The Deal

New York, January 15, 2008

"So, we have a deal."

The excitement in the air was electric as all but one of the five men got up from their seats. From the outside, it looked like any other successful business meeting: stiff handshaking, congratulations, and relieved, yet excited expressions. But this meeting had been different. It would still be months before anything was set in motion, but the decision made today would drastically change the way the world conducted business.

As the company secretary, my job was simple. When the meeting started nearly three days ago, I sat in the corner of the room and took notes. At the beginning, the men eyed me uncertainly; they'd even argued with my boss over why he'd allowed me to be here. After all, no one else had brought a secretary, and I was the only one who wasn't a multi-million or billionaire with a huge stake in this decision.

This meeting was high profile, and the men were worried that having a female secretary would distract from the business at hand, or that I would divulge their secrets to the world. But, as explained by my boss, I was an expert in secrecy and was present at all his high-profile meetings. My job was to keep his secrets private, and he assured the group that I was well compensated for my inconveniences. Both were true, I didn't dare release any information from this room. The last secretary had been a well-known gossip, and no one's heard from her since 2002.

Truth is, I didn't recognize a single person in the room other than the man I worked for. And judging by the fact that my boss used a pseudonym, the rest of the men must have been using fake names as well. I hadn't seen this much effort to keep matters private in my over 5 years of working here. Sure, clients had used nicknames, but I always recognized them or at least knew who they worked for. However, I knew none of the men in this meeting. Not a single one.

My boss, Julian Santorini, sat at the head of the table near the door. On the left side of the table were Marcus Bullen and Satoshi Nakamoto, on the right Igor Platt, and at the other end of the table, Jeff Neubauer.

Igor and Marcus seemed like your typical businessmen, arrogant, talkative, and competitive, but Satoshi was more practical, data-driven, and didn't hesitate to point out the flaws in his partners' ideas. When he spoke, the men around the room rolled their eyes and dismissed him. Satoshi either didn't notice or didn't care and stated his opinion anyway. When he talked, he lacked any sort of intonation in his voice. It was almost like he lacked any human emotion at all. Quite honestly, he gave me the creeps.

Jeff had been the only one to remain seated throughout the congratulating. He sat silently, nodding with a rigid smile when addressed by one of the men. In fact, he'd been silent throughout the whole ordeal. For the entire three days, he just sat quietly until the men asked for his opinion, which was generally taken as the final word. With just one nod or shake of his head, a decision was made or shot down. Now this was a man with power.

While the men were discussing the details of this new deal, something to do with a new way to transfer money undetected, I could feel Jeff's eyes watching me. They were cold, calculating. Every time I met his gaze, he held his stare until I looked back down at my pen and paper. Something about him didn't seem right, not right at all.

Even the men, who were friendly with each other, remained apprehensive around Jeff. While they treated each other like old partners, they were stiff and guarded when they interacted with him. It was almost comforting knowing I wasn't the only one who felt uncomfortable around this man. Almost. I still kept my taser with me at all times, just in case.

After nearly 30 minutes of chatting, the men began to leave. One by one, they gathered their portfolios and waltzed out the door. When it was just my boss and Jeff left, Julian sighed into his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked at Jeff and asked, "Do you really think this is going to work?"

Jeff took a few moments to ponder, but was confident in his answer, "If I didn't believe in this idea, I wouldn't be here."

His answer seemed to cast away any doubts Julian had, and they continued on with light conversation, "So Jeff, when's your next party? It's been a while since anyone's been out to the island."

"I've had to lay low for a while," he replied, "some girl filed a report and the bureau's building a case. I'm not worried about those government bastards though, they'd never dare take this case much further. It's the media's attention I'm trying to avoid."

"The media's a pesky beast, but nothing that careful precautions can't fix," Julian responded, with a knowing smile.

Jeff smirked, "Of course. In fact, I'm planning a small get together next weekend, maybe you and your secretary could join us." He looked straight at me with those piercing eyes. He gave me a quick once over and asked, "I don't believe we've been formally introduced. My name's Jeff, and you are?"

Before now, I'd been invisible, so my response came out in a jumbled mess, "Oh, uh, my name's--"

"Jenna," my boss cut in and took a step closer to me, "and she has too much work to do around the office to by flying anywhere."

I'd gone on so many weekend trips with Julian before, in fact, he rarely went anywhere without me. Yet, he really sounded like he didn't want me there. What happens at these parties that he doesn't want me to see?

"Ah, that's a shame." Jeff grabbed his portfolio and made for the door. "I'll see you soon, Julian." Jeff again stared at me with his penetrating eyes, "It was nice meeting you, Jenna. Hopefully your boss will be generous enough to grant you some time to relax. I hope I'll see you again." Then he walked out the door.

