♪ ["YAWN" BY BULLION PLAYING]
[ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH WHIRRING]
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- No. - [LAUGHS]
[CHUCKLES]
♪ Yawn
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
ROBERT SPEARING: See you later.
♪ Yawn
♪ You'll sleep another day
♪ Yawn
♪ You'll sleep another day
[MOANS]
♪ Yawn
[SWIMMER COUGHING]
♪ [SONG STOPS]
- [DOOR CLOSING] - [JESSE BLOOM SIGHS]
Is the pool free?
Uh, one other lady. Soaking.
Oh. Not ideal. Hell is other people, right?
[HARPER STERN CHUCKLES]
♪ [PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING]
NEWS REPORTER: That was billionaire investor Jesse Bloom
talking at a digital conference to private equity investors
and investment bankers this week,
about his latest wager on what he believes
will be a rough stretch for American Corporations,
due to the economic hit brought by the coronavirus...
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
ERIC TAO: Harp, you still on the line?
- HARPER: Yeah. - ERIC: How many hours
are you spending away from your rig?
HARPER: Hey. What are we doing about sales credits
on this Rican deal?
I just feel like I've really kept
the relationship with Felim ticking.
So, I was thinking that we could go halves?
Trickle-down economics.
That presupposes that I'm beneath you. [CHUCKLES]
Let's discuss that tomorrow. You need to come in.
Everyone's back in the office.
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
- ERIC: I lost you. - HARPER: Yeah. Sorry,
it's super temperamental.
ERIC: How many weeks' grace have I given you,
while people have been trickling back in?
- I'm not gonna keep asking. - HARPER: I--
ERIC: You've been out long enough.
You know that I'm better placed here.
It is better for me to be here, I don't know that I can--
You're invisible where you are, and trust me,
from tomorrow morning, you don't want to be invisible.
What's tomorrow morning?
ERIC: New York is sending over some emissary.
- HARPER: What, to "spy" on us? - [TELEPHONE RINGING]
ERIC: Usually they run it past me
when they add headcount to my desk.
It doesn't smell good.
A year is too long to be on your own.
- Tomorrow please. - [SIGHS]
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
AUTOMATED VOICE: Floor eight. Doors opening.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Hey.
RISHI RAMDANI: Listen, I know...
[TOILET FLUSHING]
♪ [MUSIC FADES]
[YASMIN KARA-HANANI CLEARS THROAT]
Did you change your number?
I've had the same number since I was nine.
Can't remember the last time I pissed in public. [CHUCKLES]
I'd advise using one of the cubicles.
Germaphobe?
No.
Okay, look. I just wanna be cordial.
I don't want any issue that we have,
to affect our work.
We don't have an issue.
Welcome back.
[DOOR OPENS]
[SIGHS HEAVILY]
- Bitch. - [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Cunt.
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
SPEAKER: This balding bureaucrat has made zero dollars of profit...
BILL ADLER: Despite trading flows
and volumes booming, I think we're still prudent
to lean out our operation, while the going's good.
Cost cutting in good times is-- is doubly wise to my mind,
and again, frankly, we'll be looking
to subsume either New York CPS into London CPS or vice versa.
Trading from home has shown us, we can do more with less.
Sorry. Daniel Van Deventer.
BILL: My apologies. Dan is an Executive Director,
joining you from CPS New York.
- New York by way of New Haven. - Sorry. Uh, who subsumes who?
I've, uh, missed you, Eric.
Good to see you again, Danny, but I'm talking
to your boss here.
Daniel's worryingly young for someone I trust so much.
I'm telling you, if-- if you take the best minds
and mouths away from the point of execution in London,
you are out of your mind.
The contrast between our COVID-era profits
and the absolute hell of mom-and-pop shops
on Main Street couldn't be starker.
Now, it may be an idea,
to leave your Pierpoint insignia gym bags behind
next time you go to whatever
black cod serving enclave is now de rigueur.
So, the mothership wants us to stay classy?
BILL: Just be considerate.
If you don't mind me asking, how do we protect ourselves?
BILL: Might as well say what you are all thinking.
Production. The people covering the biggest accounts
and those bringing in new clients.
Your worth at the firm is who you know outside the firm
and how those relationships are monetized.
DANIEL VAN DEVENTER: Guys, this is just the reality.
We know we operate as a team, right?
Fleet of boats on the same tide.
Okay. Oh, joy.
DANIEL: Okay, there he goes.
All right, team, I've got
bullying and harassment training all day.
Hopefully, I'll pick up some tips.
Really looking forward with working with all of you.
- Have a good day. - [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
It took me a while to find my feet,
before I got a bit more established.
How've you found your first few weeks
- on the desk? - Oh, what I expected.
