FB: Chapter 4 – Preparations

The next day my Car drove me back up to upstate New York. I had already arranged for an AirBnB for the next 3 weeks near where my house was being remodeled. During the drive I arranged for a weekly cleaning and laundry service at the house to start three weeks from now when construction should be done. After that I also arranged for long term food delivery. The cleaning and yard service would cost $200 a week and the food service would cost $50 a day for two meals being delivered.

I arranged things on an ongoing basis as well and set up the automatic payments. That would be $28,600 over a single year. But I didn’t mind. I wouldn’t have time to worry about laundry, food, or taking care of the house once I was in Exponential. I needed to get everything I could done before the game went live.

As my car drove me up to the house, I already saw the local internet service provider digging out a ditch down a side road towards my house. That would be the trunk cable for my internet connection, which was normally used by businesses.

The main highway had a larger trunk line that ran next to it, was nearby, so it was only about a mile of cable that needed to be laid, which should happen quickly enough. Most of the costs would be subsidized by the government to a large degree. Paying extra for a rush installation was just a bonus for the internet company. I had considered using Starlink, but the risk of a magnetic surge knocking out the connection while in game was too much of a risk to take in my mind.

The contractor was already at the house as I took over manual control for my car and pulled over on the side of the road. I got out and went to look things over. “Good morning, any issues?” I asked the man I had spoken with yesterday.

“I have both my crews working. You did say you don’t mind how the bathroom and kitchen are done, beyond high quality and clean cut,” he said. Men were bringing out portions of the house and various pieces of trash to a large metal dumpster. I heard banging in the house.

“Yes. Minimalist, white, or light gray is best. What about the anti-vibration pad, battery system, and high voltage power?” I asked. Those were far more important than some decorative choices.

“We will have to cut into the foundation, and put in a shock absorbent layer for the entire room. No basement, so it is only a minor hassle. We are clearing everything out today. Tomorrow, we are going to be cutting out that part of the foundation. The heating and cooling is central air. Normally I would just leave it, but you have money and if you want to fix things up now is the time. I can install a filter system on the air intake and do air sealing,” he said.

“How much more?” I asked, considering the option. High quality air would be nice, since that would mean less wear on the capsule.

“Rush job like this, 50,000. But your air will be filtered from the outside,” he said. I slowly nodded at that. “It would be the best quality we can order right away, but I got to ask now, since the order needs to be put in and the equipment delivered. Also, there is no charging port for your car, so that will need to be added in the garage,” he said.

“Send me the list of all the items you are ordering. I want to confirm they are top shelf. And yes, both to the air filter and charging station. How much is the charging station?” I asked.

“With the high grade electrical work, we can do that for as part of the general electrical work easy enough. There is also the question of the boiler you want, if you want to upgrade. High end, with max pressure, which means redoing the pipework as well, another 50,000. Don’t worry, I will make sure to get a pressure adjustable boiler,” he said.

“Will this delay things?” I asked.

“No. But these are large pieces. Like the appliances I am ordering for the kitchen. I am charging a hefty premium, but you clearly want this place spiffed up, with all the bells and whistles as quickly as possible. That is why I am checking. Once we start putting in drywall, it will be impossible to go back and add stuff like this unless you want to rip it all back out,” he replied. That made sense.

“Write it up, send me the list of equipment you are purchasing so I can look it over. Yes, to everything as well. Half now, half on completion,” I said pulling out my phone and sending him another 50,000 dollars. I would need to take out another short term loan to cover my capsule expenses while having enough money for my stock trades. I would have to go back to one of the loan sharks. Hmm, perhaps I could go to them again to make a larger move on my short sell position to make more money. It was risky, but it paid off before and there were no issues.

“This is the kind of job I like. No dickering about the price, and comparing a hundred different options,” the contractor said with a smile as he got out paperwork from his truck and began writing an amendment to the contract we already had.

“You are the expert and time is important. I am going to be stopping by every day to check on the progress. You will be here?” I asked.

“Got two of my three crews working here, so I will be here most of the time, making sure everything is going smoothly. If you show up and I’m not here, just text me and I can come over and answer questions,” he replied.

“And the list of items, when can I expect that?” I asked.

“Tonight. Sooner you leave, sooner I can start making the orders and sending you that list. You know I am shamelessly overcharging you, right?” he asked while glancing at me.

“Are you skimping on the quality?” I asked back.

“No,” he replied seriously, and I nodded at that.

“Then I won’t have complaints as long as there are no delays.”

“Good. I don’t want to have an argument after this kind of job is finished. Now the flooring. I was going to go very light blue and white tiling for the bathroom, mostly white. But the living room with that anti-vibration pad you want installed. What kind of flooring?” he asked me.

“Nothing on the pad preferably. Off of it, what do you suggest?” I asked.

“Laminated wood for the bedrooms and hallways. Tile for the kitchen and bathroom. While I don’t do landscaping or driveways, I have a friend who handles that, if you are interested,” he said.

“Set up a meeting then and he can give a quote. The outside isn’t as much as a rush job,” I replied.

“That’s fine, he would appreciate the work. Also, the roof and the sides. They are good but would need to be redone since they are about twenty years old. I am asking, since new windows will need to be put in if you want the house properly sealed.”

“How much?” I asked.

“Sides and windows, about 20,000 and the roof another 20,000. Again, that is the high end and making it a rush job.”

“Anything else?” I asked.

“That should be it,” he replied. “Well, I could also replace the septic system. It is about a century old, like the house. Probably for the best. Another 20,000.”

“Would it be cheaper to build a new house?” I asked with a bit of frustration.