I gave Julian a questioning look, but he immediately began talking business, "Thank you for putting in all the extra time this week, Jenna. Can I see those notes?"

I handed my notepad over to Julian so that he could take a look at my work. He nodded with approval.

"Do you have any idea what this meeting was about?" Julian asked.

"Something to do with a new form of payment? One that's untraceable and discreet. Bitcoin, I believe is what you called it?"

"You got it, mostly anyway. Mind you, it won't be an instant sensation. You heard about our ten-year plan? It's fool proof. By the time the quarter of the century hits, we're all going to be rich. Filthy rich." He had this crazy gleam in his eye, but I still didn't understand how this was all going to work.

"I mean, it sounds like a dream come true, but isn't it risky? How are you going to get people to invest in this idea? It doesn't even exist, not like money anyway. Money you can at least hold in your hand." I may have sounded credulous, but I really wanted to understand.

He gave me a small smile, "Money doesn't really exist, Jenna. This you need to understand. Man created currency to make their work seem worth it. Why work if you don't get something out of it? And anyway, paper money will be obsolete in due time. The entire world is going digital."

"That much I get, but--"

Julian cut me off yet again and added, "And Bitcoin is going to be big because, unlike money, no one can trace it. You can make transactions and no one can tie it back to you because you can't track the accounts. The elites of the world have been trying to make this happen for forever. And with this plan, there'll be no need to transfer to multiple off-shore accounts."

The purpose of this plan finally took hold. So this is more a weapon than a currency. A tool for ultimate secrecy. "I see, and you're going to release it under Satoshi Nakamoto's pseudonym? It was clever to use fake names like that."

"You're a smart girl, Jenna." He moved closer to me so that there was no more than an inch between us and wrapped his hand firmly around the back of my neck as he whispered, "I'm sure you're aware, but you must keep this quiet. If any of this were to leak out and be traced back to me, you'll regret it. Sarah, my last secretary, definitely wished she'd kept her mouth shut."

I gulped, "Yes, sir."

With that, Julian walked out of the room, leaving me with nothing but my thoughts and a rapidly beating heart.

New York, July 1st, 2008

I was eating a bowl of cereal at the kitchen table in my small Manhattan apartment and scrolling through my phone when an unsettling news story from The Guardian caught my eye,

Epstein: US billionaire jailed for soliciting underage sex

"One of America's richest men, who holidayed with Prince Andrew and lent his private jet to Bill Clinton, has begun serving an 18-month jail term after pleading guilty to soliciting sex from girls as young as 14.

Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, 55, faces a year of house arrest after he is released from prison in Florida."

The name, Jeffery Epstein, didn't sound familiar and article didn't have a picture of the guy, so I decided to look him up on Google. It took a second to load, but when it did, I choked and nearly spit out my coffee.

It was him. Jeffery Epstein was Jeff Neubauer.

My thoughts were racing, especially thinking back to the meeting in January. He'd asked if I could come to his island, I thought with a sick feeling in my stomach, and Julian came to my rescue. Or maybe he didn't want me there for a reason, maybe he also...

I pushed that thought right out of my head. Julian was a good man, albeit a corrupt man, but he wouldn't dare harm innocent girls. Especially not young girls. He had a wife, and 2 daughters. But still...

I sat there in silence for a few minutes, but was forcibly removed from my trance when my phone alarm went off, signaling that I needed to be out the door.

Julian didn't tolerate tardiness, so I quickly grabbed my keys and nearly sprinted out the door.

When I got to work, it was business as usual. Everyone was running around, and I took my usual seat at the desk outside Julian's office. At 10:00 am, I went to remind Julian about his morning meeting, but his door was locked and he didn't answer when I knocked. Strange, he practically lives at the office, and he's never late.

I hurried back to my desk to check my email, just in case he sent a message. Nothing. Knowing this wouldn't sit well with the high-priority investor he was scheduled to meet with, I picked up my phone to call him.

When he picked up, I could hear paper shuffling and the sound of muffled voices, "Hello?" he said quietly.

Well, at least he's alive. "Mr. Santorini, it's Jenna. I wanted to remind you of your meeting with Mr. Smith at 10:30. Will you make it on time?" I asked trying to hide my stress.

"Sh*t," Julian swore, "Jenna, I won't make it by then. Can you entertain Mr. Smith until 11:15? Just give him some coffee and grab the grey file out of my desk drawer for him to look over. I have some important business to finish up here, and then I'll be on my way."

"Of course, sir. I'll see you when you get here." I replied.

He hung up immediately, and I put down my phone to grab his office key. When I opened the door, I noticed that his desk was a mess. Julian never leaves in such a hurry, I don't think I've ever seen as much as a pen out of place. This day just keeps getting weirder.

Despite the mess, the grey file was exactly where he said it would be, so I tucked it into my portfolio. I was just about to leave when I saw a printed-out news article on his desk. The same one I had read that morning. This must be related to Julian's important business. I don't think this was supposed to happen, and now he must be meeting with the other men to come up with a plan.

I tried to get it out of my head, I had nothing to do with their plan. I was just the secretary. Feeling like a snoop for prying into Julian's private business, I scurried out the door to meet the investor.

West Palm Beach, Florida, October 30th, 2008

I hadn't even set my purse down before Julian announced that we were getting on his private jet to fly to a high-profile meeting in Florida. I wasn't phased, though, he often sprung these impromptu business trips. In fact, I'd gotten so used to it that I always had an overnight bag packed. And plus, the overtime and fancy hotels were worth the inconvenience.

Just as I was getting settled into my seat and was about to flag down the flight attendant for a cup of coffee, Julian whipped out the fanciest bottle of champagne that I'd ever seen.

Surprised that we were drinking at 8:30 a.m., I asked, "What's the occasion?"

"Remember that meeting we had back in January? Today's the day we close the deal. Tomorrow, we release the first paper detailing our new cryptocurrency, Bitcoin." Julian replied, his eyes gleaming. He poured two tall glasses of golden champagne and handed one to me.

My stomach dropped, and I tried to keep my voice steady as I asked, "Will the same group be there today? I'd like to uh... go over the names with you to make sure I have them right." I took a sip of the dry liquid to calm my nerves.

If he could tell what I was getting at, he didn't show it, "Yes, every member of the original crew should be there when we arrive."

"Even Jeff?" I asked, instantly regretting my boldness.

Julian's shoulder's tensed, and he looked out the window as he responded, "Even Jeff. He's out on work release, and our meeting will take place in his office in West Palm Beach." Julian turned back towards me and looked me directly in the eyes, "And despite anything you may or may have not learned from the media, you will still refer to him as Jeff Neubauer."

"Of course, sir," I took another sip of champagne. Thankfully, I managed to keep my voice steady as not to betray the anxiety eating at my gut.

With that, Julian left for his private suite, and I was left to review the pile of paperwork that would be needed for today's meeting.

____________________________________________________

While Julian, Igor, and Marcus were like giddy interns collaborating on their first assignment, Satoshi and Jeff were solemn and serious.

I don't know what I had expected from a man who was in prison for sex crimes, but it wasn't the put-together person who sat at the end of the table. Jeff was clean-shaven and well dressed, prison hadn't affected him whatsoever. In fact, he looked more rested than when we met in January. What's he doing out of prison anyway? He was only convicted a couple months ago, I didn't think they granted work release that early. I thought, puzzled.

I felt his gaze follow me as I took my seat in the corner of the room. It bore into me, starved, hungry. I quickly looked down at my notebook in attempt to ignore it, but I couldn't loosen the knot that had formed in the pit of my stomach. You're being silly, Jenna. He's paying for his crimes. Well, kind of. But that's not the point, you're better than this. I looked up and met his gaze, and after about half a minute, he looked away and returned to the conversations at the table.

It was all pleasantries at first, but when the clock stroke noon, it was time to get down to business.

"Jenna, the documents from your file, if you please," Julian asked as we turned to the men, "Once these documents are signed, we will officially be ready to release Bitcoin. We all know the plan, but before I get your signatures, I wanted to review the details."

Each man either nodded or gave his quiet assent, so Julian continued, "On the 3rd of January, 2009, we will release our new form of monetary transaction, Bitcoin. Even though the accounts cannot be connected back to our names, we will be running our transactions through Satoshi's account. Additionally, to keep our group member's participation in this event private, Satoshi has agreed to release the cryptocurrency under his name."

Julian turned to Satoshi and asked, "Satoshi Nakamoto, do you agree to these terms?"

As Julian spoke, Satoshi had been staring directly at him with a blank, expressionless face. His expression didn't falter as he coolly responded, "Yes, I, Satoshi Nakamoto, agree to these terms."

Julian nodded and eagerly added, "And with that agreement, we are ready to sign the legal documents. By signing your name upon the dotted line, each of you agrees to purchase 10 billion Bitcoins."

10 billion Bitcoins. Dang, they aren't messing around. Each of the men signed their document without hesitation and passed it back to Julian.

