by Brad Meltzer
Clenching his fists, Ben stepped back from Nathan. “You really are a lowlife,” he said to Eric.
“Don’t pull that with me,” Eric said, his voice racing. “You have no idea what I was going through. You always have everything handed to you. You have no idea what it’s like to struggle on your own. My editor was breathing down my ass for a source. I didn’t care, though. I never once named you! Never!”
“Then how did the Marshals Office know that I was the source for your story about Blake’s resignation?”
Eric was silent.
“What’s the matter? You don’t have an answer for that one?”
“The Blake story was different and you know it,” Eric shot back. “For CMI, I didn’t say a word. No matter what they said, I wouldn’t give them a source. My editor told me people would call me a hack. But I kept quiet.”
“Well, you’re just the best friend a guy could have. Maybe next week you can do me a real favor and slice my throat. That’ll be the greatest.”
“I’m serious,” Eric said. “I was flooded with calls today. I got calls from Newsweek, Time, USA Today, The New York Times. You name it, I got a call from it. And I could have blown your story to any one of them. I could ride this one to fame and fortune. I could write a book about the whole thing. I’d have movie deals, a syndicated column, the whole world if I blew the lid off this one. You know it’s true—”
Before Eric could finish his sentence, Ben rushed toward him and pushed him against the back wall of the room, holding him by the front of his shirt. “You say one word, and I swear I’ll rip your fucking heart out!”
“Ben, let go!” Nathan demanded as he and Ober pried him off of Eric.
Straightening his shirt, Eric said, “Listen, I understand you’re pissed, but that was good journalism. The point is, I protected your ass, and I wrote a page five story my first time out.”
“If you killed your mother, you’d make page one,” Ben screamed. “Does that mean you should do it? You didn’t blow this story open. You would’ve been clueless unless I told you. So don’t fucking act like you’re doing me any favors by not signing away the movie rights!”
Taking a deep breath, Eric said, “Ben, do you have any idea how hard this CMI thing has been on me? From the moment you told me about how Maxwell got the info, I wanted to write the story. I waited, though. I waited until all the smoke cleared, until all the papers were finished obsessing over Maxwell and the decision. I waited until all the hoopla was over. And all I ran was a small piece that tried to explain it.”
“Do you hear what you’re saying?” Ben asked, shaking his head. “Are you trying to say I should thank you for waiting a bit before you put the knife in my back? Do you have any idea how warped that logic is?”
“I don’t know why you’re so crazy. They’ll never be able to prove—”
“That’s not the damn point!” Ben yelled. “Stop rationalizing your actions and think for a second! You knew this would happen. You knew it, and you didn’t care.”
“Ben, I never meant for you to get in trouble. What do you want me to say? I’m sorry. I’m sorry a million times. What the hell else do you want?”
“I want you out of this house.”
“What?” Eric asked.
“Ben, you can’t do that,” Ober said, his voice cracking.
Ben looked at Eric. “You heard me. I want your ass out of this house.” As Eric shook his head in disbelief, Ben continued, “I’m not joking, Eric. This isn’t some silly high school fight. I don’t want you in my life anymore. I don’t trust you, I don’t like you, and I no longer need you as a friend.”
“What if I won’t leave?”
“Then I will,” Ben said. “Our lease is up on the first of the year. That gives you a month and a half to find a new place. If you want to fight me on it, we’ll take a vote. If no one wants to vote, we’ll flip a coin. Either way, I refuse to have you in my life anymore.” Turning his back to his friends, Ben stormed up the stairs to his room.
“Eric, just let him cool off.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Eric said, walking to the front door. “I’ll be at the paper if anyone needs me.”
When the door slammed, the room was silent. “I really think he’s serious,” Nathan finally said.
“He can’t kick him out of the house,” Ober said. “We can’t let him do that.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Nathan asked, surprised by Ober’s reaction.
“We can’t let him break us up. When I moved here, it was to be with the four of us.”
“Ober, you have to relax.”
“Do you think he’ll really kick Eric out?”
