GRIFFIN
The stock marketwent completely haywire the next week, so I wasn’t surprised when Chase and Duncan called a surprise meeting at the office on Friday evening. We were seeing each other later on anyway because Mom invited us to dinner, but we needed to gather with all the senior managers.
Plenty of clients were up in arms. This was always a frustrating development. Whenever the market was down, people insisted on selling their stocks, and that was the worst possible moment to do so. Most feared that the price would drop even more. But what they didn’t understand was that panic selling wascreatingthe spiral downward. I always told them that if they didn’t absolutely need the money that very second, they should hold on. Some listened, some didn’t.
As I went inside, there was already a lively debate going on. Then again, the meeting started an hour ago. Most of the senior management was here too.
“Listen,” Chase said with that calm demeanor he always had during turbulent times, “there are no signs that this is a systemic problem. I believe there is a correlation with all the tech announcements that took place this week.” Several tech companies fired thousands of people, and that sent shock wavesthroughout the markets, with people expecting more companies to follow suit.
“Whenever something like this happens, our clients inquire if we’re going to change the structure of our portfolio,” Duncan went on.
“I usually say no, but I’m starting to think that maybe it’s time we invested in green energy more than tech companies,” one of our most senior members of management suggested.
Chase didn’t immediately reply, which meant he was actually considering this. “Then draft up a presentation about what that would entail. I don’t see anything wrong with our current portfolios, but diversification can be good. We could add portfolios focusing on green energy.”
Wyatt looked at me. “Nice of you to finally join us.”
“Sorry I’m late,” I said. “For what it’s worth, I’ve been looking at the market movements intensely, and all the big culprits announced new products to be released later this year. As far as I see, it’s just about greed and profits. Letting so many people go will actually boost their profits at the end of the year. The share price will skyrocket.”
There was a murmur of agreement around the table.
Knox cleared his throat. “Finn and I have been thinking we could add another feature to the platform. That way, when people want to sell their stocks in a moment of downturn, we can instantly generate predictions of where we think the stock price will be in a few months.”
“That’s a great idea,” Duncan said.
“Yeah, I like that,” Wyatt agreed. “Just make sure it’s very obvious that it’s just a prediction, and we don’t take any liability for how the market actually turns out.”
I was about to say the same thing, but he’d beaten me to the punch. Wyatt might be a hothead in his personal life, but when it came to business, he was cold and calculated.
“Obviously. We’re not amateurs!” Knox spoke in a tone thatimplied that if the management team weren’t here, he would have added “dickhead” at the end of the sentence.
Everyone brainstormed with Knox and Finn for another half hour, and then Duncan adjourned the meeting.
Once the team filtered out, Knox rolled his shoulders back and said, “Let it be known that Finn and I were on time, and he was late,” he said, pointing at me.
I rolled my eyes. “Dude, it’s a onetime thing. Being late is more of a problem when it’s repetitive. I was in the middle of a negotiation when I read Chase’s text, and I couldn’t just get rid of my conversation partner.”
“Was it about the dating app?” Duncan asked.
“No, that’s… well, that’s ongoing. Haven’t really made progress, but I’m still in the running.”
“Really? How so?” Knox asked.
I waved my hand. “Never mind.”
“Wait a second. We need details.” That came from Wyatt. Of course he’d picked up that I was trying to avoid the conversation.
I looked around the room and said, “I followed Knox’s advice.”
Knox’s eyes bulged. “Myadvice? Dude, I was pulling your leg. Holy shit.”
Finn held up a finger. “Wait, what do you mean, you followed it?”
I cleared my throat. “I asked Phoebe to come to dinner with me. We pretended that we were an item.”
There was a long pause, and then Duncan said, “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Yeah, I think I have to agree with him,” Chase said.
