“Stroud Enterprises started with a secondhand computer and an idea,” he was saying.

“I didn’t have powerful investors behind me or a wealthy family propping me up.”

Odette listened with a practiced smile.

That story always worked.

What Crispin left out was that when his company had nearly run out of room to grow, an investment group had stepped in — capital, guarantees, access to contracts that transformed the entire scale of the business.

Over time that group had acquired a majority stake.