Trader Jack -The Story of Jack Miner (The Story of Jack Miner Series) (22 page)

After clamming up for a while, I managed to blurt out: 'Saw Botafogo beat Vasco. Amazing football!'

'You saw them in Rio?' exclaimed Rayne excitedly. 'What was it like? I'm told that the crowds there are wild.'

'Nice place for a holiday Rayne,' said his girlfriend in a cockney accent.

'Sure sweetheart. Maybe, next year.'

'You're always promising but doing nothing,' she complained with a sulk.

After dinner and speeches, the band began to play. I grabbed Pearl and we were soon dancing in the middle of the sweaty throng. Later I spent about two hundred on lottery tickets and did my bit to save a whale.

By the end of the evening, Pearl was too drunk to drive home, so we climbed into a taxi. I dropped her at her place, but she didn't invite me in.

*   *   *

The next few weeks sped by quickly. Pearl liked to go clubbing, showing me off as a new boyfriend and telling people that I was a star dealer. One day I met her at her office in St John's Wood. We played the fool. She took me into a small studio and showed me how to handle TV and radio interviews.

'Smile, smile and smile. That's the key,' she said, giving me a peck on my cheek.

'Relax Jack! Come on! Smile into the camera. Be sincere. Genuine smile.'

I started laughing and pulling a face: 'How about this?'

She gave me a gentle slap: 'Keep a straight face and smile! Especially if an interviewer tries to rile you.'

'OK, Mr Miner, why have commodity prices been rising?'

'Demand is exceeding supply.'

'Typical dealer response. What factors Mr Miner? Take coffee as an example. Prices have shot up.'

'Really? By how much?' I replied, smiling into the camera.

'People are complaining about speculation? What's your role?'

'What do you do if it's a question you don't want to answer?'

'Change the subject. I think that you're well versed in that, Jack,' responded Pearl with an insincere smile.

Later that evening I stayed over for the first time. Instead of driving me back to my place, Pearl invited me in and we had a few drinks. She went into the bathroom and walked out with nothing on. Her pale white body contrasted with her freckled face. She had narrow shoulders and small pointy breasts and I could see that she was a genuine redhead.

She came up to me and started stripping off my shirt. For the first time we had a long French kiss. I could taste the mixture of toothpaste and tobacco. Then she dragged me into the bedroom. It was sex, not lovemaking. Didn't last very long. In fact, it was almost clinical. I felt bad as I thought that it was me who had failed. Pearl gave me a gentle pat on the head, pulled out her pack of cigarettes and had a smoke.

'Pearl you smoke twenty to thirty a day, why don't you give it up?'

'Nicotine. Tried, but I'm addicted. Want to try something else?'

She went to a cupboard in the corner of the room, rummaged through some clothes, took out a small bag and brought it to the bed. It was pot. She put some in tobacco paper, rolled it up and lit it. Dad had made me promise that I would never smoke, but having a few puffs of weed wasn't the same. It was quite strong and I coughed. I felt a bit dazed and found that I couldn't finish sentences properly. We giggled a lot.

Over the next few days Pearl helped me look for a flat in Hampstead. We found a modern one in a converted Victorian hospital. Across the road were a theatre and a pub and friendly locals. The flat had some good views of the village. Standing on the balcony and looking towards the southeast, we could see Parliament Hill Fields and the city in the far distance. I put in an offer for about half a million and it was accepted. Pearl said that she would help me fix up the apartment and we visited furniture stores in Tottenham Court Road.

*   *   *

I hadn't seen the Slimcops for quite a while and they were keen to meet Pearl. We arranged to meet in Villa Bianca, a homely Italian restaurant, in the centre of Hampstead. Pearl was on form, telling all sorts of jokes about branding campaigns that went wrong.

I noticed that Leila wasn't laughing with the rest of us. She had been acting rather strangely that evening. Forgot what she was talking about midway through sentences.

'How's the sculpturing going Leila?' I shouted, as she appeared to be a little deaf. 'Want me to model for you?'

'Maybe, maybe not,' she replied in an unnaturally happy tone, dropping her spoon and fork on the floor.

The waiter replaced them. Stan put the fork and spoon into her hands, but she pushed him away. We had fish and chicken, but Leila chose spaghetti and was struggling with it. In the end, she hardly ate any.

