An $80 million offer would have been tempting even before the Nasdaq crash, but now it was on another level entirely.
And the best part, from Larry Page's perspective, was that he would only have to give up voting rights on half of that stake. That meant he and Sergey Brin could still hold at least 55 percent of the company's voting control and remain firmly in charge of Google's future.
"Bruce, this isn't my decision alone," Larry said after a long pause. "I need time to talk to the other investors."
"No problem," Bruce replied. "But when can I expect an answer?"
"No later than three days."
"That works." Bruce nodded. "Then I'll look forward to hearing good news."
He stood and offered his hand.
Larry shook it and said, "I hope we can make this work too. I'll walk you out."
After personally seeing Bruce to the door and watching him drive away, Larry returned to his office.
As expected, Sergey Brin was already waiting there.
"Well?"
Larry knew exactly what he was asking.
"Eighty million dollars for forty percent of Google," Larry said. "He only wants voting rights on half of it."
"Eighty million? Half the voting rights?" Sergey leaned forward. "Did you take it?"
"Not yet..."
"Why not?" Sergey blurted out. "That's a much better deal than what Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, or Ryan Capital gave us. And we'd still keep majority voting control."
Sergey's temperament was very different from Larry's. He was like Martin in some ways: brilliant on the technical side, not especially strong on management or operations. To be fair, Larry wasn't exactly a born operator either, but at Google's current stage they still weren't in a position to hire the kind of elite executive who commanded a seven-figure compensation package.
"Sergey, don't you think forty percent is a lot, even if we're only giving up half the voting rights?"
Sergey hesitated.
"It is a lot," he admitted. "But we'd be getting eighty million dollars. And you know better than anyone what that means right now." He paused, then added, "Larry, Excite is still the biggest search engine provider in the U.S. We're not."
That hit where it needed to.
Larry's brow tightened.
He remembered all too well how close they had come to selling Google to Excite before. The deal had only fallen apart because the offer was too low.
"What about our ad business...?"
"Larry, we've already tested parts of that," Sergey cut in. "Traditional display advertising only makes the user experience worse. We need time. And money. Enough to keep searching for a real business model that actually works."
Larry went quiet for a long moment.
Then he sighed.
"Looks like we have to take the money."
"Larry, as long as we keep absolute control of the company, that's what matters most."
Larry nodded slowly.
"Notify Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia. If they don't want to participate pro rata, then the dilution on our side will be lower."
"I'm pretty sure they'll pass," Sergey said with confidence.
Given the state of the internet sector, Larry found himself agreeing.
...
Bruce felt good about the negotiation.
It wasn't just the strength of the $80 million offer. He still had one more card in hand, a real trump card, and he hadn't even used it yet. If the deal went through smoothly, he had no intention of showing it.
If I'd been reborn just six months earlier, he thought, I could've rebuilt Google from scratch myself and skipped this whole negotiation.
His phone rang.
Bruce glanced at the caller ID and answered.
"Hello?"
"Bruce, where are you right now?" It was Matta Lincoln.
"At the office. Why?"
"Katherine's flight gets in at 4:30 this afternoon. I got tied up and can't get away. Go pick her up for me, all right? We'll meet at the farm tonight."
"Katherine's coming back today?"
"Yeah. United flight C186."
"Got it."
"And don't forget," Matta added. "You know what Katherine's like. I'm not interested in getting chewed out."
Bruce laughed.
From the memories in his head, Katherine Lincoln was absolutely the kind of woman who could bulldoze a room if she felt like it. Growing up, the boys around Guo Farm, Bruce included, had all been on the receiving end of that temper more than once.
"Relax. I'll get her."
After hanging up, Bruce checked the time. Instead of turning back toward the office, he changed course and drove toward San Francisco International Airport.
SFO was one of the busiest airports in the world, with a constant stream of travelers moving through it every day. The place was always packed.
Bruce waited for over half an hour before finally spotting her in the crowd.
She was tall, sharp-looking, and carried herself with confidence. Her features were attractive, her blonde bob was cut neatly to ear length, and she was dressed in a light brown belted coat, black fitted pants, and dark brown women's shoes. Everything about her gave off the impression of someone efficient, capable, and hard to ignore.
The moment she saw Bruce, she walked straight over.
"Why didn't Matta come?"
And without waiting for an answer, she handed him her suitcase.
"He said something came up at work. Couldn't get away."
"Let's go."
Katherine nodded and headed toward the exit.
Watching her from behind, Bruce let out a silent sigh. According to the original Bruce's memories, she was not exactly easy to deal with.
As they got on the road toward Santa Rosa, Bruce decided to start the conversation himself.
"So. You got the Harvard MBA?"
"Of course I did." She shot him a sideways look. "I may not be a freak like you, but I'm still elite. It's just an MBA, not a moon landing."
"Katherine, we grew up together. Do you really have to call me a freak every time we meet?"
He sounded half amused, half resigned.
She turned and studied him for a moment.
His face looked more mature than she remembered.
After a few seconds, she gave a small smile.
"We'll see. Depends how you behave."
Bruce sighed inwardly. If he weren't trying so hard not to act too differently from the old Bruce, he would have defended his reputation a lot more aggressively.
"Anyway," he said, "what's the plan after graduation? Going to one of the S and P 500 firms?"
"Maybe. But for now I'm going to take a break before deciding where I want to work." Then she added, "Actually, don't go straight back to the farm."
"Why not?"
"I didn't make it back in time for Grandpa Guo's funeral. I want to visit his grave first."
Bruce nodded.
The mood in the car turned heavier.
"Bruce," Katherine said gently, "he's with God now..."
"Katherine, it's okay." Bruce cut her off. "His death hurt. Of course it did. But more than anything, I think he'd want me to live well from here on out."
She nodded in agreement.
"There's a flower shop up ahead. Let's stop and buy something first."
Bruce pulled over.
They picked up white lilies, chrysanthemums, and carnations, then headed together to the cemetery.
After paying their respects, they got back in the car and drove on toward Guo Farm in Santa Rosa.