"Leonard Speaking"
'Leonard Thinking'
Caltech Cafeteria, Pasadena
Sheldon sat at his table, his fork methodically sifting through his salad, removing parts that he did not like. But his mind was not on his salad. Raj, who was sitting with Sheldon, signaled to Howard, sitting in front. The duo turned their heads to look at the poised figure sitting at the back. Leonard sat at a table closer to the door, his lab coat neatly folded at his side, his sleeves folded to his elbows, and his cane leaning against the table. His plate was filled with chicken, green vegetables and beans. Instead of his usual drink, he had a small bottle filled with steaming tea at his side. Leonard ate his meal quickly, swiftly cutting pieces of chicken, or spearing a small amount of vegetables, chewing and swallowing, before washing down the bite with a sip of tea.
Sheldon's face scrunched in annoyance. He turned to Raj and exclaimed, "He will choke on his chicken. We should never underestimate the importance of proper masticating technique. When I was young, I had an incident where I choked on a sausage. Since then, I have adopted a personal rule of chewing my food at least fifteen times."
Howard joked, "It looks like our theory was incorrect. We always thought you were some bird who was making the food edible for his young ones."
Sheldon shuddered at the mention of birds. While he had lost some of his fear due to his contact with the bluejay some months ago, birds still freaked him out. Raj giggled at Sheldon's expression, remarking, "He always looks like a large Cuckoo bird when he does that."
Sheldon snapped at Raj, "I do not look like a bird."
Howard looked back at Leonard. His meal was finished, and now, he was gently sipping his tea, taking big sips every minute or so. Howard wondered, "I wonder how Leonard did that. He was my height, but now, he looks like Henry Cavill."
Raj commented, "I heard that he underwent some kind of surgery during his sabbatical."
Sheldon interjected, "Another foolish decision on his part. Surgeries have a lot of chances for failure, and you have to maintain your life using drugs. He might become stupider than he already is."
Raj asked, "Should we invite him to dinner. It will be like old times."
Howard nodded, "Yeah, let's invite him."
Without waiting for Sheldon to speak, Raj and Howard moved towards Leonard's table. Leonard had just finished his tea. He sat at his table for a minute, taking deep breaths, seemingly contemplating something. Suddenly, he found Howard and Raj standing at his side. He greeted teasingly, " Hey, the dynamic duo is here. How have you been?"
Raj smiled at the comment. He was glad that the debacle with Priya had not tarnished their relationship. He poked Howard, prompting him to say, "Leonard, would come to the apartment for dinner tonight. It has been a while since we had dinner together."
Leonard grew silent, quickly weighing his options. While the dinner could become very awkward, his friends were scientists who could be the leaders in the community. Leonard asked, "What is the menu? I believe that tonight is Chinese food night. Has Sheldon changed his schedule?"
Raj laughed, "Almost. When we first went to eat out at the Chinese restaurant, he refused due to improper dividing of food items. The owner refused to make adjustments so we left the restaurant. This has happened twice before Sheldon adjusted our order. He had to make adjustments again when Howard went to space."
Leonard laughed at that. His eyes narrowed with delight before he accepted the dinner invitation.
Apartment 4A, Pasadena
The group sat around the couch. Sheldon sitting in his spot, Amy at his side unpacking his detailed order. Howard and Bernadette arrived with Raj. Finally, Penny arrived from work, swiftly removing her coat and sitting on the sofa beside Sheldon. Suddenly, the bell rang. Raj jumped from his seat, almost running to the door. He quickly opened the door, waving Leonard in. Leonard smiled as he entered the room, greeting everyone at the table with warmth. He pulled a chair from the table at his side, pulling it towards the table in the middle of the room. He leaned his cane against the chair, sitting with poise.
For a while everyone felt a little awkward, but Leonard quickly got into his rhythm.
Leonard turned to Penny, "Penny, did you have any auditions recently?"
Penny turned to him, chewing the piece of chicken. She swallowed and answered, "Not really. There are hardly any good roles nowadays. The movie industry is kinda in a slump. Everyone is trying to become the new Iron Man or something."
Sheldon chuckled in his strange gasping way. Penny turned to him, annoyed. She demanded, "What was that for?"
Sheldon, still amused, answered, "Well, with your abysmal acting skills, your portfolio of Serial Apeist and lack of education, good roles will not do you good."
Amy complained, "Sheldon! That was really rude. Apologize to Penny."
Sheldon complained, "Why?"
Amy glared at Sheldon for a second, before Sheldon solemnly turned to Penny, "I apologize. I should have remembered that you did not like your shortcomings to be pointed out."
Leonard watched the group, bickering and laughing good naturedly, but his heart felt distant. It felt as though he was looking into a world through a glass window. Penny's laughter that brought him warmth, now loomed in his mind like an echo. Sheldon's jokes and the group's banter that brightened up his day, now brought nothing to him. His eyes saw their actions, his ears heard their laughter, yet to him, the room felt silent.
He suddenly remembered his team at Chaldea. While there were no jokes and a sense of distance, those people, with their fears, doubts and ideals seemed far more real than these people he shared years with. Leonard sighed in resignation.
'Time really changes things too quickly.'
As the night went on, Leonard's participation in the group lowered gradually, until he was just listening to the group prattle on about their lives. He wanted something, anything, to let him get away without seeming rude. Finally, he stood up and said, "I really should go now. I have six months of work to go through, and I haven't even started yet. Thank you for the dinner."
Leonard quickly cleared his tin, and left the apartment. Amy looked on as Leonard quickly picked up his cane and left. While she did not comment on it, she sensed that Leonard would be missing from similar dinner nights.
