America 1982-Chapter 161 - 59: The Contact Meeting
Tommy smoothed his suit and sat down at the table, looking across at Mitch Kapor, Robert Molley, and slightly aside, Jim Manz, who was resting his chin on his hand and sizing him up.
The courtroom attendant, seeing that Tommy had not begun to speak, gently sounded the bell that was used as a prompt, signaling that both parties could start, say anything; this was merely a formal private contact, not a trial, so they could chat about any topic like strangers meeting for the first time. After all, conversations unrelated to the case wouldn’t be recorded or submitted once confirmed at the end.
Neither side was in a rush to speak. Mitch adjusted his glasses; when he had first seen a photo of Tommy Hawk, he’d felt some dislike for the man. And now, with this guy sitting across from him, he was even more convinced they’d never be friends.
Some people you could just look at once and see the difference between you and them. Clearly, the blond kid opposite was the type who, during high school and college, loved to show off, attract girls, and had a multitude of friends—a real campus celebrity.
As everyone knows, the opposite of such people was his own kind, the nerds who were mocked, humiliated, and bullied by the campus celebrities.
The attorneys from both sides were not eager to interrogate either. Delia casually flipped through her notebook, while Robert observed the reactions of Delia and Tommy.
On the table lay a small walnut picture frame, but it was empty without a photo. After inspecting the frame for a good ten seconds, Tommy broke the brief silence, "This frame seems a bit old. I’m curious what kind of picture was in it before."
The rest wondered why Tommy would ask such a question, but Jim removed his hand from his chin and spoke slowly, "A landscape. This is a conference room for business meetings; no personal pictures would appear here. If I’m not wrong, it probably held a replica of an award-winning Boston landscape photo, just like your company’s OSS."
"Mr. Manz, I remind you that your choice of words towards me..." Delia didn’t even lift her head as she leafed through her notebook and reminded Jim Manz that certain terms couldn’t be carelessly used before the court reached a verdict.
Without waiting for Delia to finish, Robert also spoke up, "You can note Mr. Manz’s words, Ms. Case, but you have no right to stop him from saying anything here."
"Thank you, that’s what I thought," Tommy said, paying no mind to the attorneys’ routine sparring and looking towards Jim Manz with a smile of appreciation. "Actually, the owner of this business center should consider buying the commercial rights to that picture. Having a replica in this place might give clients the feeling... "
Jim Manz still seemed fixated on Tommy, "Like an upper-class lady carrying a poorly made counterfeit designer purse, akin to a company named Actor located near Stanford University?"
"Mr. Manz, I remind you, your words have already..." Like Robert, Delia played the part well; she got paid to say things she knew were futile but still had to voice them.
Tommy waved his hand, indicating that Delia didn’t need to remind the other party, "Exactly right, sir, that’s the feeling. But I have a better analogy. It’s like Software Arts Company, which developed the world’s first electronic spreadsheet, and next to it, Lotus Corporation, the first fly drawn by the stench. Actor might be the seventy-eighth or ninety-second fly, or perhaps even the thirty-eight thousand fifty-ninth one. You know, I saw a joke about flies recently. These flies that love chasing stenches, they actually fight among themselves saying, ’Hey! This piece of shit is mine, got it? You can’t come near, or I’ll have my lawyer send you a cease and desist.’"
"Mr. Tommy Hawk, are you comparing us to flies by..."
"Mr. Tommy Hawk just mentioned two things, one is merely a biological perspective on certain issues present in the software industry’s development, and the other is simply a joke, nothing more. There’s no connection between them," Delia raised her head to address Robert Molley:
"If it’s unclear, I can provide a transcript with the punctuation clearly marked afterward. Any other conjectures or malicious guesswork based on his words, we will pursue legal responsibility."
Tommy’s eyes turned towards Mitch Kapor as his hands mimicked the flapping wings of a little bee, "I’m a country boy; all I saw were dung and flies. Actually, I’ve got it! Let’s use a more elegant comparison. Software Arts Company is the flower dripping with nectar, Mr. Mitch Kapor is the first bee harvesting the honey, and Tommy Hawk is just another little bee following Mr. Kapor, diligently carrying the honey back to his hive, working hard to prosper."
Mitch Kapor, listening to the guy opposite comparing Lotus Corporation to the first imitator, really wanted to retort, but ultimately, his inner reason told him that this bastard was deliberately provoking him, waiting for him to urgently explain and say something that might be twisted against him.
"Mr. Tommy Hawk..." Robert, fulfilling his duty, immediately tried to remind Tommy Hawk that his words were tantamount to an insult to Lotus Corporation.
