Chapter 48: Pandemonium

January 16, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

"I don't think I've ever seen my sister happier," Kristy said quietly when we found ourselves alone in the kitchen on Sunday before the first playoff game.

"Thank you for the endorsement!" I replied.

"Are you aware of Clara's desire?"

"Besides more sex?" I asked with a grin.

Kristy laughed, "That, too, obviously. Your reaction tells me you know."

"She was fairly clear when I asked her what she wanted, and Marie reinforced that by showing up and saying she wanted to have sex immediately because Clara had designs on me."

"Clara told Allyson, and me she wants to live with you as soon as she graduates, get married after a few years, and have kids with you."

"She wasn't shy about her intentions," I replied. "Don't worry."

"OK. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into."

"Oh, I knew what I was getting into!" I chuckled.

Kristy laughed, "If she's anything like Ally, you had to have been in heaven!"

"Let's just say I enjoyed myself as much as she did and leave it at that."

"Who's better?" Kristy asked with a silly smile. "The older sisters or the younger ones?"

"Given I want to live to be twenty-one and keep my balls attached, there is no chance I'm going to answer THAT question!"

Kristy laughed, "Smart man! Of course, the little girls didn't do you together the way the older girls did!"

"Yet," I smirked.

"Seriously?" Kristy asked, surprised.

"I was teasing, but I bet you anything you care to wager I could, simply by telling Clara that's what I wanted."

"Actually, now that you say that, I suspect you're right."

"Hitting on my girl?" Jack asked, coming into the kitchen.

"Just discussing a recent encounter," I said. "What's up?"

"Bianca said I should ask you about chip dip."

"Shit. I forgot when we went shopping yesterday."

"No sweat. Kristy and I will go get some at White Hen."

"Thanks."

They left, and I went to the great room and saw that Allyson, Tim, and Sally had arrived.

"No Will today?" I asked.

"His dad broke his leg, so Will is helping out around the house. He'll be here next Sunday."

"Jack and I probably won't," I replied. "We'll try, but with the office moves, there's a good chance we won't be here until sometime in the afternoon. We're going to try our best to finish on Saturday, but something will go wrong; it always does."

"We're hosting," Bianca said. "So it'll happen either way."

"Jonathan, if you aren't doing anything later," Sally said, "Will and I aren't exclusive."

"Ellie and I have plans," I replied.

"No problem!"

The rest of the gang, except for Stuart, Tom, and Maria, filtered in before kickoff in the game between the Dolphins and Chargers. The Dolphins dominated the game, winning 34–13. Between games, I called my mom and Bev, as I usually did on Sundays. In the second game, the Cowboys beat the Packers 37–26. With the results of the Saturday games, that meant the games for the weekend Jack and I would be working were the Redskins versus the Cowboys and the Dolphins versus the Jets.

After everyone had left, Ellie and I went up to my room, undressed, and got into bed.

"You could have said 'yes' to Sally," Ellie said.

"Yes, I could have, but when you and I spoke yesterday, we agreed on a plan and I keep my word."

"When will I be able to see you again?"

A feeling was developing that Ellie was unhappy with our relationship, but there wasn't much I could do about it, at least not in the next week or two. And, honestly, if I was going to make any kind of commitment in the short term, it would only be to Bev, and even that was unlikely, though I did intend to ask her to come to Chicago for the Summer, but not ask her to decide in August.

"Sometime after Super Bowl Sunday," I said, "though obviously you're invited for next weekend and the Super Bowl party. I know you want more, but I can't give more right now."

"I know," Ellie replied. "But I know what you can do!"

So did I, and we did.

January 17, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

On Monday morning, just after 8:00am, the Bloomberg technicians arrived, and I met them on 29, together with an electrician who was also a telephone technician, and would provide the necessary connections for the new terminals.

"I don't know how you guys got this setup," Fred Burns, the lead technician, said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Merrill Lynch has an exclusive on Market Master terminals. We can't sell to any of their competitors."