“Then you would need permits. This is all remodeling, so you don’t have to worry about that. That is why we can go as quickly as we can. Also, you wanted all this done right away,” he replied with a grin.

“Do it. Replace all of it. You can get it done in time?” I asked again.

“No problem. I will bring over my third crew. Let’s add some more lines to the contract and I will send you an e-mail confirmation,” he said. I only trusted the contractor since he had good reviews and was a local. Also, there was a contract listing out what he was doing along with what I was paying. I had made it a sticking point that he would get the remainder once work was complete. That combined with the fact I would be here every day, gave me confidence that I would stop any shenanigans or delays from happening.

Once the paperwork was complete, I looked through the house and confirmed they were removing everything. The contractor let me know his third crew would be out here next week to handle the siding and the roof. He went off to purchase everything and I took off to visit some of the loan sharks I had seen previously.

While loan sharks weren’t my first choice, banks would require too much paperwork for how quickly I needed the cash. I went back to the first place I had stopped at before, my car driving me back to New Jersey where my parents lived. It would take too long to find the right kind of business in New York, if they even existed with how different states had different laws.

“Back again?” the first loan shark I had talked with before asked me once I strolled in.

“Yes. I need the largest amount possible. I can put up my car and house as collateral,” I said.

“And put them up with others as well. We talk girl. If you hadn’t paid everyone back, well it would have gotten messy,” he said. I held back a wince. Apparently, my actions had been found out. But since I had paid everyone back it wasn’t a problem thankfully.

“But you did get paid back, ahead of time. All legal as well. No need for threats. I need a large amount of cash for a short term investment,” I said.

“How large are we talking?” he asked.

“A million,” I replied. There was a long moment of silence. The loan shark pulled out his cell phone and sent out a text.

“Just texting my boss. I can’t authorize something that large. Also moving that much money is a bit tricky,” he replied.

“The bank paperwork was a huge hassle,” I replied, and he chuckled. I was a bit worried, but not that much. I had no doubt they would ask for a million and a half as their return, which was easily doable. With the margin I had from my trading app, I could trade a million and a half with just a million. I wasn’t entirely sure, since there were requirements to have enough money or collateral to cover shortfalls. It also depended on the trader and their history as well.

It was complicated, regardless, I would be trying to get as much money as quickly as possible for the short on the Exponential stock. Ten minutes after the text was sent another man showed up with a much nicer suit.

“So, the girl who I thought was scamming us, paid everyone back, early, in the full amount, and now comes to ask for a million like it is pocket change,” the man said without introducing himself as he sat down where the previous loan shark had been sitting.

“I have some short-term windows for investments. I can put up my house and car as collateral. That should be enough?” I asked.

“To know how you are making so much money, so quickly, so legally?” he enunciated the last word, clearly making a point of some kind, which I didn’t care to figure out.

“Stock trading. If I tell you what I am doing, I want a more favorable service fee on the loan,” I replied while not breaking eye contact. I might look like an idiot 18 year old girl, but I had a lot more experience from my years in the future working for a super guild. Being a number cruncher also involved some field work and dealing with massive egos. This guy didn’t even make it into my top ten.

“That kind of money gets people in a lot of trouble if they are careless and can’t pay it back. A pretty young woman like you, well, it wouldn’t be pleasant,” he said. I rolled my eyes at that statement.

“I can pay it back, no problem. I just want to maximize returns while the window of opportunity is still available. If you don’t want to loan me the money, I don’t mind walking out,” I said, and the man gestured with his hand towards the door. Fine, I would have to think of other options then. I got up and made my way to the door of the office.

“Hold up,” he said as I began to open the door. I closed the door and turned back to look at the man. We both had made our powerplays and I had come out on top. “One point four in two months, and you explain what you are investing in.”

“I will say one point two, and you will say one point three. So, let’s just skip to that part, alright?” I asked and the man grinned.

“Well, you have confidence at least. Alright. You want the money in cash or transfer?” he asked.

“Transfer, less paperwork and moving that much cash physically is stressful. You cover the fees sending it to me, I cover the fees paying you back,” I replied. The suited man nodded. I gave my account and routing number over and soon confirmed the money had been transferred over, with a one day holding delay.

“So, your investment strategy?” the man asked. I considered if I should wait until the amount cleared, but trying to scam me wouldn’t be worth it, with the fee I would be paying on the loan. This was an issue of trust. He was trusting me with the money, so I would trust him with the knowledge. While he could block the transfer, it would be messy and he would be losing out on the fee I would be paying.

“I am shorting Exponential stock,” I said. The loan shark frowned for a moment and then slowly nodded.

“That is very risky. The stock is set to go up even more with its recent success from what I heard,” he replied.

“They will have manufacturing issues in relation to their capsules. The price will drop to around 70 or 60 dollars and then go back up. I plan to take advantage of that fluctuation,” I replied.

“And how would you know that?” he asked.

“A girl has to have some secrets. I bet on the stock going up massively after the closed alpha and I was right, now I am betting it will go down,” I replied with a casual shrug.

“I see. You are gambling,” he said with a frown.

“Well, once I win my gamble, I will be sending your loan and fee back. Could I get a phone number, so I can text you to get accounting information when the time comes?” I asked. We exchanged numbers and then I left. I had never even gotten the man’s name, and he didn’t offer it. I saved his number under the name ‘Suit Loan Shark’. They knew who I was since they had taken photocopies of my driver’s license the last time I was in the office during my first round of loans.

If there was any kind of risk, I would have never taken the loan. But I needed to take advantage of my future information while it was still good. I didn’t know about all the changes in stock prices, just these two since Exponential had really taken over the world in the future and the huge delay in manufacturing capsules was a big deal.