The Term Sheet | Wattys 2016 Winner

Chapter 23

A few minutes after Andrew walked out, Doug called. David was still barefoot and a little dazed at Andrew's revelation.

"Hi, David, did you get the term sheet I just sent you yet?"

Stupid technology. It must be passing through my decryption process right now.

David had recently finished prototyping an idea he had to encrypt emails instead of chats. He was beta testing this new feature on his own email account. There were clearly some kinks to work out, but a few seconds later the offer came in. Five hundred thousand dollars. This was more money than David had seen in his entire life. It was more money than he had earned in all his years of programming combined. David's palms were sweaty, heart racing. He gently tugged on his beard as Doug continued walking through the term sheet.

Given that Doug had only mentioned the prospect of an acquisition the night before, it seemed like a lot of thought and care went into it. David wondered if this had all been in the works for a while, but ignored the thought.

"I think I get it, can I mull the offer over and get back to you later today?"

"Of course, let me know when you're ready."

David hung up and realized that Andrew had been right. The number was a lot smaller than he had imagined. But this was still a real opportunity to make a lot of money and call it a win.

Feeling excited and overwhelmed, David stepped out to the brisk air. It was overcast and cold, but he was in denial that summer had ended so quickly. He walked around Ladd's Addition and goose bumps covered his arms. His mind was reeling.

A black Lincoln Town Car with black tinted windows crawled in front of David. The car came to a halt. A tall older man with a half-balding head, a baggy black suit and dark-rimmed glasses swung open the back door and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

Shawn took off his glasses and looked directly into David's eyes.

"You have something I need. If you cooperate and make this easy, I'll let you get back to your life."

David felt flushed. He didn't say a word as they drove across the bridge into the northwest hills. They wound through the twisty forest road until it started to straighten out again and the trees began to disappear. David hadn't ever gone this far west; he felt confused and lost.

What are they going to do to me? I should never have gotten into the car.

As they drove deeper into unfamiliar land, he thought of all the important things in his life. He thought first of Heather. He hadn't seen her in a while—and that thought embarrassed him. He had said the same thing to himself numerous times in the past weeks. Why hadn't he done something about it?

He thought of Megan and how much he missed her. He realized how much he had really jerked her around in the last couple years. It was his idea, after all, to quit everything to try to make it with startups. He decided that if he made it out of this situation alive, the first thing he would do was make it up to Megan. Treat her right. Get her flowers and take her out to a nice dinner. Tell her how much she meant to him. How much she inspired him to do better. Not just by always telling him when his ideas were terrible (no matter how much he hated to hear it), but by driving him to want to build a better life for them—a life together. A life better than the ones their parents had or could even dream of. He wondered why he hadn't asked her to marry him yet.

Then he realized he didn't have handcuffs and hadn't been read his Miranda rights.

"Am I under arrest?"

Shawn didn't say anything for a moment.

"No."

"Then am I free to leave?"

"No."

David's panic subsided slightly as the drive wore on. If he wasn't under arrest, then they were just trying to intimidate him. David watched enough Law & Order episodes with Megan to know when the police were putting on an act.

The car pulled into an unmarked driveway.