Seated in front of the two men were 24 key employees of Google—essentially the entire company workforce.
The bright white ceiling lights of the office illuminated the space. Larry, Sergey, and the rest of the core team sat patiently in silence, waiting.
About five minutes later, the phone on the CEO's desk suddenly rang. Larry quickly ran to answer it, then hurried back to the group and announced, "Head downstairs! The chairman is arriving soon!"
Larry and Sergey were co-CEOs, but Mavi was the chairman of the company, ranking above them.
As the group rushed out of the office building, three minutes later, a light green Jaguar XJ220 sports car approached with its low beams on, stopping right in front of them.
The Jaguar XJ220 was a cutting-edge supercar from the 1990s, with only 281 units ever produced—an incredibly rare model. Its futuristic design remained impressive even in 2019, making it a prized possession for car collectors worldwide.
"Is that our new boss in that Jaguar? He looks so cool!"
"Wow, a Jaguar XJ220! Seeing it in person is absolutely stunning!"
The moment the Jaguar appeared, many employees downstairs couldn't help but whisper among themselves. Larry turned around and shot them a look, signaling for them to behave properly in front of the new boss.
But what he didn't expect was that even Sergey, standing beside him, was staring at the Jaguar in awe, practically starstruck, as if he might run up to the car at any second.
Larry, exasperated, smacked Sergey lightly. Then, both adjusted their expressions as they watched Mavi reach out and open the car door.
"Good evening, Chairman Mavi!" Larry and Sergey immediately stepped forward with the others to greet him. While the atmosphere wasn't overly enthusiastic, it was at least respectful—especially given how late it was.
"Good evening, everyone," Mavi replied with a smile, shaking hands with Larry and Sergey. Then, with their introductions, he proceeded to shake hands briefly with the 24 key employees of Google.
Throughout the process, Mavi maintained a polite smile, never showing arrogance or treating anyone with disrespect despite his high status.
Once the handshakes were done, he stepped in front of the group and addressed them. "Thank you all for waiting for me so late. I wanted to share something with you, so let's all get on the bus."
As he spoke, he pointed toward a nearby tour bus, signaling for everyone to board.
At that moment, the 20-plus employees exchanged puzzled looks, unsure of where their new boss was taking them.
Based on their usual routine, they would still be working overtime at this hour, struggling to process massive amounts of data and classifications.
However, since Mavi was the chairman—the highest authority in the company—even though they had doubts, no one dared to question him directly. They would just have to make up for the lost time and work overtime later.
Dressed in suits, Larry and Sergey also had no idea what Mavi was up to this late at night. But out of trust, they led the way onto the bus.
Forty minutes later, the bus carrying 26 employees slowly pulled into the Silicon Valley Creative Park and stopped in front of a sleek, modern building. Inside the bus, everyone craned their necks, looking out the windows curiously.
"Why did he bring us here? What's going on?"
"Wait… isn't this the Excite office building? Could it be…?"
"That's probably it, but I'm not 100% sure. We'll find out soon enough."
Some employees looked utterly confused, while others seemed to have an idea of what was happening.
Excite was another search engine company, competing with Google on the internet. Back then, Larry and Sergey had tried to sell Google to Excite for $1 million, but the offer was rejected as too expensive.
Now, their chairman had brought them here without any prior notice, leaving them completely surprised.
"Chairman Mavi, why did you bring us here…?" Larry asked cautiously after everyone got off the bus. He had a strong hunch but wasn't entirely sure.
Mavi simply smiled slightly but didn't answer, leaving the employees even more bewildered.
But then—
Suddenly, the previously dark Excite office building lit up with bright lights!
At the same time, the entrance doors swung open from the inside!
Startled, the Google employees instinctively took a step back.
Mavi glanced at his somewhat timid employees, then turned to them and said, "Follow me inside and check out your new office."
The moment those words fell, Larry, Sergey, and the rest of the employees widened their eyes in shock and excitement. Their faces showed a mix of disbelief and exhilaration.
"What?! This… this Excite office… is our new workspace?"
"Oh my god! No way! Did the boss just… buy Excite?! I remember last year this company was valued at $7.2 billion!"
"Oh my god! Boss, this is insane!" Some employees who weren't as up-to-date on business news whispered in astonishment.
Listening to the hushed discussions, Mavi knew the truth—he hadn't actually acquired Excite. The company had gone bankrupt due to cash flow issues and was forced to liquidate its assets through a court auction.
In the original timeline, this bankruptcy was supposed to happen in 2001, but due to changes in this parallel world and the butterfly effect, it happened earlier.
To put it simply—Mavi had scored an incredible deal.
For just a few million dollars, he had purchased Excite's stylish office building along with a wealth of internet-related hardware.
Larry and Sergey were aware of Excite's bankruptcy since it had been publicly announced. But what they hadn't expected was how swiftly Mavi had acted to acquire it.
"Chairman Mavi, you bought this whole place?" Larry and Sergey looked at the once-dominant company's headquarters, now belonging to them, feeling a deep sense of irony about how unpredictable the business world could be.
"Something like that," Mavi responded nonchalantly, downplaying the achievement. After all, since Google was now his company, spending money on it wasn't a waste at all.
Hearing this, Larry and Sergey's respect for Mavi skyrocketed—even to the level of admiration. After all, neither of them had the capability to push the company to such heights yet.