Is she usually late?
Nope.
Well, things happen.
Things happen.
Yeah. Shall we order?
It's polite to wait, isn't it?
So we'll wait.
Felim Bichan and his superstitions.
It's a shame because I prefer the two of you together.
You know, I'm...
I'm sure she's got
- a good excuse. - Right.
Any chance we could tempt you on a tour of the floor?
Oh, I'm not particularly geared
towards making you look like a rock star on the desk.
Uh, just the car please.
He wants to show you how many screens he has.
Well, Bloomberg did actually just hit me up
- with a six-monitor rig. - That was great.
By the way, we've just published our macro
- year ahead predictions-- - I'm sorry.
Do you have any idea how often salespeople bring me
reams of immaterial material?
I'm just not interested in people
who comment on the direction of the wind.
I'd-- I'd much prefer if you could make it blow.
Ask yourself, "What's your edge?"
How can you be
more essential to me than these...
...vultures?
Oh, um...
- Uh, actually, I'm, uh-- - Thank you for coming.
We've reserved the box at Anfield
for you and Leo this Friday.
- Derby Day under the lights-- - John Henry's a close friend.
And on Friday, my son is ritually humiliating me at tennis.
So, thank you but no thank you.
We've got a court at the Hurlingham you could use?
We're very happy with our new Highgate patch.
Um, yeah? Okay. Thank you. Appreciate it.
Um...
Hey! Good luck with everything.
Remember it's all just a cycle of victory and defeat.
Excuse me.
What an epic bloke. I think he likes me.
I was primary coverage on Maxim's fund.
I've done a lot of work with FutureDawn Partners.
Um, lots of flow-slash-execution stuff.
But I would love to learn more about Private Wealth Management.
"Flow."
You almost make that sound delicious.
And the people?
They're fine.
Sorry. So, um...
what you'd expect. You know, in line.
It's ugly work. Market-facing roles.
There's nothing elegant in that part of the business.
I imagine they hate you.
You know,
I think you've really just crystallized that for me.
Yeah, I think they fucking despise me.
Yes.
Oh, and the quiet heart of the hatred,
which, of course, they never ever
articulate to you is, you're aspirational to them.
Hmm.
I am single, though.
I have this client and his son.
Enzo is a Cucinelli type. Very rakish.
Rocco, I don't know as well.
He's, uh, harder to gauge.
More your age.
More forward-looking.
Yeah, I would love to.
It's a personal service.
They are paying us to...
be at the end of a phone, to take them out for dinner...
to make them feel safe.
Investment returns
are as steady and as boring as a savings account.
But...
...a savings account does not come with us.
I have to say...
I love your shoes.
Client favorite.
The company is Rican Healthcare.
Leader in the telemedicine space.
Last year created a need--
Pricey healthcare subscription service.
Remote doctors.
Helps rich people get medical access without...
...leaving their Chelsea Mews house.
A consortium of PE firms
provided rescue financing to them
at the peak of the pandemic.
Now, we have exclusively negotiated
with one of these firms to acquire their blocks
at three percent discount and place it with our clients.
So, as of now.
I'm the proud owner of 75 million shares of Rican.
As handsome and inspirational as I am,
I'm not a captain of industry. I'm a market maker.
So, sadly, I'm not looking to keep the shares--
You're looking to flip them?
You're not a total lost cause after all.
Thanks for joining us!
Yeah, uh, the lock-up period has just ended.
So your clients should know that
this is the best opportunity since Rican went public
to obtain a block of shares and get in on the story.
Danny, can you pass out the deal sheets?
Yeah.
So, here is a list of significant investors
that have expressed interest in either the name...
or the sector.
There you go.
Remember, this isn't an IPO.
There won't be a month-long roadshow
to drum up interest. No batting of eyelashes.
We have less than 24 hours to build the book
and adios the full position out the door.
I'm happy to quarterback on this one.
Felim Bichan is the anchor of the deal, so...
- that's my client. - Right.
The anchor is, uh, numero one on the deal sheet.
Takes the largest chunk of shares.
- Do you have to keep doing that? - Between us, I, um...
I think the kid's got a minor brain injury.
- Fuck off, you Canada Goose nonce.
Eric, did Felim reconfirm at breakfast?
The I-bankers upstairs who built the book are happy with Felim as anchor.
