Chapter 16

The startup, NexGen Biologics, was housed in a low, three story building, about a kilometer from Macquarie University. The lead researcher, a frantic but brilliant man named Dr. Aris Thorne, gripped my forearm with a desperation that bordered on the manic. He know who I was and hauled me straight to the lab, gesturing at a series of pilot scale 100 liter bioreactors.

“We have extremely high reproducibility from run to run. We’ve cracked the variability issues. But we are not GMP-certified, so up until now, we’ve only been producing monoclonal antibodies for local researchers. It’s kept the lights on, but it’s a drop in the bucket. We need to both get GMP-certified as well as scale up, but to do this, we need someone with deep pockets to fund us.”

Aris Thorne was a true academic and lived his work, but as we walked, he would glance from the bioreactors to the woman beside me. He would start a sentence about sparger design, glance at Elena, then his face would flush a deep crimson. He was completely flustered by Elena’s mere presence. Even in her “professional” attire, a tailored charcoal pencil skirt and a silk cream blouse that hinted at the curves beneath, Elena was a force of nature. She didn’t say much, her intelligent eyes scanning the machinery with curiosity.

I steered us toward a glass-walled conference room to talk business. As the door clicked shut, Thorne finally regained some semblance of composure, though he still couldn’t quite look Elena in the eye. I leaned over the mahogany table, my voice shifting into the authoritative tone that had defined my career in Boston.

“Look, Aris, I’m impressed by what I’ve seen. I can’t promise anything, but I will be making the recommendation to the CEO and Board that we investigate and start due diligence.”

Thorne leant in, his eyes hungry for the lifeline I was offering. “Now, let’s assume the deal goes through,” I continued, my tone pragmatic. “The most likely outcome is a complete buyout. We would absorb the company and set up a local arm, retain your entire staff on salaries, and bring one of our people to head up the installation. Either me or someone reporting to me. I’ll be honest with you: we probably won’t turn this site into a mass-production facility. Australia is simply too expensive for that. Most likely, we would scale up what you are doing today to create a specialized research arm for biologics, basically a hub for experimentation and testing the ability to scale up.”

Thorne’s eyes lit up at my statement. “A research hub,” he breathed. “That’s much more interesting than large scale production. Other companies just wanted to purchase the IP and move the facility to Singapore or India.” I nodded at this, familiar with the approach.

“What do you think would happen to me?” Thorne asked, his voice suddenly uncertain.

I laughed. “Aris, be reasonable. We don’t spend millions of dollars purchasing a small start up like this only to get rid of the researchers who created the IP. That would be corporate malpractice. But again, let me stress that this is currently just talk. I need to send this up to the CEO and Board for approval, so they can take action.”

As we pulled away from the curb, Elena was practically bouncing in the passenger seat. Her bouncing did curious things to her chest, so I didn’t mind. “That was amazing, Jack! Truly,” she exclaimed, her voice ringing with excitement. “You tracked everything that Dr. Thorne said, then you pivoted and took complete control of the room. Can you actually make this happen?”

A smile spread across my face as I navigated the flow of Sydney traffic. The sight of her unbridled enthusiasm for my competence was a drug in itself. “Elena, the CEO and the board will listen to me,” I said. “They are desperate for growth, and they know that my team is the engine that makes it happen. In the grand scale of our annual revenue, this acquisition is essentially pennies, so it is less about the money and more about setting up a research pipeline that allows us to grow the business. And that’s my domain.”

Elena continued with her enthusiasm. “Jack, you are getting lucky tonight!”

I laughed in response. “Elena, I have been getting lucky every night. But I look forward to getting luckier, if that is even possible.”

The sudden ring of the Facetime tone startled us both. I glanced at the screen and felt a flicker of warmth. “Hey Craig, you’re certainly calling late!” I exclaimed, after answering the phone.

When Craig finally spoke, his voice lacking his usual youthful energy. “Hi Dad,” he murmured, the sound of a distant siren wailing in the background of his Boston night.

“And yes ... it’s near midnight here. Um, I wanted to ask you something. I spoke with Amy, and she mentioned she might stay with you for a while once the semester ends. I ... can I do the same thing?”

The request made me realize that he would have been stuck in the house with Claire. If Amy was already planning an escape, it was only a matter of time before Craig felt the walls closing in on him too. “Of course, Craig,” I said, my voice softening, instinctively stepping into the role of the anchor. “But as I told Amy, I am not sure where I am going to be. It could be Boston or it could be Australia. However, we can make it happen in either case.”