The Family Man Page #19

Lassiter, sitting on the little chair across from Jack,

an intrigued look on his face...

LASSITER:

(nodding)

Well, I’m impressed.

A smile from Jack.

LASSITER (CONT’D)

I really am...

Jack savors the moment, until...

LASSITER (CONT’D)

So, about my car...

He’s jarred back to reality, a little crestfallen...

JACK:

Sure. We’re going to

have to special order

that tire. It’ll be

ready in about two days.

Lassiter nods, then takes a business card out of his

wallet.

LASSITER:

This has my office address

on it...

(thinking, then...)

Why don’t you drop it off

yourself?

A smile from Jack.

CUT TO:

94INT. CAMPBELL HOUSE, JACK’S BEDROOM - LATE NIGHT

Kate, sound asleep in bed...

Pan across to Jack, his eyes wide open, lost in

thought...

95INT. BIG ED’S, JACK’S OFFICE - DAY

Jack wearing his Zeena suit, sitting behind his desk,

distracted, as he listens to HECTOR, 40s, the

GUATEMALEN MECHANIC.

HECTOR:

...I say to her, Margarita,

we already have four kids,

why do we need more?

Jack is shaking his leg anxiously under the desk as he

eyes the door...

HECTOR (CONT’D)

But she say she want an

even number. I say four

is an even number! But

she say she want six.

Jack checks his watch...

HECTOR (CONT’D)

I tell her, Margarita, I

just got my green card,

I like to sit back and

rest a little bit...

JACK:

(interrupting)

Hector...do I usually

listen to your personal

problems?

HECTOR:

Sure, Jack, all the time...

Jack nods, then...

JACK:

Look, I have some business

that I have to take care

of in the city so I’m

leaving early...

(getting up)

My advice to you...follow

your dreams.

CUT TO:

96EXT. LASSITER BUILDING - AFTERNOON

Jack pulling up to the building in Lassiter’s Rolls...

He gets out of the car, walks to the building, feeling

good, confident, stopping to gaze up at the

skyscraper...he breathes in deeply, then heads

inside...

96AINT. LASSITER BUILDING - CONTINUOUS

Jack enters, instinctively tossing the car keys to the

SECURITY GUARD...the guard looks at him like he’s

crazy...

97INT. LASSITER BUILDING CORRIDOR - MINUTES LATER

Jack and Lassiter walk together...

LASSITER:

...we’re really more of a

boutique operation, as

you can see...

JACK:

But you’re not interested

in boutique dollars...

(a smile)

I get it...

They walk into...

98INT. ALAN MINTZ’S OUTER OFFICE - CONTINUOUS

Past the assistant’s desk...

MINTZ’S ASSISTANT

(seeing Lassiter)

He’s expecting you, Mr.

Lassiter...

Lassiter doesn’t even slow down...

99INT. ALAN MINTZ’S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS

It’s Jack’s old office but you wouldn’t know it from

the decor...lots of country pine, a fabric sofa, and a

play pen where the bar used to be. Jack enters,

immediately struck by the difference...

LASSITER:

(to Mintz)

Alan, this is Jack

Campbell...the one I was

telling you about...

Mintz, a confident look on his face, gets up from the

desk and goes to shake Jack’s hand.

ALAN:

Jack, of course.

They shake hands.

JACK:

(appropriately

deferential)

Mr. Mintz.

ALAN:

Please, call me Alan. We

try to cultivate a casual

atmosphere around here...

JACK:

(re:
play pen)

I can see that, Alan.

A chuckle from Mintz.

ALAN:

You have kids, Jack?

JACK:

(hesitating, then...)

Uh...actually, yes. Two...

good ones.

Another laugh from Mintz.

ALAN:

That’s great...

(gesturing to

the sofa)

Why don’t you have a seat?

Jack nods, sits down on the plush sofa, Mintz and

Lassiter take the chairs.

ALAN (CONT’D)

So, Peter mentioned that

you were an avid CNBC

watcher but didn’t say

whether you had any

actual Wall Street

experience?

Jack’s a little taken aback by the question, not

realizing he was walking into an interview...

He crosses his legs, trying to get comfortable.

JACK:

I was a sales associate,

at E.F. Hutton.

ALAN:

A broker? Really. And now

you’re in the tire

business?

JACK:

That’s right. And auto

supply...

ALAN:

Uh huh. The retail end, I

understand.

Jack nods...

JACK:

Uh...we actually get about

sixty percent of our

business from automotive

service.

ALAN:

Mind if I ask what kind of

sales you did last year?

Ballpark...

JACK:

We did one point seven

million in total revenue...

ALAN:

Uh huh...one point seven.

And what do you project for

this year?

Jack pauses, analyzing the situation...the patronizing

questions, the smirk on Mintz’s face...

ALAN (CONT’D)

Any thoughts at all on

that?

As Jack stares into their faces, he realizes the extent

of his handicap...

ALAN (CONT’D)

Jack?

He stops, takes a moment, looking at Mintz and Lassiter

then ...a confident smile.

JACK:

Well, Alan, I think we’re

gonna have a banner year.

Sales are up almost

twenty percent in the

first quarter and we just

landed a major trucking

company account.

ALAN:

Really. So you’re

projecting what, a tad

over two million?

A gleam in Jack’s eye.

JACK:

That’s right. And that

would make us number one

in our market...

(getting up)

You mind if I stand?

A raised eyebrow from Mintz.

Mintz and Lassiter follow Jack with their eyes as he

crosses the room to the desk, pours himself a glass of

water...

JACK (CONT’D)

Look, I know our paltry

little two million in

sales is about what you

spend on office supplies

in a year. And I know

some regional trucking

company account is

nothing compared to a

sixty billion dollar

merger...

ALAN:

I’m not trying to knock

the tire business, Jack.

JACK:

(a confident chuckle)

It’s okay, Alan. I get it.

I’m in your shoes, I’m

thinking exactly the same

thing...but here’s the

thing. Business is

business. Wall Street,

Main Street, it’s all

just a bunch of people

getting up in the morning,

trying to figure out how

the hell they’re gonna

send their kids to

college. It’s just

people...

Jack’s confidence is throwing Mintz off, but Lassiter

appears intrigued...

JACK (CONT’D)

And I know people.

ALAN:

I’m sure you do...

LASSITER:

(intervening)

Let’s let the man have

his say...

Mintz covers his embarrassment with a smile...

JACK:

(to Mintz)

Take you, for instance...

ALAN:

(defensive)

What about me?

JACK:

You drink about sixteen

Diet Cokes a day. You’re

an excellent father, but

you feel guilty about the

time you spend away from

home. You drink bourbon,

but you offer your

clients scotch...

Jack looks around the office then back to Mintz.

JACK (CONT’D)

And your wife decorated

this office...

A laugh from Lassiter as Mintz sits there stewing, a

caught look on his face.

LASSITER:

He certainly has your

number, Alan.

JACK:

(turning to Lassiter)

You’re a little tougher,

Peter.

A raised eyebrow from Lassiter, but he’s game...

JACK (CONT’D)

For one thing, you like

expensive things.

LASSITER:

(smiling proudly)

That’s easy. You’ve seen

my car.

JACK:

(a chuckle)

Okay...you smoke Hoyo de

Monterreys. You’re a

scotch man, single malt,

not because it’s trendy

but because you’ve been

doing it for forty years,

and you stay with what

works. You have two great

loves in your life, your

horses and this company.

You wept openly the day

the Dow hit ten thousand...

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