American History 1988
Chapter 181 - 175 Can’t Hold Up

Chapter 181: Chapter 175 Can’t Hold Up

Dean Price was certain that IP telephony business would inevitably have a market in the future.

Just look at the various network voice calling software and services available later, even though network telephony for personal users is mostly free or very low-cost.

However, for corporate users, IP telephony has its own market, especially in North America and Europe, where IP telephony is widely used.

This is closely related to the geographical and international environment of the western world; multinational companies based in North America typically first expand into Europe.

If a company needs to conduct international meetings internally, that’s when IP telephony’s conference calling comes into its own.

Of course, with the current network environment, achieving this might be a bit difficult.

But this time won’t be too long, at most two years, and the prevalence of the network will grow exponentially.

So even though the soil for IP telephony business hasn’t been entirely perfected yet, it doesn’t affect Byte Company and MCI’s early layout.

At least MCI has ready-made fiber optic lines, and the conditions to pilot businesses in these three states of Virginia are already in place.

According to the negotiation results between Dean and Dave, Byte Company will join MCI to establish a subsidiary specializing in IP telephony called Word Link.

The registered capital is 2 million US dollars, as per the agreement Byte Company will contribute 700,000 US dollars, and will hold 35% of the shares through technology investment.

MCI will be responsible for the remaining registered capital and take 65% of Word Link’s shares with hardware resources and channel resources.

There is no doubt that this subsidiary is basically dominated by MCI, and there are no major objections to this within Byte Company.

After all, the communications field is MCI’s stronghold; it has a clear understanding of the entire industry’s vertical and horizontal sectors.

Byte Company only needs to focus on the technical R&D of the software aspect. Of course, learning about the business model of the communications field is also a good opportunity.

Although the conditions are more or less negotiated, there are still many details to be worked out before formally preparing a new company.

Moreover, the privatization of the NSF network has only just started piloting; MCI’s use of optical fibers for IP telephony business will not be possible until next year at the earliest.

So after reaching a preliminary agreement with Dean, Dave indulged himself in the San Francisco sunshine, courtesy of Durell, before leaving the West Coast with satisfaction.

Confirming the details of the contract terms and internal board discussion all take time.

Byte Company estimates that it will sign a specific contract with MCI in September or October, and if Word Link could be set up by the end of the year, it would be an incredibly fast progress.

Byte Company’s lawsuit with Bell finally came to an end, simultaneously completing its layout in the IP telephony market.

As for Southern Bell? Surprisingly, Duane chose to make another deal with Dean.

As for the content of the deal, let’s put that topic aside for now, because Dean has decided to take some time to relax for a bit.

Ahem, the main reason being that Jennifer Connelly had arrived.

"Dean, is this where you live?"

As Jennifer dragged her suitcase from the Cadillac, she looked blankly at the villa in front of her, wondering if she had come to the wrong place.

"Yes, I just moved in a month ago." After parking the car in the garage, Dean took her suitcase from her hands.

"Oh~God, this is crazy." Although Jennifer grew up in a well-to-do family and lived a very lavish life.

But the huge lawn, swimming pool, garden, carved house exterior walls, and the busy gardeners and butlers...

All of these reminded her that this was a real mansion, the kind of top-tier mansion she had only seen on television.

"Come on, let’s go inside and rest for a while, then change clothes and relax in the swimming pool."

The summer in California was extremely hot; just coming down from the car for a while, they were already sweaty.

Fanning the breeze with her pale palms and glancing at the clear pool on her right, Jennifer was somewhat tempted.

Dean had promised her resolutely over the phone that he would take care of her accommodation, Jennifer thought it would be a hotel or some female friend’s apartment.

But she did not expect it to be the scene before her. In fact, when she saw the Cadillac at the airport, Jennifer was already somewhat surprised.

This was not a car for ordinary people, and she naïvely thought it was Dean’s company’s official car.

"Jenny, come on in. There’s air conditioning here and all kinds of chilled drinks."

Seeing Jennifer still dazed, Dean standing on the steps couldn’t help but urge her again.

"OK~" Jennifer shrugged optimistically and quickly caught up.

Alright, there was enough space here; she really didn’t have to worry about accommodation.

Once inside the house, the luxurious decor once again surprised Jennifer.

"Dean, I’m curious, is this place rented or..."

"This is my place in Silicon Valley; I just completed the transaction last month."

Dean generously explained to Jennifer about the purchase of this property.

"One million dollars?! Oh my god..." Jennifer was stunned by the price.

Although she was a somewhat well-known actress in Hollywood, her pay for a single movie was only several hundred thousand dollars.

Jennifer found it hard to imagine Dean being able to afford such an expensive house, "If I remember correctly, you said you came from Ohio..."

Jennifer had gathered quite a lot of information about Dean.

His background, his family situation, his educational journey—recent newspapers and television had detailed it all quite extensively.

All the data showed that Dean was an absolute country boy, with no notable family background to speak of.

But the scene before her made Jennifer question whether Dean was playing up his hardships.

As if knowing what she was thinking, Dean laughed and led her upstairs. "I indeed come from Ohio, and it’s true that I nearly couldn’t put together the tuition to come to Stanford.

