[Tweety]

I am a fixed income trader at a major U.S. investment bank in Manhattan. Like many of our competitors, we have been in the news a lot in 2007 as having been entangled in the subprime mess, which has led to bad earnings, write-downs, bad press, a bad year for the stock, and hundreds upon hundreds of layoffs.

I however, have somehow managed to have a really good year in my own trading. A career year, in fact. I'm 33. I just bought an apartment in NYC for over $2 million. I need to get paid well. I deserve to get paid well.

My question: if they don't pay me what I deserve, how aggressive with them can I be? Can I literally get up and walk out of the building? I'm in a position of strength right now- they wouldn't want to lose me. That said, there isn't exactly that much money to go around, so it's certainly possible that my number is very disappointing versus my expectations.

I'd love to hear thoughts on how to approach this situation. I have a great relationship with my boss, but that will sour quickly if he tries to screw me in January.

Any advice/life experience will be appreciated. Thanks.