Chapter 609: Chapter 610: Unexpected Guest


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    [Chapter 610: Unexpected Guest]


    Faced with Caroline, whose beautiful eyes sparkled like a doll filled with anticipation, Eric was contemting how to backtrack on what he had just said when he saw Carter Moen push open the ss door of the restaurant and walk towards them.


    As Eric''s personal bodyguard, Carter Moen of course knew Caroline. He politely nodded at the girl and leaned down to whisper a few words into Eric''s ear.


    Eric felt a bit surprised at Carter''s words, but he wasn''t entirely taken aback. Once Carter finished speaking, Eric stood up and said to Caroline, "I''m really sorry, Caroline, but we have an unexpected guest."


    Caroline immediately got up from her seat, her face showing reluctance as she asked, "Are you leaving?"


    Eric had nned to take this opportunity to leave, but looking at the girl''s pitiful expression softened his heart. He shook his head and replied, "No, he''s already here."


    As Eric said this, he walked towards the entrance of the restaurant, and Caroline hurried to keep up with him. As they stepped out, Eric spotted a pair of middle-aged individuals walking side by side along the path in front of the restaurant. The woman wore a light-colored trench coat and had blonde hair, exuding the typical intelligent air often seen with career women. The man donned a gray suit, sporting a somewhat messy head of curly hair, round ck- framed sses, and a habitual confident smile.


    Standing next to Eric, Caroline said in surprise, "It''s Bill Gates! Why is he looking for you?"


    "Looks like he''s not here for a friendly chat," Eric responded quietly as he approached. Caroline found hisment a bit puzzling, but she still followed suit.


    "Hello, Eric. This is my wife, Melinda," Bill Gates said, as he approached with an informal ease and shook hands with Eric. He then introduced Melinda Gates, who, despite being middle-aged, had only recently married Bill at the beginning of the year.


    Eric shook hands with Melinda Gates and gestured to Caroline, introducing her, "This is Caroline Wilson."


    Bill Gates shook hands with Caroline as his eyes casually scanned up and down this refreshing girl dressed in a light pink hoodie, red jeans, and white sneakers. Although she was petite, at about 5''1", her beautiful blonde hair, delicate features, and well-proportioned figure gave off an appealing vibe, like a doll brought to life by God.


    Inadvertently, Bill Gates assumed Caroline was yet another Hollywood star who frequently appeared alongside Eric, feeling a twinge of envy at Eric''s proximity to so many beautifuln/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    women.


    After exchanging introductions, Eric pointed to the restaurant behind him and asked, "Caroline and I were just having a meal. Would you like to join us?"


    "Of course, I remember the ice cream here being quite good. It''s been years since Ist had any," Bill Gates nodded.


    The group entered the restaurant, just as a server who had nearly chased Eric outside to finish his bill spotted the now-sunsses-free Eric and Bill Gates returning. Though they maintained theirposure, several servers couldn''t help but reveal their excitement.


    Eric led Caroline and the Gates couple to a corner table and ordered a few snacks. Carter Moen understood that his boss and Bill Gates surely had things to discuss, so he quietly sent away a server who seemed like he wanted to join, while another bodyguard upied a nearby seat. Bill Gates'' followers did the same, ensuring a clear separation between Eric''s group and the other diners.


    After sampling a few bites of ice cream, Bill Gates didn''t beat around the bush. He said bluntly, "Eric, sell Yahoo to me."


    Eric wasn''t surprised that Bill Gates knew the new name of thebinedpanies following the merger. Bill''s tone was polite but hinted at an unmistakable strong stance, causing even Caroline, who had previously been intrigued by Gates, to furrow her brow.


    Since the other party was so straightforward, Eric confidently shook his head and said, "Not selling."


    Bill Gates kept smiling and continued, "Eric, Firefly just issued an $8 billion bond, so your financial pressure must be considerable. I can offer you $600 million, paid in cash."


    Eric had only invested just over $100 million in the original threepanies, and even at Gates'' price, selling now would yield nearly a 500% profit.


    However, unless Eric had lost his mind, he wouldn''t sell the newly merged and promising Yahoo.


    "Bill, I definitely won''t sell Yahoo. Let''s talk about something else," he said.


    $600 million was nowhere near Bill Gates'' bottom line. He thought Eric was merely discontent with the low offer and replied, "How about $650 million? Microsoft is very sincere."


    Sitting next to Eric, Caroline couldn''t help butugh at Bill Gates, who was only willing to raise his offer by $50 million while still iming sincerity. But she quickly realized her gaffe and rushed to apologize to Bill Gates, saying, "I''m sorry, I''m sorry, Mr. Gates; I was... I..."


    Despite Caroline''s seemingly sincere apologies, Bill Gates felt some irritation towards Eric''s "little trophy" he always carried around. He thought Eric shouldn''t keep his girlfriend around in this situation. However, since Caroline was clearly Eric''s woman, he didn''t feel it was his ce to reprimand her and instead smiled politely, asking, "Miss Wilson, is there something wrong with what I said?"


    Caroline cautiously nced at Eric. She still wasn''t quite sure what was happening, worrying that her earlier giggle might have upset Eric''s business negotiations with Bill Gates, which would surely make her feel guilty.


    Eric didn''t mind Caroline''s unexpected interjection; he encouraged her, saying, "Feel free to speak your mind, Caroline. I''m curious too."


    With that, Caroline rxed a bit and looked at Bill Gates, saying softly, "Our professor has been paying attention to the threepanies Eric holds sincest year. He said that those threepanies are practically one entity. He even had us do a case study on them. Although we couldn''t obtain detailed data, based on its potential user base and development potential, the overall value should be around $1 billion. Mr. Gates, your... your offer is too low." Perhaps realizing herst statement was a bit too direct, the girl''s face turned slightly flushed after finishing her sentence, but she still looked expectantly at Eric.


