American History 1988
Chapter 161 - 155: Private Contact

Chapter 161: Chapter 155: Private Contact

"Oh, Mr. Duane, I’m surprised to receive your call," Dean said to Valentine who had just rushed in, shrugging his shoulders to signal him to wait a moment.

Valentine had come to see Dean about another matter, but the unexpected call interrupted their conversation.

"Price, there has been some misunderstanding between Southern Bell and Byte Company. But as you know, that was not our intention," Duane’s voice sounded very innocent, as if he was unaware of all that had happened.

"OK, I understand," Dean replied slowly, humoring him, "So, this call, it’s to clarify this matter?"

Honestly, when Dean heard the other side announce themselves at the start, he thought Southern Bell was trying to intimidate him.

After all, it had only been a few days since the hearing, and although the court had not issued any written notice yet,

based on Dean’s personal experience, the judges there weren’t friendly.

Now that Southern Bell was calling, it was hard for him not to think along those lines.

"Price, since you are aware that there’s been some misunderstanding, I wonder if you’re interested in resolving it?"

"What?" Dean frowned, somewhat confused about what the other party was implying.

"ADPCM voice coding technology, is Byte Company interested?" Duane stopped beating around the bush, all this was for business.

He agreed to William from AT&T’s request to sue Byte Company for business reasons.

And now, turning around to talk about licensing with the previously sued Byte Software, was still all for business.

Interests will guide us along the way; nothing else matters.

"Mr. Duane, are you referring to the patent license for ADPCM technology?" The situation was becoming more interesting, and Dean was intrigued.

"No, we would prefer to package it and sell it outright," Duane had a straightforward way of dealing with problems: kick them as far away as possible.

Yes, Duane was already trying to get rid of this hot potato. Recently, the board even considered questioning him over this matter.

The situation William had promised of taking over Byte Company and then co-running it with AT&T and Southern Bell might not happen after all.

With William repeatedly trying to get him to transfer the ADPCM technology to AT&T, Duane had realized that William’s intentions were not pure.

Now Southern Bell wanted to cut its losses in time, and William had even quoted him a price.

But since it was all business, he would look for the most willing buyer. AT&T was one; Byte Company was another.

Alright, Dean was indeed tempted. "How much would Byte Company have to pay?"

"Twenty million US dollars for all the patents associated with ADPCM technology," in Duane’s mind, Byte Company was the most desperate for this patent; it was vital to them.

"Mr. Duane," Dean sighed, "you know, that’s insane.

To say nothing of whether Byte Company could come up with that much money, the patent itself has only three years of protection left.

To pay twenty million US dollars for a patent that’s now publicly available to the industry for free and which will expire in three years.

I can’t think of any reason for us to do this. Do you understand my point, Mr. Duane?"

"But it’s important to Byte Company, isn’t it?" This was Duane’s leverage, "With it, Byte Company won’t have any trouble.

You could even hit Nasdaq soon. Compared to these, twenty million US dollars is insignificant."

"It’s too much," Dean shook his head, "we don’t have that kind of capital, and I don’t think the current lawsuit will be a problem for us."

"Fifteen million," Duane quoted once more, this figure should be just right for the second round of funding for the other party.

Duane was betting on whether the top-tier venture capitalists would save Byte Company. If they were optimistic about it, this was a good opportunity.

However, Dean hadn’t considered this at all, "Mr. Duane, maybe I should remind you that Southern Bell’s previous lawsuit sought damages of 7.96 million US dollars!"

"This is different," Duane argued resolutely, "This is not a licensing fee, it’s a technology transfer. With it, Byte Company could do more, even charge patent fees from other companies."

"No! We don’t want to become the next Bell octopus!" Dean said before preparing to hang up the phone.

"Ten million!" Durell’s voice came faintly from the handset, but Dean still hung up the call.

"So?" Valentine looked over curiously, "Are they looking to settle?"

"At least there are some internal disagreements," Dean shrugged indifferently. Ten million was out of the question; Byte Software wasn’t going to be the sucker.

As he had just said, with three years of validity left, maybe even the lawsuit could drag on till then, not to mention that Byte Software had its patent improvements.

Valentine nodded in agreement with Dean’s decision, "This offer isn’t worth our while, but it’s good news nonetheless.

There might be friction between Southern Bell and AT&T; they’re looking for an opportunity to jump ship!"

Valentine was very confident in his analysis, believing it all stemmed from Dean’s performance at the hearing, which was broadcast by the television media.