I just think of Foreign Exchange
as a bureau de change with pretensions.
I actually applied for the CPS desk.
It's got a good reputation on the street.
YASMIN: Yeah, unfounded.
Joking, obviously. It's a stellar team.
There is nothing more useless than Rishi's daily update.
He's never knowingly correct about the market.
CPS are living on reputation alone.
Nobody knows who's driving the car there anymore anyway.
No wonder New York is on to them.
- Hope it doesn't affect us - They're close-knit.
RISHI: Yo! Does anyone know what a fucking SPAC is?
One way of putting it.
Or you could just call them a bag of cunts!
[SCOFFS] I think that word's pretty unacceptable.
Unless you really love the person, right?
So, Howard Stern.
You're welcome back to the party. Not here.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
ERIC: Why were you late?
Oh, I was just hyping myself up.
Can you get me a coffee? Only if you're getting one.
- Oh, I wasn't. - You'll want one eventually.
- I can go out. - Harper's getting me one.
Sure.
And, Bob, don't think I've not noticed
you haven't made a single outgoing call
since we've been back. I know,
you've been dealing with incoming.
You're not just a catcher, you're a pitcher.
You were in that meeting.
Look, breathe on your hand.
- [EXHALES] - [EXHALES]
ERIC: See? You're alive after all.
I was just doing my digest email.
Nobody-- [CHUCKLES] Nobody reads that email.
It's getting denser than Dostoyevsky. And less fun.
S&P up one percent. Ten-year, boring. Dollar, lower.
A digest is meant to be digestible!
Hello. Oh, you wanna speak to the infamous Bob?
Putting you through now. They wanna speak to Robert Ford.
That you? The coward Robert Ford?
I'm not scared.
Go to the dormant client list
and call the least active account.
[RISHI CHATTING INDISTINCTLY]
Today.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[RISHI CONTINUES CHATTING INDISTINCTLY]
- Hey. Who's sitting here? - New York said keep it empty.
HARPER: What, for the new stiff?
Hey, can we circle back on that sales credit convo?
Hey, how about that coffee?
[IN SPANISH]
MAXIM ALONSO: [OVER PHONE, IN ENGLISH] My parents got stuck
in Saint-Tropez. So ensconced themselves
in some villa at some inordinate price,
but I'm sure they are yet to fully mentally contend with.
- The food is vile. - Yeah, at 60 quid a crudité
at Cinquante Cinq, it's hard to go wrong.
Personally, I'm very proud of the fact
I went to two media-confirmed super-spreader events
and managed not to catch anything.
MAXIM: Ah, the blessings of privilege. It's like a halo.
Yeah, it's better than any mask.
RISHI: Oh, is that soy?
Yo, Stern, didn't you back up Nicole at Mallon Mercer?
Honestly, don't waste your time.
Your buddy Yasmin's talking to that fund outta Brevan.
Jump on and show him you're a more sophisticated
touch point into our offering.
Are we stepping across FX accounts?
Fleet of ships on the same tide?
Let's make sure we're the biggest boat.
Are you worried that New York is outperforming us?
Hook into that call with FX. Today, please.
RISHI: Is anyone here young enough to give a fuck
about meme stocks?
'Cause people keep asking me about 'em!
♪ [TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
MAXIM: [OVER PHONE] Look, Yas, this may be our last
professional phone call.
- Why is that? - MAXIM: I'll explain more later.
Yeah, I know it's a bit rogue to have a party on a weeknight,
but a career doesn't blow up every day.
Hi, Maxim, this is Harper Stern from Cross Product.
[MAXIM SPEAKING SPANISH]
HARPER: [SPEAKING ENGLISH] I just wanted to let you know that, um,
we are very much here, if you need any flow
or color-slash-currency ideas from the CPS end.
[MAXIM SPEAKING SPANISH]
[IN ENGLISH] Uh, no. But I shouldn't be surprised.
Maxim, as you know,
the layup trade over the past 12 months
has been selling the dollar and...
MAXIM: And?
HARPER: And...
YASMIN: And?
[CHUCKLES]
[MAXIM SPEAKING SPANISH]
[CALL DISCONNECTS]
[KEY CLACKING]
♪ [MUSIC FADES]
- [IN ENGLISH] Can I help you? - Did I do something funny?
[RISHI SCOFFS]
No. But, uh...
I'm amused. [CHUCKLES]
I'm sorry, do we have a fucking problem?
Uh, Harper, I think about you
less than I think about climate change.
Actually, do you want a guided tour
of your irrelevancy to me?
Yeah? Okay, let's do that.
[CLEARS THROAT]
My problem is that we've had an empty seat
on this fucking desk, since the rest of us came back.
