Antitrust (Completed)

Part 2: The Agreement

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                  It was 3 o’clock, and I paced in my office. Lunchtime was over for a while now, but I was still too shocked. Talk to Tanner about investing more? Was Jay crazy?

                I mustered up my courage to tell my secretary to call Tanner for an appointment.

                “ESMERALDA get Tanner on the phone and get an appointment as soon as possible.”

                “Sure thing. Oh by the way, Jay had his secretary send me the location of the pub you’ll be meeting him at this evening.”

                Jay had a secretary? How was this even possible?

                “Esmeralda, what’s Jay’s title on the fax?”

                “Uh, Managing Director of Market Risk.”

                “WHAT?!” How was Jay a newcomer and already so high up the ladder? It took people twenty years to accomplish things like that. This Jay character was certainly earning my respect a little at a time. “Where’s the pub?”

                “It’s actually the Ciao Wine Bar on Yorkville Avenue.”

                If I was not mistaken, that place was always crowded with celebrities, and had earned quite a reputation for it. The bar was extremely Italian and not having a prosciutto platter there with your sherry was considered distasteful, and the lights are dimmed so low it’s hard to even see the person sitting across from you, let alone actually talk to them because the restaurant was always packed.

                Lost in my thoughts, I hardly realized Tanner walk through the glass doors of the elevator, uninvited. I shot Esmeralda a panicked glare and braced myself.

                “Hello Mr. Tanner, how are you today? I was meaning to speak with you about the Miller case.”

                “Ah yes, Ms. Mahal, very well.” I cringed at his pronunciation of my last name. “If you’re asking me to invest more in Miller’s company, the answer is no” and with that the man crossed his arms. His gray Calvin Klein suit slightly creased as he did this, and his strong cologne was permeating the room. I could see he was becoming tense.

                “Mr. Tanner, I understand the risks of investing more money into an already failing company, but as your financial advisor I strongly advise you to invest. Miller has something huge planned to save his company and his associate mentioned that you’d get all your money back by March.”

                At this, Tanner paused. The room was silent and cold, and even Esmeralda looked through the glass at me anxiously.

                “All right Ms. Mahal, if you can return all my investments by March we’re in good shape.” With that, he pulled out a checkbook and fountain pen out of his suit jacket and with a swish, signed over five million dollars to me. “I hope you know what to do with this.”

                “Thank you so much Mr. Tanner, you won’t be disappointed.” He left with a disgruntled but hopeful expression on his face. Esmeralda looked at me with wide eyes through the glass, surprised that it didn’t take much more convincing.

                I took a deep breath. Now all that was left was to deliver the check to Jay over drinks tonight, and for some weird reason, I was excited.