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CH27 | DI
🕑 Added 2025-02-16 02:55:00 +0000 UTCThe next morning at 8 a.m., Pierce, who was rarely seen at Goldman, summoned me. His face looked noticeably thinner since the last time I saw him.
‘Well, no wonder.’
In my first teaser, I had included eight items with nearly expired dates. Every time he tried to sell one, he had to throw it away because the date had passed. That must have been exhausting.
“I heard there was a request for a department transfer to Healthcare,” Pierce said, his voice heavy with fatigue.
“Which department do you prefer?”
“I think both are good departments.”
“If you want to go to Healthcare, you can.”
This surprised me. I expected a counteroffer.
‘Is he trying to read my reaction?’
I could feel Pierce’s eyes scanning my face as I kept a neutral expression. He clasped his hands together and continued.
“If I want to bring you over, I have to be prepared, too. I don’t want to go through that trouble for an unmotivated employee.”
In other words, if I want to go to the M&A department, I need to say it out loud.
‘Damn.’
It seems like he already knows what I want. At this point, it’s better to just say it.
“If I have to choose one, I prefer the M&A department.”
“Why?”
If I go to Healthcare, I won’t be able to make money from biotech stocks. There’s a risk of insider trading, so all personal biotech transactions are outright rejected.
But if I’m in the M&A department?
I can use some of my future knowledge to perform well, while investing the rest in stocks to make money. It’s a win-win situation.
Of course, I can’t reveal this honestly.
“I’ve been interested in M&A for a while. I’d like to closely observe corporate ecosystems and provide analysis and advice that fits the current situation…”
Pierce cut me off, waving his hand dismissively.
“The real reason.”
Pierce’s unsettling gaze searched my face again, as if seeing right through me.
‘Lying won’t work here.’
I might as well be honest.
“Money is a weapon. I want to learn how to wield it.”
This was the truth.
With my future knowledge and lucky encounters, making money wouldn’t be hard. But I need to think beyond that.
My goal isn’t just to become rich. I have to use the money I’ve saved. More specifically, I need to push several biotech companies to develop treatments for rare diseases.
Who’s going to make unprofitable treatments without incentive? No one.
So, I’ll have to force them.
“Not just gathering bullets, but using them?”
“Yes.”
“Can’t you do that on the other side, too?”
“Healthcare will go through an IPO boom for a while. I won’t gain the experience I’m looking for.”
If I go to Healthcare, I’ll just be helping promising companies go public for a while. The bonus would be good, but there’s nothing to learn. In contrast, the M&A department…
A department that takes over other companies, defends against unwanted acquisitions, ruthlessly cuts off unproductive parts, and sells them off. It’s the perfect place to learn how to discipline a disobedient company with money.
“I see.”
It seems my honesty struck a chord. Pierce nodded approvingly.
“The base salary is $90,000, and the bonus is guaranteed to be at least the same amount.”
That’s the salary for an associate.
“We’ll start a meeting in 30 minutes. In the meantime, head over to HR and handle the necessary procedures.”
Pierce concluded the meeting, but I didn’t get up. He looked back at me with curiosity.
“Do you have something more to say?”
“We haven’t finished negotiating my terms of employment.”
Pierce let out a slight chuckle, perhaps amused.
“You said you wanted to join the M&A department.”
“Yes, but there can still be conditions.”
“I don’t see a need to dangle any carrots in front of someone already willing to join.”
From the start, Pierce led the conversation to his advantage. He had maneuvered me into listing all my reasons for wanting to join the M&A department.
But I didn’t come here unprepared. I pulled a folded sheet of paper from my pocket, unfolded it, and presented it to Pierce.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a list for my second teaser.”
Pierce fell silent, only speaking again after ten seconds.
“I didn’t ask you to make this.”
“I had some free time, so I thought I’d give it a try.”
“You think the first list is hopeless?”