But have also identified
Anna Gearing at FutureDawn Partners
as a specialist in the sector.
- ESG fund. Social impact. - One of the good guys.
It would behoove us to know where Anna stands.
Who has the CPS relationship with FutureDawn?
The deal sheet says "Daria Greenock."
- I knew her, Horatio. - That deal sheet is out of date.
If it's Daria's slack, I will look into Anna.
Right, yeah, please.
It's critical her interest is firm.
Her fund is one of the most clued up in the space.
They lead. People follow.
Now without her the deal's DOA.
Let's not give New York an easy win by fucking this up.
Vamos!
Yo, you ever met that Felim geezer?
I tried to take him whoring once after a client dinner,
and he looked at me, like I'm some...
I'm really sorry that I missed breakfast.
I fucked up. But I want to be honest.
Try it out.
I went to go see Bloom speak at a town hall.
I mean, speak is a bit kind, he bloviated.
It was a distraction. You were right.
I'll call Felim with a credible excuse.
How was it?
Did he confirm tomorrow as the anchor?
Don't do that. I don't want you calling him anymore.
Actually, let's be unequivocal.
You are not to call Felim, and if he calls the desk,
you're not to answer. You set a meeting...
with a sensitive client and bailed.
Forget bad business practice, that's bad manners, straight up.
For a third-year analyst,
I gave you
a super-privileged position and you shit the bed.
How can you even ask for a sales credit split?
I tell you, ladies and gentlemen,
this morning, I am horny for flow.
I am horny for your mum!
Are you sure you're an intern?
Yeah, I know.
Might as well call me Jerome Powell,
'cause I'm the fucking market!
Big 24 hours ahead of us.
Why are you late?
I had a meeting.
With a saleswoman in Private Wealth Management.
Speaking of which, how is Denise?
Are you okay?
I did a rotation in PWM
during my spring week at Credit Suisse.
It was so... frothy.
Acronym. "Pussy's wet, mister!"
Kenny's late.
Kenny's in a breakfast meeting
with an actual FX client!
Look, I'm happy to give you special privileges given our...
you know, daedalian complications,
but don't take the piss.
I was looking up different parts of the bank.
You know, "One Pierpoint."
Plots. Schemes. Career machinations, whatever.
File them all away under "Not on my time."
So, Venetia, how old were you
when you rode your first pony?
That's not a euphemism.
I'm asking when daddy got you into the saddle, again, not...
Have you, uh,
touched base with Anna Gearing recently?
- No. Why? - Um, palace intrigue.
Lots of whispers of her name on the floor
re the CPS equity deal happening tomorrow.
I heard Anna's fund moved to Berlin?
- Brexit exodus. Brexidous. - Yep. German husband.
Yeah, well, nobody's perfect.
Presumably, perfect Aryan kids though.
- So, swings and roundabouts. - Boudicea and Olympia.
How do you know that?
I asked.
Look I know I was probably born behind the curve,
but if anything comes in
from anywhere on Gearing, deal with it.
It's an equity block but she's still an FX client
and we need to at least seem to know
what business she's doing with this bank.
You want us coordinating with CPS?
Fuck me sideways. God is dead.
We few, we few, we happy few.
We band of brothers.
Hi, Anna. This is Harper Stern
- from Pierpoint. - Who?
I was Daria Greenock's backup coverage.
Oh, right. Yeah.
I tend to deal with your FX Desk now.
They do my hedging.
Sure, um, I was meaning to talk to you
about an upcoming equity block--
Sorry, but I don't know who you are,
so why would I talk to you about it? Take care.
Let me know when you've connected with Anna.
When I have something material, I will let you know.
Sorry. That... That could've been an email.
I... I was--
Never mind.
You got any package, huh?
And I'll tell you, that fruity little nonce,
was absolutely seething it. And it wasn't even hot...
Hey, where are you-- Where are you from?
Uh, Upstate New York.
- Binghamton. - Oh!
- You? - The... the city.
- Actually, Upper West Side. - Hmm.
- Oh! - Yeah.
- "Van Deventer."
That doesn't sound very Black.
- Well, nor does Stern, so...
Yo! Felim is banging the line...
- Is that the anchor? - Mm-hmm.
Pick it up.
Pick up the phone. It's the deal anchor.
You have the relationship, right?
I do, but Eric very explicitly took me off the account.
