Chapter 93: I Will Reveal the Truth (1)

Alex stepped down from his position as promised and withdrew from the company.

Although the final payment has not been made, the management rights of CoolCloud have now transferred to us.

I told Seed to gather the employees in one place. About 80 employees, excluding those on vacation or working from home, gathered.

Everyone looked confused.

A few employees who recognized my face were surprised. The person who had called Rolf Butch an idiot and was chased out of the company had returned.

I greeted them first.

"Hello."

Then someone asked me,

"Who are you?"

"I'll introduce myself later. The reason I gathered you here is because there are a few important announcements to make. First, the two co-CEOs, Rolf Butch and Alex Preston, have decided to leave the company as of this moment."

"What do you mean?"

The employees were shocked to hear that the two founders and co-CEOs were leaving the company.

They were not just managers but symbols of CoolCloud. No one could have imagined they would leave.

I took out the list of employees to be laid off. Often, existing managers cannot lay off employees for various reasons.

Among the names on the list were several employees who could be considered founding members, like Seed. It's not easy for founders to lay off such people.

But it's different for an outsider. I have no personal relationship with them.

"Unfortunately, the people I'm about to name will have to leave the company."

I read out the pre-prepared list to the surprised employees.

"Anthony Robertson, Scott Jackson, Mark Carter, Mitcha Karini, Ryder Fraser, Lauren Hill, Kimberly Plummer... "

Names were called out one by one, and each time, someone looked shocked.

Out of the 93 employees, a staggering 22 were to be laid off. Those who suddenly became unemployed were all flabbergasted.

Especially in the finance and sales teams, many people were laid off in bulk.

A white man in his early 40s shouted,

"Wait, if you send all these people away, who will do the work?"

I asked him,

"What's your name?"

"Marvin Grates."

"Your position?"

"Head of the finance team."

"Oh! I forgot to include you. You also need to leave."

"..."

He stood there in a daze for a moment before shouting again,

"Me too? Without me, can CoolCloud even function?"

"It will function just fine. Don't worry unnecessarily and start packing."

Thinking that the company won't function without you is a common misconception among employees.

Well, in the case of a small startup, the company often relies heavily on individual employees' abilities, so personnel changes must be handled carefully.

I pointed to a woman behind him.

"What's your name?"

A plump, middle-aged black woman wearing large glasses answered nervously,

"Cathy Boland."

"What do you do now?"

"I'm an accounting assistant... "

"Stop doing that job."

At my words, she burst into tears.

"Oh! God! Don't do this! I'm raising my son alone. I really need this job. Please reconsider."

"Starting today, you are the CFO."

"..."

She, along with everyone else, looked as if they had heard wrong.

After a moment, she regained her composure and asked me,

"Me, the CFO?"

"Your major is accounting, right?"

"Well, yes, but I only have a bachelor's degree."

"If you need a master's or a Ph.D., get it while you work. Take over all the responsibilities from other employees, and if you can't handle something, hire someone or delegate it to others."

Seed is a typical tech guy.

He is only interested in his favorite work and developing technology, not in accounting or finance.

Therefore, someone needs to assist him in these areas.

That someone is Cathy Boland.

She helped Seed run the company well as the CFO of Snow Crash. Thanks to her proper budget management, Snow Crash could proceed with its business without financial issues.

But that's a story for a few years from now. Currently, there are many areas where she is lacking.

"If you need help or have questions, contact this person."

I handed her Edward Benson's contact information. He can explain everything to her from A to Z.

In the silence, someone cautiously raised their hand and asked,

"Who will run the company from now on?"

"That's a very good question."

I pointed to Seed.

"Starting today, Mr. Seed Lucas will be the CEO."

Everyone was shocked by this announcement.

Probably because he is too young. However, in terms of experience, he is not far behind the others. In terms of ability, there's no comparison.

I clapped first, and the employees followed suit.

I said to Seed,

"Please say a few words to the employees."

Seed scratched his head and stepped forward. The employees waited in silence to hear what the new CEO would say first.