Pierce needs to land a live deal from my first list. If he doesn’t, he’s headed to London. But here I am, showing him a second list.
“I told you from the start that there was an 80% accuracy rate.”
“Still, it could go live.”
“It’s possible, but I don’t recommend it.”
“Why not?”
“Even if you sell a rotten apple, you’ll get the money, sure.”
But you’ll lose the client relationship. Even if it could go live, it’s something you should never do.
“Confident, are you? What’s the principle behind this?”
“Even if I explain, it might be difficult for you to understand.”
“I can’t trust it if I don’t know the principle.”
Fair point. It’s time to provide at least a rough outline.
“Every player in the industry is interconnected. For example, the FDA approval process is based on ‘effectiveness compared to existing drugs.’ If there are two drugs treating the same illness, only the more effective one is chosen. If one side laughs, the other cries.”
“So you determine success rates by comparing that?”
“It’s not that simple. Biotech companies also make decisions based on these competitive relationships, selecting drugs during development that will yield the fastest profits…”
As I went on with a half-baked explanation, Pierce waved his hand to stop me.
“There’s a formula to figure this out?”
“In a way, yes.”
“And you’re not going to share it?”
“It’s the foundation of my business, after all.”
Pierce tapped his fingers on the desk in silence for a while.
After a few seconds of silence, Pierce nodded again.
“You mentioned conditions. Let’s hear them.”
With this list, Pierce could secure an executive position. It seems he’s realized that. He figured it out on his own without me explaining, proving he’s pretty sharp.
“There are three conditions in total.”
“That’s quite a few.”
“Three is the standard rule for these things.”
Not a single one of them is negotiable. They’re the setup I need to structure a favorable environment for myself. I raised my first finger.
“First, I want a dedicated analyst.”
“Aren’t you an analyst yourself?”
“I am. But this is a matter of efficiency relative to time.”
Every analyst is a slave to Excel, spending most of their working hours gathering data, entering numbers, fixing errors, and checking document formats. It would be a waste for me to spend my time on that.
“Essentially, you want an associate.”
“You don’t have to change the title. What I want is authority.”
“Accepted.”
I expected that. If I’m freed from mundane tasks, I can produce more results. Since it’s beneficial for both Pierce and me, there’s no reason for him to refuse.
“Second, I’ll choose the projects I work on.”
“That’s not possible. It would disrupt team operations.”
I anticipated this as well. Pierce’s job as MD involves analyzing deals and staffing the team accordingly. If a junior team member picks their assignments, the team can’t function smoothly.
However, I had no intention of backing down.
“That’s unfortunate.”
I gathered the list I had laid on the table and put it back in my bag, signaling that negotiations were off if he didn’t agree.
“I’ll give you a choice once a month.”
“In that case, for the projects I choose, I want to attend all client meetings.”
“Agreed.”
This was an exceptional concession. Now, once a month, I could choose to meet with Pierce’s clients. His clients include CEOs or CFOs of companies and large institutional investors. In the best case, I might even get a one-on-one with the CEO.
“And the last?”
There was a hint of expectation in Pierce’s eyes. Given the bold conditions I had listed so far, he seemed curious about the finale. It was a little embarrassing to say, but I couldn’t leave it unspoken.
“I’d like to borrow some money.”
Don’t look at me like that. I need to scrape together whatever I can to invest in some coins.
Three days later, Goldman was once again in turmoil. Pierce’s agreement with the executives was coming to a head. The deadline for the promise of “landing a live deal or heading to London” was approaching.
When will this finally end…
At this point, I don’t even care who wins; I just want it over with…
Getting caught in the middle of this mess…
What started as a bet had escalated into a second and third round, pulling countless people into extended rounds, all of them now desperately scrambling for information, just hoping for the whale fight to end.
—Pierce hasn’t secured a live deal, has he?
—Still out in the field, so he must not have landed one yet, right?
—By the way, that new guy transferred to the M&A department, right? And he even got his own dedicated analyst…
