Manhattan Reborn 1978

A new day

Tuesday, April 79, 3.

new York.

After the unforgettable Easter, the chaotic New York City slowly returned to calm.

In the morning light, at an intersection near the financial district in lower Manhattan, office workers are hurrying back and forth.

David's secretary, Maggie Bianchi, carrying a newly purchased DA Bargain Store breakfast bag, walked quickly into Wall Street and entered the Morgan Stanley building.

About ten minutes later, the fourth floor.

Maggie smiled and joked with several colleagues she met in the elevator. As soon as she walked out of the elevator, she saw an "acquaintance" waiting for her.

"Good morning, Miss Bianchi."

"Good morning to you too."

"Are these all for me today?"

"Yes."

"Then..can I ask you to help me move in?"

"of course."

"OK, please follow me." Maggie walked into the company's office area first, pointed to her seat and sighed.

The young man sent by the gardener picked up two oversized briefcases with a smile on his face and quickly followed.

Another quarter of an hour passed.

Maggie sat in her seat, looking at the two oversized briefcases with a distressed look on her face, took a deep breath, and prepared to start today's work.

"Maggie? What are you doing?"

"Hi~ Mu!"

"The boss had someone send these documents over again, and I was just about to sort them out."

"hehe"

Mu Brandes, holding a cup of hot coffee in his hand, smiled and walked over to sit down opposite Maggie. After seeing several documents she took out of her briefcase, he squinted his eyes and said.

"You also received the Easter card and gift from your boss, right?"

"Ah."

"In the greeting card he sent me, he specifically mentioned a rarely used word, Disenchantment."

".. ? What?" Maggie adjusted her hand movements, looked at Mr. Brandes in confusion, and asked.

"I said Disenchantment, which comes from Disenchantment of the World, a term mentioned by the famous sociologist Max Weber in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism."

"If you haven't studied sociology or read related books, it's hard to come across this word."

"Oh~ Did the boss tell you all this? Why did he mention this word?" After listening to it, Maggie felt a little strange, so she remembered the word silently and asked again.

Mu Brandes took a sip of coffee casually, crossed his legs, and answered with a smile.

"He just mentioned the word on the card, hoping that I could look up its meaning myself when I have time."

"I was free the night before yesterday and remembered that an old friend of mine had obtained a master's degree in sociology, so I called him to talk about it."

"Then my friend told me on the phone that Max Weber, Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim are collectively known as the three founders of sociology."

“This Mr. Max Weber not only made outstanding contributions in the field of sociology, but also, in the same period as Frederick Winslow Taylor and Henry Fayol, made outstanding contributions to the establishment of classical management theory. He is one of the founders of public administration and is later called the father of organizational theory.”

"The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, published in 1904, is his most famous work and the only work officially published during his lifetime."

"The term Disenchantment of the World comes from this book, and scholars have interpreted it in many different ways, depending on their own understandings."

"For example, the world's undoing of the curse, the world's disenchantment, and the world's awakening, etc."

"But I think my boss wrote Disenchantment on the greeting card specifically for me because he wanted me to be more rational and sober, to see through the surface and see the essence and true value of certain things."

"Or maybe my boss is reminding me in his own unique way to change my inherent thinking mode and to constantly reflect on whether I have been confused by certain people or things."

"..??"

"Hahahaha" After Mu Brandes finished this long explanation, he saw Maggie's face showing an even more confused expression, and he couldn't help but put down his coffee cup and laughed.

"Over the past few decades, I, like many others, have believed that the rich investment experience I have accumulated is the most valuable asset I have accumulated in my work."

“But after I have a deeper understanding of the word disenchantment, I suddenly feel that the ideals, experiences, values, freedom, creativity, and even divinity that I had insisted on before may not exist, or everything is meaningless.”

"Of course, I'm not saying this to deny myself completely, but I'm trying to use the way of thinking proposed by my boss to reflect more deeply, so that I can understand the other side of myself and become more rational and real."

Mu Brandes said this, slowly put away his smile, looked at Maggie and said: "Last year, after you and the boss went to London, a lot of gossip about you began to circulate in the company..."

"When the boss went to Tokyo, he didn't take you with him. The young people in the company started to speculate wildly and spread more versions of gossip."

"But I understand that given the boss's personality, he won't make unreasonable demands against your personal wishes. At most, he will just give you some hints through something."

"For example, he might ask whether he is willing to stay in the company, whether he is willing to work for him, etc."

