Towers, the man he had met a few months before at the science
fair. Towers invited him to his nearby office. Two hours later,
Towers had become the primary investor in the Mate's development,
and overseer of the startup of a new company.
Within a year the boys were building as many computers as they
could in Peter's garage. Towers remained in the background,
working deals with parts suppliers through his electronic
instrument company to provide the boys with what they needed for
production. Eventually they had so many orders that they had to
relocate to real offices in nearby Sunnyvale. Peter moved out of
the orphanage and created a minimal living space for himself in
one of the building's corner offices. Together, Hank Towers and
Peter, then twenty-two, founded their new company, which Peter
named Wallaby, which everyone knew was an animal that had a
pocket in which it carried its joey...the little friend that
Peter had always dreamed of having, and knew someday he would
create.
He snapped awake to a high-pitched warble. The telephone.
Reaching for it, he knocked over the bottle of Scotch, spilling
its contents onto the hardwood floor.
"Hello?" The voice on the other end was anxious.
"Yeah," Peter said, pressing his fingers to his eyelids.
"Peter? Are you all right? Petey?"
"Kate." This came out as a moan.
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