America 1982-Chapter 141 - 47: She Actually Dared to Charge Me With Arrogance

Chapter 141: Chapter 47: She Actually Dared to Charge Me With Arrogance

On the return flight, Tommy still stingily chose a red-eye flight that departed late at night, but Sophia no longer had as much resentment as she had on the way there.

Sitting in her seat, she happily flipped through the various souvenir photos she had taken in Washington D.C., the Potomac River, Lincoln Memorial, the White House, and the last photo was a selfie with Delia, with the latter’s autograph on the back.

"You seem pretty happy," Tommy said, sitting next to Sophia, turning his head to ask curiously.

Sophia looked at him with an expression reserved for idiots, this guy who was obviously very capable but occasionally asked such low IQ questions:

"Tommy, don’t you think we should be happy? Delia agreed to help Actor with this business deal. Honestly, I thought it was impossible before coming here. Didn’t you go through all that material? Don’t you realize the standing of white-shoe law firms in the industry? She was able to manipulate all the relevant issues that arose with this lawsuit perfectly, following the thoughts of her employer, you."

"Miss, could you please give me a few more pieces of chewing gum?" Instead of responding to Sophia’s comments, Tommy first spoke to the passing homely stewardess.

The stewardess glanced at Tommy and said with a numb expression, "There are no additional complimentary food items on this flight unless you choose to purchase something."

"Perfect, I assure you there will be an extra harvest for the plane. Without chewing gum, I’ll get airsick and throw up, but I won’t trouble you. Go ahead and remember to prepare a broom in advance, waiting to clean up," Tommy said to the stewardess with utmost seriousness.

Hesitating for a moment, the stewardess ultimately chose between cleaning up vomit and giving away chewing gum and went for the latter, taking out a pack of chewing gum from her own pocket and handing it to Tommy, "Sir, here’s your chewing gum, enough to last until you get off the plane."

"I’ll commend you during the airline’s customer call back..." Tommy glanced at the nameplate on the stewardess’s chest, "Ms. Viola Davis."

"No, thank you, just don’t run into me again, maybe vomit on some other plane," the stewardess shook her head and continued to walk forward.

After the stewardess left, Tommy unwrapped the unpleasantly strong mint of the chewing gum and threw it into his mouth to chew for a bit of refreshment, "If there were cheaper flights, I wouldn’t want to run into you either. You’ve got a terrible figure, feels like your chest isn’t even as developed as Jason’s."

Witnessing Tommy’s stingy behavior even on a red-eye flight, Sophia turned her head away, silently staring out the window at the night sky, "Can’t you just be a normal person, one who doesn’t get called a dick by women, Tommy?"

Speaking of which, you wouldn’t call me a dick, right? I made it possible for you to meet your idol, and you even got a photo and autograph," Tommy also turned his head to look at the window beside Sophia, throwing a flirty look at the reflection of her in the window and pointing towards the restroom with his finger, "Are you grateful? Want to join me in the restroom for a tearfully grateful massage?"

Sophia turned to look Tommy straight in the eye, "Tommy Hawk, I already know you can present yourself as a calm gentleman, like you did in front of Ms. Delia Case. Believe me, it’s more attractive to women that way."

"I screwed up, huh? You won’t join me in the restroom, will you?" Tommy laughed unconcernedly and continued to ask.

Sophia nodded in annoyance, "Yes, I will help in this case to the best of my ability, but I definitely will not join you in the restroom, nor will I give you a massage."

"That’s exactly what I was waiting for you to say," Tommy snapped his fingers and told Sophia:

"Your understanding of law school is probably as good as my familiarity with restrooms. You don’t have to go to the restroom, but you do have to go back to Stanford Law School and pick a superstar legal team for Actor Corporation, a lineup of superstar lawyers who are Stanford alumni or have the status of professor or instructor."

When Sophia saw that Tommy was not joking with her, she shook her hair, "Why? You already have Ms. Delia Case helping you; she will..."

"She’s not helping me; she’s pocketing the four hundred thousand that rightfully belongs to me and getting loads of recognition. I find this less than perfect. She should be offering her services for free since I stand on the side of justice," Tommy took out a cigarette, lit it, and put it in his mouth:

"Superman saves countless people and fights all kinds of evil, and then the lawyer defending him ends up charging him a hefty fee? Comics don’t even dare write shit like that, and here we are in justice-filled America!"

In the ’80s, American flights had not yet banned smoking, and the flight attendants on these budget flights would even sell cigarettes, trying to earn as much as they could.

"So, what now?" Sophia suddenly had a very bad feeling.

"Pay a part of the money to have her handle the toughest part, and when the trial comes, switch the legal team and let the precedent be left for the Stanford alumni. Would I offer this opportunity for fame to someone who quoted me a price of four hundred thousand, showing complete disrespect for the great cause of women?" Tommy mentioned it as if it were an insignificant matter:

"Alumni from Stanford Law School or guest professors with practicing qualifications at the law school would surely not charge the poor Actor Corporation, after all, Stanford is so wealthy, so righteous, and we’re all family, aren’t we?"

