"Leonard Speaking"
'Leonard Thinking'
Pearson Hardman Law Firm, Manhattan
Mike walked with purposeful steps as the elevator closed behind him. He looked around the firm. The opulent corridors, walls and furniture spoke of success and wealth, a dream for many lawyers. He had read up on the firm, its star lawyer and closer Harvey Specter, the current managing partner Jessica Pearson, and Louis Litt. While the firm received glowing reviews from clients, its reputation in the circle was average at best. Even the so-called best closer was known for using underhanded tricks. This did make him wonder, why Leonard sent him to get someone from this firm.
Mike approached the receptionist. While he had spent a long time in the circle, he was new to the Big Apple. If it was Seattle, any respectable law firm would be waiting eagerly for his arrival. However, in New York, few people recognized him. He approached the receptionist, "Good Morning, I'm here to see-"
The Receptionist looked at Mike from the corner of her eye, not putting down the phone. She did not recognize the lawyer approaching him. His clothes seemed to give an indication of frugality. She figured he was a new associate. Pointing to a couch against the wall, she instructed, "Have a seat."
Mike stood there awkwardly. While he was new, he did expect courtesy. Still, he decided to ignore that and walked over to the seating area, then spotted the view out of the window. He walked over to the window and looked down at the drop. Suddenly a beautiful woman with slightly tanned skin, long flowing hair, wearing a white blouse and a black pencil skirt, approached him.
As Mike turned to her she introduced herself, "Hi, I am Rachel Zane. I will be responsible for your orientation."
Seeing Mike's bewildered face, her eyes lit up with mischief. She smiled and handed Mike a notepad, "Take notes, I'm not gonna repeat myself."
Originally, Mike was going to correct her, but decided to get a tour. After all, Chaldea Legal Division will need different kinds of lawyers, and he could get structuring ideas from an obviously successful firm.
Rachel leads Mike down each floor, giving a proper tour as they go. One by one, Mike became familiar with the structure of the building and how the departments were adjusted for high efficiency. As they went through one of the main corridors in the building, Rachel started telling him about the model of operation.
Rachel explained, "The firm operates on a chain of command model. Harvey's your commanding officer, however, Louis Litt, he oversees all associates so you'll also answer to him."
Mike was amused. He could already envision her flustered face. Though he knew it would waste his and her time, his annoyance was relieved. He asked about the stars at the firm, "And what do you think about Harvey?"
Rachel gave Mike an incredulous expression. She answered, "People are in awe of him. They say he's the best closer there is but I have very little contact with him so I don't know."
Mike looked thoughtful before he asked, "What about Louis Litt?"
Rachel smiled sardonically, "Let's continue with your tour."
Soon the tour ended as Mike and Rachel walked into an office filled with cubicles.
Rachel pointed to a cubicle in the middle. Pointing it out as if it was a palace, "And, finally, this is where you'll live."
Mike chuckled as he looked at the sad, little cubicle. Rachel, meanwhile, noticed the completely blank writing pad she gave Mike. She grew annoyed as now, she would have to repeat stuff she spent about half an hour dictating.
Rachel bit out, "I gave you that for a reason, you haven't taken one note."
Mike tried to answer, "It's because-"
Rachel interrupted, "Because you were too busy ogling me to listen to a word I've said?"
Mike gives a full bellied laugh, interrupting Rachel's tirade. He recites, "Partner's offices anchor the wings. 5th floor's research, 6th is security. All work gets billed, even if it's finding an address. I answer to Harvey and Louis Litt and, judging by the way you responded to my questions, I should admire Harvey and I should fear Louis. You have been here for 5 years and just because I outrank you, does not mean I have the authority to command your services."
Before Rachel could interrupt, Mike added, "There were two other things wrong with your statement before, one, I wasn't ogling you. I have a very good memory, so I don't take any notes for memory. Second, I don't work here."
Rachel stilled at that, 'What does he mean by that? Isn't he the new associate Harvey hired yesterday. If he is not that guy, isn't the tour wasted."
As Rachel processed his response, Mike grinned, "I came here to see Louis Litt. Normally, I would ask you to lead me to his office, but your tour was really helpful, so I would just go over there myself. As for you, you should go to the lobby, the associate should be waiting for his orientation."
With that, Mike left the room. As he left, a laugh bubbled out of him, slowly echoing in the room, snapping Rachel out of her stupor.
