Page 117 of Rough Ride

Sophie

The sun was shining down on us, hinting that spring was right around the corner, as I stood outside the lawyer’s office in downtown Fort Worth with Johnny and Eli. Both of them seemed calm, but I was pacing back and forth.

“Don’t know why you look more nervous than us,” Johnny said.

“Because I’m invested in the outcome of this meeting too,” I said. “And unlike both of you, my concerns aren’t related to money.”

Suddenly, the door to the office opened. I stepped aside as the army of lawyers working for Ted Salmon marched out, one by one.

“Do they look happy to you?” Eli asked worriedly. “They look happy. Like they won.”

“Their faces seem blank to me,” Johnny replied.

“For a lawyer, thatishappy!” Eli insisted.

Fortunately, Sawyer and his lawyer emerged next. All of us immediately gathered around him in a semicircle.

“Well?” I demanded. “What happened?”

Sawyer’s face was completely blank, just like all the lawyers before him. For a few excruciating seconds, I searched him for any hint of how it had gone.

Then he grinned.

“No way!” Eli said.

Sawyer nodded once.

I gasped. “Salmon caved? Really?”

His attorney let out a relieved smile. “Four more cowboys came forward within the last week, accusing Theodore Salmon of bribing them in past rodeo events to intentionally lose.”

“It’s a cash settlement,” Sawyer said.

“Averylarge settlement,” the attorney said proudly. “Mr. Easton’s portion is significantly larger than the other cowboys involved, on account of the personal damages to his career and reputation.”

“And,” Sawyer added, “the aggravated assault charges have been dropped.”

“That’s amazing!” I said.

Johnny crossed his arms. “So Salmon gets away with everything? All he had to do was stroke a check and this whole scandal just… goes away?”

“He threatened to break our kneecaps!” Eli added.

“There were no cameras in that tunnel at Dickies,” the attorney answered for him, like it was something they had already discussed at great length. “It was your word against Salmon’s. Sawyer and the other cowboys arrivedafterthe threats were made, so there aren’t additional witnesses.”

“But we got something else,” Sawyer said with pride. “Salmon has been removed from the Fort Worth Rodeo Board ofDirectors. They don’t want to be associated with him and his corruption.”

“All of this is confidential,” the attorney quickly added. “Publicly, Theodore Salmon will announce that he is stepping down for personal reasons.”

“So he gets to go on with his life like nothing is wrong?” Johnny asked.

“These concessions were extremely difficult to negotiate,” the attorney said defensively.

“It’s a win,” Sawyer said. “The one thing that fat billionaire fuck cares about the most isn’t his money. It’s his influence.”

“And his influence around the rodeo specifically,” I chimed in. “Without that… he’s just another rich guy. He must beseethingright now.”

“His lawyers didn’t look happy about the concessions,” Sawyer said with a sneer. “I wish I were in the room when they have to tell him.”

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