That was an interesting revelation, but I was sure that Noel Spurgeon had his means, because Merrill Lynch was certainly a competitor to Spurgeon Capital, though we had a much more exclusive clientele than the 'Thundering Herd', as Merrill Lynch was known, did. That might explain the delay, and it might also explain why only Mr. Spurgeon had ever spoken to the sales rep or management at Bloomberg.

"Well, you're here," I said. "Let's get started. Three of the terminals go on the analyst desks, and the other two go on Mr. Matheson's desk and Mr. Monroe's desk."

I showed them the five desks.

"OK. If everything goes well, and we have no trouble, we should finish today."

"Excellent. Can you explain how these terminals work? Just briefly? We have training on Friday, but I'm curious about the technology."

"I see you have IBM 3278 terminals and at least one Apple computer. These work similarly to the IBM terminals, and connect to a terminal controller, which goes in the same room as the IBM terminal controller. Rather than connect to a local computer, our controller connects to the main computers via the telephone network. The keyboards are very specialized, unlike the ones on the IBM terminals."

"Thanks. I'm going back to my desk unless you need me to stay."

"No, that's not necessary. How do we get in touch with you?"

"Use the phone on the wall by the door and press the button marked 'mailroom'."

They got started, and I went back to 30, and went to Mr. Nelson's office.

"The Bloomberg guys are here and they're working."

"Great!"

"I think I know what might have caused the delay, too."

"Oh?"

"The lead tech said Merrill Lynch has an exclusive contract for the terminals."

"Noel Spurgeon interned with Merrill Lynch while he was in college, so I'm sure he was able to leverage some relationship he forged there into an exception."

"If there's one thing I've learned here, it's the value of those relationships. Anyway, they said that barring any problems, they'll finish today. The electrician is there with the two techs from Bloomberg, so hopefully everything just goes smoothly."

"That'll be the day!" Mr. Nelson said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry you couldn't start your new role today."

"It's OK," I replied. "You know I'm already doing some trading, and besides, the new salary kicks in today."

"And there is no overtime for next weekend, so Mr. Spurgeon is comping you a with a gift certificate to Morton's to make up for that."

"I appreciate that."

"Keep me posted on their progress."

"Will do. I plan to check on them once an hour."

"Good plan."

I left his office and returned to the mailroom. An hour later, I went down to 29 to check on progress and they had all five units unboxed and were connecting the keyboards to the terminals. They were making good progress, so I went back to the mailroom. At my 11:00am check, the techs reported a problem with the terminals connecting to the mainframe computer, and they were troubleshooting with Illinois Bell and their computer center.

"This is a normal situation," Fred said. "In each install I've done, we've had to work with the phone company and the computer center. We'll get it sorted."

I returned to 30 and let Mr. Nelson know. He simply shook his head and acknowledged what I'd said, then asked me to keep him posted.

"Jonathan, there's a letter for you from the SEC," Jack said.

He handed it to me and I used a letter opener to slice open the envelope so I could extract the paper.

"I passed my exam for the Series 7 license," I said.

"Congrats!" Jack said.

"Yeah, congrats!" Bob added.

"Great to hear!" Sandeep observed.

"What's next?" Bob asked.

"Experience," I replied. "Eventually, I'll take the Branch Manager's License exam. That's what Mr. Matheson has, and would allow me to run my own team. But that's years in the future."

I made two copies of the letter and put them in the interoffice mail, one to Mr. Matheson and one to Compliance. That completed, I set about my work. I checked on the Bloomberg technicians right before my lunch break and the problem hadn't been resolved, but they claimed to be making progress. I let Mr. Nelson know, then went to the break room to eat my lunch. Haley joined me a few minutes later.

"I received my Series 7 license today," I said.

"That's great! You're fully licensed now!"

"I am. I'm really champing at the bit for next Monday."

"I bet! How was your weekend?"

"Good. Yours?"

"Quiet. You're still going to Ohio tomorrow evening, right?"

