Zane Blackwood and his two bodyguards drove to the headquarters of the UPN TV network.
It was just a normal, boring, four-story building.
This made sense. UPN wasn't doing well. It was losing money every year. Compared to the other big channels, UPN was tiny. That's why Paramount was happy to sell it to Zane.
"Boss, you're finally here!" said his lawyer, David, who was waiting at the door. "I was about to drive to your house and get you!"
David wasn't alone. A few nervous-looking UPN executives were with him. The old CEO had already left to go back to Paramount.
"My apologies for keeping everyone waiting," Zane said with a polite, charming bow.
"You're too kind, Mr. Blackwood," they all said. What else could they say? They couldn't yell at the new boss for being 20 minutes late!
Inside, all 130 employees were gathered in the lobby, waiting to hear Zane speak. They looked scared.
Usually, when a new boss takes over, the first thing they do is fire people. And in America, losing your job is scary. Everyone has bills to pay!
"Ladies and gentlemen, relax!" Zane said with a big, warm smile. "I'm not an ogre!"
His joke worked a little. The crowd relaxed.
"Alright, folks," Zane announced, "the layoffs you're worried about? They won't happen on my watch! At least... not right now. I'm giving everyone two months. If you work hard and prove you're worth your salary, you stay. Understood?"
Understood? Of course! Zane wasn't running a charity. He was a businessman.
He had donated some money to help people in need, but mostly, he didn't like just giving money away.
"Good," Zane said. "Now, let's be honest. UPN is losing money. Your ratings are terrible—less than 0.5% of people watch this channel! If I hadn't bought it, this company would have gone bankrupt soon."
The employees looked sad. They wanted to argue, but they knew it was true.
Zane kept his speech short. He didn't like long, boring talks.
"Okay, meeting with the executives now!" he said.
Zane and David went into a conference room with the remaining bosses. There were only eight people.
"Boss," David explained, "before you bought the company, there were 20 executives. But most of them were from Paramount, so they left."
"Oh?" Zane looked around. "So a lot of departments have no leader?"
"Yes, sir."
The six remaining executives introduced themselves. Zane had done his homework. They were okay at their jobs, but not amazing. He would keep them for now.
But there was one big problem: UPN needed a CEO!
Zane thought about moving his friend Victor over from the movie studio. No, he decided. Victor is too busy running Wald Pictures.
Could Zane be the CEO himself?
Yeah, right!
Zane knew his limits. He wasn't lazy, but he had too many other things to do. And most importantly... he wanted to enjoy his life!
"I do a little of this, a little of that, and then have fun. That's the good life!"
So, hiring a new CEO was the top priority.
"David," Zane ordered, "I'm leaving this to you. Call the headhunters. Find me a CEO and new department heads, fast."
"Understood, Boss."
The executives in the room looked hopeful. Maybe I could be the CEO?
Zane ignored them. Keep dreaming! he thought. If you were good enough to be CEO, this channel wouldn't be failing!
Zane didn't want to wait for people to grow. He wanted to hire the best stars right now.
...
Back at the Villa...
Zane was alone in his study, doing math.
Yahoo stock: Worth $40 million.
Wald Pictures: Worth $30 million. (Plus another $70 million cash coming soon from Juno!)
California Standard Bank: Worth $20 million.
ICQ shares: Worth $3.5 million.
He added it all up.
"My personal wealth is over $200 million!" Zane smiled.
Even after subtracting his loans, he was still worth about $150 million.
"It hasn't been easy!" Zane sighed.
He remembered how hard it was when the theaters wouldn't show his movie Hard Candy. And how Warner Bros. had attacked Juno.
"I need to be stronger," he thought. "I need my own empire!"
"I have a movie company, a distribution network, a chat program, a TV network, and toy stores. I'm missing a few pieces, but this is already a small media empire!"
Zane was proud. He had taken the first big step. Now, he just had to figure out how to make the next big leap.
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