Chapter 87: Updates
After everything that happened in Malibu, I went back to Brentwood that afternoon.
I was in my room checking how the Gauss Fund was doing. It currently held a total value of $1.4 billion, not considering the Apple LEAPS (Long-Term Equity Anticipation Securities).
"Now I hold more real stocks, besides call options, unlike last year," I muttered.
"My stock portfolio is at $30 million in Monster, or 30% of the company, already disclosed via SEC. $375 million in Apple, referring to 4.98% of its total shares.
I bought more LEAPS, corresponding to about 12% of the company. If I exercised them, I'd have close to 17%. Since there is no clear rule about it, I didn't need to disclose it.
I had to make deals with five major banks to structure these additional LEAPS (it would have been impossible to obtain them through the open market)."
And I continued, "4,98% of Intuitive Surgical, currently valued at $29 million, and 4,98% of Nvidia valued at $125 million. Another $246 million in various promising stocks."
"Plus $300 million in call options for December 2004, which should turn into $1.4 billion net after taxes."
The remaining $300 million I left in cash, for out-of-the-ordinary events.
"Jaaake!" The usual shout came, calling me to dinner.
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I went downstairs for dinner and noticed Manny looking down.
"Ay, papi, you still sad about that audition?" Gloria asked him.
Manny, frustrated, replied, "That part was mine. I was born to play Tevye. Instead they gave it to Rod Jackson?"
"What does he know about suffering?" he added, still upset.
"How we doing?" Jay, who had just returned, questioned.
"Nothing like some good ice cream and a few VIP tickets to that opera you wanted - that should make things better, right Manny?" I said, showing the tickets I had bought.
His face lit up. "You got them?" he asked in awe.
"Yep - and I even arranged for you to meet the conductor personally," I added.
"Thank you so much, Jake," Manny made a wide smile.
"Well, looks like that's settled," Jay commented, though he still pulled out a framed picture from the bag he was holding. "But you can take this too, so nothing else keeps you down."
"What doesn't kill us makes us stronger," Manny read beneath the picture of a sequoia.
Jay suggested, "We can hang this in your room. You'll see it every morning, start to internalize it. Pretty soon nothing will keep you down."
"But it's not true," Manny disagreed. "A lot of things that don't kill you make you weaker."
He gave an example, "My friend's grandfather had a heart attack. Now he needs a machine to breathe."
Gloria joined the conversation, "I've seen him at the supermarket. Now he needs to drive one of those little-" she imitated a sputtering engine noise.
Jay grew exasperated. "Jake, can you help here?"
I looked at Manny. "Well, it's one of those aphorisms that survives because it carries a deep emotional truth, even while being imperfect and, in many ways, naïve."
And I explained, "What matters is your ability to internalize it - to believe you can overcome challenges. That belief is important. But not with a childish belief that you're capable of everything"
And I returned to the example he gave earlier. "Take your friend's grandpa - he could either become bitter because of the difficulties after the heart attack, or he could overcome it and learn to value the small things in life."
I chose the second path in my previous life.
He grew thoughtful for a moment, and Jay pulled us along. "Let's eat, I'm hungry."
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The next morning, I was preparing breakfast with Claire. She had just finished putting the batter into the waffle machine while I was melting high-quality Belgian chocolate for the filling.
"Hey, honey, there's a new movie-" Claire began, seeing Phil walk into the kitchen.
"I'm in," he agreed immediately, without even hearing the title.
My aunt suggested, "We could go at 4:00 or 6:20."
"Oh, actually, that's no good," Phil remembered. "I'm meeting my friend Denise for a drink."
"Denise?" Claire frowned. "Do I know Denise?"
"Yeah. You know, my old girlfriend."
"Oh my God. Gross," Haley said in disgust as she did her makeup at the table. "I can't even picture you with a woman."
"Thank you," her mom replied dryly.
Huh, that is ironically, I can't picture mine without one.
Luke looked surprised. "You had a girlfriend before Mom?"
"Try two. Trust me, I had plenty of fun in my time," Phil said, then concluded, "And then I met your mom."
Claire glared at him. "And thank you," she continued sarcastically.
"She said she works for a hot, intelligent boss," Phil commented, "but a bit younger than her."
I frowned as I finished stirring the chocolate. "What a weird conversation to have with your ex..." but well, it is Phil...
We sat down and began to eat, with Haley obviously grabbing a very small portion and trying not to add too much of the filling, always worrying about her weight.
"Mom, I need help with the cello," Alex spoke, since she had a lesson at 11 a.m.
I joined the conversation. "Alex, just being part of my research already impresses colleges. You don't need to force yourself into something you don't enjoy just for that."
I went on, "But if you do like it, Leonard and Leslie are part of the Caltech orchestra, you can talk to them."
"I will think about it," she replied, giving a shy smile.
Then doorbell rang, but Claire dismissed, "Just ignore it, must be that door-to-door salesman trying to sell encyclopedias."
Luke turned at Alex. "If you were doing it, they'd call it a dork-to-dork salesman."
Nothing like roasting your sister for free...
"Oh! My boy strikes like a rattlesnake!" Phil burst out laughing.
Alex pointed at Luke. "Oh yeah? W-Well, you-" but she stalled, unable to form a comeback.
We all became surprised by it.
"All right, well, we can see the movie tomorrow," Claire told Phil, checking the time. "Come on, Alex, it's time for your lesson."
"You mean her second lesson, because she just got schooled." Luke struck again, leaving Alex speechless and sarcasm-less once more.
"What's wrong with me today?" she muttered.
"Shake it off, champ." Her mother kissed the top of her head. "It's not your day."
"We can go in a little while too, Haley," today was one of the very rare days I would actually arrive on time.
She turned to me. "When are you going to let me drive?"
"When I'm sure you're not a danger to us," I replied. "I'm not really joking, little Comet - the Ferrari 612 goes from 0 to 60 in four seconds. Not something to play with."
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