Free The Associate by John Grisham

favorite professors. After he’d practiced the routine a few times and the lying was finely tuned, he would somehow muster the courage to visit his father and deliver the news that would lead to an ugly fight. John McAvoy detested the idea of his son working for a corporate firm on Wall Street.
    Kyle’s selling job, though, did little to convince Olivia. They traded barbs for a few minutes, then forgot about lunch and went their separate ways. There was no goodbye peck on the cheek, no hug, no promise to call each other later. He spent an hour in his office at the law journal, then reluctantly left and drove back to the motel.
    _________
    The room had changed little. The video camera and laptop were gone, no sign of electronics anywhere, though Kyle was certain every word would be recorded in some fashion. The folding table was still ground zero, but it had been moved closer to the windows. Same two folding chairs. The setting was as stark as a police interrogation room somewhere deep in the basement.
    The headache was back.
    Kyle flipped the card Ginyard left behind onto the table and began with a pleasant “Please tell this son of a bitch to stop following me.”
    “We’re just a little curious, that’s all, Kyle.”
    “I’m not going to be followed, Bennie, do you understand?”
    Bennie gave a smart-ass smile.
    “The deal’s off, Bennie. I’m not going to live my life with a bunch of goons watching everything I do.
    Forget the surveillance, forget the wiretaps and hidden mikes and e-mail snooping, Bennie. Are you listening? I’m not walking down the streets of New York wondering who’s behind me. I’m not chatting on the phone while thinking some bozo might be listening. You’ve just wrecked my life, Bennie, the least you can do is allow me some degree of privacy.”
    “We have no plans—”
    “That’s a lie and you know it. Here’s the new deal, Bennie. We agree right now that you and your goons stay out of my life. You don’t eavesdrop, you don’t follow, you don’t hide in the shadows or stalk or play your little cat-and-mouse games. I’ll do what you want me to do, whatever the hell that is, but you have got to leave me alone.”
    “Otherwise?”
    “Oh, otherwise. Otherwise, I’ll take my chances with Elaine and her bogus rape charge. Look, Bennie, if my life is going to be ruined, then what the hell? I get to pick my poison. I have Elaine on the one hand, and I have your goons on the other.”
    Bennie exhaled slowly, cleared his throat, and said, “Yes, Kyle, but it is important for us to keep up with you. That is the nature of our work. That is what we do.”
    “It’s blackmail, pure and simple.”
    “Kyle, Kyle, none of that now. That doesn’t move the ball.”
    “Please, can we forget about the ball? That’s so tiring now.”
    “We can’t just turn you loose in New York.”
    “Here’s my bottom line—I will not be stalked or watched or followed. Do you understand this, Bennie?”
    “This could pose a problem.”
    “It’s already a problem. What do you want? You’ll know where I live and where I work—they’re basically the same place for the next five years anyway. I’ll be at the office eighteen hours a day, if not more. Why, exactly, will it be necessary to keep me under surveillance?”
    “There are procedures we follow.”
    “Then change them. It’s not negotiable.” Kyle jumped to his feet and headed for the door. “When do we meet again?”
    “Where are you going?” Bennie asked as he stood.
    “None of your business, and don’t follow me. Do not follow me.” Kyle had his hand on the doorknob.
    “Okay, okay. Look, Kyle, we can be flexible here. I see your point.”
    “When and where?”
    “Now.”
    “No, I have things to do, without being watched.”
    “But we have so much to talk about, Kyle.”
    “When?”
    “How about six, tonight?”
    “I’ll be here at eight, and for only one hour. And I’m not coming back tomorrow.”

7
_________
    A t the