Bankruptcy

Ray stood staring at the flashing numbers on his computer in total disbelief. Four bankruptcies in one day? What were the chances? Worse yet, they were all four companies he had invested his clients into heavily…as well as his own savings. He knew the calls would start coming any moment. He’d lose some major clients in this fiasco, and with his pending divorce, he couldn’t afford that.

He wiped the seat from his forehead with his already rolled-up sleeve and tried to calm his nerves.

His four crown jewels of investments; Thermogon, Applied Standards Inc, Kinetech Labs, and the crown jewel- Burson Systems- all applying for chapter 11 bankruptcy on the same Tuesday morning. The fragile tech market had been reeling from the stunning news since nearly 10:00 AM, and the NASDAQ had already lost more than 40 points in the resulting fallout.

Ray was startled from his self-consuming pity by the ring of his phone. He instinctively picked it up, immediately knowing it was a mistake. The voice on the other end was unmistakably livid.

"Ray? This is Jack. "What the hell’s going on with Burson? I log on to my computer this morning and read they’ve filed Chapter 11! You sent me a report last week about how great they were doing! I put my kid’s college savings fund in Burson!"

"Jack," Ray stammered, "This Burson thing came as a big shock to us here at James & Halford too. Right out of left-field man!" He tried to sound confident.

"What do you mean ‘a big shock?!?" Jack answered. "That’s what I’m paying you guys all this money for, to keep me ahead of these things! Where’s my kid going to college now? Community College?"

"Jack," Ray answered, "Take it easy man. We’ll handle this. Let’s sit down over lunch and come up with a new plan for your kid, okay? You still save ten years before he’s 18, you can save plenty of money before he needs to apply anywhere."

The line was silent for a moment; Ray could hear his client’s breath in measured, heavy rasps on the other end. Jack was fuming.

"Are you kidding me?" Jack nearly yelled into the phone. "I lost half a million on that stock! You want me to invest more?!? Ray, I’m sorry, but I’m going to find a new broker. Have your people cut a check for my balance and close my account."

"C’mon, Jack!" Ray tried to calm him. "You’ve been with me for ten years now! You don’t want to jump ship just because one company goes under, do you?"

He waited for a response. Nothing. The line was dead.

"Damn it!" He screamed at the phone as he banged the handset back on to the receiver.

His phone was ringing again before he had a chance to utter the next curse-word. He lifted the phone and quickly called his assistant.

"Helen, next person who calls for me- tell them I’m out of the office," He said.

"Yes Sir." A female voice answered. "But Mr. Collins and Mr. Wright both called while you were on the other line. They want their accounts closed right away. I tried to tell them to talk to you first, but Mr. Wright in particular was not in the mood to speak to you, sir. He said he was going to have his lawyer get in touch with you."