Breakfast on the farm was simple: milk and bread.
Bruce finished in less than half an hour.
"Bruce, I already spoke with old York," Blair said. "He'll be here at nine-thirty this morning."
"Got it, Uncle Blair."
Right then, his phone rang.
Bruce glanced at the caller ID, and his whole expression sharpened. He quickly wiped his hands and answered at once.
"Good morning, Bruce."
"Good morning, Larry."
"I've discussed the investment proposal with the rest of the board."
Bruce sat up straighter.
"Then I'm hoping you're calling with good news."
Larry chuckled lightly.
"Be at my office at two this afternoon. And bring your lawyer."
"No problem."
The moment the call ended, Bruce could no longer suppress the excitement flooding through him. He clenched his fist and punched the air a few times.
If everything went smoothly this afternoon, he would lock down forty percent of one of the future giants of internet search.
Even if that stake got diluted over time after later funding rounds and eventually after the IPO, as long as he could keep fifteen percent, fifteen years from now it would still be worth well over a hundred billion dollars.
A hundred billion.
Enough money to outlive several lifetimes.
"Bruce, did you take the wrong medication or something?"
Matta stared at him like he'd just watched a man lose a fight with his own sanity.
Bruce barely noticed the Lincoln family's astonished expressions. He grabbed his coat from the table and rushed for the door. There were still hours left before two o'clock, but he already felt like he was running late.
Just as he reached the entrance, he remembered what he had promised for that morning and spun around.
"Katherine, starting now, you're CEO of Guo Commercial Group. The York farm acquisition this morning is yours to handle. You control the final number, but I only need one thing from the deal: push the payment date back two months. For that, we're willing to pay up to three hundred thousand dollars in option consideration."
"All right. I've got it."
Once she nodded, Bruce ran out the door without another word.
"Uncle Blair, Aunt Mary, I'll come by again when I've got time."
His voice faded down the yard.
"What on earth got into him?" Blair asked, finally finding his voice as he watched Bruce disappear.
"Looks to me like he's about to close the deal of his life," Matta said, rubbing his chin with interest.
Then he turned toward Katherine.
"He really handed you control of the farm?"
Katherine, who was still eating breakfast with perfect calm, nodded.
"And the stores too?"
"That's right."
Matta clicked his tongue.
"Bruce really is bold."
Katherine looked up coldly.
"What, you think I can't handle the farm and the stores?"
The moment he saw that look, Matta was instantly reminded of several deeply unpleasant episodes from childhood.
He backed off at once.
"Of course not. I was just about to say that besides being bold, Bruce made a very smart decision."
"Good answer."
Katherine returned her attention to her plate.
Matta quietly let out a breath of relief.
...
On the drive back toward Mountain View, Bruce called George Davis, the senior commercial attorney at Baker McKenzie.
"Mr. Davis?"
"Mr. Guo? Is that you?"
"It is. Are you available around two this afternoon?"
"Two this afternoon?"
"That's right."
"Let me check my schedule."
"Of course."
A few moments later, Davis came back on the line.
"I'm free."
"Perfect. I have a business negotiation at two, and I'd like you there as my counsel."
"That's fine. Where?"
"2500 Bayshore Parkway, Mountain View. Call me about five minutes before you arrive. We'll go up together."
"Understood. Today at two o'clock. 2500 Bayshore Parkway. Correct?"
"Correct."
"I've got it. If there's nothing else, I'll make the necessary preparations."
"Thank you, Mr. Davis. See you this afternoon."
"See you then."
Bruce ended the call and let out a slow breath.
He had studied business contracts in school, and he understood the basics well enough. But this negotiation mattered too much for him to risk a mistake in the fine print. For something this important, an experienced commercial attorney was not optional.
He drove back to LinkedIn's office in Mountain View at top speed.
He had barely sat down and started thinking through the Google meeting again when someone knocked on his office door.
"Come in."
The door opened softly.
Wendy Soro stepped inside.
Her hair was pinned up today. She wore a white Chanel jacket, a black skirt, sheer stockings, and black Roger Vivier buckle heels. Tall, polished, and impossibly composed, she looked like she had stepped out of a magazine ad for expensive competence.
It was pleasant just looking at her.
And for the first time, Bruce became fully aware that he now had something he had never had before.
A secretary.
"Boss, from now on I'll be managing your schedule," Wendy said in a calm, professional tone.
Bruce nodded.
"Forget everything else for now. I need you to handle two things first."
"I'm listening."
"First, find me a place to live near here. It doesn't need to be large or luxurious. I just want somewhere quiet, with a decent environment."
Mountain View was not far from Stanford, but it was still far enough that the round trip cost him over an hour every day. Right now, time mattered too much for him to waste it on driving.
Wendy nodded.
"Understood. Any preferences on the interior style?"
Bruce thought about it for a moment.
"Modern and simple. Nothing complicated."
It was only a rental. He had no idea how long he would stay there, so he did not want to overthink it.
"Second, I want a detailed report on the U.S. game industry. Market development, leading companies, the whole landscape."
Wendy frowned slightly.
"How much time do I have?"
"One month."
She relaxed immediately.
A month was more than enough.
"That's all for now. If you don't have anything else, go ahead and get started."
Bruce waved a hand and returned his attention to the work on his desk.
Wendy lingered for a second, her brows knitting faintly as she looked at him bent over his papers, then turned and left without another word.
Bruce had no spare mental energy for anyone else's thoughts at the moment.
According to the development schedule he had set for himself, the next two months would be the first real turning point of his new life. Nothing could afford to go wrong.
Now that the Google investment was within reach, he also started pushing harder on the writing of Fifty Shades of Grey and Pirates of the Caribbean.
At noon, Wendy had lunch brought in. Bruce ate quickly at his desk. Once he saw that the time was right, he closed his laptop, picked up his document bag, and headed for the door.
"Boss..."
"You don't need to come with me," he said without stopping. "Just handle what I gave you. If anything comes up, call me."
And with that, he left before Wendy had any chance to object.
She stood there watching him go, a little stunned.
To be honest, she had come in expecting something very different. When she first accepted the job, she had already decided that if this young founder ever tried to use his position to get handsy, she would humiliate him on the spot and resign.
Instead, he barely seemed to notice her.
"Well... that works too," she muttered to herself. "At least I won't have to keep changing jobs."
Ignoring the admiring and openly hungry looks from the men around the office, she returned to her desk.
...
By the time Bruce reached Google's building, George Davis was only a few minutes behind him.
"Mr. Davis."
"Mr. Guo, I'm not late, I hope?"
"Not at all. Perfect timing."
"Then let's head up."
"Let's."
After a brief handshake, the two of them walked toward Google's office together. On the way, Bruce gave Davis a concise summary of the negotiation and the structure of the offer.
George Davis, who had personally handled the formation of the Guo Family Trust, was privately stunned that Bruce had somehow assembled eighty million dollars to invest in Google.
But professional discipline was professional discipline.
If it was not something he needed to ask, he did not ask.