"Mr. Blackwood, thank you for choosing Dawnstar Financial. I trust you'll be very happy with our services," Krath White said. His smile was wide and eager.
"I'm sure working together will be very good for us," Zane replied, shaking the young broker's outstretched hand.
"I hope we can continue to work together in the future."
"Of course," Zane said with a confident smile. But his real thoughts were very different.
Work together again? Not a chance.
Dawnstar Financial was a bottom-feeder on Wall Street. It was a tiny company that nobody cared about and would never be famous. Krath White was a brand-new rookie who would likely fail within six months. Zane had only chosen them for one reason: they were cheap. More importantly, they didn't have the high entry limits of the major investment banks. Big companies like Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley wouldn't even look at the $120,000 Zane had.
You ignore me today, Zane thought, feeling a little smug, but tomorrow, you'll be begging for my business.
He had chosen to pay a flat fee for the trade. Why would he ever agree to give them a percentage of the profits when he already knew the outcome?
"I'm putting in $120,000 with ten-times leverage," he thought. "Based on Netscape's first day, my profits will be huge. Only a fool would give you a cut of that."
He was only in this for himself. No one was getting a piece of his pie. For this single day of trading, Zane paid a flat fee of one thousand dollars.
"Oh, by the way, Mr. White," Zane added, as if he just thought of it, "I may have another $40,000 to invest in a few days. We can add it to the same investment then."
"Excellent, of course," Krath said, his smile getting even wider.
That extra money was the insurance payment from his mother's accident. When it arrived three days later, Zane didn't wait. He sent it right to Dawnstar. His total investment was now $160,000.
With his money secured, all he had to do was wait. "First, get the start-up money," he whispered to himself, "then, enter Hollywood."
In his past life, he'd been a business analyst who loved the movie business. He understood how it worked, its money, and its tough politics. Now, he was reborn with knowledge of future hit movies and help from his strange, simple 'system'. He was going to make a name for himself. He could have picked other jobs, but Hollywood was the one he knew and liked. In the tough world of American business, jumping into something you don't know is a death sentence.
"This $160,000 is the last of what she left," Zane thought quietly as he left the office. "Even though I'm a stranger in her son's body, I've accepted what she gave me." He made a mental note to visit the cemetery again soon, as a small sign of respect.
He found a cheap motel nearby, the kind that cost thirty dollars a night. With all his cash tied up in the stock market, he had less than five hundred dollars left. A fancy hotel would have to wait.
The morning of August 9, 1995, arrived with an exciting buzz in the air.
Zane stood on the crowded trading floor. The energy in the room felt electric. At 9:20 a.m., ten minutes before the opening bell, he felt his own heart beating fast with the room's energy. Today was a huge day. The start of Netscape's stock was more than just another new company; it was the public start of the internet age itself.
Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and the entire business world were watching. Big companies like Microsoft, Apple, and IBM were all paying close attention. They saw this as a sign of what was to come.
On a balcony looking over the floor, Netscape's founders, Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark, were the most important people there. They were surrounded by bosses from the very companies that had ignored Zane—Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and the other big hunters of the money world.
At exactly 9:30 a.m., Andreessen, with Clark by his side, hit the small hammer, and the opening bell rang out. The market was open.
"History will remember today!" someone shouted over the noise.
"It's rising! It broke $35 in a second!"
All around Zane, the floor went crazy.
"I'm rich! I'm rich!" a man screamed, practically shaking with joy. "I put in two hundred thousand!"
"Damn it," another groaned, "I only bought ten thousand. I knew I should have bought more!"
A big grin spread across Zane's face. The stock price climbed from $28 to $35, then $40, then $50. He had made a fortune in minutes. He knew the highest price was still to come—the system had told him the stock would hit a high of $75.
At 3:00 p.m., Zane was back in the boring office of Dawnstar Financial.
"Mr. White, I want you to sell all my stock. Now," Zane said. His voice was calm but firm.
Krath White stared at him, shocked. "Mr. Blackwood, are you sure? The price is still climbing!"
"I'm sure. Right now," Zane repeated. He would not take no for an answer.
Krath shook his head but did what he was told. He clearly thought Zane was a fool who was getting scared. He's just a lucky idiot, Krath probably thought. The stock is at $73. It'll hit at least $85 by the end of the day...
$85? Not going to happen, Zane smirked to himself. He knew that when a stock rose this fast, the big players would sell their shares. They would take the profits from the smaller investors—the "leeks." His system had been clear: the high for the day was $75. The closing price would be around $58. He was getting out at the perfect moment.
A few minutes later, Krath returned. His face was pale with shock.
"Mr. Blackwood... it's done. All stocks have been sold. After taking out your starting money and the fees, your total profit is $2.5 million."
Even for someone who thought he was a Wall Street expert, the number was amazing. A 10x leveraged bet had turned $160,000 into a fortune. It was the perfect example of getting rich overnight.
"Excellent," Zane said. His voice was steady, but he couldn't stop himself from clenching his fists in victory.
Two and a half million dollars.
With his starting money, he now had over $2.6 million in his account. Even after paying taxes next year, he was a real millionaire. In his previous life, he had worked for over ten years and barely saved a tiny piece of that. Now, just over a month into his new life, he had done it.
"Stay calm, Zane," he told himself, taking a deep, calming breath. "This is just the beginning."
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