I am Hollywood

[Chapter 541: Value]

As Rachel walked into Caroline's room, she finally let go of her ladylike facade, releasing a long breath as she flopped down onto the big bed in the girl's bedroom. She was just glad she had opted for a long skirt today; if she had worn her usual oversized knit sweater paired with faded jeans, sitting among all those serious or pretentious noble boys and girls would have been utterly uncomfortable.

Caroline didn't mind Rachel's casual sprawled pose on her bed. In fact, she envied her carefree attitude. The girl pulled a little stool from beside her vanity and leaned over the edge of the bed, propping her chin up with her hand as she gazed at Rachel, "Rachel, are you still hungry? I just saw you barely ate anything. You usually don't eat so little."

Rachel turned onto her side to face Caroline and playfully pinched her cheek, saying, "You little troublemaker, I just want to hurry back to London."

Caroline's expression instantly turned apprehensive. "Did we not treat you well at our house?"

"Of course not," Rachel quickly denied. "I just feel like we're not from the same world. It's much freer for me to stay in my own world."

Upon hearing this, Caroline paused for a moment, blinking her long eyelashes a few times. A layer of mist gathered in her bright eyes, and a single teardrop fell. Seeing this condition, Rachel immediately panicked. She sat up and moved closer, asking, "What is it, Caroline? Don't cry! I just..."

Caroline revealed the look of a hurt little kitten, leaning against Rachel's shoulder. Perhaps it was being at home that kept the girl from crying out loud; instead, she sniffled and said, "No... it's not that, Rachel. It's just, when he rejected me yesterday, he said something similar, and I don't understand why."

Rachel gently rubbed the girl's back. Caroline had shed tears at the airport but seemed to return to her carefree self after going back to the manor. Initially, Rachel thought she had bounced back from Eric Williams' rejection. However, she soon realized the girl had just buried her feelings deep down, and they were evidently too fragile to withstand the lightest touch.

"Caroline, stop crying. Tell me what happened yesterday. You're being silly; you must have misunderstood. Let me help you figure it out."

This time, the girl didn't conceal anything and recounted the events of the previous day in bits and pieces. "We visited Museum Island in Berlin, and the Brandenburg Gate... I asked him about that movie, and he said it was Titanic, then recounted the plot... He said Jack and Rose weren't from the same world and were better off with a beautiful memory rather than being together forever... Then, he told me to return to my own life... There's also that woman... She's beautiful, prettier than me..."

Once Caroline finished stammering out her thoughts, Rachel neatly tucked the girl's slightly messy bangs behind her ear, saying, "I think Eric Williams probably found you too innocent, which is why he thought you wouldn't fit well in Hollywood. You need to know, Hollywood is quite chaotic."

"But I think Eric..."

"Okay, let's say he is somewhat of a gentleman, which is why he didn't want to continue deceiving you, this silly girl. So, just forget him. Maybe you could head back to Cambridge early and stop thinking about him, treat him as a passerby in your life. Remember that movie we watched our freshman year, that Eric Williams film, 17 Again? There's one line I recall that sums it up well: girls always have to deal with a few jerks when they're young..."

Caroline immediately interrupted Rachel, saying, "He's not a jerk."

Rachel chuckled, "I know; he's a bad boy."

Caroline blushed at Rachel's teasing tone and replied, "But Rachel, I just... I really like him."

"Who hasn't liked someone? I secretly liked Marlon Brando too. Too bad he's just an old man now."

"You know our kinds of liking are different."

"In essence, there's no difference, so just work hard to forget about it. You could go back to Cambridge and, like many times before, dive into the library, pull out a few books, and before you know it, a whole day would pass. Maybe one day, you'll wake up and find you've completely forgotten him, and then you'll think your reaction today was so silly."

Caroline quietly absorbed Rachel's words and said, "Rachel, I don't want to go back to studying anymore."

"Why? Didn't your dad stop blocking you from going for your Master's?"

"It's not about my dad. I just want to... like you, go out and work. I don't want to be that clueless little girl anymore."

Rachel couldn't help but pinch the girl's cheek again. "I think it's better to skip that."

Caroline noticed Rachel didn't seem to have any hope for her decision. She sniffed, unwilling to accept this. "I can do it well! I'm going out to find a job tomorrow."

"You first need to get your parents' approval. I think once they hear your decision, they'll probably confine you to the house," Rachel said. Caroline was a girl who had grown up carefully sheltered by her parents and brothers in an ivory tower. She had barely interacted with the outside world, and tossing such an innocent girl into society would be like throwing a little lamb into a pack of wolves.

Rachel could see that clearly, and Caroline's family surely understood it too. The last time the girl ran away from home for her studies at Cambridge, it barely fell within the Wilson family's tolerance. Yet if Caroline brought up her recent decision, there was a ninety percent chance the countess would restrict her movements. Like most noble girls, Caroline would typically marry someone of equal social status or a rich heir, ultimately becoming a quiet housewife like Mrs. Wilson. That path was undoubtedly the safest life trajectory for her.

