Chapter 34: Unique Taste

August 10, 1984, Chicago, Illinois

"How much can you tell me?" Violet asked.

"As the future mother of my child, quite a bit, but not a word to anyone, not even to Bianca unless I say it's OK."

"You know I won't!"

"Yes, but I had to say it. I'm taking over the Arrow Fund."

"Holy Toledo!" Violet gasped. "That's like $450 million in AUM!"

"Don't get too excited just yet," I replied. "The fund will be registered to Noel Spurgeon. I'm authorized to trade it with a goal of getting it above water by the end of the year. It's not my AUM, nor my carried interest. Noel asked me to trust that my compensation would properly reflect my performance, and I, of course, agreed."

"So you do all the work, and he makes all the money?"

"I'm not exactly living like a pauper, Miss Clemmons!"

She laughed, "No, but if you trade the fund, it should be your carried interest!"

"Unless I miss my guess, Noel is going to use some of that carried interest to assuage some of Taylor's investors. Taylor's fund will be liquidated in about ten minutes, and the cash will be transferred to the Spurgeon Select Fund. Noel and I are meeting with the investors in Florida next week to try to convince them to stay.

"In one sense, it's better to have the Arrow Fund in Noel's name because if there's a run, it doesn't reflect on me, and I'd say there's at least a 50/50 chance of a run on the fund. Noel didn't say, but I think he might set the odds of a run occurring higher than that. My job is to prevent that while we're in Florida, and I'm positive if I do, and turn the fund positive, my bonus will be, well, astronomical."

"How are you going to be able to handle all of the work?"

"That I'll have to tell you at the end of the day."

My phone rang, and I answered it.

"Research; Kane."

"Jonathan, it's Joel. I just want to confirm with you that all of these are actually market orders for the open."

"They are," I said.

"OK. I'll route them to the proper exchanges and brokers, and you'll see piecemeal trade confirmations."

"Thanks, Joel."

"I'd wish you luck, but there is no luck involved here!"

We ended the call, and I replaced the handset in the cradle.

"Tonight's your last date with Taya, right?" Violet asked.

"Yes. Next Friday, you're my date."

"I'm thrilled to become your regular Friday fuck!" Violet declared with a smirk.

"Seriously?" I asked with a grin.

"It's true! Who is going to the Bears game with us a week from tomorrow besides Jack and Kristy?"

"The Boys, except Dustin, because he has a Saturday gig."

I saw the new mailroom guy, Lee, come in and start handing out memos, so I asked Violet to open the door, which she did. I received my copy, quickly scanned it, and saw nothing new. Instead of waiting for 9:15am, I walked out to what the guys called the 'bullpen' and waved for Bianca and Steve to join us.

"As you all were just informed, Mr. Spurgeon made some tough calls this morning and eliminated two desks — Carl Taylor's and Glenn Fletcher's. I want to be clear, Noel Spurgeon has commended the work we're doing here in the Research Department on several occasions, including this morning. Typically, these kinds of things happen at the end of the year, but the losses in those two funds were simply too steep to tolerate, and Mr. Spurgeon acted in the best interest of the firm.

"We all know our bonuses are dependent on beating the hurdle, and to be honest, these two funds were dragging ALL of us down. Let's keep up the hard work and keep turning out the best research and analysis in the industry. That is how we prove our worth every single day. Mr. Spurgeon understands the value we provide, and authorized me to hire two new staff members and buy a new computer for analysis outside the normal budgeting window. That rarely happens, and it's a signal that we're on the right track.

"Beyond what I've just said, I can't share any more details. More will be said next week, but please know that this in no way indicates anything negative for the Research Department. That said, as I said to Tony earlier — so long as we continue to perform at the highest levels, we're in good shape. I know you'll all give your best, and I certainly will. Come see me if you have questions, but know that I might not be able to answer them right away. Thanks."

I headed back to my office and was not surprised when Bianca came in and shut the door.