Now, I'm glad you've had the shame
to execute through other traders during your extended vacay.
Does that mean when I ask you for a price now,
you're not gonna give me a price?
Fuck no, that privilege is reserved for people
who actually fucking work here, Harper.
I put in 12-hour days.
Drifting around a hotel suite, brewing coffee,
and attacking yourself does not make a job of work.
You're only God in your own head
because none of us see it on the tape.
None of it is monetized.
You gonna let him talk to me like that?
RISHI: Go on, run to Daddy.
Let him? I'm not your keeper.
I shouldn't have to listen in to your calls
to make sure you can do your job.
Well, maybe I'm your fucking keeper.
- We should remember that. - [SCOFFS] Okay.
Off the desk, right now.
[SCOFFS]
RISHI: Oh, they're off
for another one of their secret powwows.
Like some Jeremy Kyle level shit.
♪ [MUSIC FADES]
WORKER: The truth is you can only really appreciate...
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER] - [TELEPHONES RINGING]
YASMIN: It's kind of an unwritten rule
that the grad gets lunch for the desk in FX.
Since when?
Sorry, I should have warned you.
Don't worry, you'll get used to dimming your light.
I just don't think that's what I'm here to do.
It sets a precedent.
Jackie, do you need help backing up any of your accounts?
Venetia, so, let me tell you something for free.
Um, you need to get everyone on side early.
There is a system.
HILARY WYNDHAM: Please be cognizant
of the potential droplet area.
I don't think it's appropriate
that the junior person on the desk get the lunches.
WYNDHAM: All right.
I think it's important we try and break the cycle. Don't you?
Yeah, absolutely. [CHUCKLES]
VENETIA BERENS: I actually have a friend from Merton who just started at Millennium.
I don't think your taking care of yourself.
How is that your business?
When it's literally my business, that's how.
I told you this worked better when I was at home.
You were rotting in that room.
Rishi's phrasing's uncouth,
but the person I've been speaking to
over the phone, on Zoom, whatever the fuck,
isn't who I hired.
You're passive, you're sloppy. New York will notice.
They can't not with new eyes on the desk.
As much as we do this job over the phone,
there's no substitute for being up in a client's face,
up in a trader's face, seeing the whites of their eyes.
The bit that makes sense, about this job, is living it.
So, you can go back to the hotel, opt out of life.
Or be the Harper I know. The Harper who bangs on doors.
Man, why are you preaching to me like this?
You need to work on your fucking anger.
[CHUCKLES]
And bury the hatchet with Rish, please.
Sure. Happy fucking families.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER OVER TELEVISION]
- [TELEPHONE RINGING] - ♪ [MUSIC FADES]
- Can I have a second? - HARPER: Yeah.
Look, I need you to do something for me.
The firm now offers an--
- an in-house service... - ♪ [PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING]
...for...
issues...
mood.
The more mental side of your health.
Since we all came back.
I know you don't think that I need that.
It would behoove us for you to go.
It would behoove us? Why-- [CHUCKLES]
Why are you talking to me like that?
What difference does it make, if it's corporate diktat
or if I actually care? I'm your manager.
- I'm managing you. - So, you're covering your ass?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Sorry.
Have you ever gone to speak to them?
Third floor. I'm told it's all confidential.
RISHI: Can't we make do on a bit of Fat Les?
[SINGING] ♪ Vindaloo, vindaloo Vindaloo, vindaloo, na-na ♪
[CHUCKLES] All right, fine.
You have to make sure your dad doesn't do his sub-UKIP
"amusing Indian voice" in the speech.
[CHUCKLES] I'm teasing-- I'm teasing you.
All right. Love you. Bye.
'Night.
♪ [PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING]
He's engaged.
Distracted.
You should come to his engagement drinks.
- He told me to invite you. - No, he didn't.
- You don't have to lie to me. - Well, you work here,
and they're effectively team drinks, so.
Plus, you need to meet his bird.
Okay, what are we talking about here?
- Posh enough to podcast. - HARPER: Ooh, tell me more.
Or don't. [CHUCKLES] No, do.
[CHUCKLES] It's like one of those podcasts
that tells other upper middle-class women,
- what to read and-- - How to feel.
- Right. - [ROBERT CHUCKLES]
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
All right, fuck it. Maybe I'll go.
But, like, from an anthropological perspective.
Yeah, sure. It's the right idea.
I can't believe that you neglected to tell me
that fucking Rishi is engaged.
- It's work, innit? - ♪ [MUSIC FADES]
♪ [WONDROUS SYNTH MUSIC PLAYING] ♪
YASMIN: What do we think, two-gram line
or one gram line?
RAY: Twice midweek. Largie.
- It's never all for me. - RAY: New post code.
