But his pace quickened slightly and they were soon inside

But his pace quickened slightly and they were soon inside, on somewhat safer turf.
He hoped. They were greeted by paid greeters; coats were taken; smiles were offered; friendly cameras appeared; old pals materialized,Moncler outlet online store; and they were soon lost in the warm cluster of seriously rich people pretending to enjoy one another's company.
Brianna found her soul mate, another anorexic trophy with the same unusual body-everything superbly starved but the ridiculous breasts. Carl went straight for the bar, and almost made it before he was practically tackled by the one jerk he hoped to avoid.
"Carl, ole boy, bad news down south I hear,LINK," the man boomed as loudly as possible.
"Yes, very bad," Carl said in a much lower voice as he grabbed a champagne flute and began to drain it,Fake Designer Handbags.
Pete Flint was number 228 on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans. Carl was number 310, and each man knew exactly where the other fit on the roster. Numbers 87 and 141 were also in the crowd, along with a host of unranked contenders.
"Thought your boys had things under control," Flint pressed on, slurping a tall glass full of either scotch or bourbon. He somehow managed a frown while working hard to conceal his delight.
"Yes, we thought so, too," Carl said, wishing he could slap the fat jowls twelve inches away.
"What about the appeal?" Flint asked gravely.
"We're in great shape.”
At last year's auction, Flint had valiantly hung on to the frenzied end and walked away with the Brain After Gunshot, a $6 million artistic waste but one that launched the MuAb's current capital campaign. No doubt he would be in the hunt for tonight's grand prize.
"Good thing we shorted Krane last week," he said.
Carl started to curse him but kept his cool. Flint ran a hedge fund famous for its daring. Had he really shorted Krane Chemical in anticipation of a bad verdict? Carl's puzzled glare concealed nothing.
"Oh yes," Flint went on, pulling on his glass and smacking his lips. "Our man down there said you were screwed.”
"We'll never pay a dime," Carl said gamely.
"You'll pay in the morning, ole boy. We're betting Krane's stock drops 20 percent.”
And with that he turned and walked away, leaving Carl to finish off his drink and lunge for another. Twenty percent? Carl's laser-quick mind did the math. He owned 45 percent of the outstanding common shares of Krane Chemical, a company with a market value of $3.2 billion, based on the day's closing price. A 20 percent decline would cost him 1280 million, on paper. No real cash losses, of course, but still a rough day around the office.
Ten percent was more like it, he thought. The boys in finance agreed with him.
Could Flint's hedge fund short a significant chunk of Krane's stock without Carl knowing about it? He stared at a confused bartender and pondered the question. Yes, it was possible, but not likely. Flint was simply rubbing a little salt,replica louis vuitton handbags.