Louis Litt's Office
Mike knocked on the door receiving a whispered permission to enter. As he entered, he looked at the man sitting in his chair. Louis Litt matched a traditional idea of a lawyer, with his short height, thin hair, buck teeth, slightly round appearance and a slight shifty look. But he stood out like a sore thumb in a firm like Pearson Hardman. In a world filled with handsome and beautiful lawyers, no one would expect someone like Louis to make it far, yet here he was, a junior partner in a major law firm in New York. Something told Mike that Louis did not earn his place by good impressions, but rather by good ability.
Before Mike could get a word in, an associate knocked on the glass door, Louis nodded to him, welcoming him in.
Gary looked at Louis, in slight fear, "You wanted to see me."
Louis nodded before turning to Mike, "This is Gary Lipski. Gary's one of our most promising associates from last year."
Mike nods to Gary, making him crack an uneasy smile. Louis continued addressing Gary, completely ignoring Mike in the process. Mike suspected something afoot, though he was curious, "Gary, Ms Pearson wanted me to ask, have you completed the Petrenko filing?"
Gary was startled at the sudden question, before a soft flush overtook his face, "Oh, well, my brother was in over the weekend so I didn't really get to it."
Louis smiled at Gary, though the smile lacked any warmth. Frankly, to Mike, it looked downright unsettling, "I mean, Gary, come on, this is, like, the third time I've had to ask."
Gary paled at that before insisting, "I'll get right on it."
Louis looked at Mike for a second, before saying, "Don't bother, you're fired."
Gary was dumbfounded, "What? Y-, y-, you can't fire me."
Louis looked at Gary with a serious gaze, as if asking him to challenge his decision, "Oh, yes, I can. And I just did. Go pack up your things. And don't you ever show your face in this place again."
MiKe looks shocked though his mind kept trying to deconstruct and understand the situation. Gary exits, as Mike waves awkwardly.
Louis looked imperiously at Mike, his lips turned in a terrifying, empty smile, "See, I arranged for you to see that because we pay our associates very well and we provide the opportunity for unlimited advancement, but in return we expect results. Have I made myself clear?"
Mike turned to the door for a second. Looking at the corridor outside, he realized something. He walked through that corridor during his tour. Louis must have seen him following Rachel, coming to the conclusion that he is their new associate. Facing the absurd misunderstanding, Mike couldn't help but laugh.
Mike turned back to Louis, whose eyebrows climbed up at the lack of fear in Mike's eyes. Mike spoke, "I think there has been a misunderstanding Mr. Litt. I am not the associate you are trying to scare. Though Gary's acting was flawless, he is not an associate at your firm."
Louis was taken aback, but his curiosity won over his surprise. He asked, "And how did you figure that out?"
Mike explained, "While Gary was wearing a suit, there was a hesitation and discomfort in his movements. He is not someone who wears a suit all the time. When I looked at his hand, there were tiny cuts, mostly healed, but a fresh one was there. An associate would not get cuts like these, but such cuts happen in mailrooms. So, he might be wearing a suit, but he was a mailroom clerk."
Louis smiled his menacing smile, before asking, "Well, you told me that you were not the associate I was trying to scare, so who are you?"
Mike spoke, "Good morning Mr. Litt, my name is Mike Ross, I work for Chaldea Foundation and Chaldea Enterprises. The head of our organisation, Dr. Leonard Hofstadter asked me to hire you for something. He asked me to bring you with me to Los Angeles today."
Louis was intrigued, "Sounds interesting, but I cannot take on new clients right now. I have a lot of work and I manage the associates here. Besides, I will have to ask permission, and considering the fact that I will be away from the firm for an unknown period of time, I don't think I can help you. Nothing you say can convince me."
Mike smiled, "Not even for a million dollars?"
Louis grinned, "Keep talking."
Burbank, Los Angeles
Leonard opened his door, waiting for the call from Mike. He had decided to set up his workplace in the basement. Normally, it would take a whole day to clear out and make the basement ready, but his small group of CBots, coupled with his own strength made short work of it. Leonard finished setting the basement for work, before preparing for a simple dinner. He had already sent the address to Mike, so he would be here any minute.
Leonard finished setting the dining table when the doorbell rang, Leonard quickly went to the door, ushering Mike and Louis in the room. Louis looked around the house. While there was nothing suggesting wealth, the room was clean. What struck him as odd was the almost OCD level of detail in arrangement. Everything was placed in proper places, tastefully.
