Chapter 14

Dad pulled the squad car into the gravel lot outside the West Texas Feed and Supply, the familiar smell of grain and fertilizer hitting us before we even opened the doors. To say I was nervous about this meeting was an understatement. I pulled on the collar of my dress shirt and tried to relax my nerves.

This meeting was important and would set me up for long-term success, if I could convince Mr. Plummer’s partner to help us. This wasn’t like gambling. I couldn’t just stumble into this because I knew what would ultimately happen. I needed connections no amount of future knowledge would give me.

Inside, Mr. Plummer stood behind the counter, clearly waiting for us. He looked up when the bell chimed our arrival, a slow smile spreading across his face.

“Tom, Blake. Right on time.”

“Darren,” Dad said, shaking his hand firmly. “Appreciate you setting this up.”

“Course. Y’all follow me on back. Corey’s already here, been nursing a cup of coffee for the better part of twenty minutes and making faces at my quarterly reports. I swear, twenty years working with the man and he still doesn’t trust that I can put two and two together and get the right answer.” Mr. Plummer gestured toward the back of the store. “Fair warning, though, he’s been asking questions about this whole thing since he walked in.”

That comment didn’t help my nerves a lot.

We wound through the aisles, past bags of feed and farming equipment, toward Mr. Plummer’s office. The back room smelled like old coffee laid on top of the other smells, not doing a lot to hide them. There were filing cabinets lining one wall and a desk, which had definitely seen better decades, that was stacked with papers, just like the last time we were here.

A man in a navy suit sat in one of the chairs facing the desk, flipping through a stack of some kind of ledger paper, turned as we entered. He was probably Dad’s age, maybe a few years older, with brown hair that showed early signs of thinning. His watch caught the fluorescent light, definitely expensive but not flashy.

“Corey, meet Tom Sims and his boy Blake,” Mr. Plummer said, settling behind his desk. “Tom’s a deputy up in Midland.”

Mr. Henderson stood and extended his hand to Dad first. “Pleasure to meet you, Deputy. Darren’s told me good things about your family.”

“Likewise. Blake here’s been looking forward to this meeting.”

Mr. Henderson turned to me, his handshake firm but measured. “Blake. I understand you have an investment opportunity you want to discuss.”

“Yes, sir. I really appreciate you taking the time to hear me out.”

We all settled into chairs, Mr. Plummer leaning back with his coffee while Mr. Henderson opened a small leather notebook.

“Now, Blake,” Mr. Plummer began. “Mr. Henderson here’s been in the investment game longer than you’ve been alive. Made his business in oil and gas, got more sense about money than most folks got about breathing. If he says something’s worth doing, you can take it to the bank.”

Mr. Henderson nodded slightly. “What Darren means is I primarily work with energy sector investments, oil wells, and natural gas. Been at it for about twenty years now. I have to admit, I’m curious what kind of opportunity a fifteen-year-old has stumbled across that requires my particular expertise, or how you conned Darren here into cheerleading so hard for you.”

I straightened in my chair, trying to channel the confidence I’d felt while practicing this pitch in the mirror. “Well, sir, I’ve spent a lot of time reading about the Internet and have participated in online chat rooms. Through all that research, I learned about a new company that’s just forming. I really believe this business has the potential to become incredibly valuable.”

“What does this company do?”

“It’s going to be an online bookstore. Customers can order books through their computers, and the books get shipped directly to them. Because it will operate nationally, even internationally eventually, it can get the same bulk discounts as the big chain stores, but without the expensive retail overhead or all the employees. That lets them undercut their competition on price.”

“I’m sure that’s all fascinating, but why do you think it’s worth investing in?”

“Because I think it’s just the beginning and it’s going to be one of the first big players in that space. I think this isn’t just about one business, although I think this business is the one that will capitalize the best on what’s coming. I think this is about the long-term growth of the Internet itself. Online shopping is going to become huge as more people get comfortable with the technology. This is the direction the world is heading, and I want to get in on it early.”

“Blake, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I have to ask, why would people want to buy books online when they can just drive to their local bookstore? They can see the book, flip through it, talk to someone who might have read it. Plus, there’s the whole question of security; are people really going to trust putting their credit card information into a computer?”

“That’s exactly what makes this such a good opportunity. Right now, most people are skeptical, just like you’re being. But convenience will win out eventually; we’ve seen it time and again. Catalogs put the door-to-door salesman out of business. More widespread retail put the catalogs out of business. Big box stores put the mom-and-pop stores out of business. This is what’s going to put the big box stores out of business. This is what’s next. People are getting more comfortable with technology every year. And as for selection, a physical bookstore can only stock so many titles. An online store could theoretically offer every book in print.”