However, it was also because my family urgently needed money at that time, along with the tuition issue, that I started thinking of ways to make money."

Eventually, I chose what I was best at and started my own website, using it as a base to provide information services for the housing market.

Slowly, I made my first pot of gold, and then I took that money to expand my investments, starting to grow the business across the entire state of Ohio.

After more than half a year, I had not only gathered enough for my tuition, but I even had a considerable sum left over.

When I got to Stanford, I used this surplus to start what is now Byte Company.

However, unexpectedly, the Ohio business kept growing, and a year later, I even had enough money to buy myself a house in Silicon Valley.

"So?" Dean stopped on the stairs, looking down at Jennifer behind him, "That’s my entire experience after high school."

"An amazing journey. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked that question just now..." Jennifer felt embarrassed about her earlier thoughts.

"No, it’s good." Dean said with a smile, stretching out his hand, "I’m happy to share my experiences."

Jennifer looked up to see Dean standing a few steps above her in the hallway, smiling down at her.

The sunlight from outside hit his face from the side, casting a golden glow on his eyelashes, nose bridge, smile, and his entire being.

She slowly placed her hand in his, broad, warm, and tingling slightly.

"So, miss," Dean said, holding Jennifer’s hand as they continued upstairs, "how about you share your experience now? Like how did you persuade your mother to let you come to California for a vacation all by yourself?"

At that question, Jennifer couldn’t help but laugh.

"Wow, I guess some girl snuck out," Dean guessed what was up, seeing the slight smugness on her face.

"Yeah, but not entirely," Jennifer said in her white tank top, sharing her summer escape plan with Dean, still laughing.

Her movie promotion had been temporarily put on hold because the release was delayed, so her original marketing schedule was postponed.

With no schedule to follow, Jennifer no longer had to appear on various show sets. Consequently, her mother Irin also had some free time.

Besides being Jennifer’s manager, Irin was also an antique dealer.

There happened to be a small trade show in France, and with nothing else to do, Irin naturally got back to her old job.

Seizing the opportunity of her mother’s trip to Europe, Jennifer used the excuse that a classmate in California had invited her for a vacation and stealthily slipped away from home.

Her father Gerard was a clothing merchant, busy with business all the time and had no opportunity to fuss over such minor matters.

Moreover, Jennifer was already 20 years old, an adult who could make her own decisions about some matters.

So, taking advantage of her mother’s absence and her father’s preoccupation with business, Jennifer boarded a flight to California by herself.

Subconsciously, she believed Dean to be a trustworthy person, a belief justified by their pleasant first encounter.

"Miss, I bow to your courage and cunning," they had reached the second floor, where there were many spacious rooms.

"You’ll stay here for the next few days..." Dean saw her hesitant gaze and smiled slightly, "Before you get hung up on choosing which room, how about we go down and enjoy the pool first?"

"Great idea," Jennifer indeed needed the cool pool to soothe her slightly uneasy heart.

Half an hour later, Jennifer, dressed in a dark blue swimsuit, walked barefoot step by step down the stairs toward the pool.

Dean, already soaking in the water, saw her from afar and fell into a daze.

This was his first time seeing Jennifer Connelly in a swimsuit, and that too from such a close distance.

Long, smooth legs, a graceful figure beneath the swimsuit, skin pale to the point of being dazzling, she seemed like a porcelain doll.

She approached slowly, like a character from a classical painting, noble and elegant.

Those deep, captivating eyes caught Dean off guard.

Damn it, for a moment Dean thought Jennifer had stuffed two balloons under her swimsuit; they were just too big.

"Jenny, if there really are angels in the world, they must be like you," he said.

Splashing a few times, Dean swam to the edge and gently helped her into the water.

Dean had never been this gentlemanly to any lady before, and he was sure no one could rival Jennifer’s figure.

"Thank you, Dean~" The clear pool water drenched her hair, eyelashes, skin, and her whole being shimmered in the water.

Dean couldn’t resist drawing closer, "Jenny, I am now absolutely certain that you are the most beautiful scenery here."

Jennifer Connelly quietly looked at him without speaking, her profound green eyes seeming to possess a soul-stealing magic.

It wasn’t until Dean wrapped his arms around her waist that she belatedly looped her fair arms around his neck.

Beneath the ripples of water, two shadows drew closer until they merged into one.

At this moment, they were just 20-year-old young men and women, attracted to each other, acting on emotion and gradually getting immersed.

Drip, drip, drip... The damn ringing interrupted the two sticking together in the pool.

"Oh~ God, I should never have bought it," Dean deeply regretted his decision to buy the Motorola just then.

"Come on, I’m right here," Jennifer said with a smile, pushing against his chest, signaling him to answer the phone.

Dean, a swimming champ, reached the edge of the pool in a few seconds and quickly picked up the call.

"This is Dean Price. If there’s no emergency, please call again tomorrow, thanks~"

"It’s me, Dean, don’t forget what you promised Bell. I’ve seen the news in the paper, I guess you’re prepared, aren’t you?"

Duane’s voice came calmly from the other end, a matter he and Dean had previously agreed upon.

Well, receiving his call made Dean realize that September was almost upon them.