As Mr. Brandes said these words, he quickly got the "answer" he wanted from Maggie's face, and shrugged with a smile on his face.

"Haha~ I guessed right, didn't I?"

"."

"You don't have to deny it, and you don't have to explain."

"This time the boss is traveling with his family to Houston, Texas. This is his last chance for you."

"Now, you chose to stay and not follow him, which means you chose a more rational and more difficult path."

“There’s nothing wrong with this choice.”

"But you can't deny that a certain label they once thought was on you has disappeared."

"What label?" Maggie felt very depressed and had vaguely guessed the answer, but she still asked.

"Of course she's the boss's secretary and lover."

"."

"You don't have to worry about that."

"When you worked with Miss Lilith a few years ago, you must have heard a lot of similar gossip in this building and met many women with similar labels."

"Most of them are not here anymore, but you are still here!"

"what does that mean?"

Mr. Brandes smiled and leaned back, picking up his coffee cup again and taking a sip, and said.

"People will always subconsciously choose the path that they are more likely to accept."

“No one’s life is perfect.”

"Everyone has labels, some are external manifestations of their own personality, and some are given by others."

“Like a boss!”

"Until now, some people in the company are still whispering that he relied on his thick skin and good luck to quickly achieve success and become a multi-millionaire."

"Just say what you want to say. I still have to work!" Maggie suddenly interrupted him, speaking in a harsh and cold tone.

"OK!" Mr. Brandes nodded while holding back his laughter, raising his chin slightly.

"I have a nephew who is 28 years old. After he got his master's degree from Chicago Law School, I asked a friend to help introduce him to Reynolds Tobacco Company as an assistant to the chief legal counsel."

"I heard a few days ago that you started dating someone."

"He happened to be looking for me and saw you. He hoped that I could introduce you to each other." Mr. Brandes said, taking out a business card from his pocket and placing it in front of Maggie, then stood up and smiled.

"Are you going to introduce me to a boyfriend?" Maggie clenched her fists under the table, raised her head and asked expressionlessly.

"No, don't get me wrong. I just want to introduce you to each other."

"You are all young people, you should have a lot of common topics to talk about. It would be great to make friends."

"Oh, I see. Thank you!"

"Haha." Mr. Brandes smiled, raised his coffee cup and walked away slowly.

Maggie sat behind her desk, frowned and looked at the business card, feeling mixed emotions.

----

Sixth Avenue and 49th Street, Manhattan.

After the green signal light came on, a black car slowly turned left and stopped on the side of the street.

Leslie, the younger generation of the Rockefeller family and grandson of former US Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, said as he sat in the back seat of a car and looked at the towering buildings on the street.

"I've talked to my family about this, and this building is Livlin and I's wedding gift."

"Yeah." Piro Yan Cherov, a California business tycoon who was sitting in the back seat with Leslie, tilted his head to look at the street scene outside the window and said in a low voice.

"I don't care about your family's internal affairs, and I won't interfere."

"But if you need help, you can always tell me~"

"If I can help you, I'll consider it."

"Thank you." Leslie turned back and looked at his future father-in-law, Old Cherov, and said sincerely.

Old Cherov smiled slightly, looked at him for a few seconds, and said, "I have arranged for someone to prepare your wedding in Los Angeles, California."

"If your family wants to have a ceremony in New York or Chicago, first...

"No, just as you said, our wedding will be held on April 4th in Los Angeles."

"you sure?"

"Yes! Today, Livlin and I will send out wedding invitations to all our relatives and friends." Leslie also smiled, with anticipation in his eyes.

"Haha~Okay!" The curve of old Cherov's mouth became a little bigger, and he nodded slightly.

"However, I still have a small wish, and I hope you can support it..." Leslie's face changed and he said tentatively.

"What is it?"

"I want to go and see this year's Isle of Man TT race while Livlin and I are on our honeymoon."

"."

When old Cherov heard that this brat was still thinking about "playing with his life", his face turned dark and he glared at him. Just as he was about to speak, the words were already on his lips, but he suddenly slowed down his tone.

"As long as Livlin has no objection and her health is fine, you can go."

"But you have to promise not to participate in the competition secretly!"

"Don't worry, I definitely won't."

"The team I formed has been disbanded, leaving only two reserve motorcycles that have been shipped to the Isle of Man, ready to run a few laps for fun after the race." Leslie breathed a sigh of relief and quickly assured.

"Just playing around?!" Old Cheroff, who had never known about the Isle of Man TT before, heard Leslie say this after learning about this event, and he repeated it angrily.