The Start-Up (12 page)

She almost jumped out of her skin when a shadow crossed her reflection in the fridge. She spun quickly in the chair and found herself facing Chad.

“Oh!” she said, but he put his finger to her lip, a grin spreading across his face. How long had he been there? Had he been watching her?

He sat on the stool next to her and reached over to pull a spoon from the dish rack. Then he dipped it into the carton and took a bite of the ice cream. He closed his eyes and savored the taste. Patty sat there, spoon suspended in mid air. Why was he awake?

Chad was wearing pajama pants and no shirt; his toned chest and shoulders looked like something out of a magazine. He scooped out another spoonful of ice cream, looked at it, and smiled as he directed it toward Patty’s open mouth. Their eyes stayed locked as she licked the spoon clean.

“Do it again,” she thought to herself, her heart racing. And he did, but as he pulled the spoon away, a drop fell onto her bare thigh and began to melt. They both looked down and he let out the tiniest little laugh. He used his forefinger to wipe the spill and place it between her lips. He held his finger against her tongue for a moment, staring deep into her eyes, and then silently withdrew it. And then, without a word, he stood up from the stool and left the room, leaving her, mouth still agape, studying his magnificently chiseled back.

I
t was their first day in the office, and Adam could hardly contain his excitement. Amelia was dreading it but forced a smile as she and Adam pulled their bikes into the Sand Hill Road parking lot, where they met Tom, who was pulling up in his Tesla Roadster.

“The Dorii!” he called out as he walked up to greet them. “You must be Adam,” he said, and stuck out his hand.

“Mr. Fenway! It is so excellent to meet you, sir.” Adam’s face beamed.

“And you as well. Come on in, we’ll get you all set up.” Tom gave Adam the same tour he’d given Amelia, smiling proudly as Adam practically drooled in reaction.

“Doreye is the first company in the incubator, so it’ll be a little quiet until the other groups join later in the summer. In the meantime, I’ve hired a recent Stanford grad to run the day-to-day operations; to help keep you on track and make sure you’ve got what you need. He’s on his way over, so you can meet him.”

Adam nodded eagerly. Everything Tom said sounded great to him.

Amelia had moved to her desk and logged into the computer. Tom glanced over at her. “Open your browser,” he instructed.

Amelia clicked the Google Chrome icon and smiled as the homepage popped up: www.doreye.com. A simple logo had been constructed, with the text “Adam and Amelia Dory, Co-Founders” in bold typeface underneath, plus the address on Sand Hill Road and a phone number.

“I ordered your business cards, too. They’re in the desk.” Just then he heard someone at the door and shouted, “T. J.? We’re in here.” T. J.? Adam glanced nervously at Tom. It couldn’t be. But before he had time to absorb what was happening, T. J. Bristol was at Tom’s side, tilting his head in confusion at the sight of Adam.

Tom didn’t notice. “T. J., meet Adam and Amelia Dory, co-founders of our first company. Adam and Amelia, T. J. is going to be your supervisor and right-hand man.”

T. J. almost choked. Did he say Amelia Dory? Was that a joke? T. J. thought quickly. No, Tom didn’t know. Obviously he knew about Gibly— it had been headline news for the past week—but Amelia’s name had never been released outside the Bristol household.

“Oh my fucking God,” thought. T.J. “I’m their boss.” Despite how much he’d used her name in the past three weeks, he’d never actually seen Amelia. But he knew this girl. Yes! She was that dweeb from University Café that Tom couldn’t get enough of.
That
girl was Amelia Dory¸ the girl who was bringing down Gibly? No fucking way.

“Hey, Adam.” T. J. composed himself and gave Adam a half high-five, half handshake. “Long time,” he said. T. J. hadn’t talked to Adam since the night of the graduation party. Adam took his hand, trying to compose himself. T. J. Bristol was his supervisor? Did Tom not know?

T. J. then moved to Amelia. “Amelia Dory,” he said slowly. “It is lovely to meet you. I’ve heard you are quite the computer mastermind.” Tom hadn’t mentioned T. J.’s last name, and Amelia hadn’t yet pieced together the connection between this guy and Ted. All she knew was he looked like exactly the kind of business jerk she’d been afraid of when this whole thing started and she sighed disappointingly.

“T. J.,” Tom said, “I’ve got a few other things I want to walk through with you. Why don’t you come to my office and leave these two to get acquainted with the new space.”

“Sure thing,” T. J. said, and the two left the room. T. J. had already adjusted to the situation and was strategizing how he could use this new connection to his advantage.

Adam watched anxiously and, as soon as they were gone, shut the office door. “Amelia, that’s T. J.! That’s T. J. Bristol! Ted’s son!”

“What? No!”

“Yes! Jesus, Amelia, Ted Bristol’s son is our new boss.”

“What are we going to do?”

Before Adam could answer, the phone rang. Impatiently, he snatched up the receiver. “Listen, whatever you’re selling, we’re not interested. Just take our name off your list and—”

Amelia watched as Adam’s face went pale. He had stopped speaking.

After a moment, he placed the receiver back in the cradle.

“Adam, what’s wrong? You look sick.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Adam said. “I never thought I’d hear that voice again.”

“Don’t me tell me—”

Adam stared at the phone as his mouth went dry.

“Amelia, we’ve got much bigger problems than T.J. and Ted Bristol.”

S
adie Hayes
holds several degrees from Stanford University. She has spent years working in the tech industry, both as an entrepreneur and as an investor.
The Start-Up
is her first book. If you work in Silicon Valley, you might not know Sadie Hayes. But she knows you.

Follow Sadie:
www.twitter.com/DigitalSadie

www.Doreye.com