“I don’t know,” Nathan said. “But when he went flying toward Eric, I thought Ben was going to kill him. This isn’t an easy thing to forgive.”
“You have to talk to him,” Ober said. “Promise me you’ll talk to him.” When he saw Nathan heading toward the stairs, he asked, “Where are you going?”
“To talk to Ben.”
“Are you going to talk about Eric?”
“No, I’m going to talk about Murray Simone, King of Hair.”
“What’d he say?” Lisa asked the moment Ben arrived at work the next morning.
“It was a disaster,” Ben said, hanging his coat in the closet. “He had no excuse.”
“Nothing?” Lisa asked. “He didn’t even make up an excuse?”
Ben grabbed the cup of coffee from Lisa’s desk and took a sip. “He tried to tell me he was going to get demoted, but it was pathetic.”
“Did you at least take a swing at him?”
“Lisa, I’ll have you know, I’m a man of words, not violence.”
“But didn’t you want to rip his face off? Didn’t you want to just bust his teeth in? Didn’t you—”
“I get the idea,” he said, fidgeting with his red and gold tie.
“Wait a minute,” Lisa said. “You hit him, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t hit him.”
“Ben, don’t lie to me….”
“I just threw him into the wall, threatened him a bit, and told him to move out.”
“All right, Mr. Tough Guy!” Lisa said. “Give me all the gore.”
“It wasn’t anything. I just lost it for a second.”
“I can’t believe it. I can’t even imagine you losing it.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because you’re such a wuss.”
“Oh, and you’re so tough?”
“Trust me, I kick ass when I have to. And given time, I’ll kick your little ass as well.”
“Lisa, I don’t want to hear your sadomasochistic fantasies in the office. That’s sexual harassment, and it’s against the law.” Ben’s phone rang. “Hello, Justice Hollis’s chambers,” he answered.
“Ben, is it okay to call you now?”
“Mom? Is everything okay?”
“Yes, everything’s fine. Are you in court?”
“No, we don’t have court on Fridays,” Ben said nervously. “Why? What’s wrong at home?”
“Well, I was wondering if there was something you had to tell me,” his mother said.
Either she was talking about Eric’s story or she’d gotten another letter from Rick. Either way, Ben saw trouble. Hoping to pry before he gave up any information, Ben said, “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Benjamin, don’t play games with me. Now, do you have anything you’ve been meaning to tell me?”
“Mom, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Well, then, perhaps you can explain why I had to hear secondhand from Barbara that you have a very serious girlfriend.”
“Oh, my God,” Ben said as Lisa looked up from her desk. “Mom, I don’t have a serious girlfriend. Ober’s mom doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
“Don’t lie to me, Benjamin.”
“Mom, I swear I’m not lying.”
“Then who was the woman your friends were raving
about at Katie’s house last week?”
“They were probably talking about my co-clerk,” Ben said, frowning at Lisa.
“You’re sleeping with your co-clerk?”
“I’m not sleeping with anybod—Mom, I’m not sleeping with Lisa. Nathan and Ober were just joking around with Aunt Katie. We’re just co-workers.”
“Well, Ober seemed to say it was more than just a working relationship.”
“When did you speak to Ober?”
“This morning. You had already left for work. What time do you go in anyway? They must be working you like a dog there.”
“It’s the Supreme Court. We tend to work hard,” Ben said. “Now tell me what Ober said.”
“That’s none of your business. William and I had a wonderful conversation. Now, tell me, is this co-clerk from Washington?”
“No. She’s from Los Angeles.”
“Is she there now?”
“No, she’s not here now,” Ben said, looking up at Lisa. “She’s taking depositions.”
“HI, MRS. ADDISON!” Lisa called out.
“I knew she was there!” Ben’s mother said. “Put her on the phone.”
“Mom, I’m not putting her on. Get it through your head.”
“Ask her if she’s going home for Thanksgiving.”
“Mom—”
“If I need to, I’ll get her number from Ober and call her myself.”
