The Billionaire's Rival

ARES’S POV

I sat behind the black matte desk in my office knowing I needed my next game plan. My empire was steadily rising, but it wasn’t rising fast enough for me. I had already been named the World’s Largest Tycoon, but that wasn’t good enough. I had to be the best at everything and being the best means eliminating the competition. There was a gentle knock on my office door before it opened and my assistant Carlos entered.

“What, Carlos?” I asked.

I hated being interrupted especially over something foolish. Carlos was more than capable of handling the trivial day-to-day pests of a business, not everything needed my immediate attention.

“I know you’re busy, but I have good news,” he said with a smile on his face.

I raised a brow at him as I waited for him to tell me the news. I hated people who wasted time since time was the most precious thing that a person has. No one knows how much time they have left and I refused to waste what time I did have on idiotic behavior.

“Well, are you going to spit it out, or are you content with wasting more of my time?” I asked.

I’m aware that I’m an a*shole, but it suits me. I’d rather be feared and respected than be liked and disrespected. My father had taught me that in business you didn’t need friends, it was much like war. You had allies, but even allies could become an enemy at the drop of a dime.

“Yes, sorry. My sources say that Fredrick Williams of Williams Corp is considering retirement,” Carlos said.

Williams Corp was a well-known tech company. It had started years prior and had grown to be quite a success. I didn’t know much about Fredrick Williams, but his retirement could serve me in the future. Having a company like Williams Corp under my belt might give me the edge that I desired.

“Who is his successor?” I asked.

Carlos looked stunned by my question as he looked through the files that were piled in his hands, searching for any answer that he could give me. I wasn’t exactly the most social socialite. Carlos kept me up to date with all the things that I would need to know and when it was time for me to keep up appearances and when I could skip the useless rich people gatherings.

“According to my knowledge, he doesn’t have a successor. He never had a son, and based on our few encounters with the company there hasn’t been an apprentice present either.”

This was turning out to be very good news indeed. An elder ready to retire with no successor meant that he would be desperate to settle, but not just to anyone. From what I had known about Fredrick, he was heavy on the business front and with my reputation, there was no way that he’d be able to turn down an offer from me.

“Give him an offer that he can’t refuse. Show him my generosity, but not too much. Lowball as much as you can without it looking like an insult,” I commanded.

Williams Corp was a large business but there was no need for me to spend more money for a company if he was willing to settle for the minimum. It was already generous for me to pay him for trusting me with his company.

“I can have something drafted by end of the day,” Carlos said with a nod.

“When it’s finished bring it to me. I want to approve it before it’s sent.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Carlos to do such a simple task, but I had to make sure that whatever Carlos drafted would ensure that Fredrick had no other choice but to sell the company to me. I would be his best and greatest option with whatever was decided as a fair offer.

Carlos nodded and left the office shutting the door behind him. I placed my hands on my desk as I leaned back in the chair. Williams Corp would become one of the largest trophies I would add to the roster of success.

I had brought many businesses from retiring men and from men who were running their companies into the ground. I had done my research, planned to make them better, and always made offers that they couldn’t refuse. I often had men coming to my office begging me to save them from their drowning companies, but like a good businessman, I was always able to tell the good ones from the ones who were too far gone.

Leaning forward in my chair I turned on my desktop and began my search for Fredrick Williams. I had to find the things that made him tick, that would influence his decision of making me his successor. A wicked smile crossed my face as various articles settled onto the screen.

He was divorced, and they seemed amicable in the media. He had just gotten married in a small ceremony a month ago, and no pictures outside of the ones taken for magazine covers could be found. He kept his personal life private, and there wasn’t much else that I could find. In every interview he was involved in, he politely refrained from talking about his family.

I clicked serval videos of his interviews, and they all were the same, he had the same stoic expression. You could see that he was getting older, but he still had a few good years left to run a company before I would think that he’d want to retire. Regardless of why he wanted to retire, I couldn’t care less. All I wanted was that company for myself.

I paused the video, the frame freezing on his unsmiling face. It was a matter of time before Williams Corp became mine and Fredrick Williams would be a thing of the past. It wasn’t anything personal, I just couldn’t allow myself to have competition.

Bateman Productions was the greatest thing to happen to modern-day entertainment and adding a tech company to the list of companies I already owned would only boost my wealth. Something about being the wealthiest man alive seemed to sit well with me. I’m young, ambitious, and driven to be nothing but the very best at everything to that I attached my name to.

I opened a new tab and began my business plan for what I had in store for Williams Corp. The first thing I had to do was change that d*mn name. My name would be the only name that anyone would remember. You don’t make it in this world without bulldozing a few things. This was a cruel industry, and to make it in this profession you must be cruel too.

The only sound that filled my office was the sounds coming from my keyboard as I drafted the new clause and purpose of what would soon become Bateman Tech. All a man has is his name and if you don’t make it mean something, then the name and the man mean nothing.

I gulped the black coffee from the mug that sat at the corner of my desk. It was colder than I would have liked, but that was my fault for taking so long to drink it. Normally, a coffee in the morning was a nice addition to my routine, but I was too excited to take over another venture.

Today was turning into quite an eventful day.