Part 6 (2/2)

He clicked it open.

Tom Fenway (born June 12, 1958) is a Canadian-American entrepreneur and Angel Investor. In 1984, Tom founded Kadence, a technology that allowed musicians to create and aggregate music digitally; with the expansion of the Internet, Fenway took Kadence online and created the first online music aggregator. In 1994, he sold the company to Apple for an estimated $1.8 billion (at the time, a record amount for a technology sale), and it is today credited as the original iTunes.

Today, Fenway lives in Woodside, California, and acts as an Angel Investor to small companies in Silicon Valley. Around Silicon Valley, Fenway is known for his laid-back aesthetic, notoriously wearing flip-flops to high profile meetings, and his obsession with the Grateful Dead. His wife, Margaret, pa.s.sed away in 2009 from breast cancer; Tom Fenway is a major contributor and spokesperson for several breast cancer prevention organizations.

Adam didn't need to read more. Almost two billion dollars? In 1994?

If you considered the time lag, that was, like, bigger than Gibly. And this guy was e-mailing Amelia? How had she not told him about this? Why was Tom implying that she'd turned him down?

”Are you reading my e-mails?” Amelia's voice sounded groggy, and she called out from the sofa without lifting her head or opening her eyes.

”As a matter of fact, I am, Amelia,” Adam said sternly, ”and I'd like to understand why you failed to mention your meeting with Tom Fenway.” Amelia popped one eye open and saw her brother, totally alert and looking cross, staring at her from her computer. She sat up, ”I didn't think it was worth mentioning. Why are you bringing this up? How did you know about that?”

”He e-mailed you, Amelia. Do you have any idea who this guy is? He has his own Wikipedia page.”

”He does? What does it say?”

”That he's f.u.c.king loaded, Amelia. And super successful.” Amelia rolled her eyes. ”Give me the computer.” She grabbed it and read the e-mail and the Wikipedia page. ”So what? Like I told him, I'm not interested in starting a company.”

”But Amelia-”

”No. End of discussion.”

Adam was getting annoyed, and he was not about to give up. He s.n.a.t.c.hed the laptop from her and opened the attachment Tom had sent with the e-mail. Maybe there was something in there that could hook her.

She glared at him as he read, her arms crossed against her chest. Her brother was irritatingly persistent, but he had never been any match for her stubbornness.

”Listen to this, Amelia.” Adam read from the description: ”As part of the Fenway incubator, partic.i.p.ants will receive office s.p.a.ce on Sand Hill Road, a living stipend, and mentors.h.i.+p from Tom Fenway and his staff.

Should partic.i.p.ants still be enrolled in college, Fenway Ventures will also pay for education expenses, including university tuition. Equity rights to the company will be negotiated at the time of incorporation on the basis of money invested in the venture itself.” Adam looked up from the computer.

”Free tuition, Amelia! This is incredible!” Amelia rolled her eyes. ”We're on scholars.h.i.+p, Adam. We don't pay tuition anyway.”

”But we wouldn't have to be on scholars.h.i.+p. We could be making it ourselves. Just you and me, not dependent on anyone.”

”Except Tom Fenway! And some corporate ideology for what makes good software. I'm not doing it, Adam. Give it a rest.” Amelia grabbed her computer back and started to shut it down. ”I'm tired. If you won't be offended, I'd like to go home and go to bed.” Adam looked at his sister, whose eyes were pleading with him, and, with a sigh, saw for the first time how much she hated the idea. That didn't mean he was going to give up, but he realized he wasn't going to get anywhere by pus.h.i.+ng tonight. He reached out and gave her a hug. ”Of course. I still think you should give this some more thought, but I didn't mean to pressure you.”

Amelia felt tears start to well up in her eyes and was glad her head was resting on Adam's shoulder so he couldn't see them. The only thing that came close to her conviction about the purity of computer programming was her love for her brother. She'd never imagined that the two might come into conflict.

Chapter 12.

The Art of the Deal.

T. J. knocked lightly and cracked open the door of his father's home office enough to stick his head in. ”Hey Dad, do you have a-” T. J.

stopped short when he saw his father was on the phone.

Ted motioned his son to come in and have a seat, signaling with his hand that the call would only take a minute.

”Totally agree, John . . . The tax lawyers have been great . . . Mitch is sharp as h.e.l.l . . . They've actually expedited the sale, should be closed in three weeks. Apparently it usually takes two months for the UK government to approve corporate transactions like this; I guess they're a bit desperate for the tax revenue. Poor old England. Must be difficult to be dependent upon your former colonies . . . Yes, I'll be in London the week after next to make sure everything's running smoothly and do a few press appearances . . . I know I'm missing graduation, but T. J.'s being a real sport about it.” Ted winked at his son. ”Yes, yes, give my love to Jenny and the kids. Talk soon.”

”Whew!” Ted turned to T. J. as he set the phone back in its cradle. There were deep bags under Ted's eyes, but they still sparkled with excitement and adrenaline. He radiated an energy that said, ”I am Master of the Universe.”

”What can I do for you, son?”

T. J. sat up in his chair, his hands folded carefully in his lap. ”Well, Dad, I was hoping you could help me get a job with Tom Fenway's incubator.”

”Didn't you meet with him last week? How did that go?”

”It was fine. I mean, I presented my credentials well, but I don't think he understands how useful I could be, in terms of adding business insight to the engineering geeks he brings in.”

”Tom's a smart guy, I'm sure he knows what he's doing.” T. J. ignored the sting of this rebuff. ”Well, it would help me a lot if you'd call him.”

Ted c.o.c.ked his head and studied his son. T. J. stared back unflinchingly.

Finally he said, ”T. J., I'm not going to get you this job. I got you the meeting, which is more than most kids your age get, but that's where it stops. You have to get things yourself. Not just because it's fair and meritocratic, but also because it will be more satisfying to you in the end than if I get it for you. You're twenty-two, T. J. It's time for you to start taking responsibility for your own success.”

T. J. had been expecting this. ”I see it a little differently. I think I'm twenty-two now, and it's time for us to be more of a team. You do something for me, I do something for you.”

Ted's face folded into a mocking half-grin, and his right eyebrow raised.

”Okay, T. J.,” he said with amused patience. ”What, exactly, are you going to do for me?”

T. J. smiled and said calmly, ”I have some information that I think you'll find valuable. About Gibly.”

Still amused, as though he were playing Go Fish with a four year old, Ted humored his son. ”And what information is that, T. J.?”

”Did you know that someone hacked into Gibly last week?”

”Not possible. The security is the best on the planet.” Ted didn't flinch or show an ounce of concern.

Neither did T. J. ”They hacked into the user database. The one where Gibly stores the web activity and physical movements of each unique user.”

”What are you talking about? Gibly doesn't do that.”

”Want to bet?”

Ted's amus.e.m.e.nt sank into annoyance. His son clearly didn't have a clue what he was talking about and his presumptuousness was irritating.

Ted rolled his eyes, punched a number on speed dial and put the phone on speaker.

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