«How much?»

Lamar looked at Royce McKnight, who eyed Mitch and said, «We’ll discuss the compensation and other benefits when you come to Memphis.»

«I want a ballpark figure or I may not come to Memphis.»

He smiled, arrogant but cordial. He spoke like a man with three job offers. The partners smiled at each other, and Mr. Lambert spoke first.

«Okay. A base salary of eighty thousand the first year, plus bonuses. Eighty-five the second year, plus bonuses. A low-interest mortgage so you can buy a home. Two country club memberships. And a new BMW. You pick the color, of course.»

He tried to conceal a smile, but it was impossible. He chuckled.

«That’s incredible», he mumbled. Eighty thousand in Memphis equalled a hundred and twenty thousand in New York.

Mitch thought about this for a second and figured by the time he was thirty he could be well over a hundred thousand, maybe close to two hundred thousand. At the age of thirty! They watched him carefully and knew exactly what he was calculating.

«Tell me about your firm.»

«It’s an impressive firm, Mitch,» Oliver Lambert said, «and we’re very proud of it. We’re small and we take care of each other. We don’t have the cutthroat competition the big firms are famous for. We’re very careful whom we hire, and our goal is for each new associate to become a partner as soon as possible. Toward that end we invest an enormous amount of time and money in ourselves, especially our new people. It is a rare, extremely rare occasion when a lawyer leaves our firm. It is simply unheard of. We go the extra mile to keep careers on track. We want our people happy. We think it is the most profitable way to operate.» «I have another impressive statistic,» Mr. McKnight added. «Last year, for firms our size or larger, the average turnover rate among associates was twenty-eight percent. At Bendini, Lambert & Locke, it was zero. Year before, zero. It’s been a long time since a lawyer left our firm.» They watched him carefully to make sure all of this sank in. They explained as best they could, for now. Further explanation would come later.

№2. Answer the following questions about the text, use the words and expressions from the Vocabulary list.

1. Why did the senior partner of the law firm in Memphis consider Mitchell Y.McDeere to be their best prospect for the year?

2. Why did ex – CIA agents do investigating for the firm for no fee?

3. What did they find out about Mitch while investigating his background?

4. Why did Mitch think he could afford to be a little overconfident at the interview?

5. What did you learn from the text about Oliver Lambert’s position in the firm?

6. What did Oliver Lambert think all interviewees went through’ when being interviewed for a job?

7. How did Royce McKnight, the managing partner explain to Mitch the difference between their firm and other law firms?

8. What activities was the firm involved in?

9. What questions was Mitch asked at the interview?

10. What did Mitch tell his interviewers about his educational background (his family, his wife, his religious affiliation)?

11. What type of work was Mitch to do initially if he joined the firm?

12. What compensation and benefits was Mitch offered?

13. Why was Mitch impressed by the offer?

14. What kind of clients did the firm deal with?

15. What career prospects did the firm offer Mitch?

16. Why did the firm invest a lot of time and money in their new people?

17. What did Mr. Lambert tell Mitch about the history of their firm?

18. Do you think Mitch will accept the offer? Why?