Wild Times at ASU
By Fanta_story
Chapter 8
Guests for the holiday
It was only October first, but the next major school holiday was on everyone's mind. This year Halloween was on a Wednesday so there was not much impetus for high energy, publicity-attracting parties. Iliki remembered her freshman year when Halloween was on a Saturday, the parties were insane. The Sigma Nu house was bedecked in lights, smoke and sounds of the hallows. The beer was orange, and the weed was primo. Since Iliki had an allowance of $6,500 per month from her trust, she had splurged for five ounces of what everyone on the row said was the best they had ever had. She had little else to spend her money on.
The next time away from campus would be Thanksgiving. David wanted very much for his two college-aged daughters to come to LA for the long weekend. His two children in New York would likely not come out, especially since Jeremy's wife Julie had given birth to a second boy. Sasha and Emily would -and since Jeremy was married to Emily's sister--the eight of them now would want to be with Emily's and Julie's parents in Manhattan.
David was certain that the West Coast girls would be making plans, so he called them both on November first to make a special appeal for them to spend Thanksgiving in LA. "Can I bring a friend?" asked Iliki. David would make any accommodation. The grounds had two large houses and a three-bedroom guest house. That was not even going to require a second thought.
Iliki was delighted. She did not yet know who she would want to bring. She had a few boyfriends in mind. If the grounds did not provide space for her to squire away for private time with a hunky guy, the Four Seasons Hotel was ten minutes away. She began considering a few but as she began to inquire about their plans she stuck out repeatedly. It's not that any guy would not love to spend a weekend with the most beautiful girl on campus. Each had their own parents tugging them back home.
When David called Becca at Stanford, he made the same appeal. He was very convincing. A few years ago, David had bought the Los Angeles Times from the Tribune company for 250 million dollars. The paper was losing advertisers, subscribers and, as a result, about sixteen million dollars per year in operating losses. The Tribune Company was looking for someone to take the burden of a dying business model off their balance sheet. Oh, and the San Diego Union-Tribune came along with the deal. That paper was losing twenty-three and a half million dollars per year. Charles Foster Kane famously said, when asked if he was concerned that his newspaper was losing one million dollar per year, he turned to his inquisitor, Mr. Thatcher and said, "I plan on losing one million dollars this year, one million dollars the next year. At that rate, I will have to close the paper in sixty years."
When Citizen Kane came out in 1941, Herman Mankiewicz, the author, needed to convince the audience that Charles Foster Kane was very rich. There was no Forbes 400 in 1941 but if there was, Kane would have been one of twenty richest men in the country. Now the Times and the Union-Tribune were losing a combined thirty-nine and a half million dollars per year. At that rate, David would have to sell the papers in about five hundred years.
"Becca, Iliki will be bringing a friend for Thanksgiving weekend, and you are free to bring someone as well. I really want to see you." At 19, she was a year older than the other freshmen at Stanford. She delayed entry and took a year to work with and study at David's side. David needed one of his children to assume the responsibility of the family's investments when he was gone. He was only sixty and his father was still going strong at eighty-eight. In twenty-eight years, he estimated that the total fortune would be approaching one hundred billion. He spent considerable time, energy, and money grooming Becca to study finance. During her gap year, she went to work with David each day and learned a great deal about his investments and his strategies. She was a double major in economics and finance. David also strongly encouraged his children to become competitive athletes. Becca shared David's love of baseball and became good enough in softball to land an opportunity to try out for the Stanford team. In October, she had not yet won a spot on the team. Stanford extended scholarships to the best girls in the land. Of course, Becca would not take scholarship away from someone who needed it. Walking on was always chancy.
Becca was very social, had a great personality, was good with people. School and softball were all she had time for. She had never been to a fraternity party, tried weed but coughed so much she decided to forego all future experimentation. She did not acquire the taste for beer but always had a red cup in her hand at parties--just to keep up with her friends.
There was one person who came to mind immediately. She had become very popular with her classmates. In class and in private conversation, she let it be known that she planned to get a CFA certification in further preparation for a career in money management. David's two primary assistants, Shannon, and Haley were CFA's. They were very good at what they did, and Becca had not only befriended them in her gap year working with David but considered them role models. David had always felt that too few women pursued careers in finance. He made a special effort to find Shannon at UCLA and Haley from USC and when they passed their CFA exams, he was delighted to bring them aboard. Becca quietly shared her anticipated career plans. Her classmates quickly concluded that she would need several brilliant--and therefore highly paid--people to help her manage one hundred billion.
The one classmate who did not overtly lobby to become her BFF--to pave the way for a job--was Robert Fairchild. As the oldest son, Robert was sent by his father, Lord Edmund Fairchild, to Stanford to also study finance, in preparation for managing the vast family holding in Wales and England. Robert would eventually become Lord Fairchild. Since Robert would have a career in Britain, he did not fawn ungraciously on Becca. He considered her his equal. She was not royalty, but her father was the twenty-sixth richest man in America. That qualified.
Robert, he was the one, thought Becca. He would probably not have plans for Thanksgiving, being British and his home ten thousand miles away. She called him immediately. He returned her call after returning from a tennis match. Robert was also a walk on, the tenth member of the Stanford men' team. He was good but his spot was not insured. Moreover, there were only six competitive spots on the team. During his freshman year he was the fourth alternate. He practiced with the team, worked hard in the weight room, never drank, or smoked. He only played in two official matches, against Washington and Washington State, when Fiodor Eloony, the number two on the team--a tennis prodigy from Poland--came down with Covid and three others were in isolation. He also was not a scholarship student--for similar reasons, it was another thing that they had in common.
