Page 35 of Nefarious
She reviewed the loans he’d selected and turned to face him. “But some of these loans have really high interest rates.”
He nodded. “I know. Whenever I see that I shake my head. Interest rates are so low these days. Why would anyone carry a thirty percent interest rate?”
“Wouldn’t these be considered subprime?”
He affected an older brother look of approval. “Good catch. Ordinarily, yes.”
She hesitated, apparently choosing her words carefully. “Then why would you include them in the security?”
“Because they are high-yield investments if they continue to pay. Higher risk, higher reward. And also because there are ample triple-A rated loans in the security to balance the risk.”
She chewed on her lip, clearly uncomfortable. “But what about Dodd-Frank?”
He knew she’d initially bring up the financial regulations that were intended to prevent malfeasance. But Dane had not only read all eight hundred and forty-eight pages of the bill, he’d kept up on the court challenges. He’d never be allowed to play on the trading floor unsupervised, for good reason, but he’d learned more about financial instruments than the stressed-out traders down there today. They might know how to follow the laws, but Dane knew how to bend them.
He swiveled his chair toward Selena. “You’ve read Dodd-Frank?”
She sat up straight, defiant. “No. But I’ve read about it. We studied it last year.”
“If you’ve already learned everything about securities, there are other interns who would happily switch places with you. I don’t think anyone took Suzanne up on interest rate swaps.”
She looked stricken. “No. I want to learn. I didn’t mean to imply I already knew everything. I’m here to learn. I need to work with you because—” She gave him a devious grin. “—I want to beat all the other interns in the contest.”
Bingo.
“Let me show you why Dodd-Frank doesn’t apply here.” He could talk circles around the regulations. And Selena nodded right along, sucking up every detail like the good student she’d probably always been. And she trusted him to tell her the truth.
Val spent her afternoon working with a pair of interns, building stock portfolios, diversifying for short-term and long-term goals. She’d opted to use the training room for her mentorship since she didn’t want anyone messing with her own computer. Once she got them started, she exited into the hall. Noelle’s office was a few feet away, door open. Val took a few steps and knocked.
Noelle glanced up from her laptop. “Oh, Val. Come in.”
“I was in the neighborhood.” Val threw a glance back over her shoulder at the training room.
“Have you started mentoring?”
“Yup. I’ve left them with a small exercise. I had a minute free, so I thought I’d come let you know I had a lovely time on Saturday. I need to spend more time with other women.”
Noelle closed her laptop. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.” Val stepped all the way into the office and closed the door. She sat in the chair facing Noelle’s desk. “What’s up?”
“Maybe nothing.” She pursed her lips. “I sent Dane an invitation to coffee, but he never responded to it.”
“You sent it how?”
“Through Outlook. I set it up like a meeting.” She smiled ruefully. “I thought it would be easier to make it look as professional as I could. I don’t want to give him the wrong idea.”
“The wrong idea about coffee?”
“I know. It’s mixed signals. But I’d kind of hoped to clear the air. After all, we have to work together.”
“Well, I wouldn’t read too much into it. He marks all his invitations tentative.”
“He didn’t though. I never got any response.”
“Oh. Thatisodd.”Good boy, Dane.
“You don’t suppose it means he’s angry?”
