The Price

Glimpsing at the two things which Marcus had placed on her desk, Gloria raised her eyebrows in response.

The name imprinted on the hard disk and the front cover was enough to give her a hint about what these things were related to. She picked up the document stack and started to flip through the pages.

Her expression, initially as she glanced at the first few pages was one that nonchalance. But as she continued going through the pages, a myriad of expressions started to appear on her face.

Sometimes it was that of shock, sometimes of pure disbelief and sometimes of utter confusion.

She flipped the pages for few more minutes but she had not even been through three fourth of the document when she tossed it back on the desk. Her way of throwing the document clearly showcased her feelings for whatever was inside it- utter disdain.

The expression on her face had turned into that of deep frown and slight anger had crept on her face.

"Are you here to play some lame joke on me?" She questioned in a cold voice.

Meanwhile, Marcus did not have any change in his expression at the disdain showed towards his content and impliedly towards him. He still had a small smile on his face.

"And what makes you think, I am playing some 'lame' joke on you?" He asked calmly.

"Do you consider me a fool?" Gloria retorted. "Do you even know... understand what is being talked about in this document?"

"Technology capable of what has been showcased in those illustrations does not exist," she declared firmly.

"I am sorry to say but you are wrong Miss. Quint," responded Marcus.

"The technology that you deem non-existent, now surely exist," he added as he pointed towards the hard disk with his index finger.

Gloria was about get frustrated but Marcus continued, "Do not let your narrowmindedness cloud your judgement."

"After all reality cannot be really hidden," he continued. "Till now you have not even seen the real thing."

"What is inside this document are mere illustrations," he said. "And it is not a difficult thing to get it verified."

The confidence radiating from Marcus caused a flash of hesitation to flicker on Gloria's face.

"Are you for real?" She questioned after few moments of silent contemplation.

Marcus, in response, extended his hand; placed it on the hard disk and slid it towards Gloria.

"I believed you have all the systems and servers to check it out with any method you wish," he said.

Gloria again turned quiet for some moments but finally picked up the hard disk as she stood up from her chair.

She had reached up to the gate of the office but Marcus remained seated in his chair.

"You do not want to see?" She questioned.

"If you do not mind, I would like to wait here," was the reply which Marcus gave. "

Gloria gave a nod and walked away with brisk steps.

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It was around after an hour, when Gloria returned back in the office. Her hands now were tightly clutching the hard disk close to her chest as some valuable treasure.

On her face was an expression was of pure shock and disbelief.

She did not speak for few minutes as she took her seat and drank some water to calm her nerves.

"Who programmed this?" This was the first she questioned to break the silence.

Marcus smiled, "This remains confidential."

He had no intention of revealing that it he himself who had programmed this. At least not immediately.

"Is this even yours?" She fired back. "For it all maybe, you could have stolen it from somewhere."

"Yes… yes… every mobile phone shop is selling such hard disks for me to barge in and steal it," Marcus mocked.

Irritation flickered across Gloria's face.

"What do you want for it?" She questioned. "No person I know can manage this… only the person who have coded it will have to see its working? And how do I make sure that whoever have written it won't be revealing himself and calling out this work as his own?"

"Hmm," Marcus placed a hand on his chin. "If any issues arise, it will naturally be managed. No problem on this front."

"As for making sure about its ownership, you can simply get it patent," he explained. "But I would suggest not do it as it would reveal a lot of sensitive information to the government and then to people associated with the government."

"You also do not have to worry about someone else copying this programme and patenting it as their own. No one has the capability to do so."

"But it is your choice in the end," he concluded.

"Price?" Gloria asked for one thing which Marcus had not answered.

"Not much…" Marcus said with a grin. "88% of your start-up."

Gloria turned livid in an instant and it looked like as if she would throw the hard disk on Marcus' face, "Have you gone senile?"

Marcus shrugged, "People would be willing to pay money many times more of what your entire company is worth."

"Heck… let alone for using it as their own product," he continued. "They would pay that amount for merely getting this code as research purposes."

Gloria knew that Marcus said was technically right.

"Then why did you not go to such people," she sneered. "Why come to my worthless and failing start-up."

Marcus again shrugged his shoulders, "I came here entirely because your start-up is failing. I believe that, I have a better chance to get that much stake here than from a successful company."

He continued before Gloria could respond, "Look, you can negotiate all you want but I will not compromise in this matter."

"Whoever gets AI Evolution 1.0 will have to handover to me 88% of the company."

Gloria's words of a better price offer got struck in her mouth as she descended into a silence.

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