Trading Reality Read Free Page B

would other virtual worlds be like, I wondered.
    A flash of blonde hair weaving its way through the suits caught my eye. ‘Hi. Sorry I’m late. God, I need a drink.’ She looked round, a waiter was instantly by her side, and she was soon swallowing her own champagne.
    ‘I got here as quickly as I could,’ she said. ‘It’s impossible to get Martin off the phone. I don’t know when he gets any work done.’
    ‘He just likes to chat you up, that’s all.’
    Her eyes twinkled over her glass. ‘As long as he does the trades, I don’t care. Anyway, I hear you had a good day.’
    ‘That’s one way of looking at it. Another is that I dropped two million dollars.’
    ‘Well, Greg was impressed. He says you’ll make it back. He told me you were using that virtual reality machine.’
    ‘That’s right. Bondscape. It worked brilliantly.’
    Karen laughed. ‘I bet you looked pretty funny in those little glasses.’
    ‘Oh, I don’t know. I think they suit me. In a couple of years everyone will be wearing them.’
    ‘Nerd.’
    ‘Hey! As long as it helps me make that two million back, you can call me what you like.’
    ‘I’m sure you’ll make it back. You always do.’
    ‘I hope you’re right.’ I sipped my champagne thoughtfully. ‘How did you cope today?’
    ‘Not too bad. The panicky clients panicked. The sensible ones sat on their hands. Nothing I couldn’t handle.’ And she did indeed look as if the day’s turmoil had had no effect on her at all. ‘The atmosphere on the desk is pretty bad though.’
    ‘Why’s that?’
    ‘The rumours are they’re going to reorganise Equities worldwide. That probably won’t be good for London. Everybody’s getting pretty defensive. Watching their own backs, looking for exposed areas in other people’s.’
    ‘What a team!’
    Karen snorted. ‘We’re just one big happy family.’
    ‘You’ll be all right, though, won’t you?’
    ‘I should be,’ she said. ‘My commission is up fifty per cent on last year. But you can never tell.’
    She was right. You couldn’t tell. Somehow, though, I expected Karen would be a survivor.
    ‘Do you want to play tennis on Saturday morning?’ she asked. ‘I’ve booked a court for nine.’
    ‘Oh God,’ I groaned. ‘Nothing like some early morning humiliation to set me up for the weekend.’
    ‘What do you mean? You might win. You’ve won before.’
    ‘Yes, twice.’
    ‘This could be the third.’
    ‘OK,’ I sighed. ‘I’ll play.’
    Karen was a much better tennis player than me. She was a better skier too. And swimmer. She was athletic, co-ordinated, and she liked to win. I just sweated a lot and hit the ball too hard.
    A studious-looking man of about my own age hovered at Karen’s shoulder. ‘Peter! How are you?’ she said, holding out her cheek to be kissed. ‘Thanks for inviting me.’ She looked around her. ‘This building is amazing!’
    ‘It is rather good, isn’t it,’ said Peter. ‘Much better than the rabbit warren we’re used to.’
    ‘When did you actually move in?’
    ‘Last week. We’re still trying to get the phones to work. As you know.’
    ‘Don’t I just! It’s been a nightmare getting through to you. Oh, by the way, this is Mark Fairfax. He trades the proprietary book at Harrison. Mark, this is Peter Tewson, from BGL Asset Managers.’
    I smiled at him. He nodded quickly towards me, and then turned back to Karen. ‘You were dead right about Chrysler. It’s up over ten per cent since you recommended it.’
    ‘I’m glad it’s working out,’ said Karen. ‘You know, when I hear something, I want to make sure my best accounts hear it too.’
    This I knew wasn’t true. Karen had researched Chrysler thoroughly before tipping it. But she knew that her clients would be quicker to act if they thought they were the first to hear a rumour.
    I let them talk, and watched the crowd, looking for Barry.
    A tall, silver-haired man glided across to us. Peter saw him coming, stiffened, and