"Nicholas, stick around for a few more days. I haven't even treated you to a decent dinner yet. Come by the house this weekend; I'll have my wife whip up a spread, and the two of us can have a proper drink," Bill said sincerely, gripping his hand.
As Bill finished, Denzel, standing nearby, jumped in, "Nicholas, come to my place this week. Seriously, I've got a niece who's a junior in college this year, and she's gorgeous. She's single, too, so I'll introduce you guys when you come over. You young folks will have plenty to talk about, and she can show you the sights around the city."
Even the usually stoic Director Kai spoke up for once, "Stay a bit longer. There are still some technical hurdles we haven't quite cleared, and we need our 'teacher' around for a bit."
Hearing them out, Nick replied with a smile, "Dr. Dye, Professor Maddox, Director Kai—I'd honestly love to stay a few more days, but I'm completely slammed."
"You know the funding just hit, and there's a mountain of work waiting for us back home. Plus, there are a ton of corporate reps heading to Tampa to talk partnerships, and I need to be there for those meetings."
"Technically speaking, the heavy lifting is done. Me sticking around wouldn't change much anyway. So, let me head back and handle business first, and I'll come back to visit when things settle down."
"Hmph, I see how it is—the money hits your account and now you're trying to make a break for it. No way. If you don't play ball, I'll have someone freeze the rest of the funds," Bill said, faking a scowl.
Nick gave a sheepish smile, not quite sure how to handle the old man's ribbing.
Denzel Maddox said with some real reluctance, "Nicholas, we've only just scratched the surface of this tech and the system architecture; there are still plenty of kinks to work out. If you take off, who are we supposed to call?"
"Professor Maddox, it's 2026—communication is a breeze. You can call or email me anytime. We can handle the general stuff that way. If something classified pops up, I can be on a flight back immediately, or you guys can come see me in Tampa," Nick replied, looking at him.
This was clearly the real reason they wanted him to stay. Over the last few days, Nick had been their go-to problem solver. Naturally, they weren't thrilled about losing their safety net.
"This project cost a fortune, and there are a lot of eyes on the results. We need to move fast. Once we've fully deconstructed your tech and the source code, I'm planning an outdoor drone swarm flight test."
"So, once you're back in Tampa, get your ducks in a row quickly. I have a feeling it won't be long before you're back here to help us pull off this experiment."
"Your tech is great, but Dr. Dye and the others took a massive risk and faced a lot of heat to get this into our project. You get what I'm saying, right?" Kai said to Nick, his tone turning serious.
Hearing this, Bill immediately piped up, annoyed, "Hey, Kai, why are you bringing that up?"
Nick looked at Bill, then gave a firm nod. "Don't worry, I'll handle everything back home as fast as I can. Whenever you need me, I'm there."
"Good, that's what I like to hear," Kai said with a satisfied smile.
Bill sighed and said, "Alright, I know I can't keep you here forever. Get going then, and stay safe on the road."
"Dr. Dye, thank you for everything," Nick said gratefully. Like Kai mentioned, Bill had really gone to bat for them to get their tech into such a high-stakes research project so fast.
He could only imagine the kind of pressure Bill was under after spending that much cash on their technology.
"Alright, enough with the mushy stuff. If you really mean it, get home and take care of business. Just don't give me any excuses when it's time to come back," Bill said, waving him off.
"Why do I feel like I just signed my life away?" Nick joked.
Professor Denzel Maddox laughed loudly, "Haha, did you think our money was that easy to walk away with? I'm telling you, kid, once you take the check, you gotta do the work. If you don't show up, I'll lead a team down to Tampa to hunt you down myself."
Hahaha... The laughter cut through the awkwardness of the goodbye, and Nick said his final farewells and headed out.
Bill watched Nick and Zack walk away and let out a soft sigh, "I really like that kid."
"I can tell. Too bad his heart is set on the private sector," Denzel Maddox said, patting Bill on the shoulder.
Bill looked out at the lush green trees nearby and sighed, "Yeah, not many people can handle the grind of pure research."
"Everyone sees the flowers and tastes the fruit, but how many people actually see the farmers working in the dirt behind the scenes?"
"Isn't that exactly what we signed up for? Luckily, these 'seedlings' have already grown up," Denzel's aged face showed a faint smile of pride.
"Seedlings grow into a forest—my heart is at ease!" With that, Bill turned and walked back inside.
After saying goodbye to the doctors, Nick and Zack grabbed their bags and caught a flight back to Tampa.The graduation ceremony meant they were officially alumni, and the dorm manager heartlessly kicked them out, leaving them temporarily homeless.
Fortunately, in recent years, local governments had rolled out a ton of policies to attract young talent to the city.
Tampa was no different, and the perks were solid. Any college grad from the last three years could apply for city-subsidized workforce housing at a huge discount. A four-hundred-square-foot studio cost only a few hundred bucks a month, utilities included.
But with so many grads from Tampa's big schools every year, plus people moving in from out of state, the waitlist was usually a mile long.
Usually, graduating from a school like USTC wouldn't have moved the needle, but since they had a high-tech startup and were bringing business to the city, they got the VIP treatment.
The High-Tech Zone Committee approved four individual units for them instantly—one for each of the guys.
So, after graduation, Tyler moved their gear straight into the new apartments. Technically, they had enough cash now to live in a luxury condo or even buy a house.
But they were in the early stages of a startup, and every dollar had to go where it counted; there was no reason to go crazy yet.
For any founder, you can't get lazy or start living large while you're still building the foundation. They'd landed a big payday, but that money couldn't be wasted. If it was, the team's hustle and drive would disappear overnight.