Chapter 205: Buying Into Pixar  

Google's on a roll. Even with the tech industry slumping, they're bucking the trend—now the biggest internet search platform out there. They've even elbowed out KTI Search to become Yahoo's default engine. 

Over at X, Elon Musk's steering the ship with a bold new strategy. Step one: snapping up Nfinity. 

Once that deal's done, the new outfit will dominate the online payment game. 

Elon's buzzing when he fills Dunn in. If the acquisition goes smooth, he's renaming it "PayPal"—and it might even go public in three years! 

As for Dunn's biggest investment, Apple… 

Jobs and Dunn set up a second meet, this time at Dunn's office. 

Dunn shoos away his secretary and pours Jobs a coffee himself. "It's a little cold—hope you don't mind." 

Jobs shrugs like it's no big deal. "You know I'm not here for the coffee." 

Dunn chuckles and sits across from him. "I made my stance clear last time. In Silicon Valley, I've got your back—big time. In return, I'm hoping you'll throw some support my way in Hollywood." 

It's a trade, so Dunn cuts the small talk and gets straight to it. 

Jobs nods, then frowns. "I like that deal. Pixar's cool, but Apple's my real dream—my big chase. Thing is, dreams don't always match reality." 

Dunn gets it—Pixar's his cash cow. He smiles. "We hashed this out before. I can wait… until you think the timing's right to sell Pixar to me. But I'd like some security—like how I can sign over Apple's voting rights to you." 

"Oh?" 

Jobs perks up at the mention of Apple's voting rights. 

Dunn's a major shareholder with serious sway. If he backs Jobs fully, Jobs' spot at Apple's locked in. 

"What kind of security you after? First dibs on buying?" 

Dunn shakes his head. "What if there's a hostile bidder? That doesn't work for me." 

"Your plan, then?" 

"A stake in Pixar!" 

Jobs' eyes narrow slightly—Dunn's answer isn't a shock. He sighs. "Looks like you're dead-set on Pixar." 

"Damn right! I've told you—Hollywood's my core. I'm a movie guy. I'm the one who can breathe real life into Pixar." Dunn's half-serious, half-bullshitting. 

Jobs sips his coffee and smirks. "You're too full of yourself!" 

Dunn grins, shameless. "In the movie biz, I've earned that swagger." 

Jobs mulls it over, then nods. "I'll give you 10% max, and you're just an independent director." 

Dunn exhales, a flicker of excitement sparking inside. 

Animation… Pixar… 

After all his hustling, he's finally got a foot in the door! 

Dunn laughs. "Independent director's perfect—keeps me out of the weeds. I'm the same at Google and Hasbro." 

Jobs keeps it cool. "But Pixar's movie distribution stays with Disney." 

"No way!" 

Dunn's face hardens, shutting that down fast. 

Jobs glances at him. "Not Disney? What, Dunn Films? You got the channels for that? Besides, this isn't even worth debating now. Pixar's fourth flick, *Monsters, Inc.*, is locked in for next November—three-way contract's already signed." 

Dunn's expression sours. 

Jobs waves it off with a sigh. "I get it—you've got beef with Disney. I've got my own issues with them! But business isn't personal. Right now, Disney's the best fit for Pixar's interests. And like I said, it's just five films with them." 

"What about the fifth one?" 

"The next one's still in prep—probably two or three years out." 

Dunn's eye twitches, his mood lifting a bit. 

Two or three years… plenty of time to maneuver. 

*Monsters, Inc.* is set for next year, but distribution deals with theaters are a tangled mess—huge penalties for breaking them. Too late to mess with that now. 

The next one, though? No way Dunn's letting that slip. 

If he remembers right, Pixar's fifth is *Finding Nemo*—the animated juggernaut that outgrossed *The Lion King* to become the biggest of all time. 

No matter what, Disney's not getting that one. 

"Alright, deal! Once I've got the distribution muscle and promo channels, I'm buying out Pixar's deal with Disney and switching it to Dunn Films. Don't back out!" 

Dunn's eyes lock onto Jobs, sharp and steady. 

Jobs acts like he didn't hear, sipping his coffee slow. After twenty seconds, he drawls, "That's the next condition, huh?" 

Dunn blinks, then nods. "Yep. Your turn—what do you need from me?" 

Before, Dunn traded Apple's voting rights for 10% of Pixar. Now it's round two. 

"Hollywood's your game, Silicon Valley's mine," Jobs says. "Since I'm bending so much for you in Hollywood, I want you to step up for Apple too." 

"Name it—anything I can do!" 

Jobs leans in. "The dot-com crash is brutal—it might drag on. Apple's market share… let's just say I haven't cracked the fix yet. Stock's gonna swing hard." 

Dunn catches on quick. "You want me to steady the stock price?" 

A stable stock is Jobs' lifeline for shareholder support. 

If it tanks, even with Dunn's backing, he could still get the boot. 

Dunn smirks to himself—Jobs is way too shaky. 

Maybe he can't even dream how much he'll flip the world upside down in the next decade. 

Jobs grins. "I don't want Apple dipping below $10. You scooped up a bunch on the secondary market a while back—pushed it to $14. But the hype's faded, and it's sliding." 

Dunn plays coy. "Apple's huge—me alone? That's tough. I've made bank in stocks, but I've sunk a lot into other projects lately. Cash is tight." 

"I'll toss in 15% of Pixar at the current stock price!" Jobs doubles down, bold as hell. 

Right now, Jobs holds 70% of Pixar, employees have 15%, and the rest is with small-time investors. 

Giving Dunn 15% leaves Jobs with 55%—still total control. Even if Dunn teamed up with Pixar execs for a backstab, Jobs wouldn't blink. 

Dunn bursts out laughing, jumps up, and pulls Jobs into a big hug. 

"Happy deal!" 

He means it—pure, pumped-up satisfaction. 

Buying Apple stock? Jobs didn't even need to ask—Dunn's been itching for a solid excuse to pitch the board. 

Jobs' terms are like a warm hug on a cold day! 

And get this—to seal the deal, Jobs throws in another 5% of Pixar, making it 15% total. Ballsy move! 

Pixar's at $105 a share now, 100 million shares—market cap's about $12.9 billion. 

Dunn Capital can snag 15% for $1.9 billion and get a head start on privatizing Pixar later. 

For Dunn, this is a steal—worth every penny! 

"Oh, by the way," Jobs adds, "your office could use a computer. How about I throw in an Apple one, free?" 

"No spyware installed, right?" 

"Huh?" 

Jobs blinks, thrown by Dunn's wild leap. 

Spyware's illegal, dude. 

Dunn cracks up. "Kidding! I'll take the computer!"