Where's Eric?
He's taken an inopportune time to void his bowls.
His diet must be very fibrous
because it keeps Seiko-quality time. So--
He's taking the brutal shittings.
You're banned from ten-minute turds.
Good, it's a crime scene in there.
- The size of those things... - Answer the phone.
Thanks.
- Good morning. Harper speaking. - Good morning.
Sorry to have missed you earlier.
- My apologies for that. - Nae bother.
So, run me through the deal. How's the book shaping up?
Uh, it's building nicely.
Almost covered. We're just waiting on some
sector specialists to confirm participation.
How do you mean "almost covered?"
I was assured plainly
that Anna had done the work and it was in the book.
I'm sure that that's just timing.
I'm told that this deal will come cheap to comps
- and trade well in the breaks. - I couldn't give a hoot
that the sellers are eager to sell.
- Two pounds lighter, lad. Yeah? - Sure.
If Anna's not participating
then I'm not gonna anchor it.
And Pierpoint have a dead deal, understood?
- You know, frankly, Harper... - Felim, if you could just--
...this isn't the news I was expecting.
Particularly from someone so junior
and marketing one of her first block trades.
Anraj, you cannot fucking talk.
Yours rival Celine, a distressed debt trader.
About four foot. Very avian. Very French.
Let me tell you, mortar shits.
Blitzkrieg and hellfire.
You know when she's been in
because the cleaners went in straight after...
- Felim.
Felim... look, if these are pre-match jitters,
let's work it all through. Call me coach. Let--
Trust me. Anna has already done the work.
She already owns the name.
She was a size buyer post-IPO and she is gonna add.
It's not a matter of if.
It's a question of how many boots
she has to fill.
'Cause the lady is filling her fucking boots,
let me tell you.
She's in.
You know, I can't do that over the phone.
You have to trust me.
What did you do? He just pulled his order.
I didn't tell him anything
that wasn't in the talking points.
I gave him the shape of the book.
See?
Cause, you don't listen.
Effect, needless work.
Look, why are you balling her out?
It's not her fault you don't communicate with her.
Oh. Why would you misrepresent
Anna's interest in the deal to Felim?
- I am doing our job. - Right.
Our job is to help people make the decision
that we know they need to make,
often much faster than they're comfortable making it.
Anna will come into this book.
The deal has the right characteristics.
Sellers, discount, upside. The stock will trade higher.
And Felim would have called me
and said, "Eric, what was I worried about?"
People are just knots of fear, okay?
We loosen them, we win.
This isn't Utopia. This is par.
It's how it plays,
- if we just do our fucking job. - Guys, guys, look respectfully,
you're running this like a circus.
You don't mean it respectfully, so don't say "respectfully."
New York was a democracy of competency.
We held each other accountable. We managed up with that.
You are no longer in New York.
And there was talk about this,
but hell, this is the rumor made flesh.
You cross the Rubicon with me, it's goodnight, Vienna.
In no uncertain terms. You fucking follow?
- Yeah. - Yo! Lads and lasses!
Please, for the love of God, don't tell me this book is falling apart.
I'm leveraged enough that even someone as dodgy as me
- couldn't hide the losses. - It's under control.
I'm calling Anna.
Watch me do your jobs.
Eric Tao for Anna.
What do you mean she's not taking any more calls?
She's in the calls business.
Honestly, fucking salespeople.
If we can't move this pot of block,
I am gonna personally bowcat all your mothers.
This hurts my cock.
Diana is a lot of things, but number one,
she's very fucking expensive.
You know her old fella's best mates with Farage?
Yasmin, do you have a relationship
with Anna Gearing at FDP?
He is gonna look at me at the altar
and do that Basil Fawlty double take.
- Good morning. - My desk needs to get
in touch with her urgently.
It's always urgent.
I've been doing some hedging for her
- in lieu of Kenny. - Okay.
Do you have enough of a relationship
that you could vouch for me?
She's not going to tell you anything
- if she doesn't know you. - Okay, that's fine.
I will deal with that. Can you just make the connect?
Come on, this is critical business.
Is there a patient dying on a table somewhere?
Hey! What the fuck are you doing?
Whatever your little issue is with me,
it could cost the firm a fuck ton of dollars.
Maybe you should think about that then.
