“Technically, the seed shares have a right of first refusal,” Marcus said. “But only if the company can match the offer.”

“Can we match it?” I asked.

“Not without using the capital we just raised for our engineering hires,” Marcus said.

“We can’t touch that money,” Derek said immediately. “That’s our runway.”

“Then she knows she has us in a corner,” I said.

“She knows the seed investors want liquidity,” Derek said. “They’ve been holding those shares for three years.”

“To them, double the valuation is a massive win,” Derek added.

I looked down at my hands, my fingers dry from the cold San Francisco wind that had been blowing all afternoon.

“I need to call her,” I said.

“Not tonight, Sarah,” Derek said, reaching out to touch my arm. “Tonight is for the team.”

“If I don’t call her tonight, those two classmates will execute their transfers tomorrow morning,” I said.

“Once the transfer is registered, we can’t undo it,” I added.

Marcus closed his laptop with a quiet snap.

“I can hold the compliance filings until noon tomorrow,” Marcus said.