July 2010
Bitcoin crossed $0.10 per coin for the first time. To the world, it was a novelty. To Phoenix Fund—it was a seismic shift.
They were early. Quiet. Positioned. And now, the world was starting to catch up.
---
Enter the Specialist – Zoya Lin
Zoya Lin joined the Phoenix Digital Assets team as its official Head of Crypto Strategy.
A Taiwanese-American cryptographer with a degree from MIT and field work across decentralized platforms, Zoya had spent the past two years embedded in forums, mining pools, and whisper networks. She had consulted on three blockchain protocol launches and held patents related to secure transaction routing.
Leah (during the interview):
"You're overqualified for us."
Zoya (smiling):
"No. I'm perfectly qualified for people who are smart enough to listen."
Ryan hired her on the spot.
Within a month, Zoya's team of six built a robust trading model, secured Phoenix Fund's digital storage with custom smart contracts, and identified Ethereum as the next major ecosystem worth tracking—despite it still being years away from full implementation.
---
The Boom Begins
By mid-September, Bitcoin surged past $0.25.
Phoenix's initial $200 investment was now worth $625. But that was just the beginning.
Zoya had advised slow, layered acquisition instead of aggressive buying, and by the end of the summer, they had quietly accumulated:
51,000 BTC at an average of $0.14 per coin
Current valuation: $12,750
Projected 12-month outlook: exponential
She also began identifying underpriced altcoins with strong community and technical backbones—laying the groundwork for Phoenix's digital diversification.
Zoya (in a strategy session):
"This isn't the stock market. This is the wild west. But we're building the railroad while everyone else is still hunting for gold."
---
Tension Turned Tender
On a warm July evening, after a long investor call and a dinner meeting with a tech incubator, Ryan and Leah found themselves walking through the empty Phoenix courtyard. String lights overhead, soft jazz from a rooftop party drifting down from another building.
Ryan:
"You ever stop and think about how fast this all happened?"
Leah (laughing):
"Only when I remember I used to live off instant ramen and student loan forgiveness apps."
They sat on the edge of a raised planter, the conversation drifting from investments to memories to personal quirks.
Ryan:
"You've changed, you know."
Leah:
"Hopefully in a good way."
Ryan:
"More than good. You're the reason this place runs. You're the reason I trust the vision. And if I don't say that enough, it's because I'm not good at it. But I feel it. Every day."
A long pause.
Leah (quietly):
"Ask me."
Ryan (softly):
"Would you have dinner with me? Not a strategy dinner. Not a debrief. Just us?"
She smiled, blushed slightly, then nodded.
Leah:
"Friday night. I'll pick the place."
---
The Bad News
The next morning, Dylan walked into the executive meeting with a tablet in hand and an unusual grimness on his face.
Dylan:
"It's the Barrow Heights project. The numbers are off."
Barrow Heights was a sprawling retail-residential hybrid acquired six months earlier in north Las Vegas—an area with high future development promise, but plagued by current economic stagnation.
Dylan:
"Two major tenants pulled out before construction started. A permit delay on phase two. And a local activist group is opposing rezoning."
Ryan:
"Loss projection?"
Dylan:
"If we halt now, we eat about $2.3 million in sunk costs and salvage less than half in asset liquidation."
The room was quiet.
Then Zoya—who had been sitting in, reviewing local blockchain utility maps—raised her hand.
Zoya:
"We might be looking at it wrong. That property sits on a fiber hub. Old telecom core. It's not good for retail. But it's perfect for a decentralized server farm. Cold storage. Web3 infrastructure."
Everyone turned.
Ryan:
"You think we could retrofit it?"
Zoya:
"Not only that—I think we could lease it to three startups next quarter who are already looking for that exact configuration. They just don't know it exists."
---
Terrace – 9:27 PM
The skyline shimmered as warm desert air rolled through the rooftop terrace. Ryan stood with his hands in his pockets, looking out over the city that had transformed beneath them. Beside him, Leah leaned against the railing, sipping from a half-full glass of wine. The hum of the city below made the silence feel private—almost sacred.
Ryan's thoughts:
She's been here since the beginning. Every time I thought I had to carry this weight alone, she stepped in—not to lighten it, but to shoulder it beside me. And I never thanked her—not properly. Not the way I should have.
Leah's thoughts:
He leads with everything on the line. And even when he doesn't say it, I see how deeply he feels things. I used to think ambition like his left no room for connection. But maybe… he was just waiting for the right person to make room for.
She turned toward him slightly, enough to catch his profile in the golden haze of the rooftop lights.
Leah (softly):
"You know I've never done this before."
Ryan (glancing over):
"Dated your co-founder?"
Leah (smiling):
"Trusted someone this much. With everything."
Without a word, Ryan took her hand. No bravado, no performance. Just instinct. Like reaching for air you didn't realize you'd been holding your breath without.
Ryan:
"We're not just building a company. We're building a world. And I can't imagine building it without you in it."
Leah (gently):
"Then don't."
They didn't kiss. Not yet. But their hands stayed clasped, and neither one looked away again.
Friday Night – Their First Date
Location: An unassuming chef-owned wine bar tucked into the Arts District—hidden behind a bookstore, accessible only through a speakeasy-style hallway of velvet curtains and Edison bulbs.
Leah had picked it, and Ryan had shown up exactly on time.
He wore a soft grey dress shirt rolled at the sleeves, no tie. She wore a flowing dark green dress with gold accents and small hoop earrings. Her hair was down—intentional, soft, free.
They were seated in a booth lit by candlelight, their table quiet but cozy. No staff interruptions. No buzzing phones. They'd left their titles at the door.
Ryan:
"Did you ever imagine we'd end up here—after how this all started?"
Leah (laughing):
"You mean the guy who took calculated million-dollar bets and forgot to sleep? Not exactly date material back then."
Ryan (smirking):
"To be fair, I had the jawline and a suspicious amount of spreadsheets."
Leah:
"You still do. But now you listen. You lead differently. You… feel."
Ryan's thoughts:
She sees all of me. Even the parts I haven't said out loud. And somehow, she hasn't walked away. That terrifies me. And I've never wanted anything more.
Leah's thoughts:
He's not just who he was. He's becoming. And I want to be there for all of it—not beside him. With him.
They lingered over three courses. Shared a dessert. Laughed. Fell into silence. And when the evening came to a close, Ryan walked her to her car—not as a formality, but because he couldn't stand the idea of parting without every second accounted for.
He opened her door, but didn't step away.
Leah (softly):
"What happens next?"
Ryan:
"Whatever we want. But I'd like to take you out again."
Leah (smiling):
"Then don't wait too long. I'm not great at patience."
She kissed him gently on the cheek, then slipped into her car and drove off into the quiet night—leaving Ryan standing there, heart a little louder in his chest, wondering how something could feel so new and so inevitable at the same time.
-------------------------------------------------------