Pinstripes (31 page)

Chapter Twenty-eight

Isabella almost floated to work on Monday. She had spent all weekend working out her plan, and she was ready to put it into action. She could hardly contain her excitement. She smiled as she thought of how stupid Josh was but, then, he was only a man. She couldn’t believe he preached confidentiality then left out such a valuable document for anyone to see. Perhaps he hadn’t expected her to go back with him, but he should have moved it the minute they walked in. He had made it so easy for her. He must have been spending too much time thinking about her and not enough about his job. Isabelle would never make such a mistake.

Isabelle had spent Sunday in the office looking up all the information she could find on JF Technologies. At first glance it looked like bad stock but everything she had read in the document was verified. She could put forward a forceful argument in favour of buying the stock. She would make so much money; she would be a star. SFH would have to offer her a managing directorship. She would be powerful. She would get a bigger office and more money. She could hardly contain herself as she thought about how much money she would make. The managing directors were all multi-millionaires.

She would ensure that she took all the credit herself. She researched; she kept her ear to the ground. She was going to be known as the best. She
was
the best. Dear, sweet, stupid Josh. He was such a wonderful fool. And when they made the money, he wouldn’t be able to say anything because his negligence safeguarded her position.

She spent the journey to the office thinking about what she would do with the stock. She would buy it personally, of course, but that was the easy bit. Making money for herself would ensure a nice little side line and that was perfectly acceptable. She would also tell David Marker, her boss, and ask him what he thought. That way SFH could buy stock for its own book. If he didn
’t believe her he would soon see how much money they would have made if he had. She would use that against him. Then she would select her three best clients and get them to buy stock. She would use the same process with them as she did with David. Isabelle knew that as soon as the takeover was announced, the stock value would increase sharply. According to the document she had read, the announcement would be made within two weeks. Two weeks until Isabelle would recoup all she deserved. She was so excited, it was hard to think straight.

When she got to her office, she drafted an e-mail to send to David. She told him that the latest Microsoft press releases had said they were looking for small technology companies with good products to take over. She said that she had done copious research into the technology industry and JF Technologies fitted the bill. She pointed out the share price was so low that it was a prime Microsoft target. She also said that a Microsoft contact of hers had as near as admitted it. That wasn
’t insider trading. That was rumour. She sent the e-mail and waited. It wasn’t long before David called her into his office.

‘David
,” she said, sitting down.

“
Isabelle. This e-mail you sent me. How strong is the information?”

“
I’d say it’s rock solid. I’m willing to go out on a limb for this, David, and to make you feel better I should tell you I’m investing my own money in it. I was speaking to a contact of mine at Microsoft and I know that this is what they’re looking for. All the signs are there. JF has a ground-breaking product but the management is falling apart. The share price is low and it’s on its last legs. I could produce a full report if you feel it’s necessary, but if you look at the company, you’ll know I’m right.”

“
I don’t think that’s necessary. I’ll get our technology trader to buy into it on behalf of SFH. What about clients?”

“
I’ll tell my top three. No more. What we need to be prepared for is that the price is going to increase due to us buying. I don’t want to panic anyone. So I thought that if we all buy simultaneously, it will be easier. The stock will rally and I guess there’ll be copycat buying, but by then we should be in the clear. By the way, we need to sit on the stock for about two weeks, if not less, and certainly not much longer.”

“
How sure are you?”

“
One hundred per cent.”

“
That’s good enough for me. I trust your judgement. Let’s go shopping.” With that Isabelle left him.

In her office, she called her personal broker and put him on standby to invest £50,000 in JF stock. Then she met with the SFH trader who was also on standby. She called her top three clients, who gave her orders to buy. She got someone else from her desk to fill the orders. That afternoon, wasting no time, Isabelle put her own money, SFH
’s, and three of her clients’ money into JF Technologies. They managed to get the stock at its lowest price, then Isabelle watched as it rose after the buying spree. She went home a happy woman.

***

The following day the stock had risen again, and David sent an e-mail of congratulations to Isabelle. Ella saw the price in the paper and knew that they had won.

JF shareholders were puzzled by the rise. The managing director called their accountant, who said that it didn
’t make any difference: the share price might be high, but it was not high enough to save the company. Their lawyers were preparing bankruptcy statements to be released the following week. He advised the board to sell their stock now to recoup some money.

The City rumour mill was in overdrive, and the buying of JF Technologies stock became a big story in the financial press. Everyone said a takeover must be imminent, although the company denied it fiercely. Speculators in the City were buying stock on the grounds of SFH
’s trading activity.

JF Technologies had not seen such trading activity since it first floated on the market. Its staff was baffled and those who knew about the company
’s impending doom began to believe that it was going to be taken over and their jobs would be saved.

The following Wednesday the board members of JF were called into a meeting with the lawyers and accountants. They were all confused by the sharp rise in buying activity and the newly high share price. However, it was still not enough to save a company that hadn
’t shown a profit from the day it started trading, especially as their product had been slated by those who had used it. They said that there was no option but to announce that the company was bankrupt. They had been forced to make this announcement sooner than planned. The new shareholders would lose all their money and perhaps think again before listening to groundless rumours. There was no option.

