Page 97 of Wild Justice

Scott had known that he’d never get anywhere in business without some help. That’s where Ben came in. They’d also needed capital to start the company, and Martin was looking to invest in a startup with the millions he’d inherited. It had all worked out - after some blood, sweat, and tears - and now they were sitting pretty on the twentieth floor of a fancy high-rise office building in Manhattan.

It was a far cry from Harper, Montana.

While Ben loved his family and the town, he’d always wanted to spread his wings. He’d wanted to take on the world and accomplish great things. And he hadn’t wanted to do it in the shadow of his famous father.

Ben didn’t bother to sip at the whiskey, instead shooting it down in one go and then feeling the heat all the way to his belly.

“Should I pour another one?” he asked, but Martin shook his head.

“I need you to stay at least sober while I talk to you. What you do after I leave is your business. Listen, Scott came back from vacation the day you left. He’s made some changes in his life, and it’s going to affect us all.”

Scott was always making changes. First, there was the vegan era, then the mysticism era, or was it astrology? Ben couldn’t keep up as Scott was always searching for the answers to the big questions of life and the meaning behind it.

Maybe I should do that more often? But that really isn’t me.

“He’s joined some sort of group, and he’s decided he doesn’t believe in capitalism.”

Ben had to play Martin’s words over and over in his head to be able to decipher them. He wasn’t making any sense.

“He doesn’t believe in capitalism? How does that even work? It exists. He can’t say he doesn’t believe in something that exists. I could understand ghosts or something like that. There are questions there, but not with capitalism.”

“Okay,” Martin sighed. “Let me rephrase it. Scott has renounced capitalism. He doesn’t believe in making money from other people. He doesn’t want us to sell the software anymore. He wants to give it away for free.”

“For free?” Ben echoed, not quite believing what he was hearing. “Are you kidding? Is this some kind of a prank?”

“I wish it was, my friend. Scott isn’t kidding. He’s already sold all of his property, and he’s moving out of state. He didn’t tell me where, but he’s not kidding, and he is serious. He didn’t tell me until he’d made all the moves. He said he didn’t want me to try and talk him out of it.”

“Did you try? Because this is crazy and probably just a phase. In a few weeks?—”

“It won’t matter because he’s already given or sold his possessions and donated the money. It’s a done deal, Ben. I told Scott that I couldn’t give away our product, and although I couldn’t speak for you, I didn’t think you’d want to do that either. He said he understood, and he signed the company over to the two of us. Free and clear. Scott holds no interest in the company anymore. He even handed me his key to the office.”

Ben fell back into the cushions of his couch, reeling from the news. First, Sophie, and now Scott. Was the world going insane?

“I get it,” Ben said. “First thing tomorrow, we need to start looking for someone to replace Scott. We’ll put the feelers out. It may take some time but?—”

“Ben,” Martin interrupted. “You and I both know that there is no replacement for Scott. He, and only he, knows the technology. He invented it.”

“That doesn’t mean that someone couldn’t figure it out,” Ben argued. “We have to try.”

“Scott Harrington is a genius,” Martin replied softly. “A certified genius who was able to invent data analysis technology that others can only dream about. It would take a team of dozens of people years to reverse engineer what Scott created. Frankly, I don’t think we have the time. If we can’t support our product, how can we, in good conscience, keep selling it? No, we need to close down. It’s the only option.”

Close down?

“I can’t believe or accept that it’s our only option.”

Ben was in a daze that this was really happening. Maybe he’d wake up in the morning, and it would all be a weird dream because he’d eaten too much spicy food.

Martin sat down next to Ben, his expression grim.

“Let me put it another way. I’m ready to move on, Ben. I don’t want to struggle for years or longer trying to replace someone that I’m not sure can even be replaced. I invested in this company because it sounded profitable and fun. That’s changed. I want to take the profits and invest in something else. Something I enjoy. Frankly, I don’t want to do any hard work. With the money we have on hand, we can give the employees generous severance and still have some money left to tide us over for a long while. If invested smartly, maybe a lifetime.”

“You mean me, right? You’re not worried about money.”

Martin bowed his head and nodded.

“You’re right. I was talking about you. You’re a known entity in this town, and you’ll bounce back with no problems. You have a great reputation. I predict companies will be falling all over themselves to recruit you once the word gets out that we’re closing down.”

Ben didn’t want to work for someone else. That’s why he’d jumped on this startup idea with Scott and Martin.

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