Our CPS team are dealing with the Rican Health block,
but they're a fucking circus. I'll keep you posted...
- Unbelievable.
What a little drama queen.
I've you some krone movement down the back there.
Why is the air conditioning
so fucking cold?
- So, listen-- - Do you remember
the day I did this? You were so young.
Fuck, what year was it?
- It's one long blur. - Not that young. Just 24.
You were so fucking angry with me.
Yeah. Yeah. I spent a lot of money on it.
Relatively.
I can't believe you never said anything to me
when I was wearing a fucking Hermès tie on the floor.
It was my first trade.
Old school bullshit. You still wear two-tone shirts.
You know that was the, um--
That was the first night we got drunk together.
Put it back on.
You know, candidly, I heard a little bit about you two.
People are complex, but, uh...
when these things become more material...
i.e., they look likely to cost the desk dollars...
I feel obliged to say something.
I knew you before your face was troubled by a razor.
Okay. We done?
I really think Adler would like to see
some of that aggression channeled into driving business.
- Just say what you're saying. - The data speaks for itself.
You've had a couple soft quarters.
One is a pass. Two could be terminal.
The desk has, or Eric has?
I know Felim was central
to whatever halo Adler may have put on you.
So, it's best to keep him happy, no?
Okay, so pragmatically,
the six inches in front of our face.
How do we resecure the anchor
and not take a huge bath on a 3.3-billion-dollar deal?
Let me work Felim.
I've talked him on to and off enough ledges.
In the spirit of pragmatism, Harper is a third-year analyst
and she knows to get the fuck out of our way
on stuff that carries
high reputational or financial risk.
You know, there's more to good communication
- than just talking a lot? - She's a third year.
She has zero value to a client without me.
And you have unearned management pretensions
that sound pathetic to my ear.
Hey, Eric.
Eric, you know, I've always considered you a mentor,
so, everything I'm saying,
I'm saying with my cap in my hand.
I am going to fucking cut you open
and climb inside you
- if you don't sort this... - Right.
I need you to know,
that he and I do not have the kind of relationship
that people are saying that we have.
Hey, why don't you concentrate on
making people realize that you're here for...
your talent, rather than because your boss likes you.
Okay?
So, we have a block of Rican Health to go?
Nah, it's not really my sector when I dabble in equities.
Any FX plays off its back?
- Uh, let me get back to you. - Anraj!
Oh, right. Yeah.
The age-old salesman response
when he has no idea how to answer.
- Nicole... - Don't talk back to me,
- get me my lunch. - ...I'm just a kid, all right.
- I have no fucking clue. - Well, how refreshing.
Oh, and I love the way you, uh,
you presuppose that I'm going to deal with you
without ever meeting you.
Well, I'd never be so presumptuous.
No, I save that kind of entitlement
for the chins you marched over on your way up.
No, I've, uh, I've booked us dinner.
- A client dinner. - Oh, have you?
- No. But I'm about to.
- At your favorite place. - Which is?
No idea.
But you're about to tell me.
Hey.
Hey!
Sorry, what?
Uh, how about a comma?
- A bit of punctuation?
Well, otherwise, the day's just word soup, right?
This is a period.
- My day is over. - Look, come on.
I can tell you don't leave work at the office.
Quiet moments alone are important.
A little communion with yourself, you know.
Yeah why-- why are you laughing at me?
That's mad corny.
Right. Well, don't shit on what works for me.
I'm just... ...a corny guy leading my life.
Heart of a champion.
So...
- Okay. - Yeah.
Look, I know today was tough.
But one thing you should know about Eric...
youth terrifies him, unless he can control it.
Nice comma?
Huh?
We can call this a dash.
A dash would be a pint around the corner.
Yeah? Pier-pint.
Stop.
Uh, um...
Actually, me and a... a couple of buddies from Nomura
are going somewhere called The Slug and Lettuce,
uh, if you--
I'm... I'm really wiped.
- Next time? - Yeah, of course.
- Cool. - All right.
Is this too much for Celeste?
No, you look good.
Seductive, but, in a business kind of way.
This Owen Jones is very readable for a socialist.
- Okay.
Yeah.
What's the line there...
in PWM?
I dunno.
Available to the right kind of person?
- Oh, God.
Not sure how far I wanna push that.
- Okay. - Don't go too far.
I intend to have you again in the kitchen.