"Yes. The hearing is on Wednesday morning, and hopefully it will end so I can make the flight that afternoon. If not, there's an evening flight."

"You had your deposition on Saturday. How did that go?"

"About as expected. The most they could get from what I said is that Bev and I had a physical relationship, and that she started dating Bob before I moved to Chicago. Beyond that, they found out I have two female housemates, which might be used to make me look bad, but Bev and I aren't a couple, so that can't really hurt her."

"Hopefully, things will work out for her."

"I hope so," I replied.

After lunch, I went back to 29 and Fred reported that they had successfully connected the first terminal, which was the one on Mr. Matheson's desk and were working on the one for Mr. Monroe. At my next check, an hour later, four of the five terminals were working, with the final one on what would be my desk, giving them trouble. They finally got it working just after 4:00pm and confirmed that the trainer would arrive on Friday at 9:00am. I thanked them, and after I'd walked them to the elevator and they'd departed, I reported success to Mr. Nelson.

"We're all set," I said. "The Bloomberg trainer will be here Friday at 9:00am. I'll bet you anything you care to wager, neither Mr. Matheson nor Mr. Monroe will attend, and I'll have to show them how to use the terminals."

"No bet, Kane!"

"I need to confirm with Personnel that the new analyst will be here, and make sure Tony knows."

"Do that. Good work, Kane."

"Thanks, Boss."

With the terminals installed, the only thing left was the artwork, and I wasn't responsible for that, as it was handled by the building maintenance team. At 5:00pm, I left the Hancock Center for dinner with Violet, after which we walked to Circle for class.

"Would you guys like to come to a Super Bowl party at my house?" I asked Troy and Teri.

"Sure," Troy agreed. "What time?"

"The game starts at 5:00pm, but the party will start at 4:00pm. I wrote down the address and my phone number for you."

I gave Troy a sheet of paper where I'd written the information.

"Should we bring anything?"

"A carton of soda and a bag of chips is sufficient," I said.

"Cool. How many people will be there?"

"Around thirty, if everyone shows up. It's mostly college kids."

"That won't be a problem. Mom and Dad totally trust us."

The professor walked to the lectern to begin class, so I opened my notebook and prepared to take notes.

January 18, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

On Tuesday, when I left work, I headed for Midway Airport. At the airport, I parked in the lot, then walked across Cicero Avenue to the terminal, entering the departure hall. I checked the signs behind the counters and found the Comair counter. I got in line and waited my turn. About ten minutes later, a young man waved me to his station.

"Destination?" he asked.

"Cincinnati," I said, handing over my ticket and driver's license.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Kane. We have you in seat 7B on our 7:00pm flight to Cincinnati. Do you have any bags to check?"

"No, just my carry-on."

"Let me print your boarding pass," the agent said.

He pressed buttons on his terminal, then handed me a printed card with the flight information, gate number, and seat number, along with my driver's license and return ticket. I put the ticket into my bag, then followed the agent's directions to the security line. I watched the people in front of me to see what they did, and simply followed what they did. I emptied my pockets into a small tray, put my bag on the conveyer belt, then walked through the metal detector without it going off. There was no problem with my bag, so I put my things back into my pocket, took my bag, then walked down the concourse to the gate.

I found the gate and sat down, waiting for the flight to be called. I only had to wait about fifteen minutes before they started boarding the plane. I got in line when they called my row and I eventually handed over my boarding pass. The agent tore off the largest part of it and handed me the stub, then directed me to the door leading to the plane. I went down the stairs, onto the tarmac, then walked up the steps into the plane. A stewardess directed me to my seat, where I stowed my bag in the overhead bin, and sat down.

When the plane was loaded, I watched and listened to the 'safety briefing' with rapt attention. Five minutes later, the plane was pushed back from the gate and began taxiing to the runway. Ten minutes later, the plane hurtled down the runway and climbed into the air.

