1988 - 1st Quarter (5)
1988 - 1st Quarter (5)
"Huh?!"
Diana, who had been covering herself with the blanket, pulled it up even higher.
"You're here?"
"Wh-who...?"
"Ah, my secretary. Ara Berry. This is Merrill Lynch's trader, Diana Hess. Is this your first time meeting each other?"
"Could you please at least put on some underwear before saying things like that? And stop walking around half-naked!"
Instead of a greeting, Diana screamed.
We've already seen everything anyway, why so prickly.
Even though you remember everything from last night.
"P-p-p-ple-pleased to-to-to m-m-meet y-y-you."
Wow.
When did I summon a Death Knight?
Did the Status Window do something?
"Ara?"
Ara maintained her characteristic expressionless face, only moving her pupils to quickly observe her surroundings.
Ugh. Scary.
It's creepy because only her pupils are moving around like crazy stars.
Why are you drawing a magic circle with your eyeballs.
And why is your body shaking like that.
Why is she suddenly acting like this?
"A-ah, hello..."
Diana cautiously greeted first.
She looked frightened, seeing a pretty jointed doll trembling like a vibrating bell.
"Boss."
"Yeah."
"Who is that person?"
"Hold on."
I said that and started putting on my robe.
Suddenly feeling chilly, did the heating turn off?
No matter how severe the New York cold wave is, spring is slowly coming.
"The trader in charge of my CMA account."
"Diana Hess."
"Ara Berry."
Did I catch a cold?
Just the robe isn't warming me up at all.
Why do I have goosebumps like this?
"Um..."
"What's wrong?"
"I'd like to change clothes. If both of you could just turn your heads..."
"We've already seen everything anyway."
"Do you think that's the same as this?! And, your speech has subtly gotten shorter."
"Well, after hearing all that whining all night, it's hard to treat you the same as before now."
"...All night?"
Ara mumbled.
It wasn't all night, though.
But why is she acting like this?
It hasn't been that long since we met, but this is the first time I've seen her like this.
Could it be because I met another woman while leaving her alone?
...Probably not.
Even though the affection level was high on the Status Window I saw last time, it wasn't to that extent.
Then did David just follow me around?
"Ugh-. Are you really not going to turn your heads?"
"Well, I even wiped up all the semen, what's the big deal."
"Se...! Aaah! Now that you mention it! You just came inside!"
"You said you'd have a pretty baby."
"Kyaaah! How can you say that?!"
A pillow flew.
Simultaneously, the blanket slipped down, fully revealing those large breasts.
The left and right ones hid back inside in the meantime.
Certainly, the more bashful she is, the more attractive she becomes.
Makes me want to suck them out again.
"Baby!"
"Huh! Wh-why, what's wrong...?"
"No. It's nothing."
I was surprised because she suddenly shouted.
Why is Ara clenching her fist?
Why is she nodding?
"I'll clean up the bed first."
"Huh? Uh-huh. Okay."
It seems like she's putting some spirit into it too.
Well.
Is she excited because she saw Lily after a long time?
I sat at the table and lit a cigarette.
"Sigh-. What in the world is this..."
Diana let out a deep sigh, then soon pushed the blanket aside and got down to the floor.
And picking up the clothes that had fallen on the floor, she glared at me intensely.
"You really made a mess of them."
"You gave permission."
"Tch!"
Looking at the torn stockings, she let out another deep sigh.
Her face was bright red, clearly remembering that situation.
It was certainly an attractive situation.
"Ah...!"
"Ah...!"
"Mmm..."
Oops.
I ended up recalling that time too.
"..."
"..."
"It's morning."
The gazes of the two women focused on a certain part of my body.
I waved my hand.
Since I overdid it last night and it's a bit sore, I didn't want to pull it out here again.
The two turned their heads with effort and resumed what they were doing.
"Tape recorder? What's this?"
And not long after, when Ara picked up the tape recorder that had fallen on the floor and pressed the play button.
Click.
[Oooh♥]
[Get pregnant! Get pregnant, I said!]
[Gmaaan-! Ara-ssi! I'll do it-♥]
[Tch! I'm coming! Tighten your pussy!]
[Haaaang♥ Pussy, my pussy's coming-aaaah♥ Hooooooh♥]
"Kyaaaah! Turn it off! Turn it off quickly!"
Click.
Diana quickly ran over, snatched the tape recorder, and turned it off.
"Uwaaaaah! Arthuuuur!"
"You were trying to record too, weren't you?"
The reason she was trying to record was no different from mine.
It was for use in case I shamelessly came out or our relationship deteriorated.
"...Tch."
"Ara?"
"Yes."
"No."
Did she just get annoyed?
What's really the problem?
Was it that day?
Or did she really fall for me?
On the surface, it doesn't seem like it, though.