- A friend's party. - [CAR DOOR OPENS]
Oh, sorry, this-- this isn't a cab. [CHUCKLES]
[SIGHS] I should hope not.
I really hope you're here for the same reason I am.
RAY: This is as close as I come south of for one.
Oh, I don't blame you. I'm about to Captain Cook
it over Waterloo Bridge myself.
I'm headed that way.
Maybe we should operate a buddy system?
You've seen that film, The Descent? No?
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
Uh, can I get one on tick?
Actually, who fucking carries cash these days?
- RAY: Just gone cashless. - CELESTE PACQUET: Oh, amazing.
Well, uh, put hers on mine. It's just easier.
[DEVICE BEEPS]
Thank you.
Something to get through a work night.
I might meet a client. Selling myself as always.
♪ ["GOOD LIFE" BY INNER CITY PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS] ♪
I'm not stalking you, I'm really not.
Technically, you got into my car.
[CELESTE SPEAKING FRENCH]
YASMIN: How do you know Maxim?
He's introduced me to a lot of clients.
YASMIN: What kind of clients?
A lot of people here use my services.
Services?
Well, that's one way to mourn a career.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. [GIGGLES]
CELESTE: I'm sure I'll bump into you again, huh?
Oh, Yasmin, estás aquí!
♪ [SONG CONTINUES]
- Hola. - YASMIN: Hola.
Glad you could make it. [KISSES]
Maxim, what is all of this for?
Oh, my beloved Silver Kite has blown up!
My fund is no more!
And yes, that means you've lost your largest client.
Right.
Wow. [CHUCKLES]
I guess this means the world really is ending.
MAXIM: Oh, it's already ended.
So, tonight, we're gonna give it a fucking good nudge.
Grab the moment, it's been a long year, but still peng.
You twat.
- ♪ [MUSIC ENDS ABRUPTLY] - [JENNY MOANING]
[PANTING]
JENNY: Are you close?
Do you want me to be louder or something?
[MOANS LOUDER]
JENNY: You're nothing like your profile.
Are you in recovery or something?
Sober dates are basically corporal punishment.
[CHUCKLES]
JENNY: Does that happen a lot?
- It wasn't you. - I didn't think it was.
Can you get me an Uber?
I think I deserve a Lux, actually.
♪ ["ATLANTA" BY DJ TENNIS PLAYING] ♪
- ♪ [SONG ENDS ABRUPTLY] - Oh, God.
This feels transgressive for a work-night.
But I just lost my biggest client, so fuck it.
[SNORTS]
This basically is my job. You know, entertaining.
Look, I really don't want this to sound like an insult.
Because, honestly, it's a compliment. I--
It's probably a million times more interesting
than what I do for a living. So, um... [SNIFFS]
But I just feel like I have to ask.
- What's it like? [CHUCKLES] - Uh.
You know, doing...
being, um...
a sex worker, right? Sex pro-- sex professional?
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
Um, I'll tell you what my job is like,
if you tell me why you're so sure
yours isn't as interesting.
Oh, well, um... [SNIFFS] ...I work in a bank. [CHUCKLES]
Something called Foreign Exchange Sales,
it's about as sexy as it sounds. At Pierpoint.
So, um,
what are your clients like? [CHUCKLES]
You know, they are high net worth individuals.
- ♪ [MUFFLED MUSIC PLAYING] - Families.
- Families? - Uh-huh. [CHUCKLES]
Families! Wow.
Oh, my God. I fucking love this song.
I was behind the decks
when Solomon dropped it at Boneca.
Do you want to dance with me?
YASMIN: What, the Goldman CEO?
♪ ["INNER LIGHT" BY ELDERBROOK & BOB MOSES PLAYING] ♪
♪ You don't know how to Get it on the floor ♪
♪ Then don't hold back For anyone ♪
♪ Close your eyes
♪ Just follow the inner light
♪ You count on me
- ♪ You count on me - [SNIFFS]
♪ You count on me
♪ I can fly
♪ I can breathe
♪ And learn to sing
♪ Like do-re-mi
- [YASMIN SNORTS] - ♪ So you wanna dance
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
♪ And you wanna be
♪ A bat out of hell
♪ Follow my lead
♪ [SONG FADES]
I overdid it.
MAXIM: Oh, God, I am getting too old for this.
No such thing.
But I am so glad you two, beautiful women connected.
That was always my intention.
- You two ever crossed at work? - Excuse me? [CHUCKLES]
Celeste is an MD at Pierpoint. Private Wealth Management.
CELESTE: I look after high net worth individuals.
Wealthy people who don't know what to do with their money.
Not professional investors like you're used to.