Finally, Seed spoke.

"Starting today, we will change the company name. I've always thought the name CoolCloud was terrible."

A few people nodded in agreement.

Seed smiled and said,

"The new company name is Snow Crash."

* * *

After completing the acquisition of CoolCloud—now Snow Crash—I met a man at a whiskey bar.

"It's been a while. How have you been?"

"Fine. Nice to see you."

His name is Rajin Kumar, an Indian-American.

He came immediately when I contacted him.

He said to me,

"I saw the news. You've been up to something big, haven't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Wasn't it Continuum Capital that triggered the Thomas Motors scandal?"

"Yes, but I don't know much about it. It was handled directly by Mr. Rockhart."

Before this incident, Continuum Capital was an unknown investment firm, but now it is a well-known and wealthy investor.

In Silicon Valley, wealthy investors are always welcome. That's why the way people look at me has completely changed since the last time.

That's why fame is important.

I ordered a bottle of single malt whiskey.

"What did you want to see me about today?"

The last time we met, I raised questions about Rolf and asked about Jason Kim's wife.

He seems to be hoping I've found something out.

"Thanks to you, we were able to acquire CoolCloud."

He looked surprised.

"You acquired CoolCloud?"

"Yes. It's been decided. It will probably be announced soon."

He quickly asked,

"How much did you pay?"

The price at which a specific company is sold is a significant issue in Silicon Valley. It can serve as a benchmark for valuing other companies.

Like, if that company is worth this much, then this one should be worth that much.

"I don't know the exact amount, but consider it a substantial sum for a majority stake."

"But Rolf wouldn't have sold... Could it be because of what we talked about before?"

He seemed to have something in mind.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you say you were investigating Rolf? Did you meet Jason Kim's wife?"

I nodded slowly.

"Yes, I did."

"Did you find out anything?"

"I'm not sure if I should say... "

As I hesitated, he took a big sip of his drink.

"It's okay, tell me."

"Mr. Kumar, your suspicions were correct."

"What do you mean?"

He was shocked.

"Did Jason help develop Minerva? Or did Rolf copy part of Jason's program?"

It seems he couldn't imagine that Rolf had copied the entire program. But reality often surpasses imagination.

"Maybe it's better if you don't hear it."

As I continued to hesitate, he looked agitated.

"Tell me. I have the right to know."

"Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Of course."

I opened my mouth reluctantly.

"Since you asked, I'll tell you. What happened was... "

I told him the truth. His expression changed constantly as he listened.

When I finished, he was shocked.

"Is that really true?"

"Yes, it's all true."

"Unbelievable! Minerva was created by Jason Kim!"

"The program was originally called Mimir. Rolf Butch just replicated it and started the company."

"Do you have evidence? It's not just his wife's word, right?"

"Of course not. Jason had all the related materials stored in the cloud. There are also emails they exchanged."

"Can I see them?"

I showed him the emails on my tablet. His eyes moved rapidly as he read them.

"What do you plan to do about this?"

"I'm not sure."

He looked puzzled.

"You're not sure?"

I hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Rolf Butch has repeatedly claimed that he developed Minerva. But it turns out he just used his deceased friend's program. This is a serious illegal act, isn't it?"

"Of course. Developers are sensitive even about copying a single line of code, so stealing an entire program is unforgivable."

"Then, if this becomes public, it will be a big problem, right? Rolf Butch will go from being a Silicon Valley innovator and genius developer to a liar facing social condemnation."

"Yes, that's right."

"Actually, the reason I wanted to see you today is to discuss this issue with you."

"Discuss?"

I spoke cautiously.

"What do you think about keeping this a secret?"

He was taken aback.

"What do you mean?"

"As I mentioned, Continuum Capital has acquired CoolCloud. But if this becomes public, the company's value could drop significantly. This is a concern for the investors who have put money into Continuum Capital. So, what do you think about pretending you don't know about this?"

He opened his eyes wide and shouted,

"Are you saying you're going to ignore the truth because the company's value might drop? How can you do that? This isn't justice!"