Volume 3: My days in a college fraternity Chapter 127 The last time I did something like this was me
Jim held a cigar in his hand and pointed at the lawyer Robert Morley sitting opposite him: "I don't give a damn what method you use! In short, make those cheap prostitutes disappear immediately!"
"I'm still investigating the channels through which those prostitutes receive their remuneration from Actor. Jim, you can't rudely drive them away at this time. That will only make Lotus' public image worse. You should understand that large companies must care about their own image, so..."
"I don't need you to teach me how to run a company! Robert! Don't change the subject, I'm not interested in discussing business experience with you. Make those prostitutes disappear! Some newspapers in Massachusetts have reported this as local news. Mickey and Jonathan are almost scared by those vulgar and shameless prostitutes and need psychological counseling. Did you know that yesterday a prostitute who claimed to be infected with AIDS rushed to a position only three meters away from Mickey! Although it was later discovered that the woman did not have AIDS, Mickey was so scared that he spent a lot of money to contact the best private hospital in Boston and arrange various physical examinations for him!" Jim stared at Robert with sharp eyes:
"Don't fucking investigate how those prostitutes collect money. If I were to hire those prostitutes, I can fucking think of ten thousand ways that you won't find out! By the time your people find out, maybe the Soviet Union has already planted its flag on the dome of the White House. I don't need a process, I need a result, and the result is that I fucking need those prostitutes to disappear right now! Also, you'd better not refute me in your next words, otherwise, what I say to you will be a fucking replacement for you. You've already made a mistake once, got it? You fucking told me that Actor hired an obscure law firm to take charge, but the reality is that the partner of the sixteenth-ranked White Shoes Law Firm in this country appeared in front of me. I was almost scared to death when I saw that white-haired girl, and my balls almost shrank back!"
Robert saw Jim's serious and fierce look, and finally lowered his head. He didn't dare to talk back to him. He was silent for more than ten seconds and made a phone call: "Reynard, there are more than a dozen prostitutes protesting outside Lotus. I want you to deal with them quickly. I don't want the public to associate their expulsion with Lotus."
The person on the other end of the phone seemed to think for a few seconds, then said something, and finally Robert nodded: "... Can't you check the other party's... Of course we can't find prostitutes to do the same thing. Actor is located on the campus of Stanford University, which is private land, understand? There is no need to call the police, the Stanford campus police can easily drive the people we are looking for out of their territory, and if you find a group of prostitutes to demonstrate in San Francisco , it seems more like helping Actor to increase its visibility. Are you still in Warwick? Already have a clue? Okay, let me explain it to the other party again."
Robert hung up the phone and looked at Jim Manz, who was waiting for the result: "Jim, it's better not to drive away those prostitutes."
"I paid you a fucking high price just to tell me, it's better not to? It's better not to!" Jim loosened his tie and slightly stiffened his neck, looking like he was ready to hurt someone.
"Reynard has experience with this kind of thing, and the other side also has investigators active. This kind of thing is that the more you do, the more mistakes you make. There must be their investigators near the prostitutes, and they just happened to record the process of us driving the prostitutes away clearly. When we go to court, it will be troublesome. I mean, this kind of thing is not something that can be explained to the judge and the jury in a few words. It requires countless witnesses and testimonies to prove that we did not participate in driving away the prostitutes, or that there are sufficient reasons to drive away the prostitutes. In other words, this disgusting trick is to deliberately make you drive away those women. If you really do it, your impression score on the jury will drop significantly first." Robert said to Jim with a sincere expression:
"The best option is to have your two bosses take a vacation and take some time off from the company."
Jim turned around irritably and cursed. At this moment, the phone on Robert's desk rang again. He looked at the number and pressed the hands-free button instead of picking up the phone: "Reynard ?"
"The investigator sent to California sent a message that there seemed to be a disagreement between Tommy Hawke and his lawyer Delia Keyes. They met at the Four Seasons Hotel Cafe. Although our investigators could not hear their conversation, they could see some scenes from a distance. Then, after talking to the waiters and other guests at the cafe, they felt that there seemed to be a disagreement between the two. Delia returned a check to Tommy Hawke, but Tommy gave it back to her. Then Delia left with a gloomy face. Through the airport's connections, we found out that Delia returned to Washington." Leonard, who was responsible for helping Robert with the evidence search, said in a steady voice:
"Combined with the fragmentary information I got, I suspect that Tommy Hawke or Actor is preparing to replace the legal team."
Hearing the voice coming from the phone, Jim immediately stepped forward and asked into the phone: "What other characteristics increase your suspicion?"