Oh, my God! [CHUCKLES] Oh, my God, I'm so sorry. Uh--
- CELESTE: Don't worry. - [LAUGHS NERVOUSLY]
It was just too much fun playing with you.
This is Yasmin Kara-Hanani.
Fuck, fuck. The publishing heiress.
Oh, God. Don't call me that.
That's what Tatler used to call me. [CHUCKLES]
MAXIM: Yeah, well I've unsubscribed.
I've been trying to lure your father
into Pierpoint for years.
MAXIM: Yeah, well, no dice. My family's been managing
her family's money for generations.
Oh, well. If you ever fancy a change of scene,
I'm on the twelfth floor.
- Bonne nuit, vous deux. - Bonne nuit.
You know I now work for you?
Yeah, I've gone to work for Papa.
Managing your father's money.
Your money.
You're not supposed to fuck people who work for you.
Are you coming onto me?
Well, the thing is...
everyone else who's interesting has left.
- ♪ [MUSIC ENDS ABRUPTLY] - [MOANS, BREATHING HEAVILY]
- [BOTH MOAN] - Come on.
[MOANS, BREATHING HEAVILY]
[MAXIM MOANING]
♪ [MELODIOUS POP SONG PLAYING]
♪ Give it up Give your heart to me ♪
♪ And I wanna know
♪ Why you're torturing me
♪ I need to know...
Hi. This is well done, I ordered medium.
We're not allowed to serve medium
in the City of Westminster.
Since when?
Are you new? [SCOFFS]
What kind of service is that? What kind of service is that?
[HARPER CHUCKLING]
I think that's mine. Um, well done.
I-- I mean, the meat, not your performance, um--
Can we get her another one. And me too.
Um, personally I don't like to bite down and taste blood
but there's no accounting for taste.
Even more deceased than that if you can swing it.
There is something undeniably comforting
about the dependability of a four-star chain hotel.
[CHUCKLES]
Cookie-cutter burger, piss-water beer.
You know where you are.
Hmm. And where's that, 1985?
[CHUCKLES]
- Okay. - [CHUCKLES]
- It grounds me. - Hmm.
Yeah. It's low-key.
Anonymous?
And why would I want that?
I don't know.
You know what they say about...
flying close to the sun, gives off a lovely light.
Yeah. Well...
sometimes it's nice to just disappear.
HARPER: Can I get another beer, please? Thank you.
I'll have another, too.
I drink too much when I'm in the UK.
Why not? National pastime.
JESSE: I've just moved here.
Got a 19-year-old who refuses to go to college in the US.
- ♪ [SONG FADES] - It's his own kind of rebellion.
He's, um, he's a bit of a stranger.
I don't know why I'm telling you that.
Uh, if not me, then who?
♪ [UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
JESSE: Put hers on my room.
Oh, no, no, no. No, I got it, thank you.
[HARPER CHUCKLING]
JESSE: Stuck in limbo. What's your excuse?
Hmm.
- Purgatory. - JESSE: Hmm.
My advice, don't wait for others to pray for you.
MAXIM: I feel a bit dirty.
Don't overthink it. I have literally never
thought about it before tonight.
You know, I don't get why you're not more successful
at work.
You should be more like this.
What? Nude?
No, comfortable.
Trauma. [CHUCKLES] I guess.
Yeah.
I thought I was doing all right, but, um,
- today's been a bit weird. - What do you make of Celeste?
Yeah, I know I can't help you directly in your career anymore,
but I thought I'd grease the wheels with a connect.
In case you ever think of an internal move.
I don't need you to daddy me.
Your daddy doesn't even daddy you.
Let's not tell our mothers.
What do you know about Jesse Bloom?
Mr. COVID?
Just moved to London.
He did better out of this disaster
than any man on earth.
He bought a wedge of CDS insurance
before real pandemic hysteria.
Went on CNBC, predicted the apocalypse,
made the market tank, made his CDS double.
Sold his CDS.
Reinvested four fucking yards in blue chip equities,
at bargain basement prices. That was the Ackman trade.
No, that was the Bloom trade.
Ackman followed him into it.
♪ [CONFIDENT MUSIC PLAYING]
Checkered reputation.
What do you think Bloom paid in premiums to hold it?
Guess around, 30 million dollars to Goldman.
Imagine if that had been you.
AUTOMATED VOICE: Floor eight. Doors opening.
You know the theory about the giant squid?
That it really exists?
It-- it does?
Have-- have you had a chance to get to the third floor,
to Pierpoint services?
I don't see how that's any of your business.
DANIEL: No, I love Eric, he fucking hired me.
But the guys who act the most infallible
are usually the most fallible.
ERIC: Hmm. Poster boy thinks he's a made man now.
Wasn't expecting them to send someone so young.