"NOW can you tell me what's up?"

"As the mother of my child, I'll tell you the key piece that isn't in the memo, but you cannot talk to anyone about it, not even Violet, until I say."

"You told her, didn't you?"

"She heard about Taylor and Fletcher through the secretary grapevine, I'm sure, and was in here seconds later! Are you upset?"

"No. I just wanted to make sure you were still going to be alive! You know what would happen if you kept something from her that you told me!"

I chuckled, "She is a feisty one! In any event, I'm managing the Arrow Fund as of today."

"HOLY SHIT!" Bianca gasped. "Your AUM has to be north of $700 million!"

"As I said to Violet, who had the same reaction — don't get too excited just yet. The fund will be registered to Noel, and I'm authorized to trade it, with a goal of getting it above water by the end of the year. It's not my AUM, nor my carried interest. Noel asked me to trust that my compensation would properly reflect my performance, and I, of course, agreed."

"This is what Florida is about, right?"

"Yes. Wine and dine the clients and hope to keep the $850 million AUM between the two funds. It's not going to be easy, and it's basically an even-money bet on a run or not. Taylor's fund is being liquidated, and the proceeds are being transferred to Spurgeon Select. I strongly suspect Noel will use some of the carried interest in the Arrow Fund to encourage the investors to stay."

"How are you going to have time for all of this?"

"Ask me at the end of the day, OK? Or tomorrow morning. I promise I'll explain as much as I can, but Noel and I are going to talk structure on the flight down to Boca."

"This is almost unbelievable."

"TELL me about it!" I exclaimed. "Just remember, we're all going to get rich together."

"I sure as hell picked the right guy to pop my cherry, that's for sure!" Bianca declared. "Talk about random chance!"

"You should say 'thank you' to Alysson," I grinned.

"It's been a crazy three years since I graduated High School, that's for sure!"

"Same here! Now, I have work to do! See you at lunch?"

"Yes."

The morning was busy, and despite my attempt to reassure the team, I felt obvious tension as I walked through the bullpen. I hoped that dissipated, though I suspected it wouldn't until I returned from Florida and some additional time had passed. Just before lunch, I received the last of the trade confirmations, and now it was up to the market to do as I predicted and improve the situation with the Arrow Fund.

At lunch, I had to deflect a few questions from Violet and Bianca, with the promise to answer them as soon as I was able. When we finished eating, we went to the gym, then returned to the office. Mid-afternoon, I received a call from the woman Maja had told me about.

"Mr. Kane, this is Marlena Volkmer. Maja Jankowski referred me."

"Good afternoon, Ms. Volkmer. I would prefer you call me Jonathan, but I'm OK with formality if you prefer."

"Not even!" she exclaimed. "Please call me Marlena or Lena. Maja suggested you could turn my small fortune into a large one."

"That is my job!" I replied. "In this down year for the markets, my clients should earn at least an 18% return after fees and expenses. Obviously, I can't guarantee that, but the current numbers back that up, as does my track record."

"How do we proceed?"

"I send you a prospectus, and if you like what you see, you fill out an application, and we take it from there."

"If I'm going to turn my money over to you to manage, I'd want to meet you face-to-face."

"Yes, of course. I wasn't implying we wouldn't meet! I can come to you, or you can come here, or you can suggest another option."

"Unless you have other plans, let's have dinner on Sunday at Ruth's Chris."

"I can do that. If it's OK with you, I'll make reservations for 5:00pm."

"That's fine," she said. "I'll see you at 5:00pm on Sunday."

After we said 'goodbye', I made a note in my Day-Timer. I'd have to let CeCi know, given her desire to stay in bed all day, but I was sure she wouldn't object, given the amount of money on offer. It was also the case that a few hours at dinner would give me time to recharge. I called Maja to let her know, and we agreed to dinner at Eli's the Place for Steak on the 16th.

At 4:20pm, Jack came into my office, and I motioned for him to close the door.

"What's up?" he asked.