Relieved, Julian said, "This is a day that will go down in history, even if the world will never know it happened. In 10 to 15 years' time, we will be the richest men in the world." Julian smiled and got up from his seat, "Thank you again my friends. We'll see each other soon. Jenna, it's time we headed out."

Well, that was quick. I thought as I gathered my things. As I walked out the door, I didn't even need look back to know that each of the men were staring, but none as hard as Jeffery Epstein.

New York, January 22nd, 2009

For nearly three months, business had been normal. There were no more surprise meetings, no more secret pacts, and thankfully, no more sex offenders. Julian had seemed happier than normal, prancing about the office and chatting to the employees. What's more, he gave everyone a raise, and I got a new desk and the fancy intercom system I'd asked for. I could only assume that this Bitcoin business was going smoothly.

I hadn't heard much about it in the news, but I did hear some of the businessmen whisper about it in the hallways. Julian seemed to be the spokesperson for it. Men came to discuss investments and budgets but left with a hint of promise in their eyes and the word "Bitcoin" on their lips.

It was your typical Wednesday, I had meetings, filed papers, and even fired one of the interns. But when I got home and turned on the news, my mouth dropped.

And now, we'll hear from one of the women who witnessed the car explode:

"Ma'am, can you tell us what you saw?" Asked the reporter on the scene.

"Yes, I was walking home from work when this black car started to slow down and came to a stop. The men inside--there were two of them--looked panicked. They were trying to unlock the doors, but," she paused, "they couldn't get it open so they started banging on the windows. And then, the car, it just went up in flames. It all happened so fast, I, I didn't even think to help them."

The scene went back to the car. Even though the fire squad had taken control, the car was still smoking. But, the car wasn't the most disturbing part of this news story. It was the two men who had been in the car.

I didn't recognize the names of the men on the screen, but their faces were forever ingrained in my brain. Igor and Marcus. Those men were Igor and Marcus, and they're dead.

I wanted to believe that this was some fluke accident, but something told me that this was no coincidence. I couldn't help but wonder, Did Jeff kill them? He seemed the type, but who would do that to their own partners? I turned the television off and tried to push the thoughts out of my mind, but I still slept with my pepper spray that night.

New York, April 7th, 2015

Julian hadn't been the same since Igor and Marcus died in 2011. While the investigators chocked it up to some spark plug malfunction, he knew better. He no longer chatted with his employees or came out of his office for that matter. He even hired two huge bodyguards, Brian and Craig. They stood like two stone statues outside his door and silently followed Julian everywhere he went.

The confident, intimidating man I once worked for was gone, replaced with a suspicious, terrified alcoholic. Sometimes, I would get calls from him in the middle of the night to talk about work. When I would remind him of the time, he would respond with a simple, "Oh." I may not be a psychologist, but I knew he was losing it.

Most of the delegating was left to me nowadays, Julian would just send me an email and I would follow his instructions. The independence was refreshing, but I was still on edge.

It had been a relaxing Saturday night, and I was just about to pour my third glass of wine when my phone rang. Sighing, I thought, it must be Julian again. I rolled my eyes and picked up, “Julian, I thought we’d agreed to save the work calls for working hours.”

“Jenna, where are you?” Julian sounded frantic, his words were edged with panic.

Instantly realizing that this wasn’t like the other late-night calls, I responded with, “I’m at home, what’s wrong?”

“You need to leave New York, it’s not safe here. He’s here, in my house.” He whispered and continued to speak hurriedly, “he’s going to kill us all.”

I gulped, “Is this about Bitcoin? Who’s in your house? Julian, you need to call the cops.”

“It’s too late for me, Jenna, save yourself. If you don’t leave New York, you’re next. Gah! If I’d known it would end like this, I never would’ve gotten you involved. Tell Malory and my girls that I love them and that I’m sorry I was never around as much as I’d wanted to be.” Julian was crying now, and he could barely get the last words out, “Jenna, please forgi--,” and the line went dead.

“Julian? JULIAN!” I yelled, but there was no answer.

I picked up the phone, dialed 911, and was instantly greeted with, “911, what’s your emergency?”

“I was just on the phone with my boss when the line went dead, he thought someone was at his house to kill him. The address is 1123 E. Mulberry Lane. Please, get someone there quickly, he’s not in a good place.”

“I’ll dispatch and officer immediately.” She replied in a calm voice.

“Thank you,” I replied, “Is there anything else you need from me?”

“No ma’am, help is on the way,” and she hung up.

I had a horrible feeling about this. Still, I grabbed keys and quickly left for Julian’s house. I just hope he’s alright.

