Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 149 Rewards and Planning

On Wednesday afternoon, Larry and Mr. Wallace arrived in New York.

Returning to New York and staying at the Astor Hotel again, Larry felt differently than before.

That time I was anxious, worried that Colt would be snatched up by insiders, but this time I was calm and started to enjoy life.

The two had just checked into the hotel when four members of the bond underwriting team arrived and knocked on Mr. Wallace's door.

Mr. Wallace and his four partners on the bond underwriting team were, on the surface, brothers.

Mr. Wallace, as the project manager, first sincerely thanked the four colleagues for their outstanding contributions, and then took out the gold-cased pocket watch and checks that Colt Corporation had awarded to everyone.

The four men immediately beamed with joy and began to praise Mr. Wallace, saying that as a front desk manager of a sales department, he had managed to find such a big client as Colt Company, which meant he had a very promising future.

Mr. Wallace smiled and exchanged a few words with them, then winked at Larry, who had already arrived at the hotel to reserve a private room for dinner.

That evening at the dinner table, the six men clinked glasses and discussed incessantly how much bonus the company would award them.

Mr. Blake, one of the victims, slurred, "On the Colt project, we oversubscribed by $2800 million. With an underwriting spread of 1.8% and a commission rate of 0.8%, our actual revenue is 2.6% of $2800 million, which is a whopping $72.8!"

Mr. White waved his hand, his face flushed, and continued, "But you haven't deducted the roadshow and other expenses yet. The net income is probably around $51."

Mr. Black nodded slowly and said to Mr. Wallace,

“You, William, as the project manager, you should get 15% of the net income, right? That's over $7! My God, that's fucking too much! Can you even afford to spend that much money?”

Mr. Wallace had been controlling himself and hadn't drunk too much. When he heard people talking about his income, he just smiled and didn't say anything.

Mr. White, holding his wine glass, sighed, "...Good heavens, William, you're just a front desk manager, and you've taken on such a huge workload and made so much money. You have to treat us...to a good time!"

Larry found it amusing; he hadn't expected things to be like this in this day and age—contractors who made money also had to find ways to give back to everyone.

Or rather, human nature is the same for everyone. Everyone has a sense of jealousy, and if something good happens and doesn't benefit others, then it's inevitable that they will be attacked by the crowd.

Mr. Wallace looked helpless, but he had obviously considered the matter. He then said to the four members of the underwriting team, "Okay! After we get the bonus, let's go to the Velvet Private Club together!"

The four were taken aback for a moment, then cheered!

Larry paused, then smiled, already knowing exactly what this club did. But noticing that Mr. Wallace's gaze never leaned in his direction, he guessed it was out of consideration for his age…

Larry smiled, thinking to himself, "When you put me in charge of the trading, you already treated me like an adult. Now, when you're enjoying life, do you suddenly remember I'm still a minor?"
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The next day, Mr. Wallace and Larry arrived at the headquarters of Paine Weber Securities on Wall Street.

The victory celebration here is a unique sight.

At a special meeting, the company's president, Russell Weber, with his gray hair and vigorous spirit, specifically praised William Wallace, the current general manager of the Boston branch, and expressed his sincere satisfaction with the bond underwriting team's outstanding performance in completing Colt's bond financing project.

Subsequently, the company president immediately rewarded the Colt financing project team.

Mr. William Wallace received a bonus of $7.64, equivalent to his salary for 29 years as a front desk manager (a weekly wage of $50).

When Russell Weber announced this exciting news, all the employees present gave Mr. Wallace a thunderous round of applause.

Mr. William Wallace quickly stood up, bowed to everyone, and walked up to Mr. Russell Weber to accept the gleaming gold reward check.

Subsequently, the company allocated an equal proportion of the team bonus pool to reward the four members of the bond underwriting team, as well as the 15 headquarters staff who provided back-office support for distribution and Larry.

Each member of the bond underwriting team received a bonus ranging from $1.4 to $1.7; back-office support and distribution staff each received a $6000 bonus.

Larry's bonus level is equivalent to that of a back-office distribution support staff, which is also $6000.

The same ceremony, the same cheers, and President Russell Weber personally handed out checks to each employee who came forward to receive their award.

Larry was the last to step forward to receive the award, but his blond hair, blue eyes, and obviously youthful appearance caught the president's eye.

Russell Weber even patted Larry on the shoulder to encourage him to keep working hard!
Faced with such a generous reward, everyone, from the attendees to the person involved, was filled with envy and jealousy.

After the rewards were given, everyone thought that was the end of it.

But the CEO glanced around at everyone, a smile on his lips, and then announced...
"In addition, since the financing amount exceeded the financing target by 10%, the company will allocate 3%, approximately US$1.53, from the additional net income of the company to the project manager as a reward for outstanding contributions."

Upon hearing this news, all the attendees wore expressions of envy and surprise.

Is this a reward for outstanding contributions? That's $1.53!

Even Mr. Wallace, who is now the general manager of the Boston branch, only earns $6000 a year!

This is equivalent to two and a half years of Mr. Wallace's current salary.

"William! Here, take this check and give it to anyone you like!" The president smiled and beckoned to Mr. Wallace.

Mr. Wallace ran over in a few steps, first bowing to the president to express his gratitude, then taking the $1.53 check in his hand and smiling at everyone.

