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“What time is it?” I ask, groggily.
“Past midnight, sorry. Did I wake you?”
“Nah, don’t worry, I had to pee anyway, darn hormones.”
As I shuffle toward the bathroom, she asks me how I’m doing, and I give her low-impact complaints about daily hormone shots. Blake knows me as a strong, independent woman who she met at a start-up bootcamp as a hot-shot COO. She never saw the girl who spent months crying over a boy, and I don’t want that part of me back out in the world. I already shared with her too much about John in a moment of weakness. It won’t happen again.
I flush the toilet and ask, “Why are you calling me in the middle of the night?”
“Did you see my numbers today?”
The IPO for her company was this morning, and the stock price has risen beyond the most optimistic forecasts.
“Yeah, I tried to call you to congratulate you, but your phone was off.”
“Because I’m under a hostile takeover.”
“No, by who?”
“Justin.”
Her ex-boyfriend. Why can’t ex-boyfriends just disappear off the face of the Earth for eternity? Why do they always come back to haunt us?
“That weasel,” I grunt out.
“I know.”
“How can I help?”
“Did you publicize my IPO at WeTrade?”
“Sure, it was bright and shiny on the homepage today.”
“Can you see how much stock is still retained by your users?”
“Skimming legality, yes, let me get at my computer.” I sit at the kitchen table and open my laptop. “I can’t give you a number, but I can tell you it’s skimming the double digits.”
“Can you send a recommendation to all stockholders to sell at the market opening tomorrow?”
I rear my head backward. That’s an aggressive move on her part. “That could drive the price into the ground. Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Then, yeah, I can do it.”
“How loyal is your user base? How closely do they follow your advice?”
“They’re as loyal as a Labrador on steroids.”
“Then I need you to stay tuned tomorrow. I have another idea in mind.”
I stare blankly into space.
“Mari, are you still there?”
“Yeah, sorry, just really tired. I got a different shot today, and it’s making me drowsy.”
“I’ll let you go back to bed. Sorry again for waking you. I owe you one, Mari, big time.”