Laughing, Ben said, “Lisa, my mom wants to know if you’re going home for Thanksgiving.” Ben mouthed the words “Say yes.”
“No, I’m completely free!” Lisa shouted.
“Wonderful,” Ben’s mother said. “Tell her she’s invited to spend it with us. She’ll come home with you.”
Glancing over at Lisa, Ben said, “My mother wants me to tell you that she’s glad you’re going to be alone on Thanksgiving. She hopes you have a miserable night, and that your heat gets turned off, and that you die alone without the comfort of family and friends.”
“Benjamin!”
“She wants you to come home for Thanksgiving.”
“I’d love to,” Lisa said, sticking out her tongue at Ben.
“Great,” Ben said, turning back to the phone. “Mom, you may want to prepare an extra turkey or two. I don’t know if Ober told you, but Lisa eats like a cow and a horse and a whole barnyard of animals.”
“If you’re seeing her, I want to meet her,” his mother said.
“Fine, I give in. You caught us. We’re going out. Mom, this one’s the one. Lisa and I are in love, and she’s pregnant, and we’re thinking of naming the baby Hercules, after Aunt Flo.”
“That’s not funny,” his mother said.
“Listen, I really have to go.”
“Just tell me one last thing: What happened between you and Eric?”
“Mom, nothing happened. Why? Who said something happened?”
“Ober.”
Closing his eyes, Ben spoke in a calm voice. “Nothing happened between me and Eric. We just had a small argument. That’s it. We’ll make up later tonight.”
“Just remember what I said to you when you left for college: ‘There’s nothing like childhood friends.’”
“That’s great, Mom. Thanks for sharing that for the eighty-fourth time. Can I go now?”
“So Lisa is coming to Thanksgiving?”
“Yes, Mom. Thanks to your meddling, she’ll be there.”
“Wonderful. I’ll call you later. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Say hi to Dad.” Hanging up, Ben turned to Lisa. “You really think you’re smart, don’t you? Well, guess again, missy, because you just made the biggest mistake of your life. In your infinite wisdom, you’ve just gotten yourself invited to the seventeenth circle of hell—my house for dinner.”
“I can’t wait.”
“Hold on,” Ben said, pulling out a small pad from his top drawer. “I have to write this one down.” As he scribbled on the little pad, he announced, “On Friday, November twenty-first, Lisa Marie Schulman said ‘I can’t wait,’ as she referred to her upcoming meal of death.”
“It’ll be fun,” she said.
“‘It’ll be fun,’” Ben said as he added that phrase to the pad. “I think that’s what Napoleon said right before he went to Waterloo.”
“Ben, my family is still impressed with the Lava lamp. How much worse can your family be?”
“I’d say a great deal worse. A world of worse. Maybe a whole universe of worse.”
“Just stop it already.”
“Lisa, I’m not exaggerating. My parents are mutants. They’re sick, bizarro freaks who were spawned to bring guilt and angst to all the innocent children of Earth.”
“Well, I can’t wait to meet them. They sound like wonderful people.”
“‘They sound like wonderful people,’” Ben said as he resumed his writing on the pad of paper. “Ho, boy, I can’t wait until you eat these words.”
“Whatever you say,” Lisa said, opening up one of the many brown folders on her desk. “Meanwhile, have you finished with the Russell opinion? You said you’d have it done two days ago.”
“Don’t rush me. It needs more work.” Ben returned the pad to his desk. “And by the way, can we meet at your house tonight? I want to go over my meeting with Rick before tomorrow.”
“Absolutely. Oh, and Ben? I don’t mean to be a dick, but I really do need the Russell decision.”
“Lisa, I said I’d get it to you. What do you want?”
“I want you to finish it. I believe you when you say you’re working on it, but you’ve been doing the first draft for over two weeks now.”
“Well, I’m sorry I had a busy week, but my life’s been a bit chaotic lately.”
“Don’t pull that with me,” Lisa scolded. “You know I completely sympathize with everything you’ve had to deal with. All I’m saying is that you have to do your best to ignore it all. Like it or not, this Court is more important than whatever’s going on in your life.”