I've never actually been down here.
The décor has become uncomfortably Levantine.
What are-- What are you doing here?
You look great.
Wow!
Very grown up. Very... professional.
How is the job?
I don't have time for whatever this is.
I'm only here for a few weeks
to get some financial things in order, but...
it would be great to get supper.
Or-- or a quick drink?
- Are you sick or something? - Would you care?
Don't say fucking stupid things.
Sorry.
Open casket or am I too under-exercised?
You know, heavy?
I got a Peloton, but I find it
- deeply disturbing.
And I can see myself in my reflection,
and for fuck's sake if that's what I look like,
why haven't you marched me outside
- and put me out of my misery? - I have to go to work.
I hope those panties are coming off!
Wow!
Charlie.
I thought your father put you in charge of my money,
not my daughter.
Joking.
I've had this priced into your relationship
since you were nine years old.
I think you're misremembering our youth.
I'm ten years older than her.
Yeah, that's what it is.
He misremembers it.
I heard your papa has been pitching
for clients in Dubai.
He should just stand outside Harrods screaming,
"Will trade financial advice for saffron cake."
- Okay.
I have to go.
I'd really love to get dinner whilst I'm here.
You know, they wanna call me, um, plucky,
because I worked back-office operations.
And they wanna build this whole picture, like, um,
- my mother loves snooker...
...and had brandy with her cornflakes
and died stupid and unhappy.
My mother is lovely by the way and likes to read.
- But that doesn't conform? - Exactly.
They, uh, they pigeonhole you.
They make you noble
because they can't understand
how someone who sounds like me has got so much fucking money.
And by making you noble, they--
- Make you an anomaly. - Hmm.
You know, so you're not successful,
you're a success story.
Yeah, and a success story just enforces
the rigidity of where you come from.
Your difference.
The structure stays the same.
They keep their power.
You know, my mum always used to say to me that...
"If there's still gonna be an upper class in this country,
then you're gonna be a part of it."
And, uh, what does she think of you now?
Uh, she's dead.
I never assimilated.
I just earned. And didn't give a fuck.
You sure you don't wanna join me?
I'm okay for tonight. If that's all right with you.
Bouts of abstinence give the illusion of control, Robbie.
You know, my mum always used
to force people to call me Robert.
I bet you used to watch YouTube tutorials
on received pronunciation, didn't you?
Okay.
You've done the requisite amount of personal seduction
to make me feel slightly more comfortable
buying something off you.
So, why are we here?
And I will take a business or existential answer.
Well, let's stick to business.
- It's firmer ground.
So, shorting krone is the play for the next 24 hours
around the Rican Healthcare block,
so the FX desk tell me.
There's Norwegian pension fund activity around the deal.
That's a very imaginative take on an equity story.
I was expecting something a little more rote.
Well, you know,
there's nothing rote about us, Nicole.
There are only so many riding crops
you can sell until you have to move
into the BDSM community.
- You know what I mean?
Oh, my God...
Are you coming for black coffee at Vanderville's next week?
I got a spare room with some friends.
You don't need to do that.
It's okay.
No, don't worry. Really. I mean, honestly, dear.
I've already forgotten about it, yeah?
Let's continue to enjoy our evening.
So?
She was in my class at Bocconi.
- Really? - Mm-hmm.
Now she the COO of some Airbnb clone.
Only perverts let other people
sleep in their beds.
- Ciao. Buena notte. - Buena notte.
- Ciao. - Ciao.
I'm so sorry.
It's a confusing space when you're new.
I spent my early twenties torturing myself
about how anyone could ever take me seriously.
I felt ostracized all the time.
And then I realized, I was the club.
I was the party.
The only member was me.
People are lucky to be in your company.
Not the other way around.
I found...
the most personal of my professional relationships
bear the most fruit.
You don't have to like someone for them to be useful to you.
This was an interesting experiment.
It's a shame that we're forced
to make the choices that dictate our life
when we're too young to know that we're making them.
I'm old enough to be your mother, aren't I?
I used to know Chris Evans once, you know.
What, Captain America?
No. No.
No, the ginger one.
- He's very pinty. - Right.
So...
a son says to a mum...
"I need my personal space."
And the mum says back to the son...
"You came out of my personal space!"
Just enjoy it.
Hey, drive, pull over. Take a walk.
