The Ultimate Life Page #5

I'll see ya!

So who's our lawyer, boss?

That's a good question.

Theophilus Hamilton.

- You a lawyer?

- Yes, sir.

- My name's Red Stevens.

I got served a subpoena

and I need a lawyer

to meet me at the courthouse

next Tuesday. You any good?

First in my class at Howard

University School of Law.

Editor of the law review,

four years running.

Would you like a list of

peer-reviewed articles?

Nope. Good enough. I'll

see you next Tuesday at ten.

What you gonna do, represent yourself?

- Mr. Stevens?

- Mr. Hamilton?

- Yes, sir.

- Good to see you.

It's been a long time. How's your wife?

Actually, she died, not too long ago.

I'm sorry to hear that.

I'm not sure his kind is even

allowed in this courthouse.

Here's what they are claiming.

How fast would you like this to be over?

Real fast.

The subpoena appears

to be in order, but...

Of course it's in order. What

do you think I am, an amateur?

Actually, sir, I have no idea

what type of lawyer you are.

Before you interrupted me, I

was saying the subpoena is fine.

The problem is the deed of trust.

I took the liberty of pulling it

from the County Hall of Records.

You didn't know what I'd

be asking you to be doing.

How did you know what to look for?

Well, I looked up the subpoena

and it's public record, too.

Don't worry about it.

As I was saying, in pulling the records

I noticed my client purchased the land

and mineral rights from your client

in a land-swap more than two years ago.

So?

Maybe we should wait till the

judge gets here before we...

Just answer the question.

All right, if you insist.

The deed was recorded exactly

two years and two months ago.

Texas law says that the statute of

limitation on mineral rights dispute

is two years... on the nose.

Please tell me you knew that.

- Well, I, uh...

- Well, how could you let this happen?

I told you, I'm a divorce lawyer.

Come back here!

You told me this was a sure thing.

You said we'd get a settlement.

Tens of thousands of dollars, easy!

I'll be! Mr. Hamilton, how'd you

like to work for me full-time?

My business is going through the roof

and I could use a good

man like you around me.

Well, Mr. Stevens, I'm honored,

but I do have other clients.

OK, OK. Hey, we'll call it

part-time then. Everybody wins.

Somehow, "everybody

wins" means you win first?

Excellent. We understand each other.

- I guess so.

- What do you know about oil?

Well, it's messy.

Texas gold!

So let me get this straight.

What you're telling me is, there's

a bigger deposit on adjacent acreage.

Yeah, at least 200 million barrels.

And we can't get it?

Wow.

That's twice as much as on this patch.

That's 600 hundred

million worth of crude.

Why ain't this rancher selling?

- Red...

- I want this land!

We have offered him triple the

going rate. He's just not selling.

- So why's he being stubborn?

- Because not everything is about money.

Well, that's a lie.

Everything is about money.

Not for this guy.

Last name, Early.

- Jacob Early? Same family tree.

Nephew Andy, the land's been

passed down for five generations.

Cattle is... his legacy.

How come I didn't know about this?

Come on, now, Red. All these

years, in all the land deals,

as long as the price was

right, when did it ever matter

who was selling, as long as they sold?

Tell me again about

this horizontal drilling.

Oh, yeah, thought you'd never ask.

Now...

Yeah, um, so...

It's a cow.

Now, they've tried it

elsewhere with success,

and I think I can make it work here.

Theoretically, a well on our land

could... tap into a neighbor's reserve,

provided, of course, that

you owned the mineral rights.

- What's the downside?

- It's new.

It'll be expensive.

But I think we can get the oil

with minimal environmental

damage to the cow pastures.

How minimal?

No idea, actually, but I just think that

"minimal" is a more

positive way to sell it.

Jimmy, when I promoted

you to acquisitions,

you told me you'd get your

mother to jump off a bridge.

I want you to go see this Andy

Early and get this deal done.

What if I can't convince him?

I want this land!

This is our next play, Hamilton.

We get our hands on that refinery,

we start competing with the big boys.

We control both sides

of the supply chain.

Look, it's risky, Red. I

mean, you heard the geologist.

This new way of drilling is...

it's not gonna come cheap.

And I gotta be honest with

you, I don't think we can afford

to leverage both deals at the same time.

Carnegie believed in

investing in new technology,

new facilities, hard-driving,

pushing the limits.

We gotta start thinking

the same way, Hamilton.

If we develop new technology,

it gives us an advantage.

I just hope we're not soaring

off a cliff, that's all.

I'm not going around and

around about this anymore.

I'll see what I can do.

Red, it's almost Christmas, you know.

I want this meeting

with Carlton Strang. Now.

Why aren't you eating, Ruth?

I told Sylvia last

week, I don't eat meat.

- Since when?

- I saw you eat bacon two days ago.

I said, I don't eat meat!

Well, these are vegetables, right?

So you can have some of mine.

Stop! I don't want your asparagus!

You are so immature.

I swear, it's the last time I

come home for Christmas break.

It's not too late. You can leave.

Why don't you grow up?

- You're not even finished yet.

- I'm just tired.

He'd rather be smoking cigs in his room.

Dad, I'm meeting the

guys at the country club.

I sure could use a few bills.

- What do you need?

- Forty... sixty?

Thanks, Dad.

Hey, Dad, can you

spot me some cash, too?

I'm going to the arcade

with some friends.

Look what you started.

- Here.

- Thanks!

So... there are these really,

really, really cute boots

that I'm dying for.

Yeah? How much?

Let's see...

That'll do. Thanks so

much. You're the best.

They never see you.

And when they do, you

just throw cash at them.

I came home to repack. I've got a

meeting in Tulsa about the refinery.

I should be home before Christmas.

Gentlemen, have a seat.

I know you wanted this

meeting quickly, Mr. Stevens.

Right before Christmas.

Well, let's cut to the chase here.

- You want the Tulsa refinery.

- Yes, I do.

And we trust that you've

reviewed our proposal.

I did.

Does that mean you accepted it?

Or are we just sitting around here

twiddling our thumbs for nothing?

The question is whether or

not I want to sell to you.

- It's that simple.

- That's just ridiculous.

- You don't have another buyer.

- Red...

You're starting to tick me off.

You're here because you want this deal.

Some sort of race to grab all you can.

Seems we both have needs, Mr. Stevens.

And usually I need to meet the

people I'm doing business with

in order to make my determination.

Problem is, you don't

personally impress me.

You're rude, self-serving and greedy.

I will consider your proposal,

and I'll get back to you

just as quickly as I can.

All right.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes