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bank building in San Mateo's 1950s downtown. Richardson also decided to move fast to raise more money. After Napster's June release in a test version, it had been downloaded thousands of times within a few days. Over the summer, the number of users swelled to a hundred thousand. As college students returned for the fall term, Napster had the potential to turn into the ultimate case of viral marketing, with word of mouth spreading it faster than any advertising could. But the usage was already straining Napster's capacity, and the system kept crashing. If the positive buzz was replaced by griping about the crashes, Napster could die even before its first official release.

Soon after Shawn and Parker arrived in San Francisco, Bales drove to Dzindzichashvili's house to meet them. Accompanied by girlfriend Holly Shin and a large golden retriever, Bales took the two teenagers out to breakfast to learn more about the company he had just joined. Parker was used to explaining Napster by then, having pitched to so many investors and gotten mostly positive initial reactions. But even Andy Evans, who had promised money the next day, wasn't much of a preparation for Bales. As Bales got more and more enthusiastic, his voice rose to the point of screaming. After a struggle, he brought his voice down, speaking rapidly in a hushed tone and muttering, punctuating his outbursts by pounding the table. Parker had never seen anything like it. But then, he supposed, maybe that's what a VP of business development was supposed to be like: a half-crazed evangelist who could convince other executives, investors, and companies to come along for the ride.

After breakfast, Bales drove Shawn and Parker to a rental-car agency so they could pick up something to get around in. On the drive, Bales sat Shin in front and the golden retriever in the back, sandwiched between Napster's founders. The Valley's future stars explained that neither of them had credit cards and were too young to rent a car in any case, leaving Bales a bit bewildered about what to do. They suggested that Bales rent the car while they stayed out of sight, then turn over the keys. The ploy worked.

During their first two days in the office, Shawn and Parker began setting up the computers and other gear they needed to tend to the Napster system. A few times, a woman they took to be an executive assistant at Xtime greeted them warmly. "I've heard so much about you," she gushed.