I don't wanna cum on my suit. It's new.
Cum in my hand.
Mommy.
- Christ.
Your flatmate's really laying pipe.
- Yeah?
It's good, right?
Use my ass!
I want to feel the full length of your Black cock, pig!
Yeah!
Oh, yeah! Use my ass! Use my ass!
Use this skinny white ass!
Can you leave?
Are you serious?
I'm... I'm just not feeling it anymore, sorry.
- A bit of a tease, aren't you? - Sorry.
I'm all fucking gacked up now.
Fuck sake.
You good?
They both left in a hurry.
Did you get the ick? I definitely did.
I lost interest somewhere between the...
cab and the front door.
It was such a relief he just left.
Distracted.
Workaholism...
you know, it's a... it's a tough diagnosis.
I just feel like I'm getting in the way a lot.
You're the bane of everyone's existence.
I'm joking.
I-- I'm joking. Okay, um...
I'm going to give you something I got a lot growing up.
Um...
You are good.
You are worthy.
Take what you deserve.
Benefits of a-- a very expensive education.
Point is...
...stop waiting for approval.
What about you?
Me?
I just pound skinny white blokes from Kennington...
in lieu of a career.
Turn your shit down!
You posh cunts moving into my fucking neighborhood!
Oh, fuck off, you grass!
Who're you calling grass, you little fucking melt?
I'll make ribbons of you, you little Tory weapons.
Oh, fuck off, Grandad!
I'm gonna torch your fucking gaff down
while you're sleeping, you little Herberts.
I'll fucking cut you all.
Archie, call the police.
This is ridiculous.
Piss off! Just piss off!
You're making actual fucking threats, mate,
okay?
- Fuck off! - Why on earth is that fucking funny?
Fuck off back to Islington, go on!
Oh, yeah. I tell you what, mate--
With your Chelsea boots, you wanker!
My dad was fucking born
just around the corner near Potter's Bar.
Oh, blah, fucking blah! Was he?
I don't give a shit.
Go on, you fucking haircut! Get out of here.
Yeah, yeah, well,
at least I've got fucking hair, you old bastard.
Oh, bollocks to you!
Midnight caller!
What's, uh, what's on your mind?
Please don't misread the hour of this call as intimacy.
No, I never would.
I'm wide awake and watching liberal media.
- Hotel life.
Did you get anywhere with Anna?
Eric is usually a Plan A kinda guy,
but if he fails to resuscitate Felim's interest,
we would look very smart to everyone
if we had something in our back pocket.
I think he's doing his common entrance.
Westminster's number one choice, but, forgotten about their city.
Not very academic.
Good. Watch your top spin...
The amount of drop-shots you're playing against me
is a particular kind of cruelty.
What the fuck is this?
- You good to keep going? - You cannot be serious!
Remember, I'm eleven quid a minute.
Don't go easy on me.
Serve's good, actually.
You're just over-rotating a little.
You risk damaging your rotator cuff.
Is this your son?
How old do you think I am?
This man is thirty years old, and I'm paying him.
Leo didn't show.
Am I supposed to be charmed by this?
Sorry. I can imagine what this looks like.
But, uh, you did say where you were gonna be--
Okay. Can you not?
Because that's borderline behavior.
You asked for something material.
I'm bringing you something material.
It's exactly the kind of post-pandemic play
that you like. Exciting intel. Edge.
You know, during the gold rush
all the gold miners actually went bust?
People keep bringing me these vaccine plays.
The gold, which is actually not worth that much.
I'm interested in the picks and the shovels.
The people who sold those,
they were the ones who came out on top.
Yeah, this is a pick-and-shovel play.
Rican Healthcare.
- Huge block. Discounted price. - Hey, one minute.
Cool.
No longer has an anchor.
- Let's make that you.
Is there a specialist interest?
Anna at FutureDawn. Not yet confirmed.
But looks likely. She already owns it.
Is looking to add.
Nobody's participating without a specialist interest.
What's your boss say?
Uh...
Okay. Can I get back to my lesson?
Or you got an ice-scraper for my windshield
you wanna sell me?
Let's get back to it.
I'm meeting Mr. Hanani?
- He's right there. - Oh, thank you.
Thank you for agreeing to see me.
I'm glad I can still soften your heart.
Well, you're my father, aren't you?
