Davin was standing outside a company building when that day’s work finally started closing.
He was not alone. A middle-aged purchasing officer from the company had walked out with him, and the two of them were still talking near the road. Davin had taken the man to a place where people drank after work and relaxed enough to say useful things without feeling interrogated.
"I really enjoyed eting you," Davin said.
The man smiled. "Sa here."
Davin handed him an extra sealed bottle before he could leave.
"Take this as a gift from my side," Davin said. "And call ."
That pleased the man. He accepted the bottle, shook Davin’s hand, and walked away in a better mood than he had started with.
Only after that did Davin finally let his smile drop.
He stepped away from the light near the entrance, took out his phone, found Kenji’s number, and called.
Kenji answered almost at once.
"How did it go?"
"One more eting is fixed," Davin said.
On the other side, Kenji sounded pleased.
"Very nice, Davin. I didn’t know you had this kind of natural talent."
Davin smiled again, though this ti it was quieter.
"I didn’t know either," he said. "I always thought I was a huge introvert."
Since school, and then through college, Davin had mostly kept to himself. Most of what he had done before were part-ti roles, enough to keep his house running, so this company was the first thing that had felt bigger than survival. That was why he had started treating it differently. Sowhere inside his own head, it had already started feeling like his, enough that he wanted to push it upward instead of rely stand inside it.
That was why he had spent almost all his ti in the field since Adam had left them.
Kenji heard the tiredness under his voice and said, "All right. Go ho after this. You haven’t gone ho in two days."
Davin looked at the dark road for a mont.
"Don’t worry," he said. "I’ll go. I need to co in tomorrow morning and give the full briefing anyway."
After that, the call ended.
Later that night, back at Unit 14, Kenji was sitting with Shinju and Sera when another man sat across from them.
His na was Kiri Dalen. Shinju had known him for years. He had spent eight years in sales, most of them at levels where one conversation could move orders, margins, and entire client relationships. He had left his previous company because he wanted freedom, and that company gave him targets without giving him space.
So when Shinju called and told him a new company needed soone exactly like him, he had co.
Now he looked around the office and said, "You’ve built this place better than I expected. And after reading the notes you sent , it’s obvious you really do need one person whose whole job is selling this properly."
Kenji listened carefully. Shinju said nothing yet.
Kiri tapped the paper in front of him and added, "I’m ready to work with you."
"But I want to co in as a founder," Kiri said. "I’ll even put in so money from my side. Make part of the founding group, and I’ll co over."
Kenji’s face changed at once.
Shinju looked at him, then back at Kiri.
For a mont neither of them answered, and Kiri read enough from that silence to realize sothing was wrong.
"What?" he asked. "You two asked here. Don’t tell this part wasn’t possible from the start."
Shinju let out a slow breath.
"I’ll tell you the truth," she said. "Yes, this is our company in one sense. We’re the ones building it right now. But full control isn’t actually in our hands. The real founder is soone else. We are only the initial people running it."
Kiri stared at her.
That clearly was not what he had expected.
"No," he said. "Then that won’t work. I believe I’d get freedom here, yes, but I’ve always wanted to help build a company from inside, not just sell for one."
Kenji understood him too well to treat that lightly. Kiri would not co as a lazy employee. He would co as soone who would push the company like it belonged to him. That was why Kenji could not promise what did not belong to him.
After a deep breath, he said, "Shinju already told enough about your capability to know what kind of person you are, Kiri. But I’m sorry. I can’t give you founder shares from the company itself. I can’t pressure the original founder for that either."
He paused, then added, "If you really want in that badly, I’ll give you half of my own shares."
That made Kiri blink.
Before he could answer, Shinju said, "And if that’s still not enough, I can do the sa from my side."
Sera almost opened her mouth too, but Shinju quietly pressed a foot against hers under the table and stopped her there.
Kiri saw enough to understand what almost happened. He looked at them for a second, then laughed once and shook his head.
"You people are really trying to make emotional," he said.
The room eased a little after that. Kiri leaned back and thought properly this ti. What Kenji and Shinju had just offered was not clever negotiation. It was real.
At last he said, "Fine. If the main founder is the only one who can grant that position, then I’ll show my value first. I’ll co in on salary."
Kenji still looked surprised, and Kiri noticed that at once.
"My main goal is to grow this company like it’s my own," he said. "I still want a place beside you like a founder one day. But for now, salary is enough."
Then he nad the number.
"Twenty thousand Dollar a month."
Sera sat straighter. Even Kenji stared.
For a man with Kiri’s record, that was low. Soone with his background could have asked for at least twice that and still sounded reasonable.
Kiri saw the reaction and shrugged once. "I’ve already made enough money in other companies," he said. "That’s not the only thing I want anymore."
Shinju smiled at him.
"Then all we can promise is this," she said. "We can’t make you a founder ourselves. But if the original founder likes what you build here, he’ll be the one who can open that door."
Kiri nodded.
"Fair enough," he said. "Then let’s begin there."
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