Success…. how do you measure it…. wealth, happiness, longlife? Most usually considered the first to be enough…. have lots of money and you can buy all the others. In many cases this is true… but stress is the killer…. quite literally in my case…. Im accepted as one of the best stockbrokers in the field…. I make descions every day that could make or cost millions…. trash peoples life savings.. cause suicide… do you have any idea what that kind of responsibilty can do to you… If you cant deal with it… then you can expect a whole family of ulcers by the time your thirty… and a heart attack shortly after… thats if you dont go completly hat stand and drive your self into a freeway bridge.
So, you look for ways to relieve the stress, I had tried shooting, skydiving, all manner of zen relaxtion techniques… they all worked to some degree but the niggle was still there… I knew I had most bases covered… im not stupid like some of the get rich brigade… when i started I lived simply long after i could afford not to… my money was invested in sophisticated software that monitored all kinds of indicators and paged me if changes required my attention. A network of informants fed me constant streams of data… political moods in china, crop results in russia, rebel acticity in the Sudan… it all effects somebodys stock somewhere… Knowledge is power..
So… i make millions… my personal portfolio was equal to the GNP of some small countries.. I was a silent partner in all the major mega corporations… I have more money than i could possibly spend…. Im still making those descions…. but stress isnt an issue….. Why? well thats an interesting story…….
Its a friday night… The markets have just closed in LA… and the weekend has finally hit the world, As I walk back to the parking lot the day creeps back into my head…. the anger begins to rise anew as i think about Jones… the fucking moron had made a serious of catastophic recomendations to some of our customers, in order to make him self a few million… It had taken me 6 hours of frantic phonecalls to 4 continents, called in countless personal favours and and cost me a year of my life in additional stress to clean it all up… he had played it cool… claiming he was acting in good faith… right up until my tracker software gave away his profits from the deals… then he tried to bluff…. I got asked what I wanted for a bonus… I wanted his head on a stick and I meant it, I settled for his immediate dismissal…
I have it under control again by the time i reach my car.. the Aston Martin Vantage was an old style piece of British engineering… rugid, throaty and spartan… yet it accelerated like a Nascar and handled like dream.. I Loved it… it was one of the few visible signs of wealth that I flouted.. I never liked flashy people.. no style…
As I sit down the phone rings… there is no caller ID, which makes me curious as very few people have this number… about 6 that I can recall… So I answer… ‘Fred Reed?’
‘Yes.. may I ask who is calling and more to the point how you got this number?’
The voice is soft… a slight southern twang… mixed with northern accents… odd mix… She breaths into the phone rather than talks… ok.. im REALLY curious now.
‘Im a businees woman Mr Reed… And like yourself, believe that knowledge is power, I paid for it Mr Reed… a great deal of money in fact, Your people are very loyal… Something else that I also appreciate.’
‘Ok… You have my attention… but not for long Miss?’
‘Please just call me Red’
‘Well Kelly…. I have had a horrendous week… if i dont get home and swallow a small lake of antacids I fear for my stomach… so what do you want?’
‘Hmmm stress Mr Reed… Thats the point here really.. you have it, I can help you to make it go away…. Jones really was a moron you know.. and had everything coming to him… I am surprised you handled it as well as you did considering his past incompetence.’
What the fuck? How the hell did she know that… My eyes narrow as I reply
‘Red… now im not curious im concerned… you have access to information that is confidetial and I dont like it…. what is the point of this conversation?’
‘Please calm yourself… as I said.. Knowledge is power… and I always thoroughly research all potential clients, I need to know them.. intimatly.. to enable me to employ a wide range of skills that do one thing and one thing only…. drop your stress levels to nothing and allow you to enjoy a long fruitful life… one that you have made a great deal of effort to procure.’
‘Go on… whats this then a sales pitch for a new yoga group?’
A throaty chuckle ‘Hardly Mr Reed…. its Oh so much more than that… if you agree to my terms.. I will guarntee no stress… ever… I willl monitor your vital signs via a small bracelet and know when you are in need of my services.. and with all the data I have on you, will perform whatever service is necessary to ensure that you return to work the following day ready to go again…. and always on a friday…. you always get Friday…. I work for one client at a time Mr Reed… A secret employee that meets every desire… knows your every thought and fantasy and delivers them when you need them.. each especially tailored to you and your mood’
‘And how much is this going to cost me?’
‘2% of the interest from your personal portfolio… every month… no other charges… ever’
‘Lady you must be out of your fucking mind….. Thats close to a million dollars a month.’
‘Actually… its closer to a million and a half at your current holdings value… but then if your performance drops.. so does my share… and if you die … it stops all together… its a very small price to pay…. but I can understand your hesitation… you are probably thinking im just an expensive whore… at the basest sense I am… and make no apologies for it… but I choose whom I work for…. and this is a once only offer…. but I wouldnt expect you to invest these sorts of sums without proof… so here is what I propose…. I will deposit one million dollars in an escrow account, the details are being datalinked to your PDA, you will do the same….. If after this weekend you opt not to take up a contract with myself… then my million becomes yours… does that sound fair?… If you decide that you require my services full time than I will take your million as a Deposit against injury to myself…. returned at the termination of our contract.’
‘You are obviously very sure of yourself’
I downloaded the data to my PDA… it was all as she said…. the contract was simple yet ironclad… Escrow ones usually were… I mulled it over… this weekend huh….. damn i could do with the relief… and I had nothing to loose……
‘Ok Red… good offer and I accept…. so what now?’
The voice had changed now…. from professional to a promise of things to come….
‘Sign Mr Reed… biometric signature is acceptable…. then return the contract….. then simply go home…… everything is in place….. all is prepared….. go home.’
The phone line clicks off…… and I start the car….. home…. go home… I can do that… and a little smile of anticipation fights its way onto my face
Its about a 20 min drive to the coast and the gated estate I live on, exclusive quiet.. even inside the secure perimeter its 500 m’s to my nearest neighbor. Which is why I like it… I never invite anyone here.. it’s my little fortress of solitude… if I have to entertain I do it at a restaurant or a function room. Despite the fact that i have more money than god I know people would be very surprised if they could see my home… its bloody spartan to be honest…. 5 bedrooms, four of them empty… mine only has a bed and a tv… a large living room with a single sofa and a huge tv plus my games consoles… a dining room.. with a simple table and two chairs (i put my feet on the spare).. a simple kitchen…. and a fridge full of beer and bacon imported from the UK… even after all this time here I still cant abide the rubbish that Americans settle for. Oh and the study… stacked to the roof with monitors and computers all tracking various news groups and stocks… tools of the trade.
Its a good job The Aston almost drives itself… im not concentrating really… my mind is full of images of what this intriguing woman is going to look like… and I cant summon an image… not enough information… that alone is distracting… well soon find out.. I pull up to the gate and Charlie.. one of the swing shift security team…. steps out…. he runs the pda scanner over my cars IFF then steps forward…’You know the drill Mr Reed’… I lean out the window and open my left eye fully… and he places the retinal scanner to my face… it bleeps once… (I love tight security..