entrepreneurs of the decade, among Forbes’ Top 100 Millionaires… “God, is that me?” He couldn’t believe it. His eyes spotted the words “former drummer of the pop-rock band The Jackal… angel investor at Twitter, Evernote, Dropbox, Buffer…” There were a few more company names he hadn’t even heard of. Further down, he saw the number “$35 million.” He could hear his heart beating loudly in his ears. Did he really own so much money? The birth date under the photo matched his; he saw Monique’s name under “wife” and his daughter’s name under “children.”
“What, for God’s sake, is going on here?” he asked, sinking in a chair next to Chad. Wayne was walking nervously to and fro and seemed to have forgotten about the others’ existence.
“That’s nothing,” Chad laughed. “Look what it says about me!” He typed his name in the search box and soon after that, Wikipedia loaded his page. “Chad Keeney, a singer of contemporary pop and rock with electronic elements, (former) lead singer of the band The Jackal.” His eyes slid down along the category “Discography.” His last album from 2014 was at the top of Billboard’s chart and his song “Your Boyfriend” had a platinum status – it had sold over two million copies around the world. Under the category “Personal life,” it was written that he lived in Malibu, Los Angeles County. Craig stole a glance at Chad – he, just like everyone else, had a perplexed look on his face and was trying to assimilate all this new information.
“Ashley, do you know you own a fashion and perfume company based in New York and are worth 12 million dollars?” Craig said. He tried to read as much information as he could about their band The Jackal, as well as about each of them separately. Wikipedia said their first album had been extremely successful, had sold two million copies, and had turned them into music stars. It had been followed by another two albums before the band had broken apart. Each of them, however, had managed to start a successful business after that.
She nodded at him – she’d already looked this up on her smartphone.
“That was your goal after all, wasn’t it?” Harry asked.
“I guess so,” Chad mumbled. “I can’t deny we did get what we wanted.”
“You are wrong, buddy. I didn’t sign up for this! You told me, ‘Let’s go and fix our failed showcase.’ Well, nobody warned me it would come to this!” Wayne exclaimed.
“Oh, come on, wasn’t it why we embarked on this trip? Each of us was dissatisfied with our current life and wanted something more. Well, now we are successful, whatever it means.”
“That’s it! Chad’s right.” Ashley grinned. “We even got more than we expected. Why worry, then?”
“Then we struck gold with this experiment!” Craig exclaimed joyfully.
Wayne laughed and sank in a chair next to him. His laughter, however, sounded more unnatural than happy.
“I still can’t believe it – this seems unreal.”
“Better get used to it, buddy, because that’s our new life,” Craig answered. “Never mind, I really have to go now.”
Before they left, Harry gave each of them a sheet of paper with addresses typed on them.
Craig took his and gasped.
“Whoo-hoo, all of us except for Chad live in LA. I’m in Beverley Hills. Ash, you’ve got a house in the Big Apple.”
“Okay, but how are we going to get back then? It’s a five or six-hour ride to LA,” Ashley said.
“Good point. I think we should stay in a hotel and leave tomorrow morning,” Chad suggested. The rest of them nodded approvingly.
They came out of Harry’s lab and went toward their cars. They were flabbergasted when, instead of their slightly worn lesser models, they saw brand new and expensive cars. Even Craig’s corporate Ford Mustang had been replaced.
“Jesus, it’s like Christmas!” Wayne exclaimed, going around the cars with a gaping mouth.
“How do we know which is whose?” Ashley
“What, for God’s sake, is going on here?” he asked, sinking in a chair next to Chad. Wayne was walking nervously to and fro and seemed to have forgotten about the others’ existence.
“That’s nothing,” Chad laughed. “Look what it says about me!” He typed his name in the search box and soon after that, Wikipedia loaded his page. “Chad Keeney, a singer of contemporary pop and rock with electronic elements, (former) lead singer of the band The Jackal.” His eyes slid down along the category “Discography.” His last album from 2014 was at the top of Billboard’s chart and his song “Your Boyfriend” had a platinum status – it had sold over two million copies around the world. Under the category “Personal life,” it was written that he lived in Malibu, Los Angeles County. Craig stole a glance at Chad – he, just like everyone else, had a perplexed look on his face and was trying to assimilate all this new information.
“Ashley, do you know you own a fashion and perfume company based in New York and are worth 12 million dollars?” Craig said. He tried to read as much information as he could about their band The Jackal, as well as about each of them separately. Wikipedia said their first album had been extremely successful, had sold two million copies, and had turned them into music stars. It had been followed by another two albums before the band had broken apart. Each of them, however, had managed to start a successful business after that.
She nodded at him – she’d already looked this up on her smartphone.
“That was your goal after all, wasn’t it?” Harry asked.
“I guess so,” Chad mumbled. “I can’t deny we did get what we wanted.”
“You are wrong, buddy. I didn’t sign up for this! You told me, ‘Let’s go and fix our failed showcase.’ Well, nobody warned me it would come to this!” Wayne exclaimed.
“Oh, come on, wasn’t it why we embarked on this trip? Each of us was dissatisfied with our current life and wanted something more. Well, now we are successful, whatever it means.”
“That’s it! Chad’s right.” Ashley grinned. “We even got more than we expected. Why worry, then?”
“Then we struck gold with this experiment!” Craig exclaimed joyfully.
Wayne laughed and sank in a chair next to him. His laughter, however, sounded more unnatural than happy.
“I still can’t believe it – this seems unreal.”
“Better get used to it, buddy, because that’s our new life,” Craig answered. “Never mind, I really have to go now.”
Before they left, Harry gave each of them a sheet of paper with addresses typed on them.
Craig took his and gasped.
“Whoo-hoo, all of us except for Chad live in LA. I’m in Beverley Hills. Ash, you’ve got a house in the Big Apple.”
“Okay, but how are we going to get back then? It’s a five or six-hour ride to LA,” Ashley said.
“Good point. I think we should stay in a hotel and leave tomorrow morning,” Chad suggested. The rest of them nodded approvingly.
They came out of Harry’s lab and went toward their cars. They were flabbergasted when, instead of their slightly worn lesser models, they saw brand new and expensive cars. Even Craig’s corporate Ford Mustang had been replaced.
“Jesus, it’s like Christmas!” Wayne exclaimed, going around the cars with a gaping mouth.
“How do we know which is whose?” Ashley
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