Long Knives Read Online Free PDF

tended to stick out from between his splayed fingers, which is no doubt why the ferret analogy came so easily to mind.
    “No, Jenna,” he said. “That wasn’t it at all. Not at all. The discussion was whether, after a splashy career as a high-profile trial lawyer, you could really buckle down and do scholarly work. Whether you’d find it boring to do that instead of strutting around a courtroom.”
    “Well, the career, as you call it, was only eight years long. And I didn’t ‘strut around courtrooms.’ That’s a typical academic misperception of what real lawyers do in courtrooms, particularly from certain faculty who’ve never been in one, haven’t really practiced law and treasure their PhDs.”
    “My apologies,” he said. “I didn’t and don’t mean to disparage trial work or the value it can bring to scholarship.” He took his hand away from his face. “But anyway, I asked you here so I could tell you that, to my surprise, you have overcome everyone’s—or at least almost everyone’s—doubts. Your scholarship has been outstanding. I’ve read every one of the four law review articles you’ve published so far and they’re great.”
    Just then Tiffany returned, managing to balance three cups of coffee in two hands. She set one in front of the dean and two in front of me. “There you go,” she said. “Be back with the food as soon as it’s up.”
    The arrival of the coffee gave me the opportunity to decide not to cross-examine him and ask exactly who had not had their doubts erased. In fact, I suspected that the dean was himself one of the doubters. I had been hired during his first semester as dean, when he hadn’t yet amassed enough power to block my appointment, and he’d never been particularly friendly or supportive. So I assumed his current praise was bs.
    Instead, I said, “I’m pleased to hear that the general opinion—and yours!—is that I’ve done good work. Although I’m kind of surprised you asked me to breakfast at 8:30 A.M. just to tell me that.”
    “I thought you’d appreciate my telling you personally.”
    “Sure. But it hasn’t escaped me, Dean, that you usually breakfast with your faculty at the Faculty Center. What do you really want to tell me, and why are we having what is in effect a secret meeting?”
    “I simply wanted to have the opportunity to tell you, one-on-one, that assuming your big law review article on marine salvage gets the rave reviews everyone is expecting for it, you’ve pretty much got a lock on getting tenure. I mean, it’s ultimately up to your Ad Hoc Tenure Committee, and then the Internal Appointments Committee and the faculty as a whole, of course, but I’ve got my ear to the ground, as they say, and what I hear sounds good.”
    “Dean Blender, not to be egotistical about it, but I think I already know that. So I’m still not sure why we’re here.”
    Just then his cell rang, and he glanced at the screen. “I need to take this.” He listened for a moment, then said, “Okay, keep me posted.” He looked over at me. “That was the associate dean. She just learned that they’ve decided to admit Giordano to the hospital and keep him overnight. They’re still not worried. It’s just so they can run some tests. He’ll probably be discharged tomorrow morning.”
    “Good,” I said. “He’s a nice guy; I hope he’ll be okay.”
    A few seconds after that, Tiffany came back with the food and set it down in front of us, which interrupted any further discussion of Primo. The dean picked up his knife and began to spread cream cheese on half of his toasted bagel. He went on spreading while I let my scrambled eggs sit in front of me untouched. Finally, I said, “Dean, right before you got that call, I was saying I still wasn’t sure why we’re here.”
    “Well,” he said, “let me put it this way, Jenna. There are two people up for tenure next year, and I think you’re the only one likely to get it. Telling you that is a terrible