The END

Alexander wakes up in a funk again. He had gotten into a fight with his girlfriend this past weekend, and the bad vibes are still with him on Wednesday. They haven't talked since; it must have been bad.

He gets out of bed at 6, and by 6:30 he is out the door walking his dog. He picks up a coffee from his Small Business Coffee Shop and walks his dog for 30 minutes. When he returns home, he puts on his trainers and walks to the nearest basketball court.

Today is Sprint Day. He makes 5 shots and does 5 sprints. Rinse and repeat for 45 minutes. By the end, he is exhausted. He takes his ball back home, showers, and then is out the door for work.

Thirty minutes later he walks into his office. He feels good, he feels accomplished, he is ready to tackle the day.

He sits down at his desk and is ready to go. The name of the day is END. The stock that has been dominating the headlines like no other. It was a sure thing and it had just made an all-time high in price. It was the stock to buy.

By 10 Alexander was long 5 million dollars’ worth of END stock. Ten thousand shares at 500 a piece. By 10:15 the stock was at 510, for a paper profit of $100,000. The times are good. Suddenly the fight with his girlfriend feels like a distant memory.

By 10:30 END is halted, news pending. 30 minutes later news comes out that there was an ongoing investigation into END's books. It’s a classic case of questionable accounting practices. The office is in a panic. The firm is heavily long END, and no one knows where it would reopen.

At noon END opens at 450. Alexander has just lost half a million dollars. The firm is down substantially more. By 2 pm Alexander is talking to his boss in their back office.

"I don't want to talk about it today, let's just talk tomorrow.”
"You just lost 500 grand, we're going to talk about it."
"Not today."
"Let me repeat, you just lost half a million dollars of my money, we're gonna talk about it."

Alex sits down.

"Say what you have to say."
"Alex, this has been really tough, you've been with us 17 years. We're going to let you go."

Alex sighs.

"The ride is over." He almost tears up. "Thanks for everything, I mean that. I learned a lot."

With that, he gets up, collects his things, and walks out of the building. By 4 pm he is at Kate's apartment with his dog.

"Honey, today is a special day. I lost it all today."
"Oh no, not today, the weather outside is so nice."
"I'm serious, I lost my job."

She hugs him.

"Aww, my little Boppie lost his job. Perfect! Now I can be your sugar momma."
"I've always wanted one of those."
"I know my little Hotty Toddy."

They have sex, eat dinner, have sex again, and go to sleep.

"Baby so what are you going to do tomorrow?"

Alexander thinks for a second with Kate in his arms.

"I don't know. Start again I guess. At least it’s not Sprint Day."