John Grisham - 1995 The Rainmaker by John Grisham

Author:John Grisham [Grisham, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Thrillers
ISBN: 9780307576057
Google: m_xxptf-qo0C
Amazon: B003B02O3C
Barnesnoble: B003B02O3C
Publisher: Dell
Published: 2010-03-16T05:00:00+00:00

Twenty-eight

THE FIRST MONTH IN BUSINESS WITH Deck has produced dismal results. We collected twelve hundred dollars in fees—four hundred from Jimmy Monk, a shoplifter Deck hustled at City Court, two hundred from a DUI case which Deck raked in by some shady and still unexplained method and five hundred from a workers’ compensation case Deck stole from Bruiser’s office the day we bolted. The remaining hundred bucks was produced when I prepared the wills for a middle-aged couple who stumbled into our office. They were shopping for antiques, took a wrong turn downstairs and happened to catch me napping at my desk. We had a pleasant visit, one thing led to another, and they waited as I typed their wills. They paid me in cash, which I duly reported to Deck, the bookkeeper. My first fee was ethically produced.

We spent five hundred dollars on rent, four hundred on stationery and business cards, about five-fifty on utility hookups and deposits, eight hundred for a leased phone system and the first month’s bill, three hundred for the first installment for desks and a few other furnishings procured from the landlord downstairs, two hundred on bar dues, three hundred for assorted and hard to pinpoint expenses, seven-fifty for a fax machine, four hundred for the setup and first month’s rent on a cheap computer, and fifty bucks for an ad in a local restaurant guide.

We spent a total of forty-two hundred and fifty dollars, most of it, thankfully, being initial and nonrecurring expenses. Deck has it figured to the penny. He projects a monthly overhead, after start-up, of around nineteen hundred dollars. He pretends to be thrilled with the way things are going.

It’s hard to ignore his enthusiasm. He lives at the office. He’s single, far away from his children and living in a city that’s not his home. I don’t imagine him spending much time partying around town. The only diversion he’s mentioned is the casinos in Mississippi.

He usually arrives at work an hour or so after me, and spends most mornings in his office, on the phone, calling heaven knows who. I’m sure he’s soliciting someone, or checking on accident reports, or just networking with his contacts. He asks me every morning if I have any typing for him to do. We realized quickly that he’s by far the better typist, and he’s always eager to do my letters and documents. He breaks his neck to answer the phone, runs out for coffee, sweeps the office, takes care of the copying at the printer. Deck has no pride and wants me happy.

He does not study for the bar exam. We’ve discussed this once, and he was quick to change the subject.

By late morning, he’s usually making plans to go to some unspecified place and take care of some mysterious business. I’m certain there’s a hive of legal activity, maybe bankruptcy or municipal court, where he finds folks who need lawyers. We don’t talk about it. He makes his hospital rounds at night.

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