Caroline seemed to grasp her family's likely reaction and suddenly looked crestfallen. She tightened her grip on Rachel's arm and said, "Rachel, will you stay with me today?"

"Oh no, you're twenty-two, not two," Rachel quickly refused.

"But if you're not here, my parents will definitely ask me about... about Eric, and I won't know how to answer them."

Rachel looked at Caroline's pitiful expression and her heart softened. "Alright, but I will definitely leave by tomorrow morning."

"Then will you take me with you?"

"Even if I wanted to, you can't just leave."

"I can hide in the trunk! I've read about this in a book."

Rachel laughed again, "Then I'd end up wanted for kidnapping in London!"

...

"Eric, here's the recent financial status report from Nokia. And this is a current list of shareholders; the main one is the Finnish National Bank, along with some German and French capital. By the way, I also learned that Nokia's CEO, Jorma Ollila, isn't in Finland. He's actually in New York and has been there for almost a month working on funding for Nokia. I had someone looking into it back home."

In the hotel where Eric had settled in downtown Berlin, his suite had transformed into a makeshift office, cluttered with many documents he'd gathered over the past few days.

After seeing the latest Nokia mobile phone, the 1011 model, from Claudia, Eric hurriedly pulled together detailed information about the company.

Nokia was an ancient company with a rich history in Finland. Originally a paper manufacturer, it gradually ventured into rubber, fiber optics, telecommunications, and television, making it one of Finland's leading diversified giants during the 1980s. Of course, this "giant" only referred to Finland, a Nordic nation with a population of about five million.

By the late 1980s, due to its extensive business reach, Nokia's operations became chaotic, leading the company into rapid decline. In 1988, under immense pressure from business failures, the then CEO, Kari Kairamo, tragically committed suicide. The company's situation had deteriorated rapidly, and Nokia had gone through several leadership changes in just a few years.

Currently, Jorma Ollila, the former president of Nokia's mobile division, had taken the helm. He had decided to focus all of Nokia's efforts on the mobile phone division, divesting many other business lines in recent years.

Nokia had successfully launched the GSM mobile phone 1011, the very same model Eric had seen just days before with Claudia. Eric knew the GSM network was going to be the primary mobile communication standard for the next decade, so Ollila's chosen direction seemed right.

However, following the disintegration of the Soviet Union in previous years, Finland was caught in the economic turmoil that ensued. As a Nordic nation neighboring the USSR, Finland had been coerced into joining the Warsaw Pact and now faced the consequences of its neighbor's economic collapse. Finland had been mired in economic stagnation for several years. Although the Nokia 1011 was well-received in the market, the company struggled with a lack of necessary development funds, placing it in a difficult position.

From the documents at hand, Eric discovered that a year prior, in 1991, when Ollila assumed power, Nokia attempted to sell its mobile division to Sweden's Ericsson, only to be mockingly rejected. This indicated the broader European capital market's disdain for Nokia.

Interestingly, while going through the materials, Eric noticed a noteworthy point: of the three leading mobile giants that emerged in the 1990s, besides the American Motorola, the other two --Nokia and Ericsson -- originated from small Nordic countries.

Digging deeper, Eric quickly found the reason. Because Finland and Sweden have small populations and predominantly mountainous terrain, developing wired telephone infrastructure proved incredibly expensive. Thus, these Nordic countries focused their efforts on wireless communications. As early as 1981, while many nations were still unfamiliar with mobile phones, Finland had already established a nationwide mobile phone network. This emphasis on mobile communication technology led to the rise of mobile giants like Ericsson and Nokia.

"I've already spoken to Chris a few times. By the way, have you sent this data back to New York?"

"Yes, every time I organize a piece of data, I split it up and send one back to New York," Allen nodded and added, "Eric, I think if you are interested in mobile phone companies, you might try investing in Sweden's Ericsson, or locally in Motorola. In my view, Nokia doesn't offer much investment appeal currently. Ollila is in the U.S. because he can't find investors in Europe, and given he's been there over a month without any news, it seems Wall Street investors aren't particularly keen on Nokia."

As Eric sifted through Nokia's recent financial records, he replied without looking up, "The Motorola and Ericsson you mentioned are already rising stars; companies like that don't lack investors. If we get involved now, we won't gain much benefit. Nokia is different. Investing in this struggling company would be like providing much-needed aid in a snowstorm. You should understand that phrase."

Allen suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and nodded. "I know, but since other investors view the company so unfavorably, I think..."

Allen didn't finish his thought, and Eric jumped in, "You think as an outsider, I'd have even less reason to get involved, right?"

Allen laughed awkwardly, a slight nod confirming Eric's point.

Claudia had been playing the role of Eric's temporary assistant lately, doing it with great enthusiasm. She also enjoyed seeing Eric in work mode.

Listening to their conversation, Claudia couldn't help but interject, "Allen, I don't completely agree with what you're saying. I just so happened to use Nokia's newest phone. A good friend of mine recommended it while I was back in Europe. She said the call quality is excellent. Since we regular people choose this company for such quality, it surely indicates that the company holds investment value."

*****

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