The Wall Street

9. The Surprise

Ryan was back in office on Monday morning and was going through his copy of Wall Street Journal as usual. His rendezvous with the prostitute was still fresh in mind, for which he was trying to hard forget everything. He was feeling guilty for falling for his week moments, but it was alcohol which weaken him in the knees. He wanted to confess everything in front of Nafisa, but the mere thought of losing her forced her to decide otherwise.
He was struck with his thoughts when his desk phone rang.

"Ryan?" came the voice from other side of the speaker.
"Yes, how can i help you?" replied Ryan
"Hey, this is Mark from HR. Can you come over to my cabin?" replied Mark
"Sure, give me 10 minutes" replied Ryan and disconnected the call.

Ryan got his jacket on and moved towards Mark's cabin.

"Hello Mark, How are you?" asked Ryan after entering Mark's room.
"Hey Buddy, I am good.. and you?" replied Mark
"All Well, you wanted to see me?" asked Ryan
"Ohh Yeah, you seems to have done some voodoo on Williams, He's quiet impressed with you" replied Mark
"Trying my best to fit in" replied a modest Ryan
"Williams has decided to shift you to Trading Floor as a full time stock broker, Its the first time we are shifting an intern to the floor before the completion of the course." said Mark
"A Full time Stock Broker? Are you serious?" a visibly happy Ryan asked him
"Yes, there must be something in you mate, a full time stock broker in a fortnight of internship, that's a huge leap" replied Mark
Ryan was so dumbstruck that he couldn't say anything.
"By the way, be ware of the guys at Trading Floor, they don't take interns seriously" said Mark and winked at him.
"Thanks for the heads up, When do i start there?" asked Ryan
"Today, Clara will help you out" said Mark and ask his assistant Clara to get the setup done.
"Oh yeah, there's substantial increase in your package, a formal offer letter is waiting for you on your new desk" said Mark.

Clara helped Ryan pack his desk and took him to the esteemed Trading Floor. The floor was loud, active and energetic as its usual self.
Ryan took a deep breath in the oxygen rich cold air and let out a sigh! It was his dream come true. As they were moving towards his desk, a muscular six feet tall broker stopped his way.
"Kid, what the fuck are you doing here? This area is for Men like us. Go and drink your mumma's milk" said the bulky Broker, who went by the name Sebastian.
"Williams has promoted him to a broker, he works here from today" interrupted Clara to ease out the situation.
Sebastian took a puff from his cigar and blowed the smoke on Ryan's face and continued "Is Williams out of his mind? He's a kid, he won't fit in here".
"Ohh, I will. Watch me" said Ryan and tried crossing him for his desk.
Sebastian grabbed Ryan from his hand and pulled him in front of him and uttered "Don't dare to cross me when I am talking to you"
By the time some more brokers have surrounded them, who seems to be enjoying the bullying.
"What do you think you scum? A mother sucking kid like you can come and match us" said Sebastian grabbing Ryan's collar
Sensing fear, Ryan pushed Sebastian to get free from his grip. Sebastian was not expecting this and lost his grip on Ryan and fell on the brokers behind him.
This further infuriated him and he came running towards Ryan for punching his face.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Came Brian's voice from the back ground, which made Sebastian stop the assault, but he kept his ground.
"Sebastian, stop bullying the kid and get back to your work" ordered Brian.
Sebastian kept holding his ground breathing heavily.
"Get back to your fucking work" shouted Brian
Sebastian obeyed this time and returned to his desk.
"Clara, I will take it ahead from here, you can return to your desk as well" said Brain
"Thanks Brian" said Clara handing over the box to Ryan.

Brian guided him to his desk, helped him set there and said "care for a smoke?" for which Ryan readily agreed. He really needed his nicotine fix after this morning drama.
"So you enjoyed your welcome here?" said a laughing Brian lighting his cigarette in the smoking room
"What's his problem?" asked a visibly angry Ryan
"Everyone here is a Tiger, they don't like outsiders here" replied Brian
"Why the fuck?" asked Ryan
"Most of the brokers here didn't have a formal education, they are best in what they do, but manners is one thing that's missing. Everyone here has a territory, and there are some high rollers like Sebastian, who think themselves as the king of the floor, they do everything possible to drive fear on the floor" replied Brian
"That's weird" replied Ryan
"This is just the start, you will see more of this action here" said Brian and giggled.
"Anyways, If you want to survive here, either join the group of a high roller as a sidekick.. Or make enough money for company & yourself to become a high roller yourself." continued Brian.
"I will do my best to make money, but if things like this happen regularly then it will be a lot difficult for me" said Ryan
"I will ask the guys to leave you alone for some time, you better prove yourself by then."  replied Brian.
Ryan nodded.
They returned back to the floor and his walk to the desk was full of stares from fellow brokers.

"Hey There" came voice of a plump stock broker.
"Hello" replied Ryan, not in the mood of carrying on with the conversation.
"I am Jon, topped the last internship examination" replied Jon
Jon was a bulky guy, wearing a pair of oversize trousers and a tight shirt, the buttons were about to burst out, revealing his huge belly and a pair of spectacles.
"I am Ryan" replied Ryan
"Yup, heard about your promotion by Williams" replied Jon
Ryan kept quiet and tried setting up his desk, mainly to avoid this conversation.
"You stood bravely there, when I had my confrontation with Sebastian, I peed in my pants" continued Jon
Ryan managed a smile
"Just hang in there and you shall be fine" concluded Jon and returned back to his desk
"Thanks for the advice" said Ryan from the back

Ryan picked the envelope waiting for him at the desk, his official offer letter as a broker. He cut it open and was amazed to see the monthly salary to be $30k per month, a ten fold increase over his monthly stipend as intern.
Ryan relaxed back on the seat, lit his cigarette, took a long puff and thought "He really need to hang in there and things should be fine or rather he will have to make things fine."