Chapter 25: Stocks
"You bought a new car? What kind? When?" Joey shot up from the couch, eyes lighting up as he fired off questions.
Bruce laughed at the reaction. "This afternoon. I was going to buy the rental, but then the manager said a brand-new Taurus was only eighteen grand. I figured, why not go to the Ford dealership and get a fully loaded one?"
Monica caught something and turned to Rachel. "Wait, Rachel, how did you know about this? Did you two go together?"
"Nope," Rachel waved her hand. "I saw the shiny new car parked outside when he came back this afternoon."
Joey clutched his chest dramatically. "Rachel! You spent half an hour after your shift talking about how to wear the scarf Bruce gave you, but you never mentioned he bought a whole car?"
Bruce grinned, fishing keys from his pajama pocket. "Joey, want to take it for a spin? Come grab the keys anytime."
Joey lunged for them, but Rachel blocked him. "Wait! The point isn't the car—it's that Bruce could afford to buy one just from selling one script—"
"Actually I only got half the payment," Bruce corrected. "I used some savings too."
Rachel got back on track, voice rising with excitement. "We all agreed to write scripts for money too! Monica, Joey, don't you guys want a new car from writing one screenplay like Bruce?"
Bruce looked surprised. "You never brought it up again; I thought you'd given up."
"No way—I just took a break!" Rachel insisted, eyes bright. "Come on, let's see what everyone's got so far!"
Joey spread his hands. "Nothing to show. My entire script so far: 'Brad and Angelina sit on the couch; they look really turned on.'"
Phoebe clapped. "Wow, getting right to it—I like your style, Joey!"
Monica shook her head, laughing. "Mine's just a title: Heating Things Up in the Kitchen."
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess from the title—steamy cooking scenes with rising temperatures?"
Joey burst out laughing. "Ha! 'Rising temperatures!' I get it—like a perfect medium-rare steak: seared on the outside, tender on the inside!"
Rachel ran to her bedroom, came back with a notebook, and handed it to Bruce. "I only wrote one scene—it's on the first page."
Bruce took it and read:
Title:Steaming Hot
Setting: Late night at an upscale coffee shop
Characters: Barista Bella (wearing a low-cut apron), Customer Grant (loosened tie)
Bella (running her finger along the espresso machine): "Do you want... a double shot?" (machine hisses loudly)
Grant (swallowing hard): "Can you handle... multiple orders at once?"
(Close-up: Bella pours steamed milk; white foam swirls into dark espresso)
Grant (pulling at his collar): "Can you make... a heart in the foam?"
Bella (licking foam from her finger): "A heart is pretty basic... (lowering voice) Want me to try a swan? It requires... a very delicate touch."
Bruce burst out laughing. "Rachel, this is actually brilliant! Keep the innuendo but hold back on the explicit stuff and this isn't just adult content—this could be an indie art film!"
Rachel sighed. "Forget it, I'm done. That one page exhausted me. Writing a whole script like this? Bruce, you're not encouraging me—you're freaking me out."
Bruce chuckled. "Alright, fair enough. Scriptwriting isn't for everyone—it's a grind. If you want quick money, you might want to consider investing instead. Speaking of which, have you guys ever heard of Apple Computer?"
Chandler, who'd been quiet until now, spoke up. "Yeah, I know Apple—they're about to go bankrupt. I used to believe in that company... what a waste."
Bruce's eyes lit up. "Actually, that makes this perfect timing!"
Chandler frowned. "How do you figure?"
"The closer Apple gets to bankruptcy, the cheaper the stock price, which means your money buys way more shares. When the company turns around, you make a killing."
"What makes you so sure it'll turn around?"
"I just know it will," Bruce said confidently. "The question is, do you trust me? Buy it and hold it—don't even look at your brokerage account for years. Five, ten years from now, you'll be thanking me."
Chandler narrowed his eyes. "Is this another one of your psychic predictions? If you're so confident, why haven't you bought any?"
"I've been busy with script money; I honestly never thought about it. But now that we're talking about it, yeah, I'll open a brokerage account. Anyone want to come with me to set one up?"
They all exchanged uncertain glances, doubt written across their faces.
Bruce added, "I'm putting real money into this. If I'm wrong, I lose just as much as you do."
Monica asked carefully, "How much are you planning to invest?"
"How about two thousand?"
Rachel shook her head immediately. "That's nothing to you. Two thousand dollars is a huge amount for me."
"Okay, how much do you think I should put in?"
"A hundred thousand!" Rachel said.
"I don't even have a hundred thousand!"
"Then ten! Put in ten grand and I'll put in one. If you don't bet big, why should we believe you're serious?"
Bruce thought about it, then nodded. "Fine—ten thousand from me. Who else is in?"
Monica took a deep breath. "I'll do a thousand."
Bruce looked at her. "You make more than Rachel—why not invest more?"
Rachel jumped in, "Yeah! The more you make, the more you should invest!"
Monica gritted her teeth. "Fine... two thousand, but that's my absolute limit!"
Bruce turned. "Chandler, what about you?"
"I can't," Chandler said flatly.
"Why not?" everyone asked at once.
[Power Stone Goal: 500 = +2 Chapters]
[Review Goal: 10 = +1 Chapter]
If you liked it, feel free to leave a review.
20+ chapters ahead on P2treon Soulforger