Chapter Fourteen #2
“She created something people wanted. And she made it so desirable, it got the attention of some not-so-great people, which is how she got on the government’s radar.”
“Do you think she’s guilty?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I really don’t. She may have had some questionable business practices. But so far, Eddie doesn’t think anything she did warranted a criminal indictment.”
He handed me the wine list. I skipped over the Willamette Valley pinot, trying to ignore the pit in my stomach.
“Are you originally from LA?” I asked.
Leo shook his head. “Just outside of Philadelphia. I went to college at Penn. When I got into UCLA Law, I chucked all my turtlenecks and never looked back. Life is good out here. When I graduated, entertainment work was exclusively on the West Coast. My parents wanted me to go into politics, but I chose this. I started out only doing litigation and then, somewhere along the way, my clients forced me onto the deal side, and now I’m about fifty-fifty.
It’s not common, but it works for me, and more importantly, it’s what the clients want.
They know when I’m putting a deal together, I’m keeping in mind all the ways past deals have fallen apart.
” He smiled ruefully. “And at the end of the day, I’m just an insecure asshole who likes to be needed. ”
“I wanted to start in litigation too. But I’m also really interested in doing transactional work at some point, and it always seemed to me like it would be harder to try to learn litigation later.”
“That’s a smart approach. Not a lot of junior lawyers have the foresight to realize that.
I’ll try to find some deals that you can dip your toe in.
I can’t totally steal you away from Eddie right now, but you never know what’s coming down the pipe.
” He raised his martini. “To playing both sides,” he said cheerfully, then checked his iPhone.
“Eddie said he’s running later than he thought .
. . One more round so we can wait him out? ”
The wine was draining what little energy I had left but also distracting me from thinking about Ben. I nodded, and he signaled the waiter for another.
“Okay Samantha,” he said, leaning in. “Your turn. Where/what/who/why?”
“Let’s see—I grew up on a horse farm in Virginia. Then I went to UVA and law school in Washington.”
“Georgetown?” he interjected.
I nodded.
“Why entertainment?”
I took a deep breath. “I was a theater kid all the way through my first year of college. I thought I wanted to become an actor. I woke up one day and couldn’t do it anymore.
My family’s financial situation changed, and I needed to either drop out or switch to something more pragmatic.
But I always missed it. So eventually I thought maybe I’d become an agent, and then I discovered entertainment law.
And law school seemed like a safe bet. When I read about your practice and Eddie’s, I knew this was where I wanted to land. ”
I paused. Leo had a way of making me feel like he already knew everything about me.
“Pragmatism is hard at any age, but I imagine it’s tough to have the rug pulled out from under you like that in college.”
“It just meant I needed to find a job. Which honestly wasn’t a terrible experience. Balancing a full-time course load with a full-time job was like boot camp. It made me a much more focused person when I eventually got to law school.”
He smiled. “And the who? Is there someone special in your life?”
I shook my head slowly. “Not anymore. There was someone, but we ended it before I moved to New York,” I said, carefully choosing my words. I couldn’t imagine telling this sophisticated partner that I had been married. There was no way he would take me as seriously.
Leo nodded approvingly. “Fresh start.”
“Do you think Eddie’s actually coming?” I asked nonchalantly, hoping to maneuver back into more casual territory.
“Unless something more important has come up, yes. Anyway, just to go back to the LA-versus-New-York debate, every June I host a summer barbecue for the firm at our house in Montecito. You should plan to come out for that. I have a feeling if you spend more time in the LA office, you’ll rethink New York. ”
Before I could answer, Eddie appeared and dropped his briefcase next to Leo’s chair.
“Sorry. I’ve been playing inbox catch-up for the last two hours. Can I get you both a drink?”
I shook my head. “I’m okay with this one.”
Leo checked his martini glass. “I’ll stay and have one more with you. We should probably let Sam get back to the hotel soon. I’ve been dictating my memoir for the last hour, and I’m pretty sure she’s second-guessing her life choices.”
I laughed. “Not even close.”
Leo slapped Eddie on the back. “Seriously though, we’re old friends now. Bad idea to show up this late. You missed all the pleasantries; we’re already onto invites to the summer barbecue.”
Eddie nodded seriously. “Great. I figured you two would hit it off.”
“Actually—and sorry for thinking out loud here, but this just occurred to me—I signed a new client this morning. A billionaire tech guy who invested $20 million in a slate of movies and lost every penny. He’s based in New York.
He hired us because he wants to file a lawsuit but wants someone to dissect the investment first. Probably makes sense to have a New York associate.
I’m going to have to come out next week to get the whole download anyway. ”
It was impossible to hide just how cool that sounded. I was dying to take on more entertainment work that was directly related to film.
“When did that come in? I haven’t seen it on the new matters list,” Eddie asked.
“Just this morning.”
Eddie mulled it over. “As long as you don’t need someone on it full-time.” He looked over at me. “If you’re interested in taking it on, you have my blessing.”