This neo-classical art deco pan-European thing...
very oppressive.
Reminds me of a time we should all prefer to forget.
Have you ever sat in a room and not had to analyze it?
It's funny.
You're observational about everything but your family.
I know I have form in this department
but since your mother and I are finally legally separating--
Divorcing.
You're getting a divorce. It's a different thing.
These milestone events tend to focus the mind,
give pause, you know,
illuminate mistakes.
Do you remember, um,
there was one summer,
where we got a boat
and we went around the coast,
we stopped off for the day in Positano
and you bought me this little duck toy.
It was like a knock-off Donald Duck toy thing.
And I just threw it straight off the boat.
Fucking duck toy! Yeah, I remember.
What you didn't know was
how catastrophically hungover I was that day--
- No, I knew. - Theresa...
hit her head and was in the hospital that evening.
Midnight swimming. Dive board. What a weekend.
German nanny. You were too young to remember.
But you sailed right back round and bought me another one.
Yeah.
I spoiled you.
I think that was the closest I've ever felt to you.
Have you ever thought about
managing the family's money through Pierpoint?
It's good to have you back, Kenny.
Uh, thanks. It's, uh, it's good to be back.
Now behave yourself.
Hilary, can I speak to you?
I'm going to be spending
a little bit more time off the desk.
If my work materially suffers, don't be afraid to tell me,
but I'm going to be exploring my options in Wealth Management.
And I assume you're fine with it.
They're not exactly--
I mean, they all seem a bit superficial up there.
Don't you want a job with a bit of substance?
We're moving people's money around, Hilary.
No, no, no, no, no.
What I do...
is far more important than that.
Jordan Peterson moves, you know?
Gets all his information on a podcast,
lives at the gym, calls himself one of them regulars.
- Tough Mudder. Thinks running 10 - K is a personality.
I tell you who's not making his bed.
- any attractive woman. - It's a present from my wife.
Hang on.
Let's level with one another.
We're all cunts, aren't we?
So let's just lean into it, yeah?
Guys, if you honestly think
this is the morning for pleasantries...
Rob, you going to the meet?
Uh, nah.
I'm going to bell Nicole at Mallon Mercer.
How did that go?
- She's a character. - Hmm.
She sure is.
I'm gonna call her.
You said that already, dude. You gotta do it.
Pretty open. Nice and commercial.
I like it! Hustle up for the meet.
They should hand out blindfolds.
Feels like we're all going to the wall.
What do you have for me?
Buy dollar nokkie through me
pre the expected deal announcement.
Well, that's the worst-kept secret
in the market.
Okay, go for it. Go and buy it.
But what do you say?
I don't follow.
You say...
"Please."
Don't you?
- Do I? - Yeah.
Yeah, you do.
- Please? - Good boy.
Now buy it for me.
You know, this will be the first trade
that I've booked under my name.
Well, what kind of person would I be if I didn't drop
the ladder behind me?
Yeah, I suppose.
- Did you firm Felim up? - I'm still working him.
Anna's unresponsive. Brick wall.
I'm sure Felim's waiting till the last minute
- to see if she participates. - No.
No. It's not good enough.
We negotiated this three-and-a-half-yard trade
at a ridiculously low three-percent discount
because you assured us,
you had a concrete home for the paper.
- He will call. Trust me. - Yeah, all right.
But there was a time when I would've taken that as gospel.
Look, I don't...
I don't deal in the subjunctive.
Conditional.
Conditional. Whatever fucking tense that is, okay?
We open in 12 minutes.
My budget on this book is a hundred million.
A hundred bars!
Okay, I'm simply not taking a wash on half of that.
Losing fifty fucking bars? No way.
I'm not being made to look a cunt
because you guys can't do the primary schoolwork
of placing stock.
- Rish, he's gonna call. - Eric!
It's all right to act alpha when we deliver alpha.
Okay, but this is cuck behavior. And I do not like cuckoldry.
Okay. Okay. Look.
Let's operate from this basis.
Felim is out. Anna's unresponsive.
Rishi is about to get hung with a block of paper.
What's the strategy if we leap from there?
Harper?
You're working on some kind of insurance?
This should be good.
Nothing came of it.
Uh, what even was it?
Jesse Bloom. Um, I met him.
And he said he wanted more exposure
in the healthcare space.
Honestly, fuck this. Fuck you. Fuck off.
