The Interior - Страница 18

"I did, as a matter of fact. I wish he'd explained-"

"He didn't like to talk about it. As unfounded as those articles were, they were deeply embarrassing to him."

"The death of his girlfriend couldn't have helped matters. Did you know her?"

"No, she didn't live here. Her death was a tough break for Keith. Well, there's no point dwelling on it now." He paused, then said, "Ah, here's Phil."

"Have you asked him yet?" Phil inquired.

"No," Miles answered. "I was waiting for you."

"Good," Phil said, smiling warmly at David, "because I want you to know that this proposal comes from all of us at the firm. Go ahead, Miles."

David waited, listening.

"We've all watched your progress at the U.S. Attorney's Office," Miles began. "You've done some amazing work in China and certainly with the triads. We're all proud of you for that."

"Thanks."

"I'm going to lay our cards on the table," Miles continued. "We'd like you to come back to the firm and open an office in China." He held up a hand to keep David from speaking. "We've got a lot of work over there even without the Tartan business. We're subbing it out to lawyers in Beijing. Remember Nixon Chen, who came over from China to train with us all those years ago?"

"Not only do I remember him, but I had lunch with him about three months ago."

"He does a lot of our China work, and he bills at rates almost as high as ours," Phil said. "We're giving him hundreds of thousands in legal fees each year. The firm's thinking is, why should we give Nixon all that work? We've been wanting to open a branch office in Beijing for quite some time, but we needed the right person to get it up and running."

"And you think I'm that person?"

Phil stared earnestly at David. "Look, you're a litigator, but a lot of your cases have involved big companies with complex financials, so you've become quite a good corporate lawyer too."

David hadn't thought of his career this way before, but it made perfect sense.

"But you bring something more to the equation," Miles picked up. "The Chinese care about guanxi-connections. Nixon's a Red Prince, so his connections are impeccable. But you also have some pretty interesting connections-with the Ministry of Public Security…"

"If you're thinking about Hulan, forget it. She's happy where she is."

"I didn't mention her name. You did. We haven't asked Hulan to open the office. We're asking you."

David shook his head. "Thanks, but I like what I do too."

"We're prepared to make a substantial offer," Miles said. "Just name your price."

"Money's never mattered to me."

"I know that, and if you want our offer to take that into consideration, I'm sure we can oblige." Seeing the look on David's face, Miles grinned triumphantly, as if he'd caught a witness in a lie. "I knew it," he said. "We never would have gotten this far in the conversation if you weren't just a little bit intrigued. So do us a favor. Think about it and come see us tomorrow."

"All right, but don't count on anything."

Miles smiled, gloated, convinced he'd achieved victory, then looked back toward his waiting guests. "I bet Mary Elizabeth's wondering where I am. You mind if we head back?"

As the three men slowly walked along the path leading to the pool, David said, "I'm not saying I'll do it, but what kind of time frame are we talking about?"

"The visa won't be a problem," Miles said. "The Chinese know you and you've been there before. We'd love to get you on a plane to Beijing by the end of the week."

"Jesus! What's the rush?"

Miles stopped. "Frankly I thought you'd be in a hurry. You'll be safe in China. And"-Miles allowed himself a small smile-"you could be reunited with Hulan."

"Actually," Phil interjected, "we've been thinking about this for a long time. We have a window of opportunity in China. We've thought about talking to other attorneys, but you know how long it takes to integrate a lateral hire into a firm like ours. You already know us, and we know you. Really the only way we can go ahead in a timely fashion is with someone we know. That's why you've always been our first choice, but you weren't going to leave the U.S. Attorney's Office in the middle of the Rising Phoenix cases. Those trials are done now, and let's face it, David, it's time for you to move on. So I say, if we're going to act, let's do it fast. All the work's been done on the Knight deal. All we need now are the signatures. So, let's get you in there in time to deal with the last-minute logistics and to meet all of Tartan's top players. That will smooth the transition and put you in prime position to continue handling Tartan's China business. But again, for that to work, we need to move quickly."

