Page 56 of Nefarious
“Don’t get your tits up, Val. The price is already starting to drop. I didn’t want to lose a hundred grand for an object lesson. Let her practice shorting in the training room if it’s so important.”
“Ah, Martin, my tits have nothing to do with it.”
Martin laughed. “Look, I’ll call you if anything changes. It might not be until tomorrow though, if at all. We’re watching a possible takeover, hoping it falls through and the stock tumbles. It’s a nail biter this one.”
Selena spoke up. “What happens if the takeover goes through?”
“It’s hard to say.” Martin glanced up at his Bloomberg terminal that looked like an air traffic control system crossed with hospital vital statistics. Graphs in purple and navy showed a trajectory. “Most likely, the stock will stabilize and we’ll be lucky to break even. We’ll try to buy it all back before it can rise.”
Val touched Selena’s shoulder. “Come on. I promise I’ll let you know if anything happens. Let’s go back to my office.”
“What about the other interns?”
“Surfing the net the second we left the training room. I’d love to have some one-on-one time.”
Selena beamed. “Lead the way.”
If Selena were anything like Val, just breathing in the air of the trading floor made her want to fan herself. It made her need a cigarette. It made her want to go to bed with even the most unattractive trader.
As they entered the room, Val casually asked, “Well?”
“Thank you for thinking of me. Even without getting to watch Martin in action, I learned a lot. Is it always so stressful?”
“Stressful, yes. And exciting.”
“It seems like it would be so easy to make the slightest mistake. There’s so much to lose.”
“And so much to gain.”
“True.”
“Would you like a chance to work on the floor before you leave here?”
Selena gushed. “Oh, God yes.”
“Good. Then consider it done.” Val sat in her chair and slowly turned it toward the window. “How is everything else going today?”
“I really enjoyed practicing on the Bloomberg terminals this morning. That was timely.”
Val needed to turn this conversation, or Selena would talk shop the whole time. Val used to be exactly the same way once. “Are you making any friends here?”
Selena frowned. “Not really.”
“No? I guess it can be hard when you’re obviously one of the top interns. I was a lot like you. I’d get so caught up in succeeding, I’d forget to put myself out there. I lost out on a lot of opportunities to socialize.”
“I did put myself out there, actually. I got shot down pretty hard.”
Val schooled her face so as not to show her glee. Finally, she’d brought up Dane.
“Friendships take time to develop.”
“I thought things were developing, but I guess I read the signs wrong.”
“Wait. Are you talking about a friend or . . . something more?”
Selena took off her glasses and touched the edge of her sleeve to her eye. “It’s stupid. I guess I have a little crush. It’s no big deal. He’s not interested.” She shrugged in contrast to the look of hurt on her face.
Val started off with the party line. “Well, you know it can be difficult to carry on an office romance.”
