Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 21

nervous about the personal safety of themselves and their families—kidnapping, robbery, that sort of thing.”
    “I can understand that,” Stone said.
    “We’re going to need a legal framework to cover our collaboration,” Mike said, “and we’d like your firm to draw that up.”
    “We’d be very happy to do so,” Stone replied. “Hank, can you supply me with an outline of your collaboration, the specific services involved, and your various responsibilities to each other?”
    “I can,” Hightower said, “and I will have it in your hands by tomorrow.”
    “Then I should think that, in a week or so, Woodman & Weld will have a draft agreement for you both to review.”
    “Thank you, Stone,” Hightower said. “There’s something else: we’ve been with a large law firm downtown for a dozen years or more, but for the past year or two we’ve been feeling neglected. I know you’ve heard this before: we’re not getting the kind of prompt attention to our needs as in the past, and we’re not getting the attention of the senior partners. In short, we’re being taken for granted.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that, Hank,” Stone said with a straight face, although he was delighted to hear it. “May we be of service?”
    “I think that’s a very good possibility,” Hightower said. “I’d like to meet some of your people.”
    “I’ll be very happy to arrange that,” Stone said. “I think we should start by having you meet our managing partner, Bill Eggers, and perhaps you might bring your in-house counsel, as well. Bill can give you both a precise description of the breadth and depth of our services and how we might be of help to you.”
    “I’d like that,” Hightower said.
    They talked further over lunch, and Stone left them with a promise to get back to Hightower with a firm appointment to meet with Eggers.
    Stone didn’t go home immediately. Woodman & Weld was located in the Seagram Building, upstairs from the Four Seasons, so he took the elevator and went straight to Eggers’s office. The secretary showed him in.
    “Afternoon, Stone,” Eggers said. The debris of his lunch was still on his desk, and the secretary cleaned up. “What’s on your mind?”
    “New business,” Stone said.
    “Glad to hear it. Anybody I ever heard of?”
    “Steele Security.”
    Eggers’s eyebrows went up. “Are you serious?”
    “I am. I just had lunch with Hank Hightower, their CEO, and Mike Freeman. They’ve asked us to put together an agreement between Steele and Strategic Services to cover some joint services they’re going to be offering.”
    “Sounds interesting. Could be a wedge to get some more business from Steele.”
    “We don’t need a wedge,” Stone said. “Hightower says they’re feeling neglected by their current firm and are looking for new representation. He’d like to bring his in-house counsel to meet with us.”
    Eggers placed a hand on his chest. “Be still my heart,” he said. “Set it up. I’ll make time whenever they want to come in.”
    Stone dug Hightower’s card out of his pocket, walked over to Eggers’s sofa, sat down, and picked up the phone. Five minutes later he hung up. “Three o’clock tomorrow afternoon,” he said.
    “Done,” Eggers said, making marks on his calendar to block out the time. “And you’ll be there, too.” It wasn’t a question.
    “Of course, though please remember that I don’t know a hell of a lot about insurance.”
    “Maybe not, but you know how to tap-dance. I’ll get a couple of department heads in on this, too.”
    Stone got up to go. “Bill, thanks for handling Arrington’s will with such dispatch. I’m happy not to have been involved in that process.”
    “Have you read the will?”
    “No, and I don’t intend to.”
    “As you wish,” Eggers said. “If you ever get around to it, I think you’ll be pleased with the way we’ve organized her estate.”
    “I’m sure I will.”
    “How’s the new school for Peter?”
    “He’s eating it up. He’s going to screen the rough cut of his film for them next week.”
    “I made a call to Yale on the subject of his and Ben’s applications,” Eggers said, “and learned that Eduardo was in ahead of me.”
    “Thanks, Bill. Peter wants Yale badly.”
    Stone excused himself and walked slowly back to the house, thinking he had had a pretty good day. He walked into his office and found Arrington waiting for him, and she was in tears.

30
    S tone sat down on the sofa next