"Do you think the others will want me back after what happened with Keith?"

Phil momentarily dropped his friendly senior-statesman demeanor. "I mean no disrespect to the dead. What happened was bad luck. But let's face facts. Keith was a mediocre lawyer who barely got enough votes to make partner. You've got real talent. We've known that for a long time."

"Still-"

"Let me put it to you another way," Miles interrupted. "There's lots of money to be made in China. The lawyers of Phillips, MacKenzie amp; Stout might as well be the ones to make it." Registering David's shocked expression, Miles held his hands palms up. "For once in your life try to divorce yourself from your so-called good intentions. You've done your time, you've given back to the community and all that. Now you should think about what's best for you. And Hulan."

An hour later, the agents whisked David away from the gathering. Once he got home, he opened a beer and sat down ostensibly to watch the news, but his mind was on his conversation with Miles and Phil. Could David work with Miles again? They'd never gotten along all that well. David was born with all the things that Miles had worked hard to attain. David had lived in the city his entire life, had grown up surrounded by culture, had gone to the best schools, had fast-tracked into a partnership at the firm where-at least according to Miles-David had never quite been able to "get with the program." Of course, David saw it differently. Coming from a position of professional security, David had had little patience for either Miles's mannerisms or his compulsive desire to be respected and obeyed. Miles was as smart and savvy as anyone David had ever met, but in many ways he was still an insecure farm boy. He could truly be a friend and benefactor to someone like Keith who kowtowed to him, but David had never been able to do that. Then David had done something almost unfathomable to Miles. David had given it all up-meaning the six-, almost seven-figure salary-to go to the U.S. Attorney's Office, where he felt he could make a difference. But the door, so to speak, had obviously been left open. Miles might not have liked David, but he recognized that he was always among the top billers at the firm.

Phil especially had nailed the situation: it was time to move on. Coming back to Phillips, MacKenzie could benefit both David and the firm, and timing was everything in business. David had been further reassured when Phil had said, "The fees to our clients in China are covering the financial risk for us, so that in the unlikely event that this doesn't work out, the firm won't hold it against you and you can come back to the L.A. office. We want this to be a win-win for both parties right on down the line. We're partners."

All of this brought back to David that last dinner with Keith, who'd mentioned in passing that the partners had been talking about him. Somehow that knowledge-that link to Keith-made the offer all the more appealing. And then there was the deeper consideration: Hulan. The only way he could deal with her fears was if they were together. If he could hold her in his arms, he knew he could banish the inner demons that haunted her so.

Just then Eddie came in, sprawled out on the couch, and said, "You should do it, you know."

"What?"

"Do what they say. Get the hell out of here. Take them up on their offer."

"How did you know…?"

Eddie cocked an eyebrow. "Man, we're the FBI. You didn't think you could have a private conversation without us knowing about it, did you?"

He paused, then added, "Anyway, for what it's worth, you should go."

"How can I?"

"How can you not? Look at it this way, Stark, you've got a guy like me on your couch here and a woman waiting for you in China. That's a no-brainer from where I sit."

6

IF HULAN HAD BEEN IN BELTING, SHE WOULD HAVE COM-pleted all of her interviews in one day. But she was in the countryside now, where the pace was slow. Activity happened early or late in the day to avoid the brutal heat. Part of blending in meant that she would have to melt into those rhythms. So on Monday morning Hulan once again set out for the village, where she planned to stop at a cafe and strike up a casual-and hopefully informative-conversation with the owner.

With its sign in English posted on the door, the Silk Thread Cafe seemed particularly receptive to people from afar:

WELCOME DISTINGUISHED GUESTS GOOD FOOD COFFEE

It was too hot to sit on the sidewalk, so Hulan stepped inside the single room of the establishment, where several men sat clustered together at two tables. When she entered, she saw one of the men pick up a remote control and change the television channel. From Hulan's seat in the corner she could see the television, which was hung from the ceiling in one of the corners. On the screen she recognized The Three Amigos, an American movie that was very popular in China.