January 19, 1983, Goshen, Ohio

On Wednesday morning, I showered, dressed, and went to Bev's house. She'd been at my mom's house when I'd arrived, but decided, because of the hearing, to sleep at her house while I slept at my mom's. I hadn't objected, because the last thing I wanted to do was cause any problems for Bev.

Once I was dressed, I said 'goodbye' to Mom, who hadn't yet set a wedding date to Glen, then walked over to Bev's house to have breakfast with her and her family.

"How was your first plane trip?" Mrs. Newton asked when I sat down at the kitchen table.

"It was fine," I replied. "Not much different from riding the bus, except we didn't stop six times on the way here. And, when I add everything up, including getting to and from the airport and waiting, I only saved about an hour over driving."

"Prop plane, right?" Mr. Newton asked.

"Yes."

"Jets are much faster, but I don't think there's jet service from Chicago to Cincinnati. How is work?"

"My title changed, but not my role," I replied. "There was a delay with some new equipment, but that's been installed now, and so the office moves will happen this coming weekend, and then I'll start my new role on Monday."

"Bev said you're buying a house," Mrs. Newton said.

"I'm working on it. I made an offer on a house but it was rejected. I'm in no rush, though, because I have until the end of July before my lease expires. I can extend the lease, if I need to, because I have nothing forcing me to buy now."

"You've done amazingly well in less than two years," Mrs. Newton said.

"And I've barely scratched the surface. I have my foot in the door and the goal is to keep it there, and eventually get a seat at the table."

"A hundred and fifty grand is a foot in the door?" Mr. Newton asked incredulously.

"As I said before, my mentor will make fifteen times that this year, and Mr. Spurgeon will make double that. And that's only their salary, commissions, and bonuses, and doesn't count the growth of their portfolios."

"How much is this Spurgeon guy worth?"

"Something on the order of $300 million."

"Jesus Christ!" Mr. Newton gasped.

"Dear, please don't take the Lord's name in vain."

The Newtons weren't particularly religious, but Mrs. Newton always complained when her husband swore or used an oath.

"Sorry, but that's just obscene."

"Why?" I asked. "He didn't steal it, he follows the SEC and CFTC regulations, he pays his taxes, he pays his staff well, and he makes more money for his clients than he makes for himself. What am I missing?"

"Nobody should have that kind of money!"

"Dear..." Mrs. Newton warned.

"What? Jonathan grew up with next to nothing and this guy has $300 million? How is that fair?"

"I don't hear Jonny complaining, Dad," Bev said. "In fact, he never once complained. And the only thing he ever asked for was a chance, and he has it! Suddenly, he's successful and you turn into Karl Marx?"

"As I pointed out to a friend of mine," I said, "the money that Spurgeon Capital manages, which is around three billion, would cover about six days of defense spending. If you were to seize it, it would be gone in less than a week, and then there would be zero tax revenue from it in the future.

"If you confiscated all the wealth in the country over, say, five million, you couldn't cover the entire year's federal budget, and then you'd have no money available to invest, no mortgages, no credit cards, and, worse, no ongoing tax revenue.

"The top marginal tax rate is 50%, and Mr. Spurgeon pays that on most of his income. I'd say giving more than half his income in combined federal and state taxes to the people is a pretty sweet deal for the people. And that doesn't count the property tax for his houses nor the sales tax on the things he buys, which employs people."

"When did you turn into a Republican?" Mr. Newton asked.

"I didn't. I support the Democratic principles of a level playing field and a safety net, along with non-discrimination and the rights of workers to unionize. The Kennedy family has been super rich for decades and they're all Democrats! I know you voted for Ted Kennedy in the primary against Jimmy Carter and I can't think of anything Ted Kennedy would support that I wouldn't. I also believe you voted for Reagan, just as I did, because Carter was, and I recall you using this term, a pussy."

"Dear, you know I do NOT like that word at all!" Mrs. Newton said firmly to her husband.

"Sorry," Mr. Newton said. "But it's true, even if you don't like the word."

"Truce?" I asked. "We need to focus on Bev and Heather."

"Yes, we do," Mr. Newton agreed.