Jason remembered her clearly—maybe because she was one of the few people in his first life who never betrayed him.
Amy Rodriguez. Half-Puerto Rican, half-nerd, and 100% brainpower. In the original timeline, she had built an AI analytics company from her bedroom and sold it for $600 million. She was also the only one who ever saw through Jason's corporate mask.
Back in 2000, she was still a no-name undergrad at MIT.
He picked up a burner cell and dialed the admissions office.
"Hi, I'm looking to get in touch with Amy Rodriguez. I've read her paper on predictive algorithms in distributed systems—blew my mind. I'm hoping to collaborate."
"Are you a student?"
"Investor," Jason said flatly. "Name's Jason King. I'm launching a new think tank out of New York. Cutting-edge funding for student research. If she's interested, tell her this: I already know what companies will shape the next twenty years—and I want her to help build one of them."
Silence.
"I'll pass along the message," the admin said.
He hung up, satisfied. That would get her attention. Amy was the kind of woman who didn't care about compliments or charm. But tell her you could change the world—and back it up—and she'd listen.
He leaned back and started scribbling in his notebook.
Operation Empire, Phase 1:
1. Capitalize off sports betting (short-term cash).
2. Buy low into penny tech stocks: Apple, Amazon, Nvidia.
3. Lay groundwork for media & real estate ventures.
4. Secure patent ideas before original inventors file them.
5. Recruit talent before Silicon Valley knows their worth.
But even as the strategy took shape, Jason knew he was running against the clock.
Dot-com crash was coming.
In just a few months, tech stocks would implode. Billions would evaporate overnight. But if he played it right—he'd buy while everyone else panicked.
He glanced at the old Nokia on the table. If Amy called back, it would change everything.
Because she wasn't just a genius.
She would be his first real partner.
And maybe—his first real weakness.