“I am here with the reclusive billionaire, Mr. Kevin Sterling, for our exclusive interview!”

  Why am I smiling in a chair across from a young reporter? Well, part of it was my weakness to a nice pair of legs, but the main reason was to increase my influence. Young people often gravitate to people that they view as good and powerful, so if you put that image forward- you can profit greatly from it. It will also help with some of my more humanitarian efforts, but then I had long ago tied the two of those together.

  “I am glad to be here Kate,” I flash a smile and make certain to keep my eyes on hers. Another group of people I wouldn’t sleep with was the press, you never knew what they would dig up and worse, I talked in my sleep. “It is certainly nice to have time to sit down for a time!”

  That was true. The world keeps spinning and as technology advances it only moves faster.

  “Well I am quite happy you were able to make time,” her smile was more blinding than mine was… Who the hell did the dentistry for news agencies? “But since that time is limited, how about I dive into my first question?”

  “I am all ears.”

  “I wanted to ask about your recent acquisition of multiple video streaming and art websites,” Kate glanced down at her note and shifted. Damn, her legs were as nice as my secretaries, and I swear she is doing this to distract me. “Some people have concerns that you are attempting to create a monopoly of online services, the E.U. in particular is said to be investigating, how would you respond to that?”

  Well, I can’t comment on the legal side of things, but of course the E.U. is investigating. They won’t pull their nose out of my business for anything, and damn it is annoying. On the other hand…

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  “Not so much a monopoly as a one stop web service,” I laugh, and I am even telling the truth. “Formerly, video hosting and streaming sites were separate, drawn art and written art sites were different things- and then the way these people were supported changed hands multiple times and involved multiple companies!”

  “Say you have a video maker on a certain site who is supported by donations on another site,” I’ll explain this in detail, since it is the key to my next move. Or at least people thinking well of it is. “To support that person, money must move from the bank to the donation site and then to the maker. And now imagine that this video maker also streams on a different website and has to work to make that content become available on the primary site. You can see how things get complicated and split up really quickly right?”

  “So my idea was, what if all the sites involved in that chain belonged to one company?” I lean forward and smile, this is one of my favorite ideas after all. “I bought popular web novel, art, video, video streaming, donation sites, and now I am having all these services integrated into my search and social networking sites, and even to the bank I own!”

  “So in the future, these will all be in one place and easy to support?” Kate was trying to keep her face straight, but her eyes had widened slightly. I suppose it is hard to not be a little shocked when someone casually says they spent a couple billion dollars without even noting the price. “That is quite fascinating- do you think the people using this site will support this?”

  “Well, since everything is streamlined they stand to make more money and obtain larger audiences.” True, even if the lion’s share of that new money will end up in my pocket without anybody noticing. “Further, it means that creators who work in several mediums will be able to show off their creations far easier than before. So it is a win for everyone, and a big win for a number of people.”

  “I see, well that is truly interesting. My next question…”

  This was going to be a long interview, and at this point I knew she was shifting to try and get my attention. Why did I have to be so weak to a nice pair of legs?

  AN: Thank you for reading! Want to read the next chapter early? You can! Donating to my Patreon allows you to read the next three to four chapters early, and you can find it here:

  Want to support me without spending a dime? Please, please, please rate and review my story! Rating my story can help it trend, which will let a lot more people see my story and help me greatly! Comments, follows, and favorites are greatly appreciated as well, and you could also check out my other stories here on RoyalRoad!

  “Mystic Ink” Releases: Thursday and Sunday

  A grimdark fantasy adventure following Cass, a homeless orphan abducted off the streets of Tyine and subjected to magical experiments. Join her in a journey through blood and magic in a treacherous world that strives to warp her very mind! In my opinion, this is my most well written story, and it is certainly my highest rated!

  “A Broken World” Releases: Thursday and Sunday

  A summoned hero tale where a biologist is called into a world of demons and magic! He must use his knowledge to save humanity from extinction and hopefully find a way back home, all the while avoiding political and literal deathtraps! My most popular story here on RoyalRoad!

  “R.A.D.E.” Releases: Sunday

  Set in the future where governments have collapsed and corporations have claimed the lands for themselves, the remnants of nations fight back against the encroachment of these giant companies in a special operations shadow war. Reduced to its original thirteen colonies, the United States employs the Elite R.A.D.E. squad to take on missions no one else can. Recon, Assault, Demolition, and Espionage, all fall under the purview of this elite squad!

  “Pathos” Releases: Saturday

  Set in a province of Imperial Rome, Pathos is our world and yet not. Emotions leak out from people to affect the very air itself creating an Emotional Atmosphere. This atmosphere can range from prosperous to destructive, and some powerful individuals can use the strength within it to produce magical abilities and miracles. Marius, the son of the Governor of Germania Inferior, is taking over for his father while he is away in Rome. However, internal strife, trouble across the border, and hurricanes of emotions will make his easy life far harder than he ever imagined!

  “The 212 Crisis” Releases: Friday

  Thomas Savery invented the steam engine, and in this alternate history world, he did not stop there! A steampunk slice-of-life story set in the London of the late 1700’s where steampunk automations are a common sight and have even begun to push people out of jobs! Follow Mary and Alan as they live life in this constantly changing world and try to make their own way through!

  “The Illuminating Heroes” Releases: Monday

  Set in the near future, Kevin Sterling, a billionaire owner of a giant tech company can no longer stand to watch the governments of the world destroy it. Environmental disasters, violence both domestically and internationally, economic struggles… All caused by bumbling fools at the top who care nothing but for keeping their fat asses in their seats. Sterling has had enough, and so have his friends and colleagues. The movers and shakers of the world, business leaders from every industry and sector, artists and scientists, all gather together to form The Illuminati! And they will work to save the world from the destruction corrupt and inept governments have brought down on it. They may not be the heroes we want, but they are the only ones we are going to get! A slice-of-life, overpowered protagonist (overpowered pocketbook that is), comedy focusing on Sterling’s work to start a New World Order!

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