Chapter 519: A Few Friends

3:20 PM the next day.

West Side, Manhattan, Pier 62.

Sitting in the car, when Satsuki looked through the dark windows and saw the yacht docked by the Hudson River, she recognized it at first glance.

The hull was very long, its dark green shell emitting a deep luster under the sunlight, while the superstructure was painted almost entirely in white.

A tall mast extended upward from the center of the hull, and the American flag hung at the stern, unfurling continuously in the wind blowing across the river.

"Highlander."

Frank, sitting opposite her, looked over following her gaze.

"This is the Forbes family’s boat."

"Mm."

Satsuki gave a soft acknowledgment.

This boat was no secret among American tycoons.

Its previous owner, Malcolm Forbes, liked to use it to entertain friends during his lifetime. It was said that everyone from entrepreneurs and media figures to politicians and foreign dignitaries had appeared on this vessel.

After Malcolm passed away last year, the boat remained in the hands of the Forbes family and continued to serve its past purposes of private entertaining and socializing.

Therefore, what genuinely surprised Satsuki was not the boat itself.

But rather Buffett’s remark yesterday—

"A few friends asked me to take a spin around New York Harbor."

She had genuinely thought it was just a small gathering of about a dozen people.

Now it seemed...

"Has the guest list been confirmed?" Satsuki asked again.

"Confirmed."

Frank turned a page of the list in his hands.

"Currently known attendees include: David Rockefeller, Katharine Graham, Laurence Tisch, Alan Greenberg, Henry Kravis, John Whitehead..."

He paused here.

"And Steve Forbes of the Forbes family as the host."

After hearing this string of names, the corners of Satsuki’s mouth twitched slightly.

The Rockefeller family, The Washington Post, CBS, Bear Stearns, KKR, the former Co-Chair of Goldman Sachs...

Buffett’s definition of "a few friends" was certainly broad enough.

"Eldest Miss."

After stepping out of the leading car, Dojima Gen quickly walked over to the side of the car.

"The second inspection on the boat has been completed. Both the passenger list and crew list have been checked. Four members of Saionji’s accompanying security can stay on board, and the rest will take another boat to maintain a distance."

Satsuki nodded.

"What about the American side?"

"There are people on the perimeter of the pier."

Dojima Gen lowered his voice slightly.

"But they won’t follow us onto the boat."

"Understood."

Satsuki reached out to tidy the hem of her skirt.

Today, she did not wear the overly formal business attire from her trip to Salomon yesterday. Instead, she changed into a dark blue long dress, covered by a light off-white jacket, and her hair was not bundled up into a bun, but simply tied back behind her head.

Since Buffett said they were going out to have fun, she couldn’t possibly still dress like she was getting ready to attend a board meeting.

The car door opened.

The wind from the riverside immediately rushed in.

Just as Satsuki got out of the car, she instinctively pressed down on the skirt hem stirred by the wind.

"The wind is quite strong."

Chizuru hurried over from the other side and took the small bag from her hand.

"Eldest Miss, do you need a shawl?"

"Not for now."

Satsuki looked up at the sky.

The weather was much better than yesterday.

Large patches of clouds had scattered, and the late September sunlight fell upon the Hudson River, making the river surface shimmer with fragmented lights in the breeze. New Jersey on the opposite bank was so clear that one could almost see the gaps between the buildings.

There were no reporters near the pier.

This point put Satsuki in a very good mood.

This wasn’t Japan. If some blind reporter in Tokyo followed her around taking pictures everywhere, they would be packing up and leaving by the next day.

But unfortunately, this was America.

Yesterday, all the way from JFK Airport to 7 World Trade Center, there truly were cameras and flashes everywhere.

Today, she finally didn’t have to consider whether her expression would appear on the front page of the evening paper the moment she got out of the car.

Several people walked forward along the pier.

Several staff members were already standing beside the Highlander.

One of the men saw Satsuki from afar and walked over with a smile.

He was in his forties, tall and thin, and wasn’t even wearing a tie inside his light-colored suit.

"Miss Saionji."

"Welcome."

Recognizing the other person, Satsuki also smiled and extended her hand.

"Hello, Mr. Forbes."

Steve Forbes shook hands with her.

"Warren has already arrived."

He said, gesturing toward the boat.

"He arrived nearly half an hour earlier than the agreed time, and by now he’s probably already found someone to chat with."

"That sounds very much like Mr. Buffett."

Satsuki smiled.

When they met yesterday, she had already noticed that this elderly man didn’t care much for the tedious etiquette in formal occasions.

Steve turned aside to clear the way to the gangway.

"There are no formal arrangements today; everyone is just coming out to relax. The weather is nice, and I hope you can enjoy yourself as well."

"Thank you for your invitation."

"My pleasure."

Steve accompanied Satsuki up the gangway.

As soon as she stepped onto the main deck, Satsuki saw several staff members welcoming newly arrived guests on the other side.

Steve also glanced in that direction.

"I’m sorry, I still need to go over and greet them."

"Of course."

Satsuki nodded slightly.

Steve said with a smile:

"Then I won’t accompany you for now. Warren is inside, and you’ll meet the others later."

