charles floated away in the form of a sheet of paper that Jason could never catch. People said that after the accident, Charles appeared fine. When they pulled him from the
Just for two weeks Chapter 42
The kitchen table had become Lola's place to write. The clock said 3am and the house was silent except for the ticking of the old, and familiar clock. Tick tock, tick tock; she rocked her head from side to side in time. After a while she got up to make some tea. "Yes," she thought, this was what happened to her mothers later in life; they became nocturnal creatures. She would always go to bed early with Edward, but then get up at these quietest moments of the night - the perfect time to think. Edward would sometimes join her for a minute or two, but he would tell her that she worked too hard, and she would promise to stop. He knew she wouldn't, and she knew he knew, but this was their script and there was a certain comfort in sticking to it. Now, as she waited for the water to boil, she thought of Jason. It would still be daytime in California. What would he be doing? At least he was safe now. She sighed and returned to the table with her mug of rosehip tea. Everything was laid
Just for two weeks Chapter 43
A few days after her father arrived, Ivy introduced Jason to John Harris, professor of Economics at San Francisco State University and Grandfather to the children she nannied. Professor Harris was delighted to meet Jason and later offered him an opportunity to recruit the best and brightest to help keep the company at its feet. This offer came as a surprise and not a particularly welcome one. He had little desire to interact with people, and the recruitment would force him to do just that. "Mr Davis, I don't believe it!" "Yes?" Jason turned, expecting to see a student. "What!" Jason exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" "What are you doing here?" Robert laughed as they embraced.Robert had been at the university teaching theater arts for the past seven years and had only just heard Jason's arrival. The meeting felt like a homecoming to Jason and from that day on he had a friend to talk to about arts and as well as his experience so far. It was with Robert that he woul
Just for two weeks Chapter 44
Kittridge and Jason are both concerned. Their concern is that small businesses are dwindling and the rich are getting richer but America is getting poorer. Like the popular ice caps, the middle class is disappearing. America is becoming a two-class society. This phenomenon - the shrinking middle class - is a global problem, but predominantly in the rich Nations ( in countries such as England, France, Germany, Japan, etc.) With the threats to the stability of democratic capitalism itself within the country.Mr Kittridge and Jason placed the blame on lack of education. But they focused on a different type of education, financial education. Both men were concerned about the lack of quality financial education in America, at all levels. Both men blamed the lack of financial education for the government having gone from the richest government in the world to the biggest debtors in history. Both Kittridge and Jason are successful entrepreneurs and investors. Both men do business and are r
Just for two weeks Chapter 45
After the usual pleasantries, they got around to why they were meeting in the first place. "So what should our book be about?" Asked Kittridge."I believe we've all had the same question," Jason replied. "Since there is such a wide gap between our respective real estate dealings as well as the size of our respective financial statements. I don't think we match when it comes to money. After all, you're a billionaire, and I'm a mere millionaire." Kittridge chuckled. "Don't ever put down being a millionaire. Billions of people would love to trade places with you financially." "I realize that, but there is a definite difference between millions and billions. After all, today, there are many millionaires who are actually broke." "What do you mean, exactly?" Kittridge asked."Well we all know people whose homes have increased in value but their income has not. For example, I know a friend who inherited his parents' home after they died. Since the real estate price have skyro
Just for two weeks Chapter 46
When Kittridge and Jason were talking about the shrinking middle class, it made Kittridge aware that some things can be explained. It's like an hourglass with the middle class the pinched part, or like someone with a very small waistline. What happens when you flip the hourglass? Either way you flip it, you have the poor feeding the rich or the rich feeding the poor. It's either one or the other. Kittridge doesn't like the visual because it reminded him of the old world and aristocratic ways that the country revolted against. Kittridge had been reading some news papers while enjoying some travel time, but there was a story in The Wall Street journal that got him thinking about risk. Just yesterday a new spread like wildfire about three Climbers dying on their way down from Mt. Everest, evidently from exhaustion, after they had reached their goal. And there was an article about the great racehorse, Barbaro, and his terrible injury, and the tragedy in the Volvo Ocean Race, where a
Just for two weeks Chapter 47
Once he got the rights, he still needed a tiny parcel of land that was critical because of Zoning laws that required a minimum of thirty feet of open space behind any building. That took more investigating and negotiation. In addition, his architect, Scott Mathew, and Kittridge went over at least four dozen designs. Finding the best elements of each and incorporating them into final design. Then they had the final design approved by the city with zoning variances. None of the steps were easy, but he saw each step as a challenge and enjoyed working out the details. If he didn't see it that way, it could have been very easy to be discouraged. But instead he had a beautiful building that has become world famous, The Kittridge Tower, was going to be named Tiffany Tower because of the location. But a friend asked Kittridge why he would use another famous name to describe a building that he had envisioned and built, and his question hit home, so he named it Kittridge Tower instead.
Just for two weeks Chapter 48
Kittridge has known about the 90/10 ratio for a long time. He predicted it could reach 90/05 or even 90/01 with 1 percent of the people owning 99 percent of the nation's assets, if they didn't pay attention. Jason's ideas When it comes to attitude, most employees seek security. They say "I'm looking for a safe, secure job with benefits." A small business person may say, "if you want to do it right, do it yourself." A big business owner is often looking for a president, CEO or other talented person to run his or her operations. One of the differences between Small business owners and Big business owners is the number of employees. "Simply because there is very little you can do for yourself from taxes - hence you really do not need an accountant to advise you. Most governments give tax breaks to Big business owners because they provide jobs, and governments offer tax breaks to investors because they invest their money back into the economy. Special tax breaks were usually giving to p
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