Everyone stared expectantly at William Wallace, hoping he would hand them the check.

Mr. Wallace stood there without moving. The president smiled and said calmly, "William, if you feel you deserve the most credit, you can keep it for yourself!"

The president's joke elicited laughter from everyone, but they still watched Mr. Wallace with bated breath, eager to see how he would handle the check in his hand!
Mr. Wallace looked at everyone and suddenly said solemnly, "Gentlemen, have you ever wondered why our Colt financing project went so smoothly and easily this time, as if JP Morgan was practically handing the money to us?!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Mr. Wallace is absolutely right. Paine Weber Securities has underwritten many projects, and while the Colt project may not be the largest, it is certainly the most successful.

The entire process was completed in less than a month, and there was even an oversubscription.

This was entirely due to Mr. Morgan's consortium's investment and leading subscription, which made the financing project so simple and smooth.

Everyone had this question in their minds, but if Mr. Wallace hadn't brought it up on the spot, who would have dared to ask it in front of so many people?
At this moment, even the president's face showed a look of curiosity.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Mr. Wallace continued, "I think we should thank a colleague for this. He persuaded Mr. Morgan to invest in Colt. Although I didn't witness the situation firsthand, I later heard from Mr. Koster that it was he who made the project possible."

After he finished speaking, the four bond underwriting teams realized that Mr. Wallace was talking about Larry Livingston!
The four of them suddenly turned around, their eyes all fixed on Larry.

President Russell Weber sensed something was wrong and followed the gaze of the four bondholders to their target, only to find that the person was the youngest and most immature blond boy from before. An incredulous look appeared on his face, and he thought to himself, "No way!"

But Mr. Wallace's gaze also fell on Larry. He stood up a few steps, walked over to Larry, took his arm, and turned to introduce him to the president and the others.

“You guessed right! It’s him, this seemingly naive blond boy! He’s the one who convinced Mr. Morgan to invest in Colt, which led to the project’s tremendous success! I think no one else deserves this check, including myself!”

The response to Mr. Wallace was not cheers or applause, but rather an endless silence.

Everyone stared at Larry and Mr. Wallace, finding it hard to believe that such a young man as Larry, who was supposedly an unofficial employee of the company's sales department, could accomplish such a momentous feat.

The president frowned and asked, "William, who is this...?"

“Larry Livingston!” Mr. Wallace quickly replied.

The president nodded and asked curiously, "Mr. Livingston, could you tell us how you convinced Mr. Morgan to invest in Colt?"

Larry wasn't surprised at all by the scene; in fact, he was used to the astonished looks from others. So he smiled and said to the president,
“I told Mr. Morgan, ‘Patriot bullets and bankers’ gold coins are the bearings that make America turn.’ Mr. Morgan raised an eyebrow and said, ‘Oh my God, then I’ll have to oil those bearings myself!’”

The president was taken aback, then burst into laughter.

The laughter seemed contagious; soon everyone in the conference room was laughing.

“Excellent! Excellent! That’s exactly right!” The president nodded with a smile, looked up at Larry, raised his arm, and gestured to Mr. Wallace, “...Then, William, please!”

William Wallace smiled, folded the check neatly, and personally slipped it into Larry's suit jacket pocket.

"Well done, Mr. Livingston!" the president exclaimed, applauding first.

Then, a wave of applause erupted in the conference room!
Larry bowed to the crowd, a strange feeling suddenly welling up inside him...

What is this? What is it that makes my calm heart flutter?
Yes! That feeling is called respect!

A year ago, I was a stock quote copyist who was bossed around, climbing up and down every day to copy stock quotes with chalk.

But today, everyone at Paine Weber Securities is applauding me!

This applause is an affirmation and a source of strength.
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After the meeting, the president specifically asked Mr. Wallace and Larry to stay behind.

The two men sat at Mr. Webber’s desk, watching as the president personally poured half a glass of whiskey for each of them and handed two of them to Wallace and Larry.

The president, seated in his chair, swirled his wine glass and asked, "Mr. Livingston, would you be interested in coming to New York?"

Larry was taken aback, thinking to himself that the president was trying to recruit him.

However, Larry had made a firm decision: he was coming to New York, not to remain a beast of burden in someone else's enclosure...

“Mr. Weber, I’ve always wanted to come to New York, and I will definitely come to New York someday!” Larry replied solemnly.

Mr. Weber smiled.

Mr. Wallace glanced at Larry somewhat guiltily, knowing he would definitely say that...

Sure enough, Larry then laughed and said,
“However, Mr. Weber, I don’t intend to continue working for the company. I love this company, but I also want to see how far I can go if I leave this great platform.”

Larry's tone was resolute; he was actually going to resign when he was personally recruited. The president's face immediately showed displeasure.

Larry noticed his expression and continued, "Sir, I appreciate your kind offer. But I have an idea of ​​my own. I think since we both share a dream, why not take a chance? If you had been content with the status quo back then, would you have subsequently created this great company?"

Mr. Weber paused, then recalled how he had gone from having nothing to founding Paine Weber & Co., and after a moment, he looked at Larry and smiled, saying...
"Alright, child! I understand. You are the kind of eagle that cannot be caged, your wings gleaming with the light of freedom, so go and fly! I wish you all the best."

　Sorry everyone, I'm on the train again today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)