Leonard smiled, "Welcome to my current abode. It's not much, but it's functional enough. I have set up a small dinner, you must be quite hungry after your flight. Once we have eaten, I will discuss your task."
With a strange ease, Leonard led the two lawyers to the table. Mike and Louis removed their coats, hanging them on their chairs. The meal was a quiet affair, with some salmon with lemon and broccoli, a small bread plate and chocolate mousse for dessert. While the meal was simple, the two lawyers ate the food with relish, finally satiating their hunger and tiredness. Once the plates were cleared, Leonard led them to the basement.
As Leonard sat at the table in the basement, he started talking, "Mike, do you know how I financed Chaldea before licensing my patents?"
Mike shook his head, as Louis looked at Leonard. As a financial lawyer, he was always interested in details involving money. Leonard continued, "Gambling."
Under the shocked gaze of Louis, Leonard explained, "When I started to research, I needed funds. The first month took me to Vegas. For a month straight, I ran around casinos and private games. Even now, I would be considered a local legend there. I have won at every casino there, and many private games were held for me. Many wanted to break the legend, to defeat the shark, but the legend ended on my terms. I left after my first month, with ten million dollars in earnings after tax."
Louis whistled at that. The story was shocking, and it becomes even more absurd when we realize that Leonard is not a gambler, but a scientist. He listened excitedly, as Leonard continued his story, "After I left Vegas for Washington DC, I could no longer rely on gambling, so I switched to the stock market. For the next five months, I turned that ten million to a hundred and twenty million. I closed my account a week ago."
Louis seemed to understand something. While many hedge funds and stock brokers earned huge sums through the stock market, someone with no prior experience could only earn this much through tips. In other words, it was insider trading.
Louis interrupted, "If I guessed it correctly, you want our help to hide your insider trading activity."
Mike snapped to Louis. While he was trying to come to justify Leonard's actions, he also suspected that Leonard engaged in insider trading. To prevent it from putting Chaldea in a bad spot, he needed Mike and Louis to hide its traces.
Leonard, on the other hand, was annoyed. He realized that the absurdity of the situation will make it look like insider trading. Even Mike and Louis believed this to be the case, and they were supposed to be on his team.
Leonard answered with annoyance, "Of course not. Do you overestimate yourself so much that you can hide traces of such a trade if they existed?"
Louis and Mike recoiled at that. They seem to have misunderstood what he wanted. Leonard continued, "Yesterday, I received a call. It seems my trade has brought me to the attention of Robert Axelrod. You must have heard of him in New York. The issue is, I do not want anything to do with him. And I don't think he will take my rejection well. Now, I don't have a lot of weaknesses he could use, but this trade is something he could use against me."
Louis interjected, "Seems plausible. He is known for his philanthropy in New York, but if he wants to bring you down, these trades will be something he could use. Even if you get free on insufficient evidence, your reputation will be in shambles."
Mike interjected, "Chaldea would suffer more. You have tied the reputation of many people to you. If you fall, Chaldea will fall with you."
Leonard nodded, "Now you see my predicament. What I need is to make sure no court can even accuse me of any crime, let alone arrest me. The biggest defense in case of insider trading accusation is…"
Louis finished, "Trade records, public channels of information and the trades should be replicable."
Leonard smiled, "Exactly. So, let's make the records. Axelrod hasn't done anything yet, but I don't want to give anyone ammunition against me."
The trio started discussing and making records on the aspects of his trade. While the lawyers were about to start working, Leonard told them to work tomorrow since they hadn't rested which could cause mistakes. Louis answered, "I don't make mistakes in my work. So don't worry. But I do want to ask, if Axelrod moves against you, will you retaliate."
Leonard smiled, "Louis, let me tell you something. Axe Capital is the lion in stock markets. And while lions are strong, they are not invincible. I could shoot the lion to death, but I will not. I will wound the lion, and let the hyenas do the rest."
Suddenly, Louis' face cracked into a smile. Mike shuddered as he looked at the two people. Their smiles were creepily identical.
AN: Thank you so much for your support of my writing. Please enjoy and stay tuned for more.
AN2: The next chapter will be about Leonard's meeting with Axelrod. This is the first proper conflict in the story, I hope to do it justice.
Support me on Patreon at patreon.com/SparksNFlames