Task Lyst

Scott Hylbert

Description

Techno-Thriller: Set in the heart of Silicon Valley, this thrilling story illustrates the endless possibilities that technology has in making our lives easier, but as we invite strangers in so do we invite danger.

Convincing: Apps are commonplace in many different facets of our every day life and everyone will relate to the fears behind these remote transactions.

Suspenseful: Filled with action and intrigue, this book will leave you at the edge of your seat.

Sujets

• Policier & Thriller
• Thriller
• Technological
• Thrillers
• American literature
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 16 juillet 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781684423187
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

TASK LYST
TASK LYST
a novel
BY SCOTT HYLBERT
TURNER PUBLISHING COMPANY
Turner Publishing Company
Nashville, Tennessee
www.turnerpublishing.com
Task Lyst
Copyright 2019 Scott Hylbert. All rights reserved.
This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Cover design: Kenny Holcomb
Book design: Tim Holtz
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hylbert, Scott, author.
Title: Task lyst : a novel / by Scott Hylbert.
Description: Nashville, TN : Turner Publishing Company, 2019.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018049262 (print) LCCN 2018051821 (ebook) ISBN 9781684423187 (ebook) ISBN 9781684423163 (pbk.) ISBN 9781684423170 (hardcover)
Classification: LCC PS3608.Y545 (ebook) LCC PS3608.Y545 T37 2019 (print) DDC 813/.6--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018049262
9781684423163 paperback
9781684423170 hardcover
9781684423187 eBook
Printed in the United States of America
17 18 19 20 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Ashley, Henry and Annie
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
CHAPTER 44
CHAPTER 45
CHAPTER 46
CHAPTER 47
CHAPTER 48
CHAPTER 49
CHAPTER 50
CHAPTER 51
CHAPTER 52
CHAPTER 53
CHAPTER 54
CHAPTER 55
CHAPTER 56
CHAPTER 57
CHAPTER 58
CHAPTER 59
CHAPTER 60
CHAPTER 61
CHAPTER 62
CHAPTER 63
CHAPTER 64
CHAPTER 65
CHAPTER 66
CHAPTER 67
CHAPTER 68
CHAPTER 69
CHAPTER 70
CHAPTER 71
CHAPTER 72
CHAPTER 73
CHAPTER 74
CHAPTER 75
CHAPTER 76
CHAPTER 77
CHAPTER 78
CHAPTER 79
CHAPTER 80
CHAPTER 81
CHAPTER 82
CHAPTER 83
CHAPTER 84
CHAPTER 85
CHAPTER 86
CHAPTER 87
CHAPTER 88
CHAPTER 89
CHAPTER 90
CHAPTER 91
CHAPTER 92
CHAPTER 93
CHAPTER 94
CHAPTER 95
CHAPTER 96
CHAPTER 97
CHAPTER 98
CHAPTER 99
CHAPTER 100
CHAPTER 101
CHAPTER 102
CHAPTER 103
CHAPTER 104
CHAPTER 105
CHAPTER 106
CHAPTER 107
CHAPTER 108
CHAPTER 109
CHAPTER 110
CHAPTER 111
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHAPTER 1
A MEDINA IS A GREAT PLACE TO GET LOST. Particularly in the blue pearl of Chefchaouen, located in the gem of Africa that is Morocco. For one American and three other travelers who d met only days before on a beach in Barcelona, it provided a sanctuary from the madness outside the old walls, which, while exotic and charming, had become exhausting in a short time. Notorious for being awash in blue hues, the residential and commercial structures lined tight, mazelike alleys that snaked up and around the quaint, hilly town on the base of two peaks of the Rif Mountains. Chefchaouen got its name from these twin peaks, which resemble two horns of a goat. It was a tranquil destination to escape from the manic grind of main-street tourism, not typical of where most visitors to Morocco would venture, unless they wished to experience a slower-paced, smallcity setting and maybe to hike the mountainous terrain-or if they held a deep, scholarly obsession with the Rolling Stones .
The terraced hotel, or pension, was quiet and mostly vacant and offered a view of the vastness of Morocco s topography: rugged mountains giving way in some distance to beachy coast, and a sun setting beyond in the direction of America. An occasional whiff of hashish permeated the open air. It was dusk, and an orange glow danced against a stark blue sky just as Henri Matisse would have seen it. Echoes of evening prayers hypnotized the foreigners who felt, at last, that they d truly vacated their programmed realities. The floor was cool to bare feet, warmed by area rugs positioned around the rooms .
Yes, negotiating the legendary market, known as a souk, in Fez had been hectic-shopkeepers offering tea and conversation with unbridled enthusiasm. The American repudiated relentless come-ons from individuals offering to serve as guides until it finally was evident that a guide was necessary, if only to cease the never-ending offers. So much for rugged individualism. The travelers weren t ready to buy rugs and trinkets. Somewhere near here, Keith Richards had rescued Anita Pallenberg from his bandmate Brian Jones abusive clutches in a 1967 road trip that combined betrayal, romantic love, and chivalry for the modern age. Chefchaouen hadn t changed a whole lot since then, but the world outside had. In fact, it had lost Brian, founder of the Rolling Stones and a victim of his own ambition. He had lost himself on that trip, if not before. Abandoned by his better angel, his old lady, his bandmates, his creation. Left to listen to the millennia-old pipes of Pan, alone in Joujouka .
