75
DUNCAN HAD agreed to meet Neil Levine at the Royalton for a drink. Neil had reached out, practically begging him to meet. Duncan figured he could try to pump Neil for information as to how the firm was preparing to respond to the upcoming hearing in the Nazario case. Although Duncan supposed that could be what Neil was planning to do to him.
Neil was already at a back table when Duncan arrived. He stood in greeting, extending a hand. Duncan thought he seemed nervous. “Don’t worry,” Duncan said. “I’m pretty sure getting fired isn’t contagious.”
Neil forced a smile, then clutched at his drink as he sat back down. “This is so f*cked up,” he said. “Nobody at the firm understands what happened.”
“Does anyone actually want to know?”
“Of course. You were a rock star. It doesn’t make any sense. What the hell happened?”
“It’s really better if you don’t know exactly what’s going on.”
“You’re serious? Jesus, and I thought the problem with this job was how boring the work is.”
“You haven’t heard anything about what’s going on in the Nazario case, the hearing that’s coming up, nothing like that?”
“It’s been complete radio silence. I went by your office one day; your nameplate was gone and the door was locked. I asked Lily and she claimed she didn’t know shit. Did you see it coming?”
“I really didn’t.”
“I thought you were going to make the big time there.”
The waitress came over, asked Duncan what he wanted to drink. He ordered a Knob Creek straight up with a water back, a little surprised that Neil didn’t get another drink, although his glass looked empty.
“Tell you the truth,” Neil continued after the waitress was gone. “I’ve been thinking pretty seriously about leaving. I know I’ve only been at the firm for a year, so it’s probably a little quick to get out, but I already know I can’t possibly spend my life doing this.”
“I actually thought I could,” Duncan said quietly. “I mean, I was. If I’d made partner—who ever walks away at that point? It already feels so distant.”
Neil’s attention had visibly faltered. “Listen,” he said suddenly. “Don’t be pissed, but I’ve got to tell you something.”
“That sounds promising.”
“Blake asked me to get hold of you. I don’t know what it’s about, but I felt like I couldn’t say no. He said he needed to talk to you.”
“Tell him to go f*ck himself,” Duncan said.
“You can tell him that to his face,” Neil said, looking over Duncan’s shoulder.
“Don’t be pissed at Neil,” a voice said from behind Duncan, who didn’t need to turn to know who it was. “He was just following orders. Something law firm associates are expected to do, as you may vaguely recall from earlier in your career.”
“I’m not pissed at Neil, much,” Duncan replied as Blake came alongside the table. “More pissed at you for using him.”
Neil stood up, Blake immediately taking his seat. “We need to talk,” Blake said.
“Sorry, man,” Neil said to Duncan. “I’ll give you a call next week; maybe we can get dinner or something.”
Duncan didn’t bother to respond, debating whether he should get up and leave himself. But it would be useful to know why Blake was here.
The waitress brought Duncan his drink, pausing for a second as she realized that Blake was not the man who’d previously been sitting at the table, then asked if he wanted anything. Blake ordered a scotch, Duncan struggling to believe that the two of them were sitting here over cocktails. “How pissed at me can you really be, Duncan?” Blake said, after she was gone. “You think I wanted it to end up like this? You think I wanted to let you go? I’d been grooming you for years, for Christ’s sake.”
“I didn’t sense a lot of hesitation.”
Blake didn’t bother looking contrite. “You ask me to choose between the Roth family and you, who the hell you think I’m going to pick? The firm’s billed them probably twenty million the past decade; plus Simon and I go way back. What were you thinking, getting mixed up with Leah?”
“She came after me. And I was thinking what people usually are thinking when they go to bed with somebody, Steven. Plus, with her, there was that whole keys-to-the-castle thing; I’ll admit that.”
“Didn’t it occur to you how it could end?”
“That she would have you fire me because she was worried I knew too much about why Sean Fowler was murdered?” Duncan said. “Honestly, no, I can’t say that occurred to me.”
“Now let’s stick to the facts,” Blake said. “Leah is … She’s used to getting what she wants. I don’t know exactly what’s been going on, but I want to assure you I knew nothing about it at the time.”
“You knew that she’d given you orders to reach a quick plea for Nazario,” Duncan shot back.
“That’s not true,” Blake said immediately, Duncan rolling his eyes in response.
“For Christ’s sake, Steven, I’m not wired. I thought I was meeting Neil for a drink, remember?”
“I don’t think you’re wired, Duncan, but I do think you seem to be out for revenge. I understand that you’re mad at me. I thought Nazario was guilty, and that the best thing we could do for him was get him a good deal. The only thing Leah told me was she didn’t want some lawyer using the shooting at Riis as a way of rabble-rousing about the development.”
Duncan didn’t buy it. But he did imagine that Blake hadn’t been fully in the loop about what was really going on. Blake must have known something was off, but knew better than to ask questions he didn’t want answered.
“Okay,” Duncan said. “So she told you that then, and you chose to believe it. What about now?”
“This isn’t what you think. There’s never any big conspiracy. People are way too greedy and disorganized for that. Everybody’s playing their own separate angle, and you end up with something that maybe looks like it has a pattern.”
Duncan figured Blake hadn’t brought him here to debate, and decided it was time to make the man get to the point. “What do you actually want, Steven?” he asked.
“I want to try to make this right for you. Under the circumstances, I realize that I can’t just ask you to go back to the way things were. But I don’t want you to be left out in the cold like you have been. So here’s what I’m thinking: I’ll put you back on salary, give you a year to look for a new job. During that time you will keep your office at the firm, but we won’t expect you to work for us. I’ll not only give you the best reference I can, but I’ll personally, along with the rest of the partners, beat the bushes on your behalf.”
“Let me guess,” Duncan said. “All I have to do in exchange for all this is cancel the Nazario hearing.”
“I already assumed you weren’t actually going through with that,” Blake replied with no hesitation. “You don’t have any proof to present to the court, and if you violate attorney-client privilege you’ll lose your law license. And for what? It won’t change anything for this kid.”
“It’s interesting to find out what people think you can be bought for,” Duncan said. “So you think my price is a quarter million, plus references.”
“Don’t be silly. It’s about getting back everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve.”
Duncan knew there was a pretty good chance that Blake was right: he could go to the wall fighting this, and not accomplish anything other than his own disbarment. Blake was offering a lot more than money: Duncan’s whole career would be put back on track. It would be nice to have.
Duncan pushed the thought away and smiled at Blake. “And if I say yes, what am I then? I take your money, look the other way, turn my back on Rafael—what am I, Steven? At best, I’m you. And you know what? I don’t want to be you, not anymore.”
“You really think you can pull this off?” Blake said. “You really think you can pull this off against me?”
Duncan took a sip of his bourbon, then stood, so that he was looking down at Blake. “I’m sure as hell going to have fun trying,” he said.