A Shared Confidence Read Online Free PDF Page A

countless cogs. The thousands he and Ryland were earning personally didn’t seem to impress him, and he voiced his opinion that there must be a faster, easier way to make even more money. Ryland would just shake his head and say nothing. Easier than walking up to a caged window and making a purchase? Ryland chalked it up to Jimmy having grown up in a wealthy family.
    Ryland’s suspicions were borne out when Stanton called him up one evening, asking that the two of them have dinner alone. Over the meal, Stanton expressed his own misgivings about having brought Jimmy on board in the first place.
    â€œI don’t often have lapses of judgment in matters of character, Mr. Ryland, but when I do I admit it. Oh, Jimmy’s not a bad sort, really, but he’s not quite the caliber of man he likes to present himself as. I can’t cut him out of the proceedings at this point, though; there’s too much in play, and all of it happening too quickly. Furthermore, he is the son of a trusted associate. Still, I’d feel much easier about things if you could manage to keep a fairly close eye on him until our business is concluded.”
    Ryland promised to do just that. Stanton was in the process of making a small fortune for him, and he wasn’t about to let Jimmy mess that up.
    The following Monday, Stanton showed up at the Ryland and Jimmy’s shared suite at the hotel, anxious to talk to both men. Stanton had found the deal he’d been waiting for, the one for which he’d spent months studying the markets. He took a blank check from his briefcase and explained that his name could in no way be associated with this particular transaction. He could not show himself at the brokerage firm, could not have his name appear on any of the documents. Otherwise, word would get out, and the sweetest deal he’d seen in years would blow right up in their faces. Either Ryland or Jimmy must make out this blank check in the amount of three hundred fifteen thousand dollars, sign it, and use it to purchase all available shares of Bolivian National Rail. As his eyes moved back and forth between the two men, Stanton’s eyes lingered ever longer on Ryland. It was clear Stanton would prefer Jimmy not be the one to handle this delicate and extremely important matter.
    Ryland protested that he couldn’t possibly cover a check that large. Stanton assured him there would be no need to, that the rising value of the stock would more than cover the amount of the check in a matter of hours. This was done all the time, he explained.
    â€œAnd within a few hours, Mr. Ryland, when the stock jumps up fifty percent in value, you will sell your shares and bring us back proceeds of over one hundred fifty thousand dollars to divide among the investors. And,” he added, smiling magnanimously, “this time you may contribute as large an amount of your personal money on this venture as you wish.”
    Ryland could hardly believe it. How much of his own money did he dare risk? The whole twenty thousand he’d made so far? Fifty? Clay Stanton, so far as Ryland had seen, had never been wrong about a stock deal. Ryland tentatively suggested he’d like to invest one hundred thousand dollars of his own money on this deal. When Stanton didn’t even blink, Ryland hastily explained that it would take him a few days to get so large an amount together. Stanton cut him off with a polite wave.
    â€œIt takes no time to give me your word, Mr. Ryland, which is more than sufficient credit in my view. Besides, we won’t actually need working capital at the outset, just the promise of it in the form of that check.”
    Ryland went with Jimmy to the brokerage office the next day. The clerk behind the counter knew them both well by now, knew that Clay Stanton had personally vouchsafed them. He took the check without batting an eye, entered the purchase into his ledger, and gave Ryland a receipt for the shares. Ryland read the