CHAPTER 2
ALICE SEEGAR PORED OVER THE FINANCIALS OF TASK LYST, a start-up company seeking a second round of venture funding. She twirled a red ink pen with the fingers on her left hand. It was up to her, as a senior associate, to decide whether or not to recommend the investment to the partners at Blue Hill Capital, a prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm.
An online exchange, the company described itself. A secure, open-market app for swapping services. Examples included lawn mowing, dog sitting, and odd jobs. But where was the revenue? She wrote a memo explaining Task Lyst as the latest arrival to the increasingly saturated gig economy. It was like several other tech companies she d reviewed exploiting the side-hustle craze with the same dubious upside. Her impulse conclusion? Pass.
Yet Alice was reticent. The crowdfunding deal that had imploded after a year of due diligence still haunted her, and she needed a sure thing to justify her seat and keep her on the track toward partner. She considered options. Opening a yoga studio was a nonstarter, incompatible with her graduate school loans. The music business had shrunk since her early dalliance with it. No, she was in the big sandbox and would need to survive somehow. Her third-floor window looked westward over Interstate 280 toward Portola Valley. It would be good to get a trail run in before dark, she thought. She placed the pen over her ear and under strands of ginger-blonde hair that maintained just enough body to avoid being called thin. In her reflection on the idle computer screen, she searched for any sign of aging or imperfection amid freckles and minimal makeup that most envied as wholesome, girl-next-door looks. Her style was more or less the same as it had been during her undergraduate days at a leafy liberal arts college some called the Harvard of the Midwest, but now, with much of her thirties in the rearview, she was becoming increasingly conscious of the biological clock ticking as she journeyed deeper into her professional career. An instant message popped up on her screen.
You sure? Nothing there? Gordie was gushing over this at the board meeting last week. The instant message was from Larry Chang, a pal from Stanford Business School and a newly knighted principal at Blue Hill. Larry, who sat on the firm s advisory board, was enjoying a hot streak. Alice thought Larry was an upbeat guy, sharp, but a little reckless when it came to scrutinizing numbers. Still, it seemed to be working out for him.
But what does he know (lol!) Larry added.
He was John Gordon, or Gordie, the firm s founding partner and one of the Valley s venture capital legends who d made early bets on several dot-coms, including Google and PayPal. Alice couldn t figure out why he d be interested in something she saw as very small potatoes.
She replied, I don t see it. The revenue model isn t scalable, no barrier to entry, existing competition.
Larry answered, Your call. I m out tmw. Golfing Pebble with clients and then some me time in Big Sur, meditation and yurt camping.
You spend more time recharging than charging. She liked to razz Larry about his idiosyncratic lifestyle choices.
You should try it sometime. A microdose with that Pacific Ocean view will unveil all the mysteries of a tricky business plan. Plus all the influencers are hanging out down there. I ran into the Chief Technical Officer of Tesla naked in the hot springs at Esalen last time.
Jealous, enjoy, she typed.
Alice made it through traffic with enough time to run the six-mile Portola Valley loop. She stretched her athletic frame and warmed up to a new indie playlist that her sister had shared with her. She wore black running tights and a cream zippered top. Conditions were mostly sunny with a little breeze and fog coming over the hill from the Pacific with pace. The Task Lyst deal preoccupied her as she got up to speed. What am I missing? What does the management profile look like? What is the user experience? It occurred to her that she hadn t even looked at the user interface being beta tested. Probably ought to in case Gordie asks about it at our lunch meeting next week .
Next morning was Friday and Alice worked from home. She rose early for Bikram Yoga and, upon returning, logged into her email with a tall chai latte she d bought en route. She sorted her email by subject and located the beta test user login she d received from the Task Lyst demo she sat in on two weeks prior. The credentials worked, and she created a profile. Post a Task? or Fulfill a Service