- You're barely pubescent. - ♪ [MUSIC FADES]
[CHUCKLES] Eric, buddy!
Oh, man, a fresh start across the pond.
Hey, the white hair, it-- it really suits you.
It wasn't a choice.
I'm surprised they haven't lovingly bumped you upstairs yet.
[CHUCKLES] A corner office is a coffin.
DANIEL: True.
Oh, hey. Uh, Daniel Van Deventer.
My friends call me DVD or Blu-ray.
Sorry, lame joke, but hopefully,
not irrefutable grounds for crucifixion.
No, but addressing my soldiers without me is.
Oh, so what does that make me, like a capo?
Yeah, and I'm capo di tutti capi.
- Boss of all bosses. - [DANIEL CHUCKLES]
I figure that's Adler. Which is why I'm here.
Uh, look, this merger.
Sounds like an attempt to juniorize London.
What are you, Gary Glitter? 'Cause to my knowledge,
I'm not a 12-year-old Thai girl.
- [CHUCKLES] - DANIEL: Look, um,
nobody's keeping a rap sheet. But we, uh, well, we could say
most consider London an overnight execution desk
for the US.
And we could say Brexit makes the Frankfurt office
more relevant now.
And, uh, well, we also could say,
London drinks too much and leaves too early.
But none of us are saying that. [CHUCKLES]
Nobody's made a decision yet.
It could be New York or it could be London.
Can we guarantee our safety?
Funny enough, dude,
you pick up the phone, and you dial.
It's the usual. Right? Since time immemorial.
We need to produce.
Starts with Rican Healthcare this week.
That's my block. My client.
Hey, Eric, I'm, uh, glad you got Felim back.
Harp, we've got breakfast with Felim tomorrow,
to make sure he doesn't have any last-minute shakiness,
about anchoring the Rican deal.
Does anyone at Pierpoint have a relationship with Jesse Bloom?
Does anyone cover him on the street?
You truly have taken leave of your faculties.
You'll be taking a KFC to Raoul Moat next.
Moaty, it's Harper!
[CHUCKLES]
DANIEL: He's, uh, he's uncoverable. Nobody even knows where he is.
Oh, shit. I've got a meeting with BlackRock. Eric!
You look like George Clooney, man, great.
Fair.
Jesse Bloom just moved to London.
George Clooney looks like me.
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
ERIC: Felim, you're getting Rican at a discount.
So the upside, we can sell quickly at a premium.
And Dooling is saying
it's a potential acquisition target.
[LINE RINGING]
ERIC: When was the last time you lost money trading
a block with me?
- NICOLE CRAIG: [OVER PHONE] Hello? - Nicole.
Hi. It's Robert Spearing from Pierpoint.
NICOLE: What could anyone from that institution possibly want?
Uh-- uh, to talk markets, the old game.
You feeling bulled up, or is the old bear rousing
from her slumber? [CHUCKLES]
NICOLE: Sorry, why are you talking like a cunt?
Yeah, I'm in the habit of avoiding people
who talk like cunts.
Yet life's made a habit of throwing them my way.
Sorry, I-- Sorry, who are you?
Robert. Spearing. Your new broker at Pierpoint.
NICOLE: Right, okay, my broker isn't pompous enough
to tell me his surname
like it's already worth something to me.
Yes. I agree.
Um-- [LAUGHS]
Uh, that was quite, uh, quite risible from my side.
NICOLE: Quite what?
Qui-- Um...
Quite-- quite risible?
NICOLE: Yeah, okay. Look, why don't you call me
when you know who you are and who you're talking to.
- [LINE DISCONNECTS] - [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
♪ [TENSE SYNTH MUSIC PLAYING]
HILARY: I'm quietly disturbed by how glad I am to see you.
KENNY KILBANE: Oh, it's good to see you too.
It is-- it's good to be back.
- Psychopath. - JACKIE WALSH: Absolutely.
- KENNY: Yeah. - JACKIE: Yeah.
KENNY: How are you, you all right? Yeah?
JACKIE: Yeah, not too bad. Not too bad. Yourself?
KENNY: Yeah, good. Good to be back.
Good to be here. Um, thank you.
I have got about 10,000 client requests already.
You can never really leave, can ya?
[GROANS]
"I knew myself only after I destroyed myself.
And only in the process of fixing myself,
did I know who I really was."
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
They said you might not come back.
♪ [MUSIC FADES]
In recovery, they teach you the blander the platitude,
the sharper the truth it reveals.
Obviously, "I'm sorry" is implicit in what I'm saying,
but I just wanted to thank you for your small part
that you played, in helping me see who I was.
This doesn't feel like an appropriate setting for this.