On Thursday it was announced that JF Technologies was going into liquidation. Shareholders would have to apply to the bailiffs to recoup any money lost. Due to the renewed interest in the company, the story made the front page of the
Financial
Times
.

***

Isabelle went to work oblivious of the massacre that awaited her. She sat down at her desk and picked up her copy of the
Financial
Times
. ‘Buying Rally Fails to Save Technology Company’, screamed the headline that stared up at her. Her hands shook as she read that JF Technologies had gone into liquidation despite a huge rise in its share price. It went on to report how no one could understand the sudden buying interest, as there was no way that the company could have been saved. It said that speculation about a takeover had caused the rise in stock price, but the rumour had been groundless. It also mentioned SFH as one of the biggest buyers of stock. When she reached the line that read, ‘was SFH acting on bad instinct or were they fooled into believing an untrue rumour?’ Isabelle put down the paper, dropped her head into her hands and thought about running away. Her telephone rang. It was David.

“
Isabelle, what the hell is going on?”

“
I’ve just read the article.”

“
Do you know how much money you’ve cost the firm? And we’ve ended up looking like fools. The PR on this is very bad. We’ve even had to call an emergency meeting. I’m going to have to explain this and all I can think is that either you gave us crap information or you believed some fool.”

“
I’m sorry, I don’t understand it myself.” Isabelle’s head was spinning. How could she get out of this? Who could she blame? She couldn’t tell them about Josh. That would implicate her as much as it would implicate him. She had to face the fact that she had no one to blame.

“
I accept your resignation. Put it in writing and give it to my secretary. You can leave now, I’ll inform HR.” David hung up.

Isabelle sat at her desk. She didn
’t understand. The document had been real, the deal agreed. She had seen it herself. Microsoft must have pulled out. The only explanation she could think of was that they had decided against it. But why? They wouldn’t have issued a report unless the deal was concrete. The dull thud of reality hit her. Instead of having made her career, this disaster had ruined it. Isabelle wiped tears from her eyes as she typed a resignation letter. Not only had she lost her job, £50,000 of her own money and any respect her clients had had for her, she would never work in the City again. She didn’t know how she was going to get through the next few minutes, let alone the rest of her life. She kept coming back to Josh. It was his fault, but how could she tell anyone that? If she did, she might be arrested for insider dealing. Perhaps he had set her up – she brushed that thought away with her tears. There was no way he could have done that.

She tried to feel brave as she called her secretary into her office.
“I’m leaving. I need you to, empty my drawers pack up my things and mail everything to my home address. Do it immediately.” She looked at her pitiful new secretary and scowled.

“
OK.”

“
And deliver this letter to Samantha, David Marker’s secretary.”

“
OK.”

Isabelle stood up, put on her coat, grabbed her briefcase and left the building for ever.

***

The emergency meeting contained most of SFH
’s managing directors. Those who couldn’t attend in person were included via conference calls. David felt uncomfortable as he came under the angry scrutiny of his peers. He placed the blame firmly on Isabelle’s shoulders. He said she had given him assurances that she knew what she was doing and, as a senior manager, she had the authority to do what she had done. He told them she had resigned, which meant she accepted full responsibility. They decided that they would issue a statement that day, naming Isabelle Holland as the person who had shown such bad judgement and distancing the firm from any blame or repercussions. The amount of money lost was not huge, and although David was told to keep a tighter control over his staff in future, his position was secure.

***

Ella ran down to the paper shop. She had been jogging every day, and on her way back she always stopped to pick up the paper. Lately, due to the reports that the stock was rising, her route had been getting shorter. She was impatient for the news. She paid for the paper and looked at the front-page headline. She blinked because she thought she must be dreaming, but then she looked again. Not only was the company bankrupt, but because so many shares had changed hands it was a top story. Her hands were shaking as she read that SFH was one of the major speculators who had lost money.

She ran home as fast as she could and picked up the telephone.
“Virginia.”

“
Yes.”

“
It’s Ella. It made front page of the
FT
.
”

“
What?”

“
JF has been announced bankrupt and it made the front page. Oh, and the best thing is that SFH has been given a mention for buying so many of the shares. It says here that they were either speculating or stupid. Well, something like that.”

“
Ella, do you mean we did it?”

“
Yes, girl, we did.”

“
Does Clara know?”

“
No, I’m calling her. We’ll meet at her place in an hour. We can do this, Virginia. We got Isabelle, and we will get the others. My God, I can’t believe how great this feels.”

“
Me either. But is it real?”

“
You bet your arse it’s real.”

***

Virginia got dressed in a daze. She, Virginia, a little nobody, had helped to get Isabelle and the whole of SFH into trouble. God, if only her parents could see what she’d done. They would know she was no longer the fool they thought she was.

***

Clara heard the telephone and thought of ignoring it. Then, remembering the mission, she reached over and got out of bed, removing her emergency eye mask as she did so.