Nathan Bines made the rounds of the Brookhaven Ballroom in Atlanta’s exclusive and private Capital City Country Club. His firm was sponsoring a weekend getaway for a select group of invited guests, and Bines was working the room, his silky and polished behavior embodying noblesse oblige. The smile on his face suggested he was having a great time. His smile lied. The only reason for Bines’s being there was to serve the interests of his publicity-shy client. Over the course of the last decade, that same client had come to expect more and more of Bines. There was a time when he would have eschewed this kind of behavior and manipulation, but now it just seemed easier to capitulate to his client’s demands. He kept drawing imaginary lines in the sand that he believed he wouldn’t cross, and then did so.
It would stop. That’s what he told himself. But not today. He exerted his will upon his face, growing his smile. At least he was the only one who could hear his teeth grinding.
Even though Bines lived most of the year in Manhattan, he was spending most of his time these days renting in Atlanta while working on the Welcome Mat Hospitality case. His firm had twelve offices nationally and another half dozen internationally. Bines had earned a spot as one of the names on his law firm’s letterhead. The weekend function was ostensibly being paid for by the firm, but a certain benefactor was subsidizing most of the costs, just as he was the legal fees associated with the Welcome Mat case.
Bines circled like a shark, making an incremental approach to his fish. That was the primary reason for his being there. The client who could not be named—sort of like Voldemort—had insisted upon this backchannel meeting. Judge Allen Irwin was Bines’s target. Their crossing paths had to look as if it was aboveboard. That would be good for all concerned. As expected, the judge had declined the weekend activities of golfing and meetings, wanting to avoid any notion of conflicts of interest with Bines or his firm. If he was ever questioned, the judge’s attending the reception could be explained away as being nothing more than a common courtesy extended to one of Atlanta’s preeminent law firms.
Of course, the judge knew full well that at this particular reception the finest wines and champagnes were being served, as well as a selection of hors d’oeuvres fit for royalty, including premium charcuterie, cutting boards of exotic cheeses, and crystal containers filled with beluga caviar. Servers circulated the floor offering up appetizers of carpaccio, oysters, and wagyu beef and asparagus. It was the rare offering that the judge refused. He seemed as driven to eat as a bear fattening up for winter’s hibernation.
Bines watched Judge Irwin flag down a waiter offering grilled lobster tail skewers. He made his approach a few moments after he was served, arriving as the judge bit off half the tail in a single chomp, leaving a trail of butter on the side of his mouth.
“Judge Irwin, what an unexpected pleasure to see you.”
The judge pretended to be as surprised by their encounter as Bines. He finished chewing down his huge bite of lobster and extended his hand. The lawyer managed to keep the smile on his face even as he pressed flesh with the judge’s greasy hand.
“Mr. Bines, I would have thought you’d be spending this weekend in New York with those two apples of your eye, your beautiful and accomplished wife and daughter.”
The two men drew closer so that their words would not extend beyond them.
Bines said, “The reason I stayed in town was to help host this gathering. Our firm wanted to get the best and brightest legal minds together, in the hopes of convincing a select few to join our ranks.”
“Best wishes on your headhunting,” Judge Irwin said.
“I am hoping for more than your best wishes. There’s one name at the top of our firm’s wish list: yours.”
Judge Irwin acted surprised. “I had no idea.”
“I need to know if we even have a chance.”
Irwin shook his head and looked regretful. “I am very happy on the bench. It is a most satisfying position.”
“I am sure. And yet you are overworked and underpaid.”
With a laugh, Irwin said, “I wish I could argue with that.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way. If you were to join our firm, you would be looking at a substantial increase in pay.”
“Substantial?” Irwin asked.
“Unofficially, three or four times your current salary.”
As a federal judge, Irwin was making close to quarter of a million dollars a year. Bines could see Irwin doing the mental calculations.
“That is certainly something to think about,” the judge said, all but salivating while he considered the merits of the bribe—that is, job offer.
“Good, good. Officially, of course, such an offer couldn’t come from me.”
“Of course not. We mustn’t muddy the waters of the current pro-ceedings.”
“Absolutely, but I am hoping you can do me a favor that has nothing to do with the current case.”
“And what might that be?”
Bines baited the hook a little more. “As you are probably aware, I help with the club’s Downtown Speakers’ Series. I am sure you know we have a long tradition of having notable individuals give talks to our membership. Winston Churchill honored the club and the city of Atlanta with a talk in 1932, and we’ve had club functions where a number of US presidents have given addresses.”
