Marcus stood frozen. 40% reduction. His $2.1 million just became $1.26 million. Still a fortune. Still more than most people made in a decade. But in his world, it was a demotion. A signal. He’d been on track for managing director in two years. Now? He’d be lucky to keep his VP title if the firm started cutting heads.
He typed: Everything.
By 9:45, the floor had become a nervous organism. People huddled in clusters, whispering. Some faces were lit with private joy—those who’d beaten their internal estimates. Others wore the gray mask of disappointment. One analyst from the MBS desk, a kid named Tommy barely two years out of Cornell, was openly crying at his desk. He’d made the firm $6 million and gotten a $90,000 bonus. After taxes and his student loans, he’d be lucky to afford his studio in Long Island City for another year.