"Dean, this proves our previous media strategy was right—they’re feeling the pressure!" Valentine strode excitedly back and forth in the office with his hands on his hips.

"Yeah~ I’ve repeated the same message in front of reporters countless times," Dean said with a helpless shrug, "Come on~ shouldn’t we cut back on these interview schedules a bit? I don’t have that much time."

"No!" Valentine shook his head firmly, "It’s not enough, Dean! We need to move onto an even bigger stage, which is why I’ve come to see you today."

"What?" Dean had a bad feeling, "Valentine, you haven’t arranged some weird event for me, right?"

"You guessed it right, Dean," Valentine boasted proudly, "a TV show, you’re going to like it."

"No Way~" Dean resisted, shaking his head, "Valentine, I’m a student... no, I’m a CEO, I’m not good at this kind of thing."

"You did a great job at the last hearing. Look, Byte Company has won the public’s favor thanks to the TV stations’ coverage of you.

We should capitalize on our advantage, Dean," Valentine persisted in persuading Dean to agree to such a program.

Founders in America also need to market their image, shareholders and investors like charming founders.

"This is so weird," Dean was still doubtful after some thought, "I haven’t heard of anyone in Silicon Valley going on a TV show."

"Ah ha~ Don’t be shy, my boy." Valentine put a friendly arm around Dean’s shoulder, "Let me tell you a secret, everyone in America is a talk show performer.

Politicians, sports stars, entertainment personalities, they’re full of lies, swearing with deceit, performing is in everyone’s nature.

Anyone can take the stage when necessary, including people like you and me."

"So? The show you prepared for me is a talk show?" However, Dean’s focus was elsewhere.

Valentine paused for a couple of seconds before shaking his head, "No, it’s an interview show. So, you want to do a talk show?"

"No," Dean shook his head without hesitation, "That’s not for me."

"OK, then that’s settled, it took me a lot of effort to get this interview invitation," Valentine clapped Dean’s shoulder happily.

Meanwhile, Dean, feeling like he was pushed into this, shook his head helplessly, "When exactly is it? Do I need to prepare anything in advance?"

"Los Angeles, Friday night. As for preparation..." Valentine stepped back to size him up, "nothing’s needed, you’re perfect as you are."

Look at that face, perhaps everybody will mistake him for a newcomer in the entertainment industry.

"Alright, I’ll make time for it in advance. But this kind of arrangement..." Dean spread his hands, "once is enough, I’m worried I might mess it up."

"Someone will arrange it for you, a professional from Los Angeles." The professionals Valentine talked about were agents near Hollywood.

They would tell Dean what to do and what to watch out for, everything was set up.

"By the way, Dean, have you heard of ’The Late Show with David Letterman’?" Just before leaving, Valentine suddenly turned and asked.

"No," Dean looked at him curiously, "Is there some important news?"

"Oh no, nothing," Valentine shook his head nonchalantly, as others said, Dean wasn’t much into watching television.

...

"Sir, choosing Subi Company is definitely the best decision you’ve made; we can find you suitable real estate anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area."

Martin courteously opened the car door for Dean, having spotted the shining Cadillac from afar.

He had already memorized the license plate number from a prior phone call, though its owner appeared far too young.

But Martin showed no surprise; anything was possible in the Bay Area.

Particularly those young people in plaid shirts and casual attire, for all one knew, they could be millionaires or even multimillionaires.

Dean, stepping out of the car, curiously looked around at the lawn, palm trees, blue sky, white clouds, and of course, the excessively warm sun.

The summer in California had made Dean adopt the habit of wearing sunglasses when stepping out, but the surroundings were nice; at least there was no trash or homeless people on the roadside.

"Is that a park?" Dean took the bottled water Anna handed him, pointing to the nearby woods and lawn, barely making out the tennis courts and the red track weaving through the trees.

"Yeah~" Martin proudly introduced to Dean and the others, "This is Palo Alto’s largest park, complete with a golf course, Beluz Sports Center, flying school, and fishing spot—definitely a great place to unwind.

Of course, there are also indispensable restaurants and cafes, and further north is the Inner Bay, where we can see the breathtaking sea view."

"Good~" Dean nodded in satisfaction, "So I could see all of these from upstairs?"

"Certainly," Martin said as he graciously opened the villa door, "Let me now show you the villa that’s so beautiful it drives people insane."

Right, Dean was here to view a house that day, having cashed out some of his stocks.