Five minutes passed. Ten. Theo checked his phone. Fifteen. He scanned the path where Sarah had vanished. Nothing. Okay, maybe she was really testing the loop. Twenty minutes. Okay, now it was getting weird. It should only be a fifteen minute circuit? He started to feel a familiar prickle of unease, the ingrained fear of loss that lurked beneath his newfound confidence. Where was she? Did she get a flat? Crash? Or worse... did the friendly, slightly nerdy looking girl just ride off with his $1200 investment plus $3600 potential profit?
Right, his internal monologue went dryly, unplanned extension of trial period. This wasn't in the user agreement. Need to initiate asset recovery protocol... which currently consists of me, looking anxiously around a suburban park. Current resources: one anxious operator, zero backup. This project is going significantly off the rails. Need to manage primary stakeholder panic (mine). Excellent. He started pacing along the edge of the parking lot, peering down the bike path, ignoring the curious glances from a family loading a picnic basket into a minivan. The sun felt hotter now, the cheerful sounds of the park grating on his nerves. Panic, that cold, familiar serpent, began to coil in his stomach. He mentally calculated the cost – not just the bike, but the time, the effort, the potential cratering of his entire Q3 financial projection.
Just as he was about to seriously consider jogging down the path or, gods forbid, calling the non-emergency police line ("Yes officer, a woman just stole my… uh… 'professionally optimized' bicycle…"), he heard it, the faint, high performance hum of tires on pavement approaching fast.
A flash of silver and black shot around the last bend. It was Sarah, hair slightly askew, a few leaves caught in her jersey, face flushed, breathing hard, but with a grin so wide it threatened to split her face. She skidded to a halt a few feet from Theo, unclipping hastily.
"Oh! My! GOD!" she gasped, pushing her glasses back up her sweaty nose. "Theo! Sorry! I am SO sorry! I completely lost track of everything! I found this killer climb on the back loop, way steeper than it looks on the map, and this bike… it just… it just ATE IT! Seriously! It climbed like… like perfectly optimized code executing without a single wasted cycle! And the descent? The handling on those tight turns? It felt like it was reading my mind! Zero latency! I haven't felt anything like it! My current bike would have been chattering its teeth off! Oh sorry for those dumb computer jokes, I'm a software engineer if you didn't already notice."
Theo stared at her, the panic receding, replaced by a mixture of profound relief and wry amusement. Her enthusiasm was infectious, almost overwhelming. The +1 effect, amplified by her own passion and fitness, had clearly delivered.
"So," she continued, still catching her breath, eyes shining as she looked at the bike with pure adoration, "You said forty-eight hundred, right? Is that your absolute rock-bottom price? Because, honestly? Wow."
The negotiation was over before it began. Sarah was completely sold. Theo allowed himself a small smile. "Well, seeing how much you enjoyed it… how about we call it forty-seven fifty?" A token discount, sealing the deal while maximizing his return. Maintain positive client relationship while securing near-maximum profitability.
"Deal!" Sarah agreed instantly, already pulling out her phone. "Instant Bank transfer and Paypal okay? Might have to split it 'cause of the daily limit, if that's alright?"
"That's fine," Theo nodded. The two transactions went through smoothly, the confirmation notifications chiming on his own phone like victory bells.
As Sarah carefully, almost reverently, loaded the bike onto the rack on her Subaru, she turned back to Theo, her expression shifting from pure exhilaration to intense curiosity.
"Seriously, though," she said, tilting her head, her nerdy focus kicking in. "That 'optimization'… it's incredible. It's way beyond just standard tuning or component matching. The frame feels fundamentally different, stiffer, more responsive somehow. I've read all the tech blogs, talked to shop guys… nobody gets this kind of jump in performance without major component swaps or… I don't know. You've got some serious skills, Theo. Is this what you do full-time? How did you even figure out how to… enhance it like that?"
Her genuine curiosity, devoid of suspicion, caught Theo slightly off guard. It wasn't the cynical haggling of Pete or the polite acceptance of Dave. Sarah was smart, analytical beneath the carefree exterior, and genuinely fascinated by the result. He felt an uncharacteristic urge to hint at the truth, quickly suppressed by years of self-preservation.
"Ah, you know," he deflected, falling back on practiced vagueness, though maybe with less ice in his tone than usual. "Just picked up a few tricks over the years. Trade secrets. Every mechanic has their own little touches." He offered a small, non-committal smile. "Glad you like the result, though. You clearly know how to handle it."
Sarah beamed at the compliment. "I can't wait to see what times I can hit on this thing! Thanks again, Theo! Maybe I'll see you around on the trails sometime?"
"Maybe," Theo echoed, watching her get into her car. He felt a strange mix of satisfaction from the successful, high-profit sale and a faint, unfamiliar unease sparked by Sarah's questions. Her trusting nature had made the sale easy, but her sharp mind had picked up on the uniqueness of the enhancement in a way the others hadn't articulated.
He watched the Subaru pull away, then glanced down at his phone, confirming the new balance, now comfortably over seven thousand dollars. The number was deeply satisfying. He'd done it again. Faster, easier, more profitable. The bike model worked. But Sarah's parting questions lingered. Relying on 'trade secrets' felt thin. And finding the right bikes at the right price was still a bottleneck. He thought back to the steak, the beer. Instant, undeniable enhancement, no test rides needed. Maybe that was the truly scalable path forward. He tucked the thought away as he got back into his own car, the gears of his mind already grinding, calculating the next move in his solitary ascent.
Theodore Sterling - Financial Ledger (End of Week 5)
Starting Balance (Beginning Sat, Wk 5): $2615.62 (Carried over from End of Fri, Wk 5)
Income (Weekend):
Sale of Bike 2 (SpeedySarah): +$4750.00 (Sunday)
Total Income (Weekend): +$4750.00
Expenses (Weekend):None
Net Change (Weekend): +$4750.00
Ending Balance (End of Sunday, Wk 5): $7365.62
Status:Strong. Capital significantly increased after second successful high-value sale. Financially stable with substantial buffer. Bike-flipping model proven highly profitable but recognized as potentially difficult to scale consistently. Exploring next steps.
Summary of Position (End of Week 5):
At the end of Week 5, Theo's financial position has dramatically improved. Starting the weekend with just over $2600, the successful sale of the second enhanced bike to Sarah for $4750 propelled his balance to a healthy $7365.62. This confirms the high profitability of enhancing expensive items. He has navigated the risks of face-to-face sales twice now, even dealing with nuisance buyers like Pete through vindictive (but ultimately harmless) means. While financially secure for the immediate future, he recognizes the limitations of the bike-flipping model (sourcing difficulties, market size, time investment). Sarah's probing questions about his methods also highlight the ongoing risk to his secret. His thoughts are already turning towards finding a more scalable or discreet application for his power, potentially revisiting the idea of enhancing consumables. The bike chapter was profitable, but it felt like just another stepping stone, a far stretch from millions or even the billion he was chasing. The real game was still out there, waiting to be discovered.