Well, I can't exactly take you for a drink, can I? [CHUCKLES]
[CHUCKLES]
KENNY: Are you-- are you feeling okay?
Yeah, why?
It's just you look like you had a big night.
Take it from me. Help is hard to ask for,
but when you do, it...
- it'll change your life. - [CHUCKLES]
I'm here to talk.
VENETIA: It's so great to meet you finally.
Ah, the brilliant new grad! Heard loads about you.
- Welcome back. - Thank you very much.
Venetia, I'm ready to hear your idea.
Um, can we do it in ten?
No, no time like the present. Start.
[VENETIA CLEARS THROAT]
I like the idea of selling dollar Brazil at these levels.
Dollar-ladyboy. Why?
VENETIA: It's a stellar catch-up trade
if you missed the dollar sell-off.
It lagged because the virus ravaged Brazil,
the political response was Trump-level appalling.
Also, hefty appetite for emerging markets.
The Pfizer vaccine has to be kept
at subzero temperatures.
It's not a suitable climate for a speedy rollout.
Well, actually, they're using AstraZeneca.
So?
[CHUCKLES] What do you mean, "So?"
It-- it's implicit in what I said.
It doesn't have the same limitations.
Nothing's fucking implicit about you, actually.
So, just be clearer next time.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
VENETIA: Thank you for your time.
RISHI: Rob, you look like the sort of goofy wanker
who buys NFTs! Any color?
Jesus.
When did you become the resident pussy-breaker in chief?
- [SCOFFS] - JACKIE: Come on.
You're better than that.
♪ ["BEWILDERED AND BLUE" BY LAUREL AITKEN PLAYING] ♪
DIANA: What I love about Roxane Gay
is that she's really authoritative
in writing, you know, the Other.
But then, she's not above doing 10,000 words
on, like, Biggie Smalls.
I feel like my life's incomplete if I don't have
her take on everything.
Have you ever read any Ta-Nehisi Coates?
You know, he does comics now! [CHUCKLES]
Where have you been hiding this girl? She's fantastic.
I don't know, why don't you ask her?
- You picked well. - Did I?
Cheers. I like a homely posh bird.
What the fuck do you mean, "homely"?
You know, posh, horsey, cut-glass accent.
Every time we bang,
I can hear my ancestors cheering.
- [DIANA LAUGHS] - Hmm, reverse colonization, huh?
[LAUGHS] We're all having dinner, okay?
Uh, maybe next pandemic.
DIANA: [CHUCKLES] Read Between the World and Me!
RISHI: Don't fucking talk to her.
DIANA: What? She seems like a very lovely girl.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER, CHEERS]
DIANA: Oh my God! Hi!
♪ [SONG CONTINUES]
Who invited you?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER CONTINUES]
♪ Sometimes I feel
♪ I feel
Like a motherless child ♪
♪ Honey, since you left me
♪ My life, my life Nothing goes right ♪
♪ 'Cause I'm bewildered And blue ♪
♪ [UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS] ♪
ANRAJ: Yeah, I'm doing a rotation
from wherever the client who trained with Rishi is.
RISHI: What are you on about?
I'm a size lord, you fucking idiot.
ANRAJ: Do you think the tone that you take with me
is grounds for some kind of tribunal?
RISHI: Bullying has been eradicated
from the culture!
I've got a bit left from last night if you fancy it.
Blow.
You want a bit of rough there, do ya? [CHUCKLES]
- I'm all right. - Oh, God. Don't tell me
- you've found Jesus? - [LAUGHS]
Nah, it's nothing as sexy as that.
I just feel like I've struck out three times
and I'm still playing somehow, so, you know.
Forgive me if I leave you to it.
And I'm not making a big statement or anything.
I'm just... leaving.
- Have a good night. - YASMIN: Mm-hmm.
RISHI: Ask anyone at Imperial. Because if there's nonsense
going on, they will be specked.
[DIANA LAUGHING]
[REVELLERS CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY]
HARPER: Oh, sorry. [CHUCKLES] Um...
[INDISTINCT CHATTER CONTINUES]
Looks like we've entered that point of the night,
where everyone is sort of talking
at and near each other, rather than to each other.
- [CHUCKLES] - Yeah. [CHUCKLES]
[CLEARS THROAT]
At least this makes me feel like I'm here.
Well, yeah, for better or worse, we're here. [CLEARS THROAT]
I thought a lot about you. You know, while I was out.
Yeah.
Yeah. I've been busy and, you know.
People have moved on.
[SCOFFS] Great.
My bad for assuming that you thought about anybody
- other than yourself. - Oh, my God.
Oh, my God. [LAUGHS]
You really needed to say that, didn't you?