Burbank, Los Angeles
Leonard sat in his house, quickly noting down details of his work. His brain constantly churned out calculations as pages filled out in minutes. Leonard stood up from his desk, stretching slightly before going to the kitchen for a glass of water. As Leonard sipped, his phone rang urgently. Looking at the caller ID, he was stumped at its unfamiliarity. He thought for a second before taking the call.
"Hello, who might this be?" asked Leonard.
A calm voice came from the other side, "Hello, am I speaking to Dr. Leonard Hofstadter?"
Leonard paused before answering, "Yes, but you still haven't answered. Who might you be?"
The voice chuckled, "Dr. Hofstadter, my name is Robert Axelrod. I own a hedge fund called Axe Capital. I am sure you would have heard of it."
Leonard had, in fact, heard of the firm. It was one of the more famous hedge funds in the States. He had heard about them when he was in Washington. Robert 'Bobby' Axelrod was quite well known, not only for his money, but also from his acts of philanthropy. He had even considered sending him an invitation to Chaldea. But then, his investigations revealed the guy for what he really was, an opportunist who looks at people in terms of assets and liabilities. He had very few people close to him, who actually earned his favour. For others, he was a ruthless guy who could bankrupt people, should they cross him.
Leonard spoke evenly, "Good evening Mr. Axelrod. It is quite a surprise that you called me. I don't believe we have had the chance to make an acquaintance."
Bobby spoke flippantly, "Oh please, call me Bobby. I do not like such formality. In return, may I call you Leonard."
Leonard said, "You may. How can I stop you if you want to call me that?"
Bobby sounded amused, "You are quite funny, Leonard. Now, I heard a lot about your ability at the stock market. You earned quite a sum very quickly."
Leonard's lips curled, "My earnings are nothing compared to you. You have analysts who earn you millions every week. In contrast, my earnings are modest at best."
Bobby spoke, as if explaining something, "See, that's where you're wrong. It might not seem like much, but your insight is what caught my eye. Earning millions is not the big deal, it is how you earned that intrigued me so much. You made six bets in the market, not a single loss. Every time, your predictions were spot on. Though you cashed out certain positions earlier than their top price, every cashed out position bought something with bigger profit margins. Even now, despite cashing out most of your portfolio, you still keep shares in certain industries like technology, semiconductors, material science and medical equipment."
Leonard was surprised at Bobby's insight. While most people would think that Leonard's trades were random at best, Bobby was able to recognize the underlying pattern. This elevated his intelligence in Leonard's eyes, if only just slightly.
Bobby continued, "What I wanted to say is that you have intrigued me, and I love to meet intriguing people. So, would you like to have dinner?"
Leonard tried to refuse, "While I am flattered by your invitation, I am currently in Los Angeles. It will be a while before I come to New York."
Bobby waved away his concerns, "That will not be a problem. I already have a trip to L.A. planned. I will come next week. When I am in the city, I would love to have a conversation."
Leonard had no other way to refuse. He did not want to meet Axelrod, for two specific reasons. Axelrod was quite sharp, but he was also quite arrogant. Any slight against him, even if he imagined it, would bring a lot of trouble to Leonard. Another issue was that Axelrod was like coal, anyone who came in contact with him, would undoubtedly look like a coal thief. However, there was no way to refuse.
Leonard answered, "In that case, I will see you next week. Good night Bobby."
Bobby wished him good night before hanging up the phone.
Greenwich, Connecticut
Bobby Axelrod, the CEO of Axe Capital, removed his phone from his ear. His wife Lara entered his study.
Lara asked, "So, was he some enemy or a rival?"
Bobby answered, "Currently, he is neither of those."
Lara smiled, "Yet you personally called him. And this surprise trip to L.A. next week? Even if the guy was a genius analyst, you would never give him so much thought."
Bobby looked at her, grinning, "And that is where you don't understand my actions. That guy is a genius. But rather than a genius, he is more like a mirror to me. When Dudley gave me his details, I imagined another business elite or a great analyst. But his patterns were not like a Wall Street guy. In fact, in my entire company, the only person who would make trades like these is me. Even then, I would need information to base these bets on. This guy made bets with certainty."
Lara scoffed, "So, he is a Shark. What else is new?"
Bobby explained, "He is not a shark. If the information he used was circulated in any way, I would have known. What he did was take the information already available and see patterns in those facts. If I were to do the same, I would need to meet with people, or have knowledge of the people around those deals to get that advantage. He did that purely from analysing patterns."
Lara questioned, "So, he is like an advanced version of you?"
Bobby laughed, "There is no advanced version of me. If I am able to hire this guy, I would be able to cut off large parts of espionage, moles and contacts I used for my tips. Besides, if he isn't willing to help, there are many ways to bury talents like him."
Burbank, Los Angeles
Leonard sat on his chair, his notebook forgotten in a corner. He quickly opened his contacts and called Mike.
Mike answered in a groggy voice, "Gosh Leonard, do you know what time it is?"
Leonard interrupted, "No time for that. I have an urgent task for you."
Mike became serious, "What is the task?"
Leonard spoke, "First, book a flight to Los Angeles tomorrow. There will be work here. Second, you are still in New York, right?"
Mike answered in annoyance, "Did you not know this beforehand?"
Leonard ignored him, "It's good that you are in New York. I need another lawyer. While you are a great general lawyer, the task I have requires someone with a more meticulous nature. Tomorrow, please go to Pearson Hardman law firm in Manhattan. I want you to find me a lawyer."
Mike asked, "Which lawyer do you want exactly?"
Leonard spoke, "Find me a lawyer by the name of Louis Litt, and make sure he comes with you to L.A."
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