'Is Leila OK?' I asked Stan when we were washing our hands in the men's room.

'She's having one of her bad nights. I'm not sure what's going on. She has been getting forgetful for some time, but I guess that's normal for our age. In the past few months, she's been sketching more than sculpturing. Most of the sculptures haven't been completed. Her portraits and sketches are very different from her usual style. Instead of landscapes and birds, she does faces and torsos. The faces look depressed and some appear to be frightened. I asked her about them and she told me that she's worried about getting older.'

'The unfinished stuff. What do you think of it?'

'Remarkably good. Very different from her usual work. Why don't you come over now and take a look?'

'Sure, if it's OK with Pearl. What are you going to do?'

'Not quite sure. Maybe it's an aberration. She had flu recently and slept a lot. Will check with the doctor. He might give her some tests.'

'Hope it will be OK.'

'I'm sure it will. Pearl, your girlfriend. It's obvious that you're taken with her. Eyes on her all the time. Hanging on to her every word. You seem to be gone, young man. How old do you think she is?'

'Dunno. What's the difference?'

'I reckon that she's not a day younger than twenty four. What does a girl like that want to do with you Jack? You're not even eighteen. Haven't even got your driving licence!'

I flushed: 'She doesn't know that! So what if she's six or seven years older than me? I'm not the first guy who's gone for an older woman.'

'I'm not thinking of you, Jack. It's good to get experience. Will help you choose the right one when the time comes. It's her. Why you when there are lots of eligible, older men about?'

'She doesn't know how old I am,' I replied fingering my moustache. Anyway, so what if she does? She might prefer younger guys. She's into me. That's what counts.'

He noticed that I was getting irritated: 'Sorry Jack, I don't want to interfere. I just want you to be aware that she could be with you for a reason.'

'If she is, so what. I enjoy spending money and I'm not telling her anything confidential,' I insisted. 'She's giving me a great time. Teaching me about fashion, improving my image. I'm meeting exciting people. Footballers who are going to invest in Hastings' funds. She's even helped me buy my flat and furnish the place. Say what you want. Pearl's OK.'

Leila and Pearl were waiting for us outside.

'Come to our place and have some coffee, Pearl,'suggested Stan. 'Leila has some lovely pieces.'

'Thanks, Stan. Another time. It's getting late,' said Pearl, pulling me towards her.

I really wanted to go with them. Stan looked down. He needed company, but I could see from Pearl's expression that she wanted out. We waved as Stan gently held Leila's arm and helped her cross the street.

'Thinking what I am?' whispered Pearl. 'It happened to my aunt. It gets worse, slowly but surely.'

'Shut up Pearl,' I snapped. 'How do you know what's wrong with her? You're no doctor. She's probably having an off day. She's a very talented artist.'

'Really? I'll introduce you to some young ones. Maybe buy some of their paintings.'

'Come with me to see Leila's art sometime. The architecture of their house is amazing.'

'You should spend more time with people our age. Stop being an outsider. You don't owe the Slimcops anything. They're not your relatives. Same with Martha. Her house is filthy. She smells of dog.'

'Martha doesn't smell. She's always having baths.'

'With the dogs?'

'Ha. Ha. Martha's just sloppy. She's been very good to me. Same with Stan and Leila.'

'Sure, Jack, sure. If you don't want to be cool, that's your business.'

We got into her car silently, me sulking. Instead of inviting me to her place, she dropped me at Martha's house, pecked me on the cheek and drove off. I felt angry and depressed. Didn't feel sleepy, so I took out the dogs and we walked late into the night.

*   *   *

The next few days, I tried to phone Pearl on her mobile and at her office, but she didn't reply to my messages. Anne Arenby became annoyed about all the calls, but I couldn't help myself. The more Pearl ignored me, the more I wanted her. I had mixed feelings about Stan. He was worried about Leila and I felt for him. On the other hand, I resented him for putting doubts in my head about Pearl. Had he said nothing, I wouldn't have had a spat with her.

I had to buy a sports car to impress her. So I bought motor magazines to find out about the latest models and began taking driving lessons. Ruff recommended an instructor. Harry Honis with tattoos all over his arms, would take me to suburban roads until I got the hang of driving.

