"John Mercer."
My voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly across the conference room.
The entire room went dead silent.
The smile froze on John's face.
He stared into my eyes. They were far too calm and steady for a 7-year-old.
My dad shot to his feet so fast that his chair legs screeched across the floor.
"Jules?!"
I didn't look at him. My eyes stayed on John.
"Your leverage has increased fourfold this year. At least 70% of your underlying assets are subprime debt."
A muscle twitched in John's cheek.
"What... did you say?"
"I said you're bluffing." I took another step forward. "On paper, your fund manages 30 billion dollars in assets. In reality, you've used those assets for a massive amount of off-balance-sheet financing. Your actual debt ratio is dangerously high."
A colle