____________________________________________________

When I got to Julian’s street, the entire road was lit with blue and red. Police cars and an ambulance lined the street, and a small crowd formed near Julian’s house. A feeling of complete dread washed over me, and I thought, there are too many cop cars for this to be a mental breakdown.

I joined the crowd and asked the nearest person what was going on.

“There were gunshots about half an hour ago, and the police came roaring up the street. No one knows what’s happened yet, but I’m sure glad that Malory and the kids moved out last month. I’m worried that Mr. Santorini finally cracked. He’s been under so much stress recently,” the woman said quietly. With that, we both waited in silence.

After about 20 more minutes, the front door opened, and two policemen walked out followed by a stretcher. I expected to hear Julian arguing with the cops, but all that followed was a zipped up black bag. No, he can’t be… he can’t be dead.

“Please back away folks and make room for the paramedics,” a tall, muscular policeman yelled to the crowd. Instead of listening, I ran towards the stretcher, “Please sir, I’m Mr. Santorini’s assistant. Is he alright? I need to call his wife, she doesn’t know what happened.”

The paramedic paused for a moment and said, “I’m sorry miss, he was dead when we arrived at the scene.” At that moment, my insides shattered, and tears began to stream down my face. Julian spent his last moments warning me to leave, I needed to go.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 10th, 2019

I had left New York immediately after Julian’s death. When the final police report came out, it said that Julian was killed when a burglary went wrong, but that was a lie. Julian, like Igor and Marcus, was killed by someone they knew, and probably one of his partners in Bitcoin. While less than half of the group remained, Bitcoin had skyrocketed. Anyone who had shares was likely filthy rich.

It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining through the window in my Minneapolis apartment, and I was just about to sit down to my steaming cup of coffee when a headline from BBC caught my eye:

Jeffrey Epstein: Financier found dead in New York prison cell

"US financier Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead in his prison cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

His body was discovered at 06:30 local time (10:30 GMT) on Saturday at a facility in New York.

Officials said his death was an apparent suicide. The FBI is investigating the incident."

He couldn’t have just died in prison, and by suicide? The whole thing seemed suspicious. With Epstein dead, there’s only one man left of the original five: Satoshi Nakamoto. The realization set in and I thought back to those cold eyes and his expressionless face.

However, my trance was broken when a deep voice rumbled behind me, “Hello, Jenna.” I froze and my skin erupted with goosebumps as a shiver went down my spine. I recognized that voice from anywhere.

“Satoshi, it’s been some time.” I slowly turned around to a gun staring me in the face. Nonetheless, I looked the man straight in his eyes. “I’d heard you disappeared back in 2011,” I said shakily, refusing to sever my gaze, “what brings you here?”

“You know why I’m here.” He said after a moment.

I took a deep breath, “why did you do it? Why did you murder your partners?”

For the first time, I saw the man smirk as he spoke with his eerily steady voice, “Well, we had a deal. And they broke it. Sure, I got all the ‘credit’ for creating Bitcoin, but they were the ones boasting about their parts. They had no part in the creation, yet they told everyone that they were the ones to come up with this brilliant idea. But they weren’t, I was. They pushed me aside to take all the glory for themselves.” He put the gun down and began pacing the room.

When he stopped, he looked at me and added, “I know you didn’t ask for this. But you’ve seen my face. I can’t let you live with that information.”

My heart had already been beating out of my chest, but it sped up even more as I tried to come up with an idea on how to get out of this, “You’re right,” I said quickly, “I didn’t ask to be a part of this. My job has always been to keep my boss’s secrets, and I would never to anything to spoil that, even now.”

“Words aren’t enough.” He lifted his gun yet again.

“I’ll come with you, work for you even. You deserve all the recognition; those men were selfish and greedy.” I could feel the adrenaline rushing through my veins.

He cocked his head as if considering my offer, but instead said, “I’m sorry Jenna, truly. While you may have good intentions, I can’t take any chances.” When he pulled the trigger, the last thing I heard was the explosion of the gun. Then, my world went black.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 10th, 2021

I’d been in a coma for over 2 years. The doctors had said that it was a miracle that I had made it, and that had the bullet been less than a centimeter to the right, I would’ve died instantly. I’m still in the hospital and have had almost a dozen surgeries. I still can’t speak but have slowly re-learned how to write.

I know that once Satoshi hears of my miracle, he’ll be back to finish the job. But before I die, I wanted the world to know what had happened; I wanted the world to know the true story of Bitcoin.

____________________________________________________

Thanks for reading!

Referenced news articles:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49306032

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/02/usa.internationalcrime1