'Do you enjoy doing this, Harry?'

'What's wrong with it?' replied Harry.

'Was just asking. That's all.'

'Believe it or not, I was a trader like you, Jack. I went straight out of school into the City and was soon in foreign exchange, trading pounds, dollars and yen. I made a bit of money and headhunters were after me. After a few years, I suffered from burn out. I was no longer performing. They wanted to move me out of trading into some boring bank office job. Not for me. They gave me a good payout two years ago and here I am. I got divorced while I was in the City. Now I have time for my boys. My ex-wife has a job, so I pick them up from school and take them to football. It's a good life. Stress free.'

'I suppose it is also a good way to pick up girls.'

'That's right sunshine. I'm going to meet two after this. Want to come?'

'Not interested, Harry. See that flower shop over there. Can I park and buy some?'

'Sure, good practice. Now take it easy. Drive slowly. Use the outside mirror . . .'

It was getting late and the shop was about to close. Since they wanted to keep their stock fresh, I got a bargain; a magnificent bouquet of red roses and white lilies in a modern, light blue vase. Just the right thing for Pearl.

My card was to the point: 'Sorry Pearl, love you, Jack xxx'

Harry extended the lesson and let me drive to Pearl's place. We arrived around 7pm and we parked nearby. I was about to get out of the car and walk to the entrance, when I noticed Pearl with a tall well-built guy with short blond hair. He put his hand over her shoulder. They opened the door and were soon inside. I felt angry, jealous and full of regret. Had I blown our relationship?

'Is that your girlfriend with another guy?'

'I guess so.'

'Look mate, it's none of my business, but I've gone through this sort of thing before.'

'He's probably just a friend.'

'Sure mate. Just a friend,' said Harry sarcastically. 'Don't you think that it's time to move on?'

'Harry, can you do me a favour? Can you deliver them for me?'

'Positive you want me to do that?'

'Yes.'

'You'll learn.'

14 -
THE
PLAN

In the meantime, coffee prices were going nowhere on the New York and London exchanges. Our options were up one day and down the next. Most brokers, traders and coffee manufacturers thought that prices were about to fall. The Brazilian weather was fair and I heard that some hedge funds were bearish. They had sold lots of futures and options short, aiming to buy back the coffee at a lower price and make big profits.

Ruffish called a meeting. Tong and Aram were travelling. So it was just him, me, Maffie, Krishna and Bess, who was taking notes.

'We're losing money on our options, what now, Jack?' asked Ruffish. He looked at me carefully. He thought that I was in a bad mood because of the market, but it was really Pearl. I just sat there thinking about her and didn't respond.

Krishna intervened: 'We can play it safe. Sell now and pocket $5 million, or hold on for a bit longer.'

'Time's ticking against us. If the price doesn't rise, our options will expire worthless,' replied Ruffish impatiently.

Bess looked puzzled: 'You've lost me.'

'An option gives the buyer the right to buy coffee at a future date, Bess,' explained Krishna. 'If the price of coffee falls, the option price declines, OK?'

Bess nodded.

'There's also a time element in options,' continued Krishna. 'We're now in June and have the right to buy coffee any time before December. If the coffee price doesn't rise, as we get closer and closer to Christmas, the option price will steadily fall. By the end of December, the option will expire, worthless.'

'So we're going to come unstuck, unless Jack gets the price moving,' said Bess, playfully throwing a paper cup at me. 'What chance Jack?'

'I dunno . . . Fifty, fifty. It could go up or down,' I replied, throwing it back at her.

'Stop playing around and concentrate,' chided Ruff. 'You're not in a classroom.'

'We're on a knife edge. If coffee falls below its critical support line, its decline will accelerate. We'll be down another couple of million within a day,' warned Krishna. 'I think you should sell half, Jack. At least we'll be banking some big gains.'

'That's the most prudent thing to do,' agreed Ruffish.

'I think we should wait until Jack speaks to Sergio in Rio. Let's get an opinion from the ground,' suggested Maffie.

'You paid those guys didn't you Jack?' asked Ruffish.

I was embarrassed and shook my head. I was so involved with Pearl that I had done nothing for our friends in Brazil.