The deal went through, thankfully, despite William's unsavory display; it was still tolerated as they felt that Quantum Innovation would be the next big thing.

  Eve sighed as they walked back to their car, "You are an absolute buffoon, you know that?"

  William rolled his eyes, "Of course. I'm not stupid."

  She stared at him, "Then why did you do that?"

  He stopped in his tracks, "That was because I was stupid. I just couldn't control myself when I'm annoyed, you know?"

  She remained silent for a few seconds as she maintained eye contact before sighing, "I guess your bluntness still helped me quite a bit. I was able to raise the prices because of it."

  "Oh, yeah. I was meaning to ask. Why did you raise the price?"

  She grinned and raised his index finger, "It's quite simple, my dear William. You see, we thought they had the upper hand, and they bluffed quite well. But then, they made a mistake by asking you a personal question, and your little outburst showed me that, despite them feeling quite disrespected, they were more than willing to overlooked it. That was when I realized that they wanted us more than we needed them. So I raised our price, and I was right."

  William nodded. That was to be expected, to be honest. That was also why he didn't really correct her when she asked for more than what they had originally discussed.

  In the past, when he was young, he was far better at reading people than he was now. He suspected that it was because the adults simply didn't care what the children thought or that they simply didn't thought a child would be analyzing them. So they didn't bother wearing their masks as tightly in front of him. But now that he was older, people seemed harder to read, and despite having an advantage with his chromothesia, they were able to, overall, hide their true selves a lot better.

  Still, it was still easy for him to read the mood of people. For example, he was not only annoyed with the tie but also annoyed by the disgusting bile-green color he saw when the man, Noah, started talking.

  Still, he'd like to say he restrained himself quite well. That was partly because Eve stopped him, but still, it took quite a lot of effort to still restrain himself.

  He smiled at Eve, "I guess I'll leave all future negotiations to you, Eve." Then, he hardened his face, "Though, don't ever bend to anybody's demand just for profit if it doesn't fit our principle. We don't want to have too many skeletons in our closet."

  She nodded seriously, "Alright, Will. Don't worry. I know not to show weaknesses, especially in negotiations."

  He smiled and nodded, satisfied. "Shall we go eat something? I heard steaks in Texas are quite a treat."

  Her eyes sparkled and she grinned as she ran towards the car, "Come on, Will. We need to get there, quick!"

  He chuckled, but he ran after her.

  1999, February 16th

  It was the day William would release the browser. After news of the deal between Dell and Quantum Innovation went public, QuantumOS reached 20% market share. Imagine being a competitor in the OS market and a newcomer took 20% of the market just after two months. That's gotta hurt.

  It was not only the day the browser would be released but also Eve's birthday. In January, after the negotiation with Dell, he bought the majority shares in many companies he knew would rise in the future. For example, Ubisoft. He could buy a 50% share for just around $80M. While it was quite expensive, it would be worth it as in 2020, it would be a multi-billion dollar company. Another example would be Epic Games. Or rather, Epic MegaGames, as it was known back in January. It was a small company, and he acquired a 60% share in the company for a few million dollars through direct cash and shell companies, just like with Ubisoft.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  He also invested his money in some newcomers like Google, for which he got a 20% stake for just a $10M dollar investment. While the future of the companies would likely change due to his actions, it was still better to have a stake in these companies, just in case their trajectory still went the same way. He was already worth a billion dollars, and that was just from the sales of the OS and the investments. While he only had a few hundred thousand left in liquid cash, his stocks would likely be worth a billion.

  William smiled as he knocked on Eve's door, "Are you ready, Eve?"

  She yelled back, "Just wait a damn minute, Will. You've asked that like a dozen times already."

  He whined, "Sorry. I'm just impatient."

  She didn't reply. William walked back into his room and looked at himself in the mirror. This was a special day, so he wore a suit. While he didn't like wearing suits, Eve liked them, so he was willing to make a sacrifice for her on her birthday. What a noble man he was. His hair was still unkempt, and he didn't bother to clean that mess. Every time he tried to tame his hair, it had just gone back to being a mess after about an hour. Even with hair gel, it didn't help.

  His thoughts were interrupted by the knock on the door. "Will, I'm ready."

  "Coming."

  He put on the suit jacket and walked out the door, only to be greeted by an absolutely stunning Eve. She wore a black dress. It was long and modest, but it complemented her greatly. Her white short asymmetrically cut bob hair went great with her style.

  He gave her a thumbs-up, "You look nice."

  She rolled her eyes, "You really know how to flatter a girl, Will."

  He raised his hands up in mock surrender, "What am I supposed to do? Say you don't? That would be a lie, my Eve."

  She blushed a little but quickly hid it, "That's more like it. Shall we?" She extended her hand towards him, and he naturally took it.

  They arrived at the restaurant, which was an upscale French place Eve had picked out. William didn't bother making the reservation under a fake name because the public simply didn't know him yet. Though he did put his name as William Winters instead of his real last name.

  The ma?tre d' led them to a private corner table. William pulled out Eve's chair before she could.

  "Chivalry isn't dead, I suppose." She teased as she sat down.

  William grinned, "Of course not. This is your birthday. I'll be your knight, just for today."

  "Just today?"

  "Are you perhaps suggesting I be your knight every day?"

  "Maybe."

  He shook his head, "Too bothersome. Besides, you wouldn't want a lazy knight in your service, my lady."

  She nodded gracefully, "Then, I suppose I shall make full use of you tonight."

  "Your wish is my command, my lady."

  After that, the ma?tre d' returned with the menus. "Good evening, Monsieur, Madame. May I take your orders?" He spoke in a heavy French accent.

  It's time to use my Language skill to good use. Fucking took too long just to learn French. He thought to himself as he ordered, "Ah, oui… je prendrai le filet mignon, s'il vous pla?t. Rare." (Ah, yes… I'll have the filet mignon, please. Rare.)

  Eve laughed softly at his antics, "And I’ll have the duck confit."

  "Excellente choix, ma chère Eve," William added, leaning back in his chair. "Et, pour les boissons... une bouteille de votre meilleur vin rouge. Nous fêtons un anniversaire, après tout." (And, for drinks... a bottle of your best red wine. We're celebrating a birthday, after all.)

  The ma?tre d’ nodded, quite shocked at his perfect French, "Très bien, monsieur. Anything else?"

  William paused, "Oui… un amuse-bouche, s'il vous pla?t. Quelque chose de surprenant, s'il te pla?t." (Yes… an appetizer, please. Something surprising, please.)

  The ma?tre d’ smiled and took their orders, "Very well, Monsieur, Madame. Your selection shall be served shortly."

  Eve complimented him, "Your French is really good."

  He grinned, "Of course, it is."

  She looked at him, "So... did you get me anything?"

  "I did." He pulled out a small gift. It was a silver watch with an engraving on the back, "For your companionship. For 14 years."

  She looked at it, somewhat nostalgic, "It's really been 14 years, huh?"

  He nodded as he stared into her, "Yeah. It really has been." He paused, "You know, you look beautiful today."

  She blushed as she turned to the side, "Thanks. You also look handsome, Will."

  William saw a bit of pink as he heard her speak. Does she like me? I'm like 80% sure, but that's not good odds, considering my emotional intelligence. He quickly threw the thoughts away, "Thank you."

  The ma?tre d’ arrived with red wine. After pouring the red wine for them, he left.