***
Thanks to Steve, my apartment was now set up with the essentials. I picked up a cheap couch, bed, and desk. He even gave me an old coffee table he wasn’t using. I planned to go into town and pick up some dishes and bed sheets later, but first I wanted to try out my new cell phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi baby,” I said.
“Hey! How are you?” Ashley said excitingly.
“I’m doing well, how are you?
“I’m good. So is this your new number?”
“Yeah, I just got it today; I wanted you to be the first person I called.”
“Aww, that’s sweet. So how are you finding everything so far? Have you made any friends yet?”
“It’s great so far. I’ve met a few really nice guys in my building actually. One of them is starting law school as well. And this other friend of mine, Steve, this guy is loaded. He lives in the penthouse of my building, which is huge by the way, and he has over a half a million dollars worth of cars in his own private garage.”
“Wow, sounds like a cool guy.”
“Yeah, he’s awesome. He hooked me up with some really cheap furniture from his uncle’s store and even got me into trading stocks.”
“Oh baby, be careful, I don’t want you to lose all your money.”
“To be honest, I have no idea what I’m doing, I just listen to him and so far he has been right. He told me to put some money into this pharmaceutical company and a week later the stock went up almost four hundred percent!”
“So how much money did you make?”
“I just put a couple thousand dollars of my student loan money and I made around eight grand.”
“Wow, that’s fantastic!”
“Yeah, I know. Steve has been teaching me a lot. He has his own personal library and lent me a few books on trading.”
“I’m happy to hear that, hon. I just worry you will lose all your money, or you will be too focused on stocks and not do well in school. Don’t forget why you’re there. You worked really hard to get there.”
“Yeah I know, but I love making money too.”
“Okay, as long as you know what you’re doing, I trust you.”
C H A P T E R
T H I R T Y - S I X
I logged onto my computer to check on how my stocks were doing, something I found myself doing every five minutes throughout the trading day. Trading was definitely addicting. I didn’t want to admit it to Ashley, but she was right. The stock market was consuming all my time, my valuable time. I reviewed a few charts, analyzed some numbers, and made my best attempt to make sense of it. A few moments later, I picked up my phone and texted Steve. ‘HEY STEVE, I AM WORRIED ABOUT HEX CORP. IT’S DOWN NEARLY SIX POINTS’.
Almost instantly, he responded. ‘DON’T WORRY BUDDY, WAIT FOR THE NEWS TO COME OUT MONDAY, IT SHOULD FLY!’
‘I HOPE SO.’
‘HEY, WHAT R U DOING 2NITE???’ he asked.
I replied back, ‘NOT MUCH, YOU?’
‘U WANT 2 COME OUT W/US 2NITE?’
‘SURE, WHERE TO?’
‘VEGAS BABY!!!’
I didn’t reply right away. I sat there for a moment, staring at my phone. I could think of a dozen reasons why I shouldn’t go: I was behind in my readings in almost every course, I had a paper due, a quiz to study for, and I didn’t really have the money to spend on a whimsical Vegas trip. I contemplated some more, and finally replied.
‘OKAY I’M IN!’
I hopped in the shower and lathered up my face for a shave. A few moments later, I heard what sounded like a dozen people pounding on my door. It was loud enough for me to hear it over my music and the running water.
“Alright-alright, I’m coming. Geez, someone is excited.”
I wrapped a towel around my waist and opened the door.
“Hey, nice towel,” Steve said, as he and his friends barged in. “I can’t believe you’re coming to Vegas with us,” Jeremy said.
“Yeah, it should be good,” I replied, still dripping wet.
“This trip is going to be crazy!”
“So did someone check the flight times?” I asked.
They all looked at each other as if I had just said the most ridiculous thing.
“Not exactly,” Steve replied with a smirk. “You don’t have to worry about a thing. Just sit back, relax, and uncle Stevie will take care of you. Now hurry up and get dressed.”
I quickly put together my Vegas outfit. I decided to go with a pink dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up over a white tank top. I left the top two and bottom two buttons undone. For pants, I wore a straight-front classic off-white khaki. After a few sprits of cologne, I was ready to go.
“Who are you, Don Johnson?” Steve joked at my outfit.
“Yeah, we’re going to Las Vegas, not Miami Vice,” Dan said.
“That’s okay, you guys just aren’t men enough to wear a pink shirt with white pants.”
“Apparently not. Anyways, do you have all your things?” Steve asked.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I replied.
“Alright, let’s go.”
We all piled into the elevator like a bunch of rowdy fans at a sporting event. It was obvious I was the only one who didn’t already have a slight buzz. Aside from their amplified enthusiasm, I could smell the vodka on them. Steve pressed ‘L’ to take us down to the lobby. When we got outside, there was a shiny black limousine parked out front. “What’s this?” I asked excitingly. “Is this what we’re taking? I’ve never been in a limo before!”
“Just get in,” Steve said.
I looked at Jeremy and Dan and they had a look on their faces like I hadn’t seen anything yet. They seemed amused at how excited I was getting. This was obviously nothing new for them.
“If you like this, wait until you see the next surprise,” Steve said.
“What surprise?”
“Trevor, tonight is going to be a magical night, full of surprises. It’s your first time to Vegas and don’t worry, we’ll make sure you have a good time.”
Steve grabbed a bottle of champagne from the limousine’s mini-bar and sloppily poured out four glasses.
“Toast!” Steve announced, as he raised his glass in the air. We all did the same. “To Vegas and the wonderful sins it will bring us!”
The Art of the Hustle Page 49
