"Hmm..." I considered Hana''s words for a moment. "I''m not entirely sure if that''s a good take or not. If anything, you should be doing it for yourself. Though, to bepletely honest, there''s a certain line where people might not take you seriously, and that applies to men as well. Can I know who did you discuss this with?"


    "One of my business professors."


    "A man or a woman?"


    "A man."


    My eyebrows shot up, and I let out a thoughtful hum. "I think you should focus on improving intellectually and respect wille naturally. I have a bit of a bad feeling about this professor."


    "Why''s that?"


    I leaned back slightly, choosing my words carefully. "I just think it''s important to be cautious about where you get your advice."


    As I finished, Charlotte leaned forward. "Damn. that''s some next-level wisdom right there."


    Hana shrugged her shoulders with a confident smile. "I do feel more confident and better about myself like this, so I don''t think it''s a problem."


    "Well, as long as you like it," I said with a nod.


    Charlotte then broke the thoughtful mood. "By the way, Jack, I wanted to meet with you because I''ve got something to invite you to."


    "Oh...?" Hanalookedlikeshewastryingto gauge if she was being intrusive. "Should I leave you alone?"


    "No, no, don''t worry about that!" Charlotte started waving her hands all over the ce in a flurry of excitement. "If you want to, you can totallye along. It''s a concert! I''m going to be ying piano and the entry is really cheap!"


    "So I guess this is my chance to finally hear you y?" I asked.


    "Yes!" Charlotte smiled widely at me, revealing her white, pearly teeth. "I''ve been preparing so much for this concert! I hope that you cane."


    "Is it this weekend?" I asked.


    "No-no. It is next Friday."


    "Then I will definitely be there. What about you, Hana? Do you want to hear it?"


    Hana looked thoughtful for a moment. "I''m not really into ssical music, but I''ve never been to a ssical concert before either."


    "The concert is at the Arts Center downtown." Charlotteunched into an enthusiastic exnation. "It''s a pretty intimate venue, which is great because you''ll get to really experience the music up close. I''ll be performing a duet with a violinist."


    We talked for a bit longer and after finishing the dinner, I said my goodbyes to the two stunning women and walked back to my dorm.


    ...


    On Wednesday, November 7th, 10a.m. my calls were filled almost immediately. I had no way to confirm, but I was quite confident that Derec had done his job perfectly.


    By Thursday, the stock had climbed to $196, which was getting a bit scary but I was expecting the scandalous news to hit either Monday or Tuesday.


    ...


    On Friday morning, I drove from Gainesville to Ondo and after a two-hour drive, I parked near the skyscraper where Johnson Trading corp. was and walked inside.


    I rode the elevator to the 12th floor and I found myself at the reception desk.


    The brte secretary was engrossed in something when I walked up.


    "Hello?" I said.


    She jumped slightly, then smiled up at me. "Oh! Mr. Somnus. I didn''t expect you so early."


    "Yes, that''s me. You already know my surname?"


    Her smile widened. "Sam mentioned you would be joining us as an advisor."


    "Is he here right now?"


    "Yes. He is on the trading floor... Ymm.. Just a moment..." She reached into a shelf at the reception desk and took out a small silver envelope with a ck card inside. "You can use this card to ess all the rooms from now on."


    I took the envelope from her, thanked her, and headed to the trading floor.


    When I opened the door to the trading floor, the familiar scene of trading stations and LED disys showing stock prices greeted me. Arge TV screen hung on the wall, shing market updates.


    Mark was sitting at his station with a banana, Monster energy drink, and dark chocte in front of him. And he actually wore something appropriate for the office.


    He saw that I had entered and quickly said something to Sam, who was sitting next to him.


    Without wasting any time, I walked up to them.


    I could see Mark was already putting on a dramatic show. He was clutching his chest and pouting with exaggerated sadness. "I heard you''ve got a higher position than me now..." he said, his voice quivering like a little kid''s.


    "And I''ve been working here for years!" He cried, "Why did you do this to me, Sam..."


    I chuckled, "Easy... You have shares in thepany, right?" I asked.


    Mark wiped away an imaginary tear and nodded, "I do…"


    "Good," I said. "Then don''t worry. Listen to my advice, and you''ll be rich in no time."


    Mark stopped acting silly and looked at me with real interest. "As long as you can give me good reasoning behind your actions, I''ll give your advice a try."


    "Maybe this youngster can make up for the $30,000 you lost yesterday." A trader at a nearby station piped up.


    Mark turned to look at him. "Haha, ha!" he gave a ruefulugh.


    The guy shook his head.


    Mark looked back at me, his expression shifting from yful to serious. "Alright, what are you proposing we do?"


    "There are a few stocks and a sector that I want you to focus on. But since we''ve already discussed some of this, let''s start with Monster Beverage."


    "Monster Beverage... What''s the angle?"


    "I want you to umte shares slowly until the New Year," I said. "Nothing significant at first."


    Sam, who had been listening in, jumped in with a question: "So, are we investing long term?"


    "No, it will be a short-term investment," I rified. I then turned my focus back to Mark. "I want you to lock up that float aggressively a few days before earnings, and then swing through."


    Mark''s eyebrows melted in the center of his temple. "You think they will beat?"


    "They will definitely crush earnings. I''ll write down some facts and the interest I''ve seen online to back up my hypothesis," I said.


    Mark nodded slowly, a grin spreading across his face. "Okay, brother. We''ll lock the shit out of that float. It will be as tight as a virgin''s-"


    "Wow,wow! Pause!" I stopped him from finishing that sentence.


    A few traders stifled theirughter behind their screens. One of the younger guys, who had been trying hard to focus on his charts, nearly choked on his coffee.


    "But do you really think there will be enough buyers to dump them on?" Mark asked.


    I met his gaze with confidence. "Trust me, they will be begging us to give up our shares."


    Sam leaned back in his chair, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "It''s just one small stock, though. Isn''t the upside kind of capped?"


    I gave him a knowing nod. "True. That''s why,e January 2003, I want you to deploy as much capital as you''ve got into select military stocks."


    "Military?" Sam''s interest was awakened. "What''s the y there?"


    I let a smirk slowly creep across my face.


    "War," I said with cold precision.


    In March 2003, the United States and its Allied Nations were going to invade Iraq.