Chapter 250: Rivers Aviation

Chapter 250: Chapter 250: Rivers Aviation

Fifteen minutes after Mark Thompson walked out of the Royal Aviation building carrying a single cardboard box containing his desk items, Joe Bright was pacing back and forth across the penthouse carpet of his office like a caged animal.

He took a deep, shaky breath, forced his trembling hands to steady, and slammed his palm onto the desk intercom.

"Miley," Joe barked into the speaker. "Get me the primary executive line for Golden Investments immediately. I need to speak to whoever handles Mr. Rivers’ direct schedule."

"Yes, Mr. Bright. Connecting you now," his assistant replied promptly.

Down on the floor of Golden Investments’ corporate headquarters at Apex Plaza, Alice was reviewing the preliminary legal drafts Samuel had submitted for the upcoming Swiss acquisition when her desk phone chimed. She picked it up cleanly.

"Golden Investments, Executive Suite. How may I assist you?"

"Good afternoon," the voice of Joe Bright’s secretary came through the speaker, sounding excessively formal. "This is the office of Joe Bright, CEO of Royal Aviation. We are calling to formally confirm the multi-asset flight acquisition order for the Bombardier Global 7500 and Gulfstream G700 placed by Mr. Jake Rivers earlier today."

Alice’s eyebrows rose slightly. "Confirm the order? Mr. Rivers spoke directly with your senior managing director, Mark Thompson, less than half an hour ago. The operational parameters and escrow terms were already explicitly agreed upon."

There was a brief, hesitant pause on the other end of the line before the secretary cleared her throat.

"Ah... yes, ma’am. However, Mr. Thompson is no longer affiliated with Royal Aviation as of twenty minutes ago. Mr. Bright is stepping in personally to oversee the closing procedures for Mr. Rivers’ account to ensure there are no administrative delays."

Alice’s eyes narrowed instantly. Having spent years navigating high-stakes corporate environment before joining Jake’s inner circle, she recognized the subtle, manipulative phrasing immediately. A top broker placing a $143 million deal and being abruptly severed from the firm twenty minutes later meant only one thing: internal commission raiding and executive greed.

"I see," Alice said, her tone growing cool and businesslike. "If Mr. Thompson is no longer with your firm, I will need to brief Mr. Rivers on this change of representation before we proceed with any escrow transfers or contract signatures. I will contact you once I have instructions."

Without waiting for a response, Alice ended the call. She picked up her tablet, stood up from her desk, and walked straight into Jake’s private office.

Jake was standing near the floor-to-ceiling glass overlooking the financial district, reviewing a series of financial charts on a tablet. He looked up as Alice entered.

"What is it, Alice?"

"We may have a situation with Royal Aviation," Alice reported concisely. "The secretary to the CEO, Joe Bright, just called our desk attempting to ’re-confirm’ the aircraft purchase orders. She informed me that Mark Thompson was abruptly terminated twenty minutes ago and that the CEO is taking over the account directly."

Jake turned around slowly, his expression remaining perfectly unbothered. "Terminated? Right after closing a hundred-and-forty-three-million-dollar acquisition?"

"It’s almost certainly an internal commission dispute," Alice explained, her voice carrying a sharp edge of disgust. "I’ve seen it happen in during my time as a sales agent. The owner probably realized how large the $4.29 million USD gross fee was and pushed the broker out to absorb the entire payout into the firm. They assume that because they hold the institutional trade license, we will simply proceed with the transaction through their executive office."

Jake gave a faint, cold smile. "They assume wrong. I don’t do business with desperate parasites who hijack their own people’s work." He held out his hand. "Get me Mark Thompson’s personal mobile number."

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In the underground parking garage of Aurelia International Airport, Mark Thompson was throwing his cardboard box into the trunk of his sedan. The air in the garage was cold and damp, smelling faintly of exhaust fumes and concrete dust.

He slammed the trunk shut, resting his hands on the cool metal, his breathing heavy. Fifteen years of building a pristine reputation in global business aviation, and it had ended in a shouting match on the penthouse floor of Royal Aviation.

Suddenly, his mobile phone vibrated violently in his jacket pocket.

Mark pulled it out, half-expecting to see a legal notice from Joe Bright’s corporate attorneys. Instead, the caller ID displayed an encrypted, high-level corporate line originating from Apex Plaza.

His heart skipped a beat. He quickly swiped the screen and brought the phone to his ear. "Mark Thompson speaking."

"Mr. Thompson. It’s Jake Rivers."

Mark felt a surge of relief wash over him, mixed with a sudden spike of nervous adrenaline. "Mr. Rivers. I... I apologize for any confusion if my former firm has reached out to your office."

"Your former CEO’s assistant called my secretary five minutes ago trying to take over the deal," Jake said calmly over the line. "I don’t like dealing with middle-management replacements when I’ve already set terms with the person in charge. What happened?"

Mark hesitated for a fraction of a second. A part of him wanted to play corporate politics, but he knew who he was talking to. Jake Rivers was a man who operated on absolute transparency and cold, calculated efficiency. Trying to sugarcoat the situation would only ruin his credibility.

"I will be completely honest with you, Mr. Rivers," Mark said, leaning against his car door. "Joe Bright fired me because I refused to surrender my personal commission split from your transaction to the firm."

"Why was he demanding your commission?" Jake asked, his tone inquisitive yet detached.

"Royal Aviation is buried in nearly forty million marks of institutional debt due to bad foreign expansion and fleet leasing investments made by the CEO over the last three years," Mark explained candidly, his voice filled with quiet resignation. "For the past two years, I have surrendered every single major commission split I earned to keep the firm from defaulting, living off a basic corporate allowance. But this time, I refused."

