"William, are you planning to become a philanthropist? If you'd donate a bit more, the poor guys could eat a little better," Steve Jobs teased.
"Come on, Steve, these are all symbols of counterculture. Why can't you do something prestigious?" William White shot back at Steve Jobs's jibe.
Facing the bluntness of Jobs, William felt the need to retaliate. His hard-earned money wasn't going to feed everyone, and wasn't the saying, 'don't bail someone out of poverty'? Why should he make things easier for them?
Seeing his smug face, Jobs had no choice but to change the topic.
"Where is that jerk Bill? Did his old junker break down again?"
"Ha! He probably stole something of yours and is a bit scared to show up," William laughed.
Just as he was about to make another jab, a voice came from behind.
"You two clowns, gossiping about people, don't you know that's wrong?"
"Pfft, I'm not afraid to say it right in front of him," William retorted confidently.
Today's meeting was indeed odd. William White had no clue why Bill Gates decided he needed to meet him, instead of just going to Los Angeles directly. It was unnecessary for Jobs to set it up.
If this had been a year earlier, the meeting of these three would have made many uneasy. Now, though, it hardly mattered. Clear-eyed folks could see that Jobs's time was up.
"Bill, are you planning to recruit Jobs?" William said mockingly.
"My foundation's too small for that. But if you're willing to take him in, he might actually be happy about it," Bill Gates shrugged dismissively.
"I wouldn't mind him helping out," William replied.
"I'd mind. I've had enough of you Wall Street guys," Jobs said, visibly agitated.
"Hey, Steve, different positions give rise to different perspectives. Markkula isn't half bad," William stated.
Jobs had no words left, and he realized that reaching this point with Markkula was indeed a tragedy. In reality, anyone working with Jobs would find it quite challenging due to his strong-willed nature.
"Alright, Bill, what are you planning to do?"
Of course, Bill Gates had a clear goal in mind. With so many spin-offs, if one of them delved into operating systems, he'd face a serious problem.
"Let me put it this way, Bill, if you don't dabble in office software, I won't venture into operating systems."
"Fine, then it's settled. If -- and I mean if -- you decide to sell office software, would you sell it to me?"
"Not happening. But if you plan to take a stake, I could relinquish management rights."
"Are you sure?"
"My focus is on business software; databases are key."
"Okay, it's a deal."
"Sounds good."
Bill wasn't worried about being fooled by William; he sensed changes in White Software, prompting him to go straight to the point. Had it not been for a lack of cash, he would have tried to acquire office software right then and there.
William saw this as a win-win, far better than Bill starting something from scratch. Collaborating would surely build a stronger company.
In fact, Bill Gates believed that William White and Jobs were cut from the same cloth as he was. The most significant common trait was their immense desire for control.
As for White's idea of recruitment, that wasn't in the cards for them. If Jobs were willing to settle, he wouldn't have left Apple in the first place.
"Bill, have you released the latest version yet?"
"Almost there, it'll be this month. If no bugs appear, it will be launched by the end of the year."
William couldn't help but scoff quietly; what's a few bugs? Aren't you the king of patches? Clearly, Bill hadn't nailed it yet.
Yet again, many things were better left unsaid; if they were said directly, there wouldn't be any friends left.
"Can't you just take a look and not make it such a fuss?"
Alright, there was clearly someone who saw things differently from William. He felt a bit sorry for Markkula; how could he put up with this for so long?
Seeing the two ready to clash, William jumped in to ease the tension.
"Alright, alright, you two, there's no need to argue. One's in a closed-loop system, while the other is in the open; that's the fundamental difference. The customers have no choice, so why fight?"
Both men paused. Jobs recalled William's advice from years ago, then looked at Bill Gates across from him, and sighed inwardly. It's easy to say these things, but how could Apple allow others to use its system? Besides, whether other companies would agree was still debatable.
Bill soon got the picture, understanding why Jobs didn't seem too concerned. This wasn't just about Jobs about to leave Apple; the customer bases of their companies were simply different.
In reality, Jobs probably held some grudging approval for this situation. The current Macintosh was doing poorly; in some ways, Windows had helped keep the idea of graphical operating systems alive.
With this understanding, Bill Gates dropped the banter. If you want to complain, go ahead -- he was just proving his worth.
Although the trio's meeting wasn't exactly friendly, it did clear the air on several matters. Strangely enough, aside from William doing nothing, the other two were swamped with work.
...
William knew that Intel was about to roll out the 80386 chip. Once that hit the market, graphical operating interfaces would emerge brilliantly.
When that happened, the DOS system might just fade away. The moment Jobs had long anticipated was drawing near, but unfortunately, he wouldn't be around to see it.
Tragedy seemed to follow Jobs. When he rose again, illness ultimately claimed his life. What was the point in his success if it ended in a handful of dirt?
Having concluded his grand charitable endeavor, William White returned to Los Angeles. He had spent quite a bit lately and was looking for new ways to make some money.
Pretty Woman had finished filming, and post-production needed to get underway soon. After working together for a while, Sophie was maturing; the naive girl she once was seemed like a thing of the past.
...
"How did it go, sir?"
"It was alright. You still need to keep an eye on Microsoft; that guy has no integrity. Although he says he won't develop office software, there's no contract to back that."
Tom internally rolled his eyes, thinking, boss, your problems are piling up. How can you rely on anything like that? If the Justice Department finds out, it'll be a whole new mess.
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.