If this hurts my compensation or pushes me out the door,
I'm dragging you all down with me.
Bunch of fuck faces!
Harper, maybe after you've gotten through to Bloom,
you can try Bill Ackman next.
Or one of the Gettys.
In a situation as dicey as this,
let's try not to waste time, okay?
We're collapsing in the pre-market!
I don't have the lines to hold this much size.
The bell rings in five minutes. Get me a home for the paper!
- Felim's gonna call. - He's not. Accept it.
I didn't know this desk ran on blind faith.
It doesn't! I know him. You don't.
- Okay. - He's gonna call.
- Four minutes!
I puke this paper into the market,
eat the loss and never forgive any of you.
- Rish-- - Who is it?
Unknown number.
Felim?
It's for you.
Hi, Harper. It's Jesse Bloom.
Hi, Jesse.
I'm sick of commenting on the direction of the wind.
Shall we make it blow?
I don't follow.
Let's find out how essential you are.
What have you learned about our friend Anna
and her interest?
Uh, I'm close. I'm close. Do you mind holding?
Yas, I know, that I always say
that "this is a matter of urgency"
but this really is a matter of urgency.
I'm really sorry that I'm always in such a rush with you
but I really need your help.
I need access to Anna. Now.
It's just a tickle, 99 percent sure it's not COVID.
Yasmin! Good to hear from you.
- I miss having our natters. - Same, same.
Let's book a phenomenal comp night out soon.
Fine. But you choose the place.
I never get these things right.
Look, I know you don't like
speaking to people you don't know,
but I have Harper Stern from Cross Product Sales
and I can vouch for her.
Will you give her two ticks for me.
Tell her I'm busy. She can have one tick max.
Anna's on.
You have no idea how much I appreciate this.
It's just business, Harper.
Where are we? Coffee's getting cold.
Yeah. Sorry. Sorry. Can you just hold one sec.
- Anna, hi. - Yep, quickly.
Fair warning. I'm not talking about any imminent biz,
but happy to field a quick question
as a favor to Yasmin.
Yes. We have a mismatched FX trade
that my back office is having trouble
getting in contact with yours to confirm.
We booked Pierpoint buys 250 mil quid
- at 136.62, value spot. - Absolutely not.
The direction is right but the notional is wrong.
I specifically bought 250 million dollars
which I intend to put to work.
Anna, I'm so sorry. False alarm. Um, you are right.
Pierpoint did sell dollars in your amount at that rate.
No problem. These things happen.
Anna isn't in the book yet. But she is buying at the open.
How can you be sure?
Her flagship fund is sterling denominated,
and when she wants to buy a US asset she has to raise the dollars.
She's going to use it to buy the stock. Guaranteed.
Okay. How much stock does your trader have now?
- And where is it? - How much do you have
- and what's the offer? - Harper!
If you click me out of a phone call while executing,
you will never hear from me again.
I'm stuck with 50 million.
The last trade price was 45.
I can sell you all 50 million at that price.
All right. Tell him I know his order book is fucked
and the market opens in 30 seconds.
I will take 50 million at 44, not 45.
- He's running you over. - Rishi, he's 44 bid.
Forty-four? Is he mad?
This is the best name in the sector.
And it's already at a discount! My price is 45.
Tell him if he likes it so much, he can fucking keep it.
He says if you like it so much, then you can keep it.
"Fucking keep it," I said!
He says if you like it so much then you can fucking keep it.
He can have all 50 million at 44 and three quarters.
- That's my final offer. - How about this?
I'll buy 75 million. Not 50.
Seventy-five million at 44 and a half.
Seventy-five? I've only got 50! This will take me short.
- No, fuck that. - Okay, Jesse, how about this.
Why don't we do 50 now,
and we'll leave a working order for 25 more after the open?
That works.
Limit 44 and three quarters.
Twenty percent of the ADV.
Fifty million at 44 and three quarters.
Anraj, we got an order for 25 million more in the open.
I want you managing it.
Say less, squire. It will be done, sir.
That's 50 million at 44 and three quarters.
Yours.
Fifty million at 44 and three quarters. Done.
Mine.
Who taught you to fish?
Hey! Really good shit!
Really good fucking shit, Harper.
Eric, got Felim on line one!
Tell him he's in a queue now and his order will have to wait.