Mark swallowed hard, his voice softening slightly as he added, "My seven-year-old daughter, Lily, was diagnosed with a severe auditory nerve degradation six months ago. She needs a specialized, multi-stage reconstructive surgery in Germany to permanently restore her hearing before the nerve fully atrophies. The total cost of the procedures, travel, and specialized recovery care comes to over three million marks. I was counting on my $2.43 million USD payout to clear my mortgage, save my daughter’s hearing, and give my family security. I wasn’t going to let Joe Bright swallow it to cover his debt."

On the other end of the line, Jake listened in silence. He didn’t offer empty sympathies or dramatic emotional reactions. He simply processed the information with quiet, methodical precision.

"I see," Jake said smoothly after a short pause. "So, where does that leave our order? If I cancel the transaction with Royal Aviation, what is your next move?"

"If you continue the transaction through Royal Aviation, Joe Bright will take the fee, but I guarantee you they will miss your forty-eight-hour deadline," Mark stated firmly. "The Bombardier Global 7500 in Zurich is held under an exclusive private-treaty agreement that requires specific international escrow sign-offs—sign-offs that are tied to my personal broker clearance network in Switzerland. Without me guiding the expedited inspection team and handling the Zurich civil aviation authority, Royal Aviation will be stuck in administrative red tape for at least two weeks."

"You sound very confident in your personal leverage, Mr. Thompson," Jake noted calmly.

"It’s not arrogance, Mr. Rivers; it’s simply fact," Mark replied, his voice brimming with professional conviction. "There is not a single broker in the country who possesses my specific cross-border network or operational speed. I am the only person who can have that Global 7500 pre-inspected, legally transferred, and sitting on the tarmac ready for your departure by Thursday night."

The line went silent.

Mark stood in the dim lighting of the parking garage, his knuckles white as he gripped his phone. Seconds stretched out like hours as he waited for the young tycoon’s verdict. He knew he had just laid all his cards on the table. If Jake Rivers decided to walk away entirely, Mark would be left with no job, no commission, and no platform.

Finally, Jake’s voice came through the speaker, calm, measured, and decisive.

"I won’t be giving Royal Aviation a single mark," Jake stated plainly. "The transaction with them is officially terminated."

Mark exhaled a quiet, shaky breath. "Understood, Mr. Rivers. I appreciate you taking my call regardless—"

"However," Jake interrupted cleanly, "I still need those two aircraft delivered by Thursday, and I still intend to place the factory order with Gulfstream. Which means I am continuing the order directly with you."

Mark blinked, taken aback. "With me? Mr. Rivers, as of twenty minutes ago, I no longer have an active brokerage firm behind me. To execute a transaction of this scale—one hundred and forty-three million US dollars—I need an official corporate entity with an active aviation trade license and institutional clearing accounts."

"Then we build one today," Jake replied effortlessly.

Mark froze. "What?"

"Here are my conditions, Mr. Thompson," Jake laid out the terms with absolute clarity. "I will have Samuel Carter, my head of legal at Golden Investments, draft the incorporation papers for a brand-new, fully capitalized private aviation brokerage within the next two hours. Golden Investments will provide one hundred percent of the initial liquidity, clearing facilities, and operational backing required to secure international trade licenses instantly."

Jake paused briefly before continuing, "You will hold a twenty percent equity stake in the new company and serve as the Chief Executive Officer, taking complete operational control over fleet acquisitions, charter management, and international client relations. Golden Investments will retain an eighty percent controlling stake. We will not interfere in your day-to-day operations whatsoever—so long as the firm remains profitable and avoids catastrophic debt."

Mark stood paralyzed beside his car, his jaw slightly slack. In a matter of seconds, he had gone from a terminated employee in a damp parking garage to being offered the CEO seat of a fully capitalized, elite aviation firm backed by a multi-billion-dollar financial juggernaut.

"Mr. Rivers... I... I don’t even know what to say," Mark stammered, completely overwhelmed by the sheer speed of Jake’s execution. "That is an extraordinarily generous structure."

"Don’t thank me yet," Jake said smoothly. "We still have an operational deadline. You need to consider the proposal, but time is a luxury neither of us has. If we are setting up a new entity and executing a $143 million acquisition in time for my flight on Thursday, I need your answer now."

Mark looked down at his phone, then up at the concrete ceiling of the garage. The memory of Joe Bright’s tyrannical red face flashed in his mind, instantly replaced by the thought of his family’s financial freedom and Lily’s medical treatment. There was nothing to think about.

"I accept, Mr. Rivers," Mark declared, his voice ringing with absolute certainty. "Without hesitation."

"Good," Jake replied, satisfied. "Welcome aboard, Mark. Since you are the CEO, I’ll let you name the new firm."

Mark thought for a brief second. Establishing a new brokerage in the ultra-competitive global market usually required years of brand building to earn the trust of sovereign funds and billionaires. But backing a firm with the name of the most powerful young tycoon in the country would instantly turn it into an undisputed titan overnight.

"The firm shall be named Rivers Aviation," Mark said respectfully.

On the top floor of Apex Plaza, Jake let out a faint, amused hum. He understood Mark’s strategic reasoning immediately—using the Rivers name was a powerful marketing shield that would instantly open every door in global business aviation.

"Rivers Aviation," Jake repeated calmly. "A fitting name. I will have Samuel Carter contact you within thirty minutes with the incorporation documents and capital transfer authorizations. Get your Zurich inspection crew moving, Mark. I expect my Global 7500 ready on the tarmac by Thursday evening."

"It will be waiting for you, Mr. Rivers. You have my word."

Jake ended the call and placed his phone back on the desk. Outside his window, the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, casting a brilliant golden glow across the glass skyscrapers of the financial district.

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