There were days where it felt like he would never succeed, yet when he looked at the money he’d made, he felt better. After a few years, the hundreds turned to thousands and he was happy. The thousands turned into hundreds of thousands. He had to start adding up his bank accounts, and he was happy. Then millions. And he was happy.
The day his accounts said one billion dollars was one of the best days of his life.
Nathan opened his phone and pulled up his accounts. He was lower today due to some market fluctuations but he sat at just over the billion mark. He waited for the feeling of accomplishment and peace to flow through him like it always did.
But nothing happened.
He clicked through some of the accounts, making sure to pick ones that would show him his wealth.
And no rush of joy followed. No pride. No joy.
Today, it was just numbers.
This had never happened before. The money was why he worked so hard. It was why he barely slept. It was the reason he tolerated the office and the meetings. It was the money, not the work that drove him.
And today the money didn’t matter.
“Screw it,” he said, tossing the phone to the side. He slouched into a chair, more grumpy now than before.
With angry jerky motions, he went to his laptop and pulled it open. He needed something to distract him. He pulled up the reports and files on Elements Computer Technologies.
The company was a good purchase. The owner and CEO wanted out. He was selling for a good price. He dug a little deeper. ECT was based out of a town in Northern Colorado called Devonsville. A college nearby fed into the company, providing new local talent.
The company and the college were the two biggest employers in the county. The town prospered and fed into the success of ECT. Yet, it was still considered a medium sized company and a tiny player in the world of computer technology.
Nathan leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. Why were they moving this company to San Francisco? He’d let Lucy handle the majority of this as he’d been busy handling the fiasco with RentTech. He’d barely looked at this since it wasn’t going up in flames.
But now that RentTech was no longer on the evening news, it was time to look into this. He picked up his phone again and dialed Lucy.
“What’s up, boss-man?” she asked on the second ring. “How’s th
e vacation going?”
“Why are we moving Element Computer Technologies to California?” He didn’t bother explaining more.
“ECT? Why do you want to know about them?” Lucy asked. He could hear her typing in the background.
“It’s my job,” Nathan replied. “Now that I’ve survived RentTech, I need to keep my momentum. The board isn’t happy. I need to provide a win.”
“ECT is moving to California for better talent. Paradigm attracts the best, but as ECT is remaining a subsidiary, it still needs more mojo,” Lucy answered. “Plus, there’s a tax break incentive.”
“How is a tech company the size of Paradigm getting a tax break incentive?” Nathan asked. That didn’t make much sense.
“It’s a small business tax incentive,” Lucy said, sounding proud of herself. “ECT is small enough to qualify, even as a subsidiary. We’ll save millions by moving the company here.”
Nathan tried to ignore the twitch in his chest. He’d done worse things for money.
“And it’s legal?” Nathan asked her.
“I wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t,” Lucy assured him. “Millions, Nathan. You said money comes first.”
He nodded. That was his motto: money comes first. Money was everything.
“You okay, boss?” Lucy asked. “You don’t sound like you. Normally, the talk of millions has you all smiles.”
Nathan didn’t know how to answer her. He pulled up the upcoming plans for ECT. The former CEO and some of his executives were supposed to be flying in to meet with him on Wednesday.
An idea started to form, along with a smile.