"Actor recently hired two members of the Stanford Law School fraternity as legal assistants. Before them, Actor only had a law school graduate named Sophia O'Connor working part-time. According to the fragmentary information we collected on campus, Tommy Hawke held a party a few days ago and invited members of the law school fraternity. I suspect it is very likely..."
"It's very likely that Delia's service is too expensive, and Actor's financial ability is a bit stretched, so she thinks the people at Stanford Law School can give her a free meal or a discount?" Robert Morley's eyes lit up and he added.
Leonard on the phone said, "It's very likely that Delia returned the check to Tommy Hawke, and Tommy Hawke returned it to her. I guess it's very likely that Tommy Hawke thinks that although he can't continue to cooperate with the other party, he hopes that Delia Keyes will keep her mouth shut. The second news is that we learned that Actor seems to be selling their software in Florida and Mississippi. I have arranged for people to go to these two places to understand the specific sales situation. They seem to have chosen TV marketing instead of cooperating with chain stores."
"I'll call you again. This is very timely information. Let me know as soon as you get the sales data." Robert said to Leonard, then hung up the phone and looked at Jim: "We finally have some new gains. I have a senior brother at Davis Polk's New York headquarters. Maybe I can ask him to come forward..."
Jim had a gloomy and cruel expression just now, but now he covered his mouth with his hands, frowned, and asked Robert his question: "Why didn't Actor choose an alumnus of Stanford Law School before? Shouldn't it have covered its pockets and went back to find a bargain as soon as it knew about Delia Keyes's offer?"
"You mean, they're putting on a show for us? Maybe someone from Stanford Law School noticed the lawsuit and offered to help..." Robert gave his own opinion.
"Offer help on your own initiative? Have you ever offered to help others for free, Robert?" Jim stared at Robert with his gray-blue eyes:
"You will never help anyone without any benefit. So, I don't think that the guy from Stanford Law School is more noble than you. Think about it carefully. What benefit can those people get from helping Actor? Benefits other than money! What benefit can make Delia stay even if she wants to return the money to the other party? In the end, she got the money but left with a gloomy face?"
"Industry reputation...precedent." Robert lowered his eyebrows and immediately looked up at Jim: "Actor Company believes that this lawsuit may create an industry precedent! And Stanford's proactive help and Delia's sudden departure are all because of this possible precedent!"
Jim bit his cigar and looked at Robert, who seemed to have suddenly realized something. "This is what you are good at. Tell me, is it possible for a small company to get a precedent?"
"There is no difference between defendants and plaintiffs, but in the eyes of the public, there is a difference between the weak and the strong. For example, the United States Steel Company seems to be strong alone, but when it becomes the plaintiff and sues the U.S. federal government, it is weak. The weak get the precedent..." Robert did not finish his words, as if he had thought of something:
"Those two states are poor areas in the United States, full of country idiots. Every time there is a movement in the United States, the idiots in these two places will respond foolishly, even if the result will only make their situation worse, but they never get tired of it. Just now, Leonard said that they use TV direct sales to sell software. I suspect... Actor is tying up those ignorant people and has already labeled itself as vulnerable. Most American case law is born in an environment where the weak win over the strong with the small. In other words, the case law is the result that most Americans want to see. It seems to be related to the law, but in fact it has little to do with it. It is more like a group carnival, and everyone tries to use this opportunity to gain the maximum benefit."
"Selling software to a poor guy who has never seen a computer?" Jim Manz rubbed his forehead with a headache, then picked up his suit jacket: "This guy named Tommy Hawke is really a talent. How good must his oral skills be to do such a thing? The last person who did such a thing was myself. I have to go to Florida in person. I have a few friends there."
"Have you ever sold software to poor people?" Robert asked curiously.
Jim walked out while putting on his suit jacket: "No, a few months after the successful landing of Apollo 17 on the moon, I and a few classmates sold some land in Littoral State, USA to a group of Montana country bumpkins to open a wheat farm. We told them to start working anytime, and then we used the money to go to nightclubs."
"Littrow State? Where is it? Is there such a state in the United States?" Robert thought about it and had no impression of the name.
"On the Moon, it's the name of a valley on the Moon." Jim walked to the door of the office, turned around and looked at Robert , buttoning up his suit, and said:
"The name is not important. What's important is that the poor people still don't think I deceived them. They think the government is corrupt and deliberately delayed the large-scale agricultural development on the moon. If Tommy Hawke also uses this trick on those country bumpkins in Florida, it means that those poor country people are being used as ATMs by him... Anyway, I have to find a way to erase their ads from TV first to see if it's possible to expose that guy's conspiracy and cut off Actor's financial resources."
