So Jerry York comes to see me tonight, after everyone has gone home. I didn’t even know he was on the campus. He comes in kind of quietly, shuts the door, says nothing for a long time. Just sits there. I figure he’s going to tell me what went on in the board meeting after I left. But he doesn’t. He kind of sighs and goes, Man this f-ing option bullshit, huh? F-ing Sarbanes Oxley. Utter bullshit. Then he goes all silent again and gazes out the window. He sighs again and says, God, it’s nice here in California, isn’t? Great weather. Really nice. I think it’s maybe the nicest place there is to live. You got the ocean, the mountains, everything. Nowhere else could ever be the same.

I don’t know what to say. I just shrug and go, Yeah, I guess.

He sits for a while more, saying nothing, tapping his foot on the table. Then he goes, Kid, you keep your passport up to date? You must, right? With all the traveling you do. Sure, I say, I keep it up to date. And you keep it with you? he says. I go, Yeah, most of the time. Or my assistant has it. Huh, he says, your assistant. Huh. See, me, I keep it right in my briefcase, always with me, never let it out of my sight. You know what else I do? I keep about a million in cash with me too. Right on my jet, in a safe. And I spread some money around the world, different places, like Switzerland, and South Africa. Places like that. Just cash money. Money I can get my hands on. A few million here and there. Rainy day money is what I call it. And nobody knows about it, not even my family. And I got friends in those places, lot of old friends that I stay in touch with. And some friends in D.C., too, guys I grew up with, the kind of guys who don’t tell you where they work. Guys like that come in handy at some point. You see where I’m going with all this, kid?

I’m like, Jerry, dude, I have no idea where you’re going. Are you going to South Africa? Or Switzerland or something? Why are you being all weird and mysterious?

Jerry gives me this really pained look. His eyes kind of well up with tears, like he’s going to start crying. Which is definitely not like him. He starts to say something, then stops and sighs again. He slaps his knees and says, Well, kid, I gotta get going. You call me if you figure it out. And about ten minutes later I get this email from a Hotmail account with a link to this Reuters story, and it takes me a few minutes to put it all together but then I’m like, Oh, right, now I get it. Then I look out my window just in time to see Jerry’s limo pulling out of the parking lot.