Irwin was nodding. “Didn’t I read somewhere that you have Geofredo Salazar as this month’s speaker?”
Geo Salazar, as most called him, was a Spaniard who had made his fortune in the founding and managing of his international hedge fund, but was now better known for his philanthropic endeavors.
Smiling, Bines said, “Since Mr. Salazar was already planning to be in town to award academic scholarships to several deserving African American youths to attend the University of Barcelona and the University of Madrid, he agreed to speak at the club. We are always on the lookout for securing preeminent thought leaders as lecturers. And that’s why I am hoping to get you onboard for a talk. The honorarium would be generous, of course.”
“I would be pleased to speak, but I am afraid my position precludes me from accepting any honoraria.”
Bines looked surprised. “But aren’t you allowed to receive teaching income? I have no doubt that your audience will be learning a great deal from your insights.”
Irwin clearly liked that argument, but did not overtly commit to it. “For now, let’s just say I will agree to speak.”
“Of course, of course, but if we can come to some acceptable financial arrangement, let’s get it done.”
With the hook now in the judge’s mouth, Bines knew he could land his fish at his leisure. Looking at his Patek Philippe Grand wristwatch, Bines expressed surprise. “I’ll have to take my leave of you shortly to take part in a conference call with the other partners.”
He leaned in close to the judge, and spoke in a lowered tone that suggested he was confessing something. “I don’t want this to be an ex parte discussion per se, but this Deketomis thing has got the partners upset. They’re not pleased by his vicious insinuations and aspersions, not to mention his egregious violation of your gag order.”
Irwin made a face and shook his head. “Everyone knows Deketomis is a hothead.”
“But, Your Honor, his theatrics made you a laughingstock. And that’s not acceptable when it comes to one of the most respected jurists in the land.”
“His comments were out of line,” Irwin said.
“Out of line? What Deketomis said showed absolute contempt for the court and your position in it. I’m afraid Deketomis now thinks he can get away with his carny barking without any repercussions whatsoever.”
“That is not the case. As I’ve already informed Mr. Deketomis, there will be consequences.”
“I would hope so.”
“I’ve even been pondering whether Mr. Deketomis’s outburst is reason enough for his removal from this case.”
Bines made a small grimace. “That might play into his hands, and give him a soapbox he would not otherwise have. And his second chair, that Romano woman, isn’t any less obnoxious than he is.”
But then he added in a low, secretive voice, “To her credit, though, she does have a very nice ass.”
The judge covered up his laughter behind his hand.
Bines wasn’t finished with his influencing. “No, you wouldn’t want his removal being part of the court record, seeing as this case will clearly never advance to a trial.”
Irwin offered an almost imperceptible nod. The court record was a public document that could be reviewed—and second-guessed. Because of that record, most judges did their best to try and appear unbiased and evenhanded.
“It’s a shame Deketomis even had a forum for his rant,” the judge said. “If it hadn’t been for that singer talking about being a truck stop prostitute, the media wouldn’t have taken any notice of the proceedings.”
“Deketomis played up to the cameras, and in the process put you in a bad light. He knew that things weren’t going well for him. I can’t imagine any forward-thinking jurist would allow an ambulance chaser like Deketomis to waste the court’s time with fantastical speculation.”
Irwin looked a little uneasy. Bines wondered if that was a result of a twinge of ethics, or the judge’s having finished the rest of the lobster tail.
“Clearly, sanctions are in order,” Bines said. “Last month Judge Aberdol in Alabama fined a loudmouthed trial lawyer fifty thousand dollars for saying far less than Deketomis did.”
The judge’s head was bobbing up and down. “That’s pretty much in line with what I was thinking.”
The lawyer patted the judge reassuringly on the shoulder. “Business calls, I’m afraid, but I don’t want to leave before making sure you sample some of the foie gras. It’s not to be missed.”
Bines flagged down a passing server and made sure the judge got his foie gras. As he walked away, he thought about how foie gras was made. Feeding tubes were forced down the throats of male ducks and geese; the force-feeding distended the livers of the birds. It was a cruel practice, with the birds forcefully stuffed with corn and meal until they could barely breathe.
He reached up to his own collar, loosening it. I’m not a Strasbourg goose, he thought. Still, he wondered at the consequences of being forced to swallow his pride, almost until he could no longer breathe.
With an effort, he kept the smile on his face until he exited the meeting room.