After dinner with Katherine, the two of them talked through the next stage of development for Guo Commercial Group before heading home separately.
After washing up, Bruce sat down at his desk, opened his laptop, and got ready to write for a while. That was when he noticed an unread email in his inbox.
"It's her."
The moment he saw the address, he felt a flash of surprise and quickly clicked it open.
The message was short.
You're back in America?
He typed back at once.
Yeah. I landed today.
He had been almost three hours late replying, so he assumed he would not hear back until the next day. To his surprise, less than thirty seconds after hitting send, another message came in.
Today?
I should've been back earlier, but something came up in London before I left and delayed me a few days.
I see. Also, thank you for the gift.
Do you like it?
There was a brief pause before the reply came.
I do. Very much. But it was too expensive.
Bruce smiled and typed:
That's the point. Otherwise how would you know I meant it?
After that, nothing came back for a while.
Apparently, that direct answer had left Molly, whose romantic experience was effectively zero, with no idea how to respond.
Bruce knew better than to push too hard, so after making his feelings clear, he switched the subject.
Are you on summer break now?
Yeah.
His mood lifted immediately.
When does school start again?
Mid-September. But I've already finished my credits, so technically I can graduate now.
So you're not only beautiful, you're also brilliant.
After flattering her a little, he continued:
That means you've got more than three months off, then?
Not really. I'm planning to go straight into my master's. I'll rest at home for two weeks, then I'm going to France with my professor for painting studies. After that, once I'm back in England, I'll have classes and I also need to prepare for the Berlin Biennale. I won't actually have much free time at all.
That's terrible news. I was going to invite you to visit the States. San Francisco is at its best this time of year.
This time the reply took a little longer.
If everything goes as planned, I'll be in the U.S. at the end of August.
Bruce sat up straighter.
Really?
Yeah. Cole is doing a one-year exchange at Columbia. I'll go with him when he reports there.
Bruce's first reaction was a weird, inexplicable sense of relief.
Cole?
My younger brother. He's a second-year at Durham.
Good. Her brother.
He answered quickly.
Then when you get here, I'll show you around.
Okay. It's late...
Then go get some rest. We'll talk again tomorrow night.
Okay. Good night.
Good night.
After sending the last line, Bruce let out a slow breath.
So far, things were moving in a good direction.
Still, he was under no illusions. Long-distance relationships were fragile by nature, and he had no real certainty about how this one would turn out. But from where he stood now, distance might actually suit him best. At least for the moment.
Almost unconsciously, his eyes drifted to another address in his inbox, one he had specially marked but that had remained silent all this time.
Nothing.
Not a single email.
Not a single message.
For three months.
He sighed, closed his eyes for a second, and accepted what he had already known for a while now.
That silence meant only one thing.
Alice was truly in the past.
He shook off the thought, minimized the mail window, opened the folder for Paranormal Activity, and went back to writing.
The next morning, after a half-hour run and breakfast, Bruce rode the bike Wendy had bought for him to LinkedIn's office.
He had barely pushed the door open before someone crashed right into him.
"I'm sorry, Boss. Are you okay?"
Bruce looked down at the young woman in front of him, whose face had gone pale with panic. Since she looked more startled than reckless, he let it go.
"I'm fine. Just be more careful next time."
She nodded rapidly and jumped aside to clear the way.
Bruce straightened his jacket and stepped inside, only to frown.
The office was packed. Desks had been squeezed so tightly together people had to turn sideways to get through. Chairs were stacked everywhere. The whole place felt cramped and overfull.
He made his way through the sea of greetings from employees and entered his office. After setting down his briefcase, he sat for a moment, thinking, then reached for the phone.
"Send Wendy to my office."
A young female voice he did not recognize answered.
"Boss, Wendy isn't here."
Bruce paused. Given the task he had assigned her, he did not ask why.
"Who is this?"
"This is Harley Defoe from the secretary pool. I started my internship last month."
"Understood. Then notify Martin and Tim to come to my office immediately."
"Yes, Boss."
He hung up.
Not long after, there was a knock at the door, though before Bruce could answer, it was already pushed open from the outside.
Martin Alexander walked in first, entirely unconcerned. Tim George followed behind him wearing a weary smile.
Bruce did not need to ask what had happened.
Martin had never been polished by real-world discipline. His mind was simple and direct, and Bruce had long since stopped being surprised by it.
"Sit," Bruce said.
Martin sat down and immediately launched into it.
"Bruce, my development team needs more people. If they keep working this much overtime, they're going to file a complaint with the labor board."
"No problem," Bruce said. "But has the personal profile feature gone live?"
"It launched yesterday."
Martin's face lit up instantly.
"Good. Then the next thing is the recommendations module."
Martin thumped his chest.
"Give me enough people and I can build anything."
Bruce smiled, then turned to Tim.
"How many registered users do we have now?"
Tim answered at once.
"The latest figure is 1.69 million."
"That's more than double last month."
"Yes. As the site's functionality keeps improving, user growth is accelerating. At the current rate, we should hit at least ten million users by year's end."
"Good."
Bruce nodded.
"Is the company profitable yet?"
Tim's expression sobered slightly.
"Yes, but barely. Revenue is currently only forty-eight thousand dollars. Our expenses last month were two hundred thirty-eight thousand. At the current burn rate, the cash on hand will last us four more months."
Bruce nodded again.
"Don't worry about the money. That's why I called you both in. I want to talk about venture capital."
"VC?"
Martin and Tim exchanged a quick glance before Martin blurted out,
"Bruce, you found investors?"
Bruce gave him a look.
"What do you think I've been doing while I was gone?"
Tim leaned forward.
"What are the terms?"
"Very favorable. Fifteen million dollars for thirty percent equity. No control over management. Just one independent non-executive board seat to monitor operations and finances."
Tim nodded slowly.
Given the current market, with the dot-com collapse still dragging on and internet companies treated like poison, fifteen million for only thirty percent and no operational control was indeed a very good offer for LinkedIn at its current size.
"Who's the investor?" Tim asked.
"Phoenix Capital," Bruce said calmly. "A new VC firm."
He tapped the desk lightly, drawing both men's attention back to him.
"If neither of you objects, I'll sign on behalf of the company."
"I'm fine with it," Martin said instantly.
Bruce looked at him.
"Think before you answer. Once the deal closes, your stake gets diluted to fourteen percent."
Martin did not even blink.
"That's fine. Fourteen percent of this company is worth seven million dollars now."
His excitement was obvious.
Yes, his percentage would go down. But the value of what remained would go up massively. For a man from an ordinary background like Martin, going from almost nothing to a multi-million-dollar stake in just a few months was more than enough to make him happy.
Bruce glanced at Tim, who was trying to hide the envy in his eyes. To reassure him, Bruce added,
"Tim, I already discussed this with the investors. Before the company goes public, we'll set aside fifteen percent as an option pool based on the existing share structure. Since you're part of the founding team, your package will be at the top end."
Tim's face changed at once.
"Thank you, Boss. I'll keep doing everything I can."
Nothing motivated people like real money. Bruce understood that perfectly.
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