Ben was seething as he turned to a clean page of his legal pad. “Fine. I understand. Let me get to work now.”
“Ben, stop it. What do you want me to do?”
“How about being a bit more understanding!” he shouted. “It’s easy for you to be diligent, but I’m the one who’s chasing the psychopath. Every time my mom calls, I’m terrified he’s contacted my family. On top of all that, my friend betrayed me and the Marshals Office is threatening me—and the week’s not over yet.”
“Y’know, for one second, I wish you could see things from another perspective besides your own.”
“And I suppose your perspective is the optimum one?”
“I’m serious,” Lisa said. “Hollis knows I always go over the decisions before he sees them, so he’s gotten used to asking me for them. For the past week, he’s been asking me, and I’ve been making up excuses. On Tuesday, I said we were working on a few points. On Wednesday, I said we still hadn’t resolved them. Yesterday, I avoided him completely. I don’t know what to tell him today. We’re in this together, and I don’t mind taking the fall with you, but this is stupid. Russell is a nonsense procedural issue. Hollis told us exactly how he saw this one, but we’re dragging our feet on it. Just finish it and give it to me. Even if you’re halfway done, give it to me and I’ll touch it up. I just have to hand him something by the end of today. I’m sorry if that means I have to ride you, but at this point it’s the only way you’ll take me seriously.”
Ben stared at his legal pad. “I’m sorry,” he said coldly. “You’re absolutely right. I’ll have it for you before lunch.”
“Ben, I—”
“No explanation’s necessary. You’re right. If I couldn’t get it done on time I should’ve passed it to you.”
“That’s all I was trying to say.”
“Are you ready for tomorrow?”
Looking in the mirror, Rick pulled his tie into a perfect knot. “Of course I’m ready. The real question is: Will Ben be ready?”
<
br /> “You know he’s plotting against you.”
Dissatisfied with the length of his tie, Rick undid the knot and started over. “He can do whatever he wants. I’m not worried.”
“How can you be so confident?”
Rick turned away from the mirror. “Because I understand Ben. After that disaster with Eric, he’s going to have a hard time saying no to my offer.”
At a quarter to one, Lisa returned to the office carrying a small brown bag. She pulled out two cups of coffee, a bran muffin, and a chocolate croissant. “Lunchtime. Eat up,” she said, handing Ben the croissant and one of the coffees.
Twenty minutes later, Ben still hadn’t touched the coffee or the croissant. A half hour after that, he finally looked up from his computer screen. “One Supreme Court decision coming up,” he announced as the laser printer started to hum.
“Great,” Lisa said as she walked to the printer. When she had picked up all seventeen pages, she returned to her desk and pulled out her red pen. As Ben watched her expression from his desk, Lisa read the decision, her red pen primed for corrections. Slowly and meticulously, she scrutinized each page, placing it facedown on her desk. After fifteen minutes, she turned over the final page and looked up at Ben.
“So?” Ben asked, picking at his croissant. “What’d you think?”
“Ben, this is a phenomenal job,” Lisa said as she turned over the pile and shuffled the pages. “Usually, I hack your first drafts up. My pen only touched the paper twice.”
“Three times, actually,” he said. Walking over to Lisa’s desk, he grabbed the small pile of paper and searched for her corrections.
“It was just grammatical stuff.” Lisa leaned back in her chair. “I’m amazed, though. This first draft is like one of our third drafts.”
“Well, this time I was trying.”
“Why the hell don’t you try like that the rest of the time? Usually you do an excellent job, but this is a finished product. You probably saved us a whole extra day of work.”
“It was an easy case,” Ben said. “It’s not that big a deal. I just work well under pressure.”
“I should get pissed off more often.” Lisa got out of her seat, took the pages back from Ben, and put them in one of Hollis’s brown folders. “I’m going to walk this over to Hollis as is. Hopefully we can be done with it by this afternoon.”