"Please make yourself at home and treat this like an ordinary gathering."

"I will."

Steve nodded to her again before turning to entertain the guests who had just boarded on the other side.

Satsuki stood in place watching him for a moment before shifting her gaze back to the deck.

There were even fewer people on the boat than she had anticipated.

Probably twenty or thirty people.

A portion of them were family members and staff.

There was no band on the deck, nor any formal decorations. A few tables were casually placed near the ship’s rail, holding drinks, fruits, and simple cold food.

Some people stood by the railing admiring the river view, some were already sitting down chatting, and a few men leaning against a round table were arguing about something, occasionally bursting into laughter.

At first glance.

It truly looked like an ordinary private yacht gathering—provided one didn’t look at who the attendees were.

Then Satsuki saw the first face.

David Rockefeller.

The old man was standing not far from the stern, talking to another white-haired man.

Satsuki’s gaze paused for half a second.

John Whitehead.

Moving further aside.

Laurence Tisch was holding a drink in his hand, listening to Henry Kravis speak.

A bit further away, Alan Greenberg had already found Buffett, and the two of them were standing together. Buffett was still holding that can of cherry cola whose sweetness Satsuki had fully experienced yesterday.

Satsuki: "..."

She glanced toward the other side again.

Katharine Graham was sitting under the sunshade. Even without anyone’s introduction, Satsuki recognized the silver-haired elderly woman wearing pearl earrings next to her.

Brooke Astor.

Very good.

Excellent.

Satsuki finally looked back at Buffett.

Across most of the deck, Buffett seemed to have noticed her as well.

Their gazes happened to meet.

Buffett raised his cola can toward her, even wearing a very friendly smile on his face.

As if he had truly only invited her out to hang out with "a few friends."

Satsuki also returned a very standard smile.

A few friends.

Right?

If she still couldn’t see Buffett’s intention now, then the decades of her past and present lives would truly have been wasted.

David Rockefeller—the third generation of the Rockefeller family, long-time head of Chase Manhattan Bank, and one of the most representative figures of America’s old financial conglomerate system.

Katharine Graham—chairman of The Washington Post Company, possessing extremely deep connections in both media circles and Washington political circles.

Laurence Tisch—head of the Loews Corporation, simultaneously controlling CBS, an important figure in New York’s corporate and media capital circles.

Alan Greenberg—chairman of Bear Stearns, one of Wall Street’s most influential trading bankers, and an old friend whom Buffett frequently played cards with.

Henry Kravis—one of the core founders of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., who had just become the most watched acquisition capital representative in the entire American financial world through a series of giant leveraged buyouts.

John Whitehead—former Co-Chair of Goldman Sachs, who later served as the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State after leaving Wall Street, maintaining deep connections between the financial world and Washington.

Satsuki’s gaze swept across the familiar faces on the deck, and her internal suspicions grew increasingly certain.

These people indeed all had ties with Buffett, and calling them "friends" was entirely justifiable.

But to say that today everyone just happened to be free, and all happened to come onto this ship...

Their time was terribly expensive, could it really just so happen that everyone was free?

Buffett’s remark yesterday about "a few friends" clearly was never intended from the start for her to take literally.

"Young Miss?"

Frank followed up from the side.

He evidently had also already recognized the people on the deck.

The expression on his face was even more colorful than Satsuki’s.

After all, the names of quite a few people here were ones he had repeatedly seen over the past dozen years in financial reports, bank boardrooms, and various networks on Wall Street.

But even for him, he hadn’t actually seen very many of them in person.

Satsuki glanced at him lightly.

"Don’t look so obvious."

"...Sorry."

Frank quickly reined in his expression.

"It’s just that Mr. Buffett said ’a few friends’ yesterday."

"He wasn’t wrong."

The smile on Satsuki’s face grew increasingly pronounced.

"Which one of these people is not his friend?"

For a moment, Frank actually couldn’t find words to retort.

There was no help for it; who could blame someone for having so many friends?

Just as Satsuki walked to the center of the deck, she saw Buffett walking over.

Today he wore a light blue short-sleeved shirt, khaki casual pants on his lower body, and a pair of brown boat shoes that looked like they had been worn for many years.

"Oh, Miss Saionji."

Buffett walked over with a smile.

"It seems you didn’t get lost."

Satsuki glanced at him.

"Mr. Buffett, what you said yesterday was ’a few friends.’"

"That’s right."

Buffett nodded with an innocent expression.

"Today there really are only a few friends."

"...Your definition of ’a few’ is truly unique."

"Hmm?"

Buffett tilted his head.

"My math has always been not so good, maybe I counted wrong."

Satsuki couldn’t help laughing.

This old man was quite convincing when he played dumb.

"Fine."

She didn’t pursue the matter further.

"Then where are your ’few friends’ right now?"

"Some are upstairs, some are in the living room."

Buffett raised his chin toward the stern.

"David was just over there watching seagulls a moment ago, who knows where he’s run off to now."

"Come on, let me introduce you first."

This sentence was spoken very casually.

As if it really was just bringing a young friend who had just arrived in New York to meet a few old friends.

The first person walking toward this side was David Rockefeller.

He had evidently noticed Satsuki long ago, but had just been talking with Whitehead. Once Buffett brought people closer, he proactively stopped the conversation and turned around with a smile.

Just as Buffett was about to speak, David already raised a hand to interrupt him.

"Alright, Warren, you don’t need to introduce this time."

As he spoke, he looked at Satsuki, the smile in his eyes growing a bit more pronounced.

"These past two days, several newspapers in New York have taken turns putting her in the most prominent position on the financial page. If I couldn’t even recognize Miss Saionji, I should probably consider reading fewer bank reports and more news."

Hearing this, Satsuki also laughed and proactively extended her hand.

"Then I only hope they showed a bit of mercy when choosing the photo. With so many reporters at the door yesterday, I still don’t know what kind of appearance I was captured in."

"At least the few pictures I saw this morning were not bad."

David shook hands with her.

"Welcome to New York, Miss Saionji. Although saying ’long admired’ sounds a bit polite at a time like this, I have indeed heard of you many times."

"That sentence is actually what I should be saying."

Satsuki bowed slightly.

"Mr. Rockefeller. When I was in Tokyo, I heard quite a few things about you, except that the versions seemed to be many, so I never had the chance to confirm which ones were true."

David’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

"That doesn’t sound like a good omen."

"That depends on who told me."

The smile on Satsuki’s face remained very proper.

"If they were bankers, they would usually say you are very difficult to deal with; if they were people doing international business, they would say dealing with you is very reliable. As for the political circle—"

She intentionally paused for a moment.

David was already laughing.

"Alright, the rest doesn’t need to be said."

"Then I will keep it a secret for those friends."

"That is indeed a good habit."

David let go of her hand and sized Satsuki up once more.

"It seems Warren did not exaggerate."

Buffett, standing nearby, immediately chimed in:

"I didn’t exaggerate anything at all."

"That makes it even more troublesome."

David shook his head with a smile.

The slight politeness of a first meeting among a few people quickly faded away within these few words.

Buffett stood aside and watched for a while, quickly discovering that he seemingly no longer had any need to continue introductions.

Satsuki of course knew who Rockefeller was.

Rockefeller of course also knew who Saionji was.

The so-called "introduction" truly only needed to accomplish getting them to stand together.

As for the rest, these two people would do it themselves.

Sure enough, before long, David had already asked about the recent situation in Tokyo.

The topic did not fall onto finance either.

Instead, from the Japanese economy, they spoke of the urban changes in New York and Tokyo, and then mentioned the impressions left from his past few visits to Japan.

Satsuki naturally picked up the thread.

Occasionally mentioning someone they both knew mutually, both sides would share a few laughs.

If one only listened to the content of the conversation, probably no one would think that the scale of capital these two people could mobilize behind them was enough to make financial officials of many countries lose sleep.

A few minutes later, John Whitehead also walked over.

Satsuki certainly wouldn’t be unfamiliar with this former Goldman Sachs co-chairman.

Especially since after leaving Wall Street, the other party entered the State Department, leaving quite deep marks on both the financial and diplomatic fronts.

Buffett briefly introduced both sides with a couple of sentences, and Whitehead then looked at Satsuki with a smile.

"I heard Warren mention before that you are still studying in university."

"Yes, the Faculty of Economics at Gakushuin University."

"So you actually go back to school for classes?"

He asked very seriously, clearly not just making casual polite small talk.

"...Why does everyone have to ask this question once?"

Satsuki smiled helplessly.

"Lately, every time someone finds out I’m still in college, their first reaction seems to be to doubt whether my student identity is even real."

"That can’t really be blamed on them."

Whitehead also laughed.

"Because it’s hard to imagine someone who needs to talk billions of dollars with Salomon having to sit in a classroom the next morning listening to a professor take attendance."

"Actually, it’s not that exaggerated."

Satsuki gently shook the cup in her hand.

"The school won’t allow me not to submit homework today just because I talked about how much money yesterday. A professor won’t give me a few extra credits just because Saionji is preparing to invest in which company."

Buffett, standing nearby, laughed out loud first.

Whitehead also nodded.

"Then it seems Japanese universities at least have some places that are more rule-abiding than Wall Street."

"If my professor heard that sentence, he would probably be very happy."

"Then you can pass it on to him for me."

"I’ll consider it."

The few of them chatted for a few more sentences.

The topic shifted from Gakushuin to the courses Satsuki was taking, and then incidentally touched upon those students in American universities who directly enter investment banks after graduation.

This level of relaxation somewhat exceeded Satsuki’s original expectations.

By now, the nature of this banquet was already very clear.

Today was not about letting anyone negotiate something with her, but rather more like taking advantage of such a private gathering to let truly heavyweight figures in several different circles in America sit down and talk with her, and see what kind of people each other really were.

By the way, turning "Saionji Satsuki" from a name in newspapers and transaction documents into a person she can directly deal with in the future.

Precisely because of this, she had originally thought Buffett would lead her to meet people one by one, more or less having to go through a round of formal banquet-like pleasantries.

But in reality, he didn’t seem prepared at all to turn today into any sort of introduction ceremony.