Frankly, Harper, I don't have the energy
to listen to your fucking whining,
your bullshit, your rationalizations.
I'm over it.
You're a black hole.
I'm a what?
There are radiators and there are drains.
- You're a drain. - I'm a fucking drain?
Yas, literally, everything you have,
you have you've taken from somewhere else.
- None of it belongs to you-- - Okay. Goodbye, Harper.
Good luck finding someone to love you.
- Yeah? - HARPER: Okay.
YASMIN: God, that girl's such a fucking bitch.
What the fuck!
Hi, mate. Uh, Juno Hotel, please. Ta.
Can't we go to your place instead?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
♪ [MUSIC ENDS ABRUPTLY]
What is wrong with you? Oh--
That's my buddy right there! [CHUCKLES]
- JESSE: She good? - Yeah. She'll be fine.
HARPER: [CHUCKLES] Put me to bed, Daddy?
Just so you know, I'm right here.
Fuck off, I'm her mate.
[HARPER GROANS SOFTLY]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[GROANS SOFTLY]
- Take your fucking suit off. - No, no, no. No.
No. No.
[HARPER MOANS] Take your fucking suit off.
I need you to help me.
[GROANS SOFTLY]
- You love how I suck your dick. - Not tonight.
[GROANS SOFTLY] Dude, I really need this.
Hmm.
I'll do all the work.
You're such a little bitch.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
Fucking... toy bitch, for bitches like Yasmin.
You don't even come any more.
What are you, like, jerking off before we fuck?
What kind of a man are you?
Oh, fuck...
[GROANS SOFTLY]
[SIGHS]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
[GROANS SOFTLY]
[COUGHS]
♪ [CALM MUSIC PLAYING]
Join me.
- HARPER: Thank you. - ♪ [MUSIC FADES]
[JESSE CLEARS THROAT]
- How are you feeling? - Fine, thanks.
Why don't we cut the shit?
You've known who I am the whole time.
Did you Google "COVID crocodile tears"?
HARPER: You are the top hit.
- Hmm. - Harper Stern.
I work in cross-product sales at Pierpoint.
- I work for Eric Tao. - JESSE: Hmm.
I love how you say that like I'm supposed to know him.
- The only famous salesman's Willy Loman. - [CELL PHONE VIBRATING]
[CUP CLINKING]
I'm off to one of those tedious Q&As.
At the bulge bracket townhall
on the trading landscape post-pandemic.
Let me guess. "We are optimistic for equity markets,
risk assets, and indeed the economy."
- Mm-hmm. - Useless.
JESSE: Hard concur.
I'm just gonna wear a T-shirt that says
"Past performance does not guarantee
- future results." - [CHUCKLES]
Well, I'm gonna be late to a client breakfast,
otherwise I would be there.
When you went on TV, were you genuinely worried
about the pandemic or were you just--
- Talking my book? - Flying too close to the sun.
Imagine if I ever told some salesperson the answer to that.
HARPER: Do you have sales coverage in London yet?
JESSE: If you decide to skip breakfast,
you know where I am.
Hey, Jesse.
You ever heard that joke?
Two lonely Americans meet in a bar.
♪ [CONFIDENT MUSIC PLAYING]
JESSE: I'm watching you.
KENNY: That all sounds good.
VENETIA: Yeah, and cheers. Thanks for the coffee.
- KENNY: I'll catch up inside. - Yeah, sure.
KENNY: I, uh, heard about Silver Kite.
It's always harder losing a client
when you have a personal relationship.
We will find a way
to cover the short fall in commission.
Keep New York at bay, you know.
Yeah, I'm sure you don't need my help,
but, look, I've had a ton on, you know, since my reintegration
and I could use help with my accounts.
I've actually got quite a few "narpy" ones,
am I using that right?
Anyway, a life raft, if you need it.
[LINE RINGING]
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
- Hello? - Nicole. Hi, uh, it's Rob
from Pierpoint again. Um...
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER] - Listen...
you're gonna have to bear with me.
All right? 'Cause I'm very fucking nervous
and I really don't know what I'm doing.
- Go on. - Well...
Well, to be honest... this is my last-ditch attempt
to actually do my job, which, apparently, to my terror,
means making more than one outgoing call a day.
To people who either definitely know more than me
or have just been bred to think they know more than me.
[CHUCKLES]
Well, that's a start.
[CALL DISCONNECTS]
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
I didn't know what excuse to give my desk.
We don't make excuses up here.
Sit.
FELIM BICHAN: Is she usually late?
Nope. Well, things happen.
Things happen.
Ladies and gentlemen, please give a big hand
for my guest, Jesse Bloom.
[APPLAUSE]
[MOUTHING] Hi.
♪ [MUSIC CONTINUES]
♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES]