“Sorry but it won’t be possible. I’m really busy.” She replied.
Enzo insisted. “How about dinner? Let me invite you. Please. It’s been so long, we have so much to talk about… It’s my way of saying sorry for what happened.”
A dinner, even at the fanciest restaurant in town, would never be enough to compensate the pain and sorrow she’d been through - but she felt tempted.
She took her time and grabbed the folder Ellen had brought her, with her schedule for the week.
“Tonight is the only slot I have available.” She said.
“Perfect. How about eating at my parents’ restaurant? Chef Morray still cooks that recipe you gave him back in the days you know?” Enzo said.
This time, Victoria smiled. Old memories rushed to her head and made her feel warm. She remembered the time she gave Hubert that recipe -
Riz Pilaf Au Four Et Saumon en Papillote
. She was surprised they were still selling it.
“Okay… Let’s say between 8:30 and 9:00pm. It depends on my workload…” She replied.
Enzo nodded and turned around to leave. “Fine, see you tonight then!”
“See you.”
Enzo opened the door and turned again to face her.
“Oh and Victoria… It’s really good to see you. I’ve missed you.”
Enzo got back
to his desk - it was almost 9:30am and the markets were about to open very soon.
However, Enzo wouldn’t be part of it for today. Indeed, he had to wait for the IT team to give him his login and password to access his computer. Basically, he couldn’t do anything.
In a sense, it was better like that - he could think about Victoria. He’d thought about her the whole week end, knowing that they’d ultimately meet again. He had accepted the interview for this new position with Doyle Brothers without knowing she would be his boss. And when he actually came for the interview, she was out of town for business. But he’d seen her name on the door of her office.
At first, he wanted to refuse and walk away but the package they had for him was too interesting to ignore. And plus, Enzo realized it was childish - why trying to hide or run away? They could probably talk like grown-ups and find a way to work together.
However, he couldn’t pretend he didn’t feel anything. He definitely felt something deep inside his chest and his stomach. She wasn’t just anyone - she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
Enzo hadn’t met her for ten years but when he saw her in her office, he felt like time had stopped. He couldn’t even remember what she was saying. Her blond hair and flamboyant hairstyle were amazing - she was like a proud lioness ruling over her kingdom.
Her green eyes were absolutely beautiful like two emeralds on a flawless face. Her skin was bright and smooth - and Enzo knew she didn’t wear lots of makeup. She was naturally gorgeous.
Enzo still had a thing for her perfectly straight nose and delicate nostrils - it was one of her best features. He also noticed that her jaw line was still well defined, indicating that she hadn’t gain excess fat during the years.
His assumption was confirmed when she got up and walked along the window. Enzo had observed her meticulously and was impressed by her hour-glass body shape. She did have gain weight, though - but in a good way. Her proportions were spectacular. She had athletic shoulders, narrow waist and curvy hips with beautiful and sexy legs.
But he didn’t stop there. He had to check her other assets and was still day dreaming about them. Indeed, her chest seemed way fuller than before. She had gain one or two cups, easily.
And her ass was just incredible - Enzo couldn’t find the words to describe it but his penis knew exactly how it felt. Her bottom was thick and firm, without being fat. It was nice and round, and Enzo couldn’t help but feel jealous. That Shane was a lucky bastard…
Indeed, Enzo felt like he was falling in love again. It seemed impossible but he was actually falling in love with the woman he already loved.
It wasn’t just physical though. She was now his superior, a beautiful and strong woman managing hundreds of greedy and egocentric traders… Well, that was something! She was really amazing and Enzo felt proud of her. She was extremely successful and even though he couldn’t have her, he was very happy for her.
However, Enzo knew something that very few people got to understand in life - there were two types of successes in this world. There was the corporate style success and there was the underground style success; and both were radically different.
No matter how smart and strong she was, Victoria would probably never accept, understand and adapt in the underground, cruel and ruthless world of his family. She wasn’t part of it. Even Enzo found it difficult sometimes to deal with his family’s lifestyle and demands. He couldn’t imagine how shocking and restrictive it would be for an outsider.
“Mr. Fancelli… Hum hum… Good morning.” Someone suddenly said.
Enzo snapped back to reality and looked at the young man next to him. He seemed like a nerd fresh out of school.
“Hi. What can I do for you young man?” He said.
“I’m Jeff, nice to meet you.” Jeff said, extending his hand.
“My pleasure…” Enzo replied, shaking his hand.
“Well, I’m your IT guy.”
“Oh! Okay, okay… Well, I want my login and password, Jeff. I need to start making money. I feel like I’m missing a lot of opportunities and that’s very frustrating.”
Jeff cleared his throat. “Hum… Well, I’m not that kind of IT guy. I’m your dev actually.”
Enzo raised his hands in the air to apologize. “Aww! Sorry, man. You’re my commando, right?”
Jeff nodded. He was a dev, or software developer. Actually, his exact job title was much more sophisticated and impressive - he was a front office commando developer.
Guys like him had to be able to come up with complex scripts and little programs to execute automated tasks for traders; and they had to do it fast… very fast. Like within a few hours or so. Money couldn’t wait.
There was no project management team, no meetings to talk about budgets or anything like that. If the trader wanted something, the commando developer had to be ready to type a few hundreds lines of code for him, immediately. They had to be operational all the time, just like soldiers.
All traders were working at the front office – the center of the universe. Simply put, it was a department within the bank where traders were making money.
It was the only place to actually take positions in the market.
It was the only place that really mattered.
The middle office and the back office were supposed to support the front office, and confirm all transactions made by the traders. In other words, these two departments were filled with people who dreamed of becoming traders one day, by staying as close to them as possible.
That rarely happened.
Traders were a very unique kind of individuals. They were many things at the same time – educated, smart, confident, arrogant, cocky, self-centered, greedy and risk-takers.
They knew how to make money, and in the world of capitalism, they were more than valuable – they were Gods.
Enzo wasn’t just any trader, though.
He belonged to a special set of traders called prop traders, or proprietary traders, meaning that he didn’t deal with clients. All he had to do was taking positions, buying or selling products, on behalf of the bank with the sole purpose of making pure profits.
He had very little contact with the risk management team – his goal was to maximize profitability by taking as much risk as possible, within a certain limit. He was totally exposed in the markets, meaning that he didn’t hedge his positions.
When he was right, he was making huge amounts of money. When he wasn’t, losses could quickly become very significant – unless he knew when to cut his losses. Not everybody was able to assess the situation properly.
It was a skill.
It was an art.
“Okay, just sit down! As you can see, I can’t do anything for now.” Enzo said, inviting the young nerd to sit next to him.
“I’m really honored to work with you Mr. Fancelli. I’ve heard a lot about you and you’re a hero for many of us. You’re like a superstar!” Jeff said enthusiastically. He seemed sincere and Enzo immediately liked him.
“You can call me Enzo…” He replied, ignoring his comment but feeling flattered deep inside. What a nice welcome!
“Oh thank you, Mr. Fancelli… Hum, Enzo!”
“Do you have a resume with you? Or any programs you did before?” Enzo asked. He liked Jeff, but he wasn’t here to make friends. He needed to know if the kid could perform and help him make money.
“Absolutely. Here you go…” Jeff said, handing a little folder.
Enzo looked at it and nodded in satisfaction - Jeff was really good. He would definitely be a good guy to work with.
“So, do you have any questions? Anything you want to learn?” Enzo asked - he could feel Jeff was boiling with millions of questions.
“Yes… but it’s not about finance…” Jeff said. He seemed a bit embarrassed.
“Sure! Go ahead.”
“It’s a weird question… but how do you get so many women? I mean, everybody knows your success rate in this department and I have a lot of work to do in this area… I’d do anything to know how to be more successful with women…”
Enzo looked at him in surprise - he didn’t expect that, but at least the kid was honest and straightforward.
“You’d do anything, uh?”
“Yes…”
“Okay, why don’t you go and get me some coffee then? I’m kind of thirsty…”
“Aww… Sure… I’ll be back, Mr. Fancelli.”
As soon as Jeff left, the desk phone rang. Enzo was kind of surprised - he wasn’t expecting any call. It was his first day after all, who would call him at work that early?
He put down Jeff’s resume on the table and picked up the phone.
“Enzo Fancelli speaking.” He said, leaning back in his chair.
A woman who sounded pretty confused and alarmed mumbled something. Enzo struggled to hear her clearly, as she was trying to cover a loud noise in the background. People were shouting and yelling at each other and Enzo instinctively knew something was going on.
“Mr. Fancelli, this is the reception. Could you…” she paused and took a deep breath. “Could you please come downstairs? There is a group of people fighting with the security, and they say they want to see you.”
Enzo suddenly felt his chest become tight. “Sure. I’ll be there in a minute.”
He quickly jumped on his feet and grabbed his cell phone. He looked around to see if anybody was looking at him, but everybody was busy watching their screen. Enzo checked the time - it was 9:36am and the markets had opened already.
He quickly put the resume in his drawer and rushed to the men’s restrooms, but on the way, he met Jeff who was bringing him his coffee.
“Hey Mr. Fancelli, here’s your coffee. But I don’t know if you like it with sugar or not…” Jeff told him.
Enzo didn’t want to be rude but he had an important phone call to make. “It’s okay, I take my coffee black.” He’d formed the habit of not taking sugar from Victoria, back in the days.
Jeff kept staring at Enzo, waiting for him to grab his cup.
“Jeff, can you bring it to my desk please? I need to do something now…” Enzo said.
“Okay. I’ll wait for you over there. Oh and by the way, I stumbled upon Ms. De Lissieu and she said she wants you in her office to give you your objectives for the year.”
“Oh really? When?” Enzo asked, feeling stressed.
“She said you can go to see her in ten minutes. I think she wants you to start working as soon as possible.”
“Alright, thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be waiting at your desk, Mr. Fancelli.” Jeff said, before walking away.
Enzo thought he was a bit rude to Jeff, and felt guilty but he didn’t time to talk much. He called him back.
“Hey Jeff!”
“Yes?”
“Okay, here’s the secret for you to be more successful with women… Just remember that; you will lose money chasing women but you will never lose women chasing money… Trust me, as soon as you hit it big financially, your pussy rate will significantly increase. I really have to go now… and stop calling me Mr. Fancelli, it makes me feel old!”
“Wow thanks, Mr. Fan… Enzo!”
Enzo left and finally entered the restrooms. He made sure he was alone. Lucky for him, everybody was busy trading at that time and he locked himself inside.
He quickly dialed Danny’s number and his deep voice answered. “Enzo? Where are you? We need to talk.”