Sophia looked down at the photo of herself smiling next to Delia, then at Tommy’s devilish grin, opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally saying in a deflated tone, "But... but Delia, she’s just earning the compensation she deserves."

"The premise is that those payments can’t be earned from me," Tommy said as he exhaled a cloud of smoke from his nostrils:

"I gave her a valuable opportunity. Not having her work for me for free was already an act of grace, and she had the audacity to quote a fee of four hundred thousand. You’re always calling me a capitalist because of my stinginess, is a capitalist just stingy? No, there’s also exploitation and oppression. In the eyes of a capitalist, all the fucking money should belong to me."

Sophia took a deep breath, trying to appear calm, "If you do this, I guarantee she will cause you trouble afterward."

"Do I look like someone who’s afraid of trouble?" Tommy said, his smile brimming with brazenness and defiance as he spoke through the cigarette in his mouth:

"What do you think Davis Polk, or even the entire white-shoe elite group of lawyers, will have left if someone receives a mid-way replacement like this? Just wait until she becomes the industry joke, banished to some backwater office to grow mold. Every partner in Davis Polk will only have one line for her, ’We gave you an opportunity and you were fucking useless! Bitch!’"

"Tommy..." Sophia’s hands trembled slightly as she spoke weakly: "She’s just earning the money she deserves. She was willing to help your unknown Actor Corporation..."

"Stanford Law School would prefer to pay the penalty for suddenly changing legal teams, taking on the best lineup from our university to put a perfect end to our deal with Lotus Corporation, and incidentally make history," Tommy flicked an ash and then gently touched Sophia’s startled face:

"As for that broad who wants to earn four hundred thousand from me, maybe if she gives me back the money I paid her, I might consider giving her a spot in the new team. Didn’t you notice that woman acting all high and mighty towards us? Charging us four hundred thousand, gaining industry influence, and this silver-haired broad didn’t even say thank you. Back in Warwick, according to the social philosophy of my old man and those folks, it’s the kind of woman who needs to be put in her place. If she doesn’t experience the agony and ecstasy, she won’t understand what respect is, she won’t know who loves her like her daddy would, she shouldn’t disrespect just because her employer is young."

"It’s Sophia’s industry status that allows her to be more assertive in facing employers, after all..."

"I may not have manners, but I like to teach those arrogant ones to be polite in front of me," Tommy withdrew his finger from Sophia’s face and casually picked up a photo of Sophia and Delia to look at:

"This woman’s silver hair is very sexy, sort of like the actress in a movie called ’The Devil Wears Prada.’ I should be more far-sighted, not just fixate on those blonde chicks from BDP. Silver can also be an option."

Sophia hadn’t heard what Tommy said about the movie nor noticed the vulgar way Tommy maliciously insulted Delia, her idol. All she could think about was that Delia hadn’t done anything wrong, and she repeated weakly, "Delia was just... just earning the money she deserved,

She didn’t understand why Delia, having been willing to take on this business for Actor Corporation and quoting a perfectly normal fee, was unbearable to Tommy Hawk.

What’s wrong with this world?

"I just want to make money too," Tommy returned the photo to Sophia’s hands, looking forward at the homely flight attendant starting her sales pitch again, saying:

"This won’t affect you, on the contrary, it’s beneficial. You didn’t have much chance while Delia was in charge, but once the lineup changes, you’ll be the darling angel in the eyes of those professors at Stanford Law School, the girl doted on by all the mentors in the Stanford legal brigade."

Sophia’s breathing grew rapid; she clutched the photo tightly, her eyes glued to Tommy, swallowing subconsciously out of anxiety:

"What do you mean you just want to make money too?"

"The well-known lawyers among Stanford alumni mostly serve large computer companies established by Stanford alumni in Silicon Valley. By collaborating this time, if we can get them to facilitate a conversation with those enterprises about setting up something like the California Software Industry Association, discuss the potential to sell my company shares to them, make a profit. Otherwise, how else would it be, continue borrowing money from you to buy Trojan?" Tommy said to Sophia:

"That’s business, Sophia. I give those lawyer alumni industry prestige, and they get me investments from those large enterprises."

Suddenly recalling something, Sophia asked Tommy with a look of shock, "I initially suggested that you collaborate with the law firms established by Stanford alumni, and you insisted on choosing a female lawyer from a white-shoe firm. Was this calculated as well?"

Tommy flicked his ash, "If I’d approached those Stanford alumni lawyers for a partnership from the start, do you think they’d offer their services for free because of our alumni status? Of course not. Remember what my dad used to say, ’Cheap goods are crappy goods.’ If I came to them, in their eyes, I’d be crappy goods. But since I hired the elites from a white-shoe firm, the tables turned. In my eyes, and even in their own, they’re the crappy ones. But I’m willing to give these craps a chance so they understand what gratitude is."

"You lack the basic moral foundation of being human." After listening to Tommy’s reply, Sophia looked down at the photo for a long time before gently turning it over.

Tommy was not just an asshole; he was a devil that could make a rational law student doubt society itself.

Tommy flicked away the cigarette butt, "What’s moral foundation? That shit shouldn’t exist in America."