America 1982-Chapter 119 - 33: What Is Called a Surprise_2

"Before you pour it, remember not to add three cubes of sugar, just one will do," Tommy said to Sophia with a smile. "As far as I know, that person is used to low-sugar or sugar-free tastes."

Sophia saw Tommy’s welcoming gesture, urging her to do it herself, and finally could only smile helplessly and said to him, "You have the thickest skin of any computer science student I’ve met. Aren’t people in that major supposed to be wearing glasses, forgetting to comb their hair, with no distinctive features in their wardrobe, and always reticent?"

"What makes you judge the thickness of my skin, just because I like to drink coffee?"

Sophia shook her head slightly and articulated the reason she thought this guy was shameless, "No, it’s because your gaze is always direct and filled with greed. You, an aggressive guy like you, must not be short of girlfriends, right?"

"I’ve never thought about dating you, Miss O’Connor," Tommy sighed, "My ’greedy’ problem is, are you interested in turning your legal aid work from 1VN at the assistance center to 1V1? I’m currently lacking a professional to deal with lawyers, courts, or various groups, but I don’t have enough money to hire an advisor who could give me various legal opinions at any time. I’ve asked around, and the cheapest quote I got was, ’Don’t even talk to me if it’s less than five hundred a week.’" Tommy sighed and said to Sophia with a wry smile, "So, are you interested? About eighty a week, that’s the highest I can offer."

Sophia was stunned by the figure that this jerk, Tommy, had just quoted. It took her a few seconds to recover before she said with a laugh, "You’re offering eighty a week to a Stanford Law School graduate student? Believe me, you deserve more than just a cup of coffee thrown at you because you’ve insulted not just me but also Stanford and the vast sea of American laws."

"How much do you get paid for advising those students with all kinds of bizarre legal questions at the assistance center? Can you make a hundred or two a week from a part-time job?" Tommy laughed self-deprecatingly, looked down at his hands, and then raised his eyes to ask Sophia.

Sophia naturally replied, "No, there’s no money in it, but it gives me a sense of social responsibility and the ability to communicate and respond to different people."

"OK, as long as it’s not about money, anything can be discussed. How about this," Tommy’s eyes lit up when he heard Sophia wasn’t paid at the legal aid center, and he leaned forward, fists clenched on the table, as he looked into Sophia’s brown eyes and said slowly but forcefully, "If you agree to 1V1 help for me, if nothing goes wrong, no matter whether my company wins or loses, you’ll be recorded in the history of American legal precedent studies, and I promise you’ll acquire those skills you want even faster."

Sophia took Tommy’s words as a joke to amuse her, "My father used to say something similar. He would coax me by saying Santa Claus would come and put presents in the stockings he prepared for me. If you want to amuse a girl, Tommy, you need better surprises. Although I’m amazed that you even know the word ’precedents,’ which most ordinary people don’t understand at all."

"If you’re willing to sign a confidentiality agreement, I can show you how a Santa Claus named Tommy Hawk prepares his gifts. And by the way, Miss O’Connor, that’s what I call a surprise." Tommy put down the teaspoon, fists still clenched on top of the table, and leaned in slightly as he said slowly yet forcefully:

"Use your Stanford Law School graduate student’s comprehension skills to decide whether I’m joking or not."

...

Derringer Law Firm in the heart of Palo Alto.

"Mr. Tommy Hawk, I’m delighted that you’ve finally decided to spend your company’s money on hiring legal professionals," Walter Derringer, a partner at Derringer Law Firm, couldn’t stop smiling as Tommy introduced Sophia to him.

Derringer Law Firm was the legal advisor for the Stanford University SSD division, and if not for the risk of losing the SSD business, Walter wouldn’t have bothered doing some legal work for Tommy’s Actor Corporation, especially since it was becoming clear that Actor was running into more and more trouble and required an increasing amount of legal assistance.

Therefore, Walter had repeatedly suggested that Tommy should quickly find a professional with legal expertise to join the company—to help straighten out his legal issues at Actor and, at the very least, ease some of the workload of his own pro bono lawyer.

After all, I was only doing some of the most basic tasks for Actor Corporation, such as reviewing contract terms because of SSD’s face, and I definitely didn’t want to be exploited by Tommy Hawk as free labor.

Seeing Miss Sophia O’Connor, Walter simply lost any interest in finding out whether she was still a student or if she was a professional. He just handed over the job Tommy Hawk had commissioned him to do, and whether it got done was none of his concern.

"There are a total of one hundred and seventy-six of them, fortunately we have plenty of time, allowing them enough time to conceive the summary themes. The contact information is also inside, with both phone numbers and pager numbers neatly organized. To ensure secrecy, all this tedious work was done by me alone, without any assistants involved," Walter said with a laugh and a mock complaint as he unlocked his file cabinet, took out a file, and handed it to Tommy.

Tommy didn’t even look at it and simply passed the folder to Sophia beside him, "For the time being, all legal affairs related to Actor will be advised by her, or she will attend some necessary meetings on my behalf."

"One hundred and seventy-six? One hundred and seventy-six!" Sophia’s hands trembled a bit as she took the folder, lowering her voice and repeating the question next to Tommy.

Seeing Sophia’s bewildered expression, Walter laughed, "Yes, one hundred and seventy-six, you’re just a student, aren’t you?"

"Yes, I haven’t received my graduate diploma yet," Sophia told Walter. "Are you saying that only a student would be shocked?"

"Pretty much. At the start, I was a bit surprised too, but only surprised that Mr. Hawk is so young, yet acts like a middle-aged person. I wouldn’t be surprised by the number of summaries, for people like us, having an employer who’s not an idiot is a good thing. At least Tommy Hawk’s tactics prove he’s no fool," Walter said with a smile to Sophia before extending his hand to Tommy, shaking it and saying:

"Tommy, my job here is done. Don’t come bothering me next time without paying. I know if you win, you should make a good sum, so after you’ve made the money and need legal advice or any service from a lawyer, please remember to consider our firm, Dixon & Associates, first. But our firm doesn’t offer free consultations."

"I will, Attorney Derringer. I won’t waste your precious time. See you next time." Tommy shook hands with Walter to say goodbye, then turned to Sophia who was eagerly flipping through the folder, "We should get going, Miss O’Connor."

It wasn’t until they had left the law office and sat in Tommy’s old car that Sophia, holding the folder tightly to her chest, looked at Tommy in astonishment, "One hundred and seventy-six? My God! And it’s just the first round?"

"These are the talismans to ensure Actor doesn’t go down in one round. During the second round, we’ll see if big companies like IBM are as greedy as I suspect," Tommy said as he turned the ignition key and started the car. "Keep this information safe, contact them and make sure each summary is unique and not half-hearted."

Sophia held the folder, closed her eyes, and took a few deep breaths before saying, "After hearing your plan, I now believe that, whether Actor survives or not, I’m definitely going to be recorded in the case precedents as a participant."

She then turned her head to look at Tommy, who was driving expressionlessly, her voice mixed with excitement and anxiety, "Tommy Hawk, you are crazy."

"I know. You like crazy, don’t you? Because I’ve noticed, the way you’re looking at me now, is as greedy as how I was looking at you in the restaurant," Tommy said confidently, holding the steering wheel and watching the road ahead:

"So, do you know what a surprise is now?"