    Eric nodded appreciatively at Caroline, holding back the urge to feed her a spoonful of ice cream for her reward. He turned to Bill Gates and said, "Caroline is currently studying for her MBA here. I believe Harvard''s professional judgment should be pretty urate. So, Bill, I think we shouldn''t discuss the acquisition any further; why don''t we consider coboration instead?"


    As Microsoft''s position solidified, Bill Gates held a king-like presence within thepany. Even outside of Microsoft, almost everyone treated him with politeness. Thus, his irritation was further provoked by Caroline''s words, and when he heard Eric mention coboration, he raised an eyebrow with a hint of sarcasm, asking, "How do you n on coborating?"


    "The Yahoo browser could be Microsoft''s pre-installed browser software. I know a new operating systemunch ising next year; this way, it would achieve a win-win situation. If Microsoft is open to paying an exclusivity fee, Yahoo wouldn''t mind temporarily halting technical support for the Yahoo browser on operating systems like Linux and MacOS, directing more users towards Windows."


    In Bill Gates'' view, it had always been Microsoft''s applications encroaching upon other operating system tforms. There had never been a precedent for an external application to be used as Microsoft''s pre-installed software, let alone having the audacity to demand an exclusivity fee - that was simply dreaming.


    Facing such a ''naive'' proposal from the young man, Bill Gates chuckled and shook his head. "Eric, you do so well in Hollywood. Why don''t you put that energy into the media industry?" Eric smiled back, refuting, "Isn''t Microsoft also eyeing this new field of online businesses?" Bill Gates fell silent for a moment, regaining hisposure as he looked intently at Eric and said earnestly, "Eric, although your browser software currently upies the market, Microsoft can also create browser software. And don''t forget, I own the most widely used operating system tform in the world, on which I set all the rules."


    That statement was undoubtedly a naked threat. Bill Gates clearly suggested that if Eric refused to sell Yahoo to Microsoft, thepany wouldn''t hesitate to take actions that might hinder Yahoo''s browser software from functioning properly on Microsoft''s tform. However, instead of feeling angered by Gates'' threat, Eric was stirred up with fighting spirit. In the original timeline, Netscape fell hard due in part to Microsoft''s bundling strategy. But the most critical factor was that both Microsoft and Netscape operated on a browser core called Mosaic. So, users could enjoy goodpatibility with the majority of online sites, regardless of whether they chose IE or Netscape. This addressed the biggest obstacle Microsoft faced in promoting IE on the Windows tform. However, in this timeline, Eric hadunched a brand new IE browser a year earlier and captured the market for browsers for free. Consequently, Mosaic browsers had not re-emerged. Even if Mosaic did return, many websites had already adapted to the new IE''s technical standards, and apletely different core browser could potentially block a lot of sites from disying correctly. Therefore, Mosaic browsers would find it hard to promote themselves again.


    What Microsoft faced henceforth was this issue. Unless theypletely disregarded legal risks and extensively used new IE patents, it would be challenging for them to bring a mature browser to market for years toe.


    Eric looked at Bill Gates, who seemed to be waiting for his final answer, chuckling softly as he


    leaned slightly forward, pressing his fingers against the table and saying, "Bill, I was checking the technical patent list of browserpanies the other day and noticed that, unknowingly, they have umted 337 patents rted to browser software and its peripheral technologies. If Microsoft truly intends to develop its own browser, please ensure you meticulously review the patent list before proceeding. You see, we may say we belong to the same category of people. I don''t mind sharing my things, but it has to be with my consent. And Yahoo is not one of those smallpanies that can only ept their fate if someone infringes on or pushes them into bankruptcy. If I find someone trying to take something that belongs to me, no matter its worth, if they dare to steal, I wouldn''t mind spending $1 billion to sue them. You should know that I can easily make that happen; Microsoft''s current $20 billion market cap doesn''t evene close to my personal assets."


    Although refined over thousands of years, every woman still hides an instinctive desire for strong dependence. As Caroline listened to Eric''s powerful deration, her head spun, and her gaze towards him sparkled with countless stars.


    Melinda Gates, who had remained silent all along, observed her tense husband and the calm


    Eric, sighing internally. While Bill had treated her gently during their courtship, she had witnessed his explosive side when he threw documents at subordinates. Microsoft''s sess had turned Bill increasingly tyrannical. Eric''s openly dered wealth surpassed Bill''s by twofold, and she thought he would be even more aggressive, but at this moment, the maturity disyed by these two men was vastly different. The less than twenty-five-year- old Eric had remainedposed throughout the exchange, making his forceful statements as casually as if he were chatting with friends.


    Seeing the two men caught in a stalemate and Caroline, who was fixated on Eric without uttering a word, Melinda Gates finally decided to break the tension. She spoke softly, "Eric,


    why don''t we forget about what has been said and talk calmly? We genuinely want to


    coborate."


    "Of course, that''s not an issue," Eric nodded and smiled, yfully pinching Caroline''s cheek. This little woman innocently disyed her charms, irresistibly teasing an old guy, which was simply too detestable and unbearable. How could he not punish her a little to ease the


    rebellion?


    Feeling Eric''s slightly rough fingers touch her, Caroline squealed, finally realizing what happened and bashfully lowered her head in embarrassment, not daring to meet anyone else''s gaze.


    With his wife easing the tension, Bill Gates calmed down, and he realized that while Yahoo''s


    scale couldn''tpete with Microsoft, Eric wasn''t one of those tech entrepreneurs whom Microsoft could easily bend. Although he felt a bit resentful, Bill Gates understood that he needed to make the most beneficial choice for Microsoft to ensure its absolute leading


    position.


    *****


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