Truly a mystery.
March 7, 1988.
Italian tire manufacturing company Pirelli declared a hostile takeover of Firestone.
The tender offer price was $58 per share.
───────────
FIRESTUN 6M CALL SCALE-IN (0%~30% LADDER)
Total Cost: $500,000
Spot: 29.01 -> 58.00
Value: $7,520,000
P/L: +$7,020,000
───────────
Current valuation is $7.52 million.
It's like a roller coaster.
"Whoa-."
"Wow..."
Ara and I let out exclamations while looking at the statement.
Clearly, yesterday's statement showed -$220,000.
The fax received at work shows $7 million.
There's no chart, but I wonder if one could even be drawn.
It would probably go up almost vertically.
Ring ring ring!
The phone rings not long after the statement arrives.
I know who it is, and Ara knows too.
"Hello."
- This is Bruce from Goldman. Did you receive the statement?
"Yes. I received it."
The market hasn't opened yet.
That statement is based on pre-market.
Usually, tender offers are declared after the market closes or before it opens.
Otherwise, the SEC might find fault.
"Thank you. Let's hold the position."
- Are you planning to hold onto it this time?
"Yes."
Bruce immediately agreed and ended the call.
It might raise questions, but there probably isn't time for leisurely conversation.
The moment a tender offer declaration hits the terminals as breaking news, the pre-market hours for IBs become a literal battlefield.
They have to make calls to clients while also preparing to execute large orders.
"Aren't you liquidating?"
Ara tilted her head.
She seems curious why I'm holding onto it this time when I sold immediately last time.
"You know Firestone was negotiating with Bridgestone, right?"
Since I personally checked that content before transporting Lily, she should remember.
"Ah! That's right. But wasn't that about jointly investing to establish a joint venture company?"
"Pirelli declared a hostile takeover. That negotiation itself is down the drain now."
"Then wouldn't it be right to renegotiate after seeing the situation?"
"That's the general approach, but..."
During this period, Japanese corporate pride is above money.
"Don't you think Bridgestone will think they can just make more money?"
"Then will Bridgestone be the white knight?"
"That's highly likely."
It seems like a waste of money, but surprisingly, it's not a bad choice.
Even if Bridgestone just serves as a bridgehead for entering the US market, they'll recoup their investment and more.
The Firestone brand itself is also quite valuable.
"Um... Master."
"What?"
"Then there's still room for upward movement until Bridgestone comes in, right?"
"Correct."
"Um, that..."
Ara hesitated and couldn't continue speaking.
Did I miss something?
"If you have something to say, say it."
"Can I invest too?"
"Huh?"
"There's still a profit zone even if I enter now, right?"
"Umm..."
I scratched my head.
Emotionally, I don't really care, so I want to say do as you please.
But most financial industry employees are prohibited from personal investing.
Because they could ruin positions with front-running using information or betting against.
Although if I give Ara permission, that's the end of it.
"I made a mistake here."
"Huh?"
"I'll set aside arbitrage profits equivalent to Firestone separately. For now, don't invest."
"...I understand."
It's because I don't have full-fledged employees yet and haven't established a proper system.
Health insurance is under review, and I haven't even touched benefits.
Should I also pre-process the 401(K)?
"Let's go to EXE first."
"Okay."
"You're here. Boss."
"I told you I'm not Boss."
"You'll soon become Boss, so..."
"You're saying something dangerous."
If that word "Boss" comes out in a recording or testimony, my assets would be completely destroyed.
That's why I came in with the title of Advisor.
"If I tell you not to, then don't."
"Understood. Advisor-nim."
After declaring the $1 million incentive, David has gotten a bit crazy.
Should I call it excessive loyalty or foolishness?
Why is the embarrassment all mine?
"Then report."
"Understood. Previous day's closing price 93'16. Current profit is $5.05 million."
We entered a short position on US Treasury 30-year futures with $18 million.
Average entry price was 94'12.
Maybe it's easier to calculate as 94.375.
Volume is 5,720 contracts.
With 30x leverage, it was approximately $540 million notional.
"$5 million..."
It moved just 1 point, yet $5 million profit.
As expected of US Treasuries.
Whether it's M&A or LBO, in terms of simple return rates maybe, but in terms of profit itself, they can't compete with macro.
"Tell the employees."
"What should I say?"
"For the time being, I'll handle the dribbling myself. Tell them to stay sharp since we'll finally be doing real work."
"Understood. Then how much additional budget is there?"
"You know."
"Yes?"
"$5 million."
"...Huh? Don't tell me?"
Futures are MTM.
Settled daily and come into the account as cash.
But you can't withdraw and use that.
"I'm going to do inverted pyramiding."
It can be added as margin.
"...Motherfucker."
Of course, it's a method with such high risk that David would swear with a face like he's eating shit.