The Tenth Justice - Brad Meltzer [151]
“Why the hell did we have to come out here?” he suddenly heard from the western side of the monument. “It’s freezing.” As Eric and Nathan approached Ben, Eric stared at the giant bronze rendering of the country’s third president. “Let me say, meeting like this—late at night at one of the world’s most famous monuments—I feel like I’m in an overblown spy movie.”
“I’m so glad you’re amused,” Nathan said indignantly.
“Listen, I know you’re upset,” Ben said. “We’re all upset. It’s been a bad week. So let’s start over and—”
“No offense, but I’m not in the mood for touchy-feely right now,” Nathan said.
“Give him a chance, tight-ass,” Eric interrupted. “He called you down here to talk—the least you can do is listen.”
“I came here to find out one thing,” Nathan said, crossing his arms. “Are you going to turn yourself in?”
Ben ignored the question. “Where’s Ober?”
“He said he’d be late,” Eric explained. “He was on the phone with his mother when we were leaving.”
“I don’t know what you want me to do,” Ober said, struggling to fight back his tears.
“What kind of question is that?” Barbara Oberman asked. “I want you to get that job back.”
“Mom, I can’t get it back. They fired me. They didn’t like my work, and they fired me.”
“Don’t give me that. Go back and tell them you’ll change your ways. Tell them you’ll work for less money, and that you’ll double your hours. It doesn’t matter how you do it, but get that job back.”
“What’s so important about my old job?”
“What’s so important? Get this through your head, William: You need that job. It was the only place that ever promoted you. The only place that ever respected you. The only place that didn’t fire you within the first six months. You’ve spent over four years failing at everything else you’ve tried, and now you’ve turned this into a disaster as well.”
“I’ll find a new job,” Ober said. “Ben and Nathan said they’d help me look for one.”
“Forget Ben and Nathan. You’re always obsessed with Ben and Nathan. I don’t want to hear about them. For Ben and Nathan, finding a job is simple. Employers love them, their college professors loved them, the high school principal loved them, their kindergarten teachers loved them. For them, finding a job is simple. But you—you’re going to have a harder time.”
“But they said—”
“I don’t care what they said,” she interrupted. “They’re not you. What makes you think they’ll be so eager for a job search?”
“They’re my friends.”
“Big deal, they’re your friends. They don’t know what a job search entails. They’ve never lived in the real world. Looking for a job requires hours and hours of legwork. You remember how hard it was to find the position with Senator Stevens.”
“Yeah, but—”
“But nothing. You said it yourself a few months ago: The three of them are always at work—they don’t have the time to find you a job.”
“Yeah, but Ben helped me find this job. Maybe he can—”
“He can’t do anything for you,” she said. “You have to learn to do things for yourself. They may be your friends, but they’re certainly not your equals. When it comes to finding a job, like everything else in this world, you have to suck it up and do it yourself. Now hang up this phone and think about what I’ve said. I don’t want to hear from you again until you have that job back.”
“I asked you a question,” Nathan said, his breath lingering in the cold air. “Are you going to turn yourself in or not?”
“I’ll get to that,” Ben said. He pointed to the empty spaces on his bench. “How about taking a seat first?”
“I’m fine standing,” Nathan said as Eric sat down.
“Fine. Stand,” Ben said as he glanced over his shoulder.
“What’re you so nervous about?” Nathan asked.
“What do you think?”