Free to Trade by Michael Ridpath Read Free Book Online

there.'
    Ten minutes later Debbie came out. She stared at a fixed point on her desk and walked straight towards it, looking neither left nor right. Her cheeks were slightly reddened. Her mouth was clenched firmly together. There was no sign of tears, but she looked afraid that if she relaxed one muscle in her face, they would break out. She sat down, stared at her screen and began to tap bond yields furiously into her calculator.
    Hamilton entered the room and walked through the silence over to his own desk. He took some papers off the pile that was his in-tray and began to read. The tension was only broken by Rob, who answered a call from a broker with an elaborate display of cheerfulness.
    After half an hour or so, Hamilton came over to my desk and sat in a chair beside it. Debbie studiously ignored him, punching numbers into her calculator. Although I had worked with Hamilton for six months, I always felt nervous talking to him. It was difficult to have a casual conversation; he seemed to listen to everything I said so carefully that I was always scared of saying something foolish or banal.
    He just sat there leafing through the position sheets which outlined all the trades we had done whilst he had been away.
    'You were back a little earlier than we expected,' I said, to break the silence.
    Hamilton smiled slightly, 'Yes, I got an earlier flight.'
    'How was the trip?'
    'Good. Very good. De Jong is beginning to build a bit of a name for itself in Japan. There is one insurance company, Fuji Life, that I have high hopes for. They sound as though they might give us some money to manage, and if they do, it will be big.'
    'Great.' It was good news. A fund management firm like De Jong is only as good as the size of funds it manages. A big new investor could really put us on the map.
    'How have you been doing here?' Hamilton asked, running his finger down the position sheets.
    'Well, we had some fun with a new issue, as you know.'
    'Ah, yes. How is the Sweden doing?' he asked.
    'Moving up slowly but surely,' I said, trying to keep the pride out of my voice.
    'Well, don't be too quick to sell it, it has got a long way further to go.'
    'OK.'
    'And watch out for any other new issues. After the success of the Sweden, people will be looking to buy anything as long as it is at a halfway-decent price. Now, what are these two million Gypsum of Americas I see we have bought? I have been trying to sell our position for over a year.'
    I paused for a moment, disappointed and a little angry. No 'Well done'. Not even a smile. I realised I had been looking forward to Hamilton's return and the approval I felt I deserved. More fool me. In Hamilton's world, taking risks and getting it right were taken for granted.
    Trying to keep the indignation out of my voice, I described Cash's excited bid for our bonds, and my decision not to sell. I then told Hamilton why I had decided to buy some more.
    'Hmm,' said Hamilton. 'And where are they trading now?'
    'They are still bid at the price I bought them, 82,' I said. 'But the stock is up to eleven and a quarter dollars. The bonds should follow soon.'
    'Yes, Debbie told me you had bought some stock as well, for your own account.' Hamilton looked hard at me. 'Be very careful, Paul. You won't be lucky all the time. And when you do get unlucky, make sure it doesn't wipe you out.'
    I could feel my face getting hot. I had made good money on the Swedish issue and it looked very much like I was going to make some more on the Gypsums. I deserved some encouragement, for God's sake! Of all people, Hamilton was the last person to criticise anyone for taking risks.
    'Thank you,' I said. 'I'll remember that.'
    'Good,' said Hamilton. 'Now, have you got anything interesting coming up this week?'
    'Actually, yes,' I answered. 'Cash is coming in this afternoon with his sidekick, to try to sell us a new deal.'
    'Not another one,' said Hamilton. 'I would have thought one would have been quite enough for one week.'
    'No this is