When the employees at Gale Capital heard their boss was giving them a holiday and extra bonuses, they were in a great mood.
"The boss is awesome!"
They all happily accepted their rewards and left with big smiles.
Zane calmly accepted everyone's thanks. He was known for being very careful with money, so he only gave out big bonuses when the team did a truly amazing job. He was so proud of them.
He had to admit, a little part of him still flinched when he spent so much money at once. It was like a little pinch!
"Hey, I'm just careful," he'd think to himself with a laugh. "I care about every dollar. What's wrong with that?"
Zane was happy with who he was. Was he a little stingy sometimes? Maybe. But what was the big deal? He wasn't perfect.
"If a person didn't have any flaws, would they even be human?" he thought.
Zane often reminded himself of his real goals. "I traveled here, and making money is important, but it's not the main purpose. The main purpose is to enjoy life. And... maybe leave my name in movie history, too."
Because of this, he didn't really care if other people looked at him funny.
It reminded him of a silly argument people used to have: "Do people live to eat, or do they eat to live?"
Some people would try to act smart and look down on others. They'd say, "Look at those people, always thinking about food. They are focused on 'spiritual' things. They only eat to stay alive."
Zane thought that was the silliest thing he'd ever heard.
Bull... he'd stop himself from cursing. What a load of nonsense!
Zane's idea was simple: "Who cares? You have to eat to live, period. If you're so spiritual, try not eating!"
Life is short, just a few decades. We all have bad days. So, if you can, you should treat yourself better and eat good food. What's wrong with that?
"Are you eating their rice?" he'd think. "Are you bothering them? No. So just live your life."
Zane believed the rarest, most wonderful thing a person could be was... just themselves.
He knew he had his flaws, but he was happy just being himself. And he was doing great!
...
Zane didn't go back to Los Angeles right away. He and his bodyguard checked into a nice five-star hotel near Wall Street.
"My team can take a vacation," he thought, "but as the boss, I have to get busy. This next move is the big one. Whether I can make a real fortune or not... it all depends on this."
The Asian financial crisis.
It was a huge, global money problem, the biggest one since the 1930s. It was a once-in-a-few-decades chance. How could Zane, who was so good at finding these chances, let it go?
"If I don't make a big score from what's about to happen in Japan and South Korea," he thought, "I'd be wasting this amazing second chance at life!"
Zane stayed in his hotel room, thinking. He remembered everything he knew about the coming crisis in Japan and South Korea. He looked at all the new data his team had collected. He made plans, and then he made them again, trying to find the safest way to make the biggest profit.
...
Time flew by.
October 12, 9 a.m.
Zane, Henry, and all the other bosses at Gale Capital were sitting in the conference room. The mood was very serious.
"Henry, you're in charge," Zane said. "Please tell everyone what's happening in the Japanese and South Korean markets."
"Okay, boss."
Henry stood up and nodded at the team. "Everyone, the holiday is over. From now on, I need you all to be 100% focused. Remember: finance is war."
"First, let me share some news. Starting on the 5th of this month, big money companies from Europe started moving huge amounts of cash into the Japanese market. We don't know how much, but I guess it's at least $1 trillion."
"For three days, the Japanese yen went up and down like a crazy roller coaster. It was chaos. Some small banks made a fortune. A lot of other people went bankrupt."
"By the way it was moving," Henry continued, "I'd say the big Japanese companies and maybe even the Japanese government have been fighting back."
Hearing this, everyone in the room, including Zane, looked even more serious.
A chaotic market like that meant one thing: Risk. A huge, scary risk.
But... it also meant there was a huge chance to make money.
Henry said, "But yesterday, things changed. The yen fell by 0.7%. That's not a huge drop, but I know all of you are smart enough to see what it really means."
"It means," Henry's voice got stronger, "that Japan can't hold on much longer!"
"Do you really think Soros and the big Wall Street banks are going to miss this chance to push them over the edge?"
"No!" Henry said, his voice now full of excitement. "This isn't a guess anymore, everyone. The time has come for us to make our move. The war has begun!"
Instantly, the entire room burst into applause and cheers.
Zane also stood up, clapping for Henry. This was why he hired the best. They could see the small changes and know what they meant.
Zane stood at the head of the table. "I announce that from this moment, Gale Capital is in a state of combat readiness! The total capital of $270 million is the ammunition I'm giving you for this fight!"
...
At that exact same time, all over Wall Street, other big banks saw the same thing. They saw the weakness in the yen. They, too, began raising their "ammunition" and decided to do a big job.
This was it. The fight for the yen was going to be even bigger, with more money and more companies, than the crisis in Southeast Asia had been.
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