Hunch
"I don't understand." This was Carl Jung Chen's first reaction. He often reacted to things that he couldn't comprehend in this manner, a habit that Richard Lee found to be rather helpful whenever he wanted to know when he was needed to explain things a second time, which was in fact quite a rare occasion. Since he was about to do something quite extraordinary, though, he felt that he was willing to explain things a second - even a third - time.
"I'm going to start a gaming company and I want you to be my Chief Financial Officer."
"Yeah, that's the part I don't understand." In Richard's mind, there was nothing not to understand. He had given the incredibly simplified version of the story. He felt that his sentence had been quite pithy; so much truth was contained in one utterance and really he should have been congratulated, maybe with his friend accepting his job offer.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Why not?" Richard grinned, as if he had just completed a rather deft syllogism.
"You know what happened. The Video Game Crash of 1983."
"Look, look," he said, pulling Carl by the arm and leaning in as if he was going to tell him something confidential, which he was. "None of this leaves the room, all right?"
"Whatever, man."
Richard made a mental note never to tell him of his involvement in the Department of Defense and skipped right over to the second topic on his mind.
"Look, I can tell. This is going to be a big year. This is the year video games come back into the market."
"I can tell. That's why you want to start it. There's nothing secret or sensitive about that."
"No, I'm about to tell you why I can tell."
"All right."
"Ready?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"All right. It's because I have a hunch."
"That's it?"
"Do I need anything else? Do it."
"We'll see." And he left.
Imagine Carl's surprise when, precisely seven days later, Richard ended up buying office space right in the heart of San Francisco.
"You're so damned impulsive," he said, breaking out into a grin. "You'll need somebody to watch over you, I suppose."
"I knew you'd do it," he said, laughing. "Welcome to TIRC, Inc."