The Advisor #10: Welcome to Sex Ed
Oct 2, 2013Tuesday
San Francisco 4:00 PM
“Hi, is this Jared Golden?” It initially sounded like a telemarketer.
“Who wants to know?” Jared was in no mood for chitchat after all he had been through today.
“Hi, Jared. This is Ben Abel. I’m calling from Broker Analytics. I know you must be super busy. But, I was just wondering if I could ask you three quick questions. If you answer this survey, I can send you a hundred-dollar gift card from Amazon.com.”
“How did you get my name?” Jared had become far more suspicious these days especially after Lucy Mincer’s untimely death.
“Sure. Your name was selected randomly from the public database of active registered reps.” Ben was well aware that he had to act fast. “Jared, do you use cold calling as part of your marketing strategy?”
“Three questions. Yes. You have two more.” Jared hated how cheap he had become. That a lousy gift card could lure him to answer questions.
“Absolutely. Do you know if any of the following brokers in your office cold call for purposes of obtaining new clients?” His question was so matter of fact. Just data for an industry survey.
“I dunno. I guess Vanessa Rollins, Leo Hayes, Victor Ramirez, and Wellington Monroe. Why do you want to know their names?”
Jared waited for a response to his question, but the caller had already hung up.
South of Market (SOMA) District, 9:00 PM
It looked just like any other warehouse you might see in San Francisco’s South of Market area known for restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Unlike all of the very popular clubs in the neighborhood, there was no line outside of this establishment. There was just a regular-looking man wearing dark glasses. He was reading an iPad.
In staggered time slots, Sex Ed invited guests arrived outside the unnamed warehouse. Each was asked to show two forms of identification to the man at the front door. If they couldn’t produce their ID, they were not allowed to enter. There were absolutely no exceptions.
Nina was far more than a cocktail waitress although that was how she appeared to most of those in attendance. She wore a skin-tight red leather mini dress and matching stiletto shoes. Nina carried a large tray of snacks and scrutinized the various patrons piling in for the first Sex Ed event. She placed a bowl of potato chips on each of the tables spread out through the dimly lit club. The attendees were seated on upholstered seats encircling the tables. From time to time, Nina would ask the guests to adjust themselves in their seats so that they were more comfortable.
“These chips are fucking awesome!” An athletic man in his mid-twenties eyed several of the exceptionally attractive female models who had been hired for the evening. Everything was proceeding as planned. He grabbed Nina’s leg. “When is Sex Ed gonna start?”
Nina immediately pulled his hand off of her leg like it was a leech. “Soon enough. Just sit back and get ready for the surprise of your life.”
Copyright © 2013. Samuel Rush. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.