“To be honest,” Ben said, “I really don’t give a shit right now. I’m just happy to have my life back.”

“Whatever you say,” Lisa said. “But I suggest that you watch your back. He’s not going to just go away.”

Eric looked at his watch. “I want to hear exactly what you said to him, but I really have to get back to work. We’ll talk about it later?”

“Definitely,” Ben said with a smile. “But don’t think that just because you saved my ass, I’m not still pissed at you for writing that story.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ll never forgive me,” Eric said as he walked to the door. “I’ve heard it all before.”

“Hold on,” Ober said to Eric. “Did you drive here?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because you have to drop me off at work,” Ober said, grabbing his jacket and following Eric to the door. “By the way, Ben, thanks for bringing me in today. It wasn’t as exciting as you said, but it was okay.”

“I’ll see you guys later,” Ben said.

When the door closed behind Eric and Ober, Lisa looked at Ben. “So how do you feel? Top o’ the world, Ma?”

“I feel unbelievable,” Ben said, banging his desk. “You should’ve heard Rick on the phone. He was so pissed.”

“I still think you shouldn’t have-”

“Lisa, I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to lose this mood. I feel mighty. I feel authoritative. I feel like I can command a small army of rebel soldiers on a quest for the perfect tetherball court.”

“I have to admit, the ego boost suits you. I haven’t seen you this happy since I let you drag me into bed.”

“That’s funny,” Ben said. “Because the way I remember it, you were the one doing the dragging. Or was it begging?”

“That’s right, I forgot your major in college was revisionist history. I should’ve known better.”

“Trust me, the facts have not changed,” Ben said as he strolled to the sofa. “You were the one who was begging for it. In fact, as I remember it, the quote was, ‘I’ve been waiting to jump your bones since the moment I met you.’ Does that ring any bells?”

“Oh, please,” Lisa said. “I just made that up to make you feel better. It was a lie and you know it.”

“Let me ask you one question,” Ben said. “If you were so reluctant to get into bed with me, how come you were the one who wasn’t wearing any underwear that night?”

Lisa flushed red. “I told you, I forgot to pack extra. I ran out on the first day. That was the only reason.”

“Sure it was,” Ben said, amused. “And if I were a complete moron, I might even believe that.”

“Good thing you’re only a partial moron, then.”

“Ha. And what else did you say that night?” Ben asked. “That whenever I wanted to go again, you’d be ready?” Stretching out on the sofa, he announced, “I’m ready.”

Lisa approached the sofa. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

“Are you wearing your lucky underwear?”

“I most certainly am. Today was a big day for me.” As Lisa sat down on the sofa, Ben said, “You know you want to-it’s all over your face.”

“It is?” she asked as her face approached his.

“It definitely is. Besides, you heard what I said before: I’m ready.”

“You’re dreaming, is what you are,” Lisa laughed as she pulled away. “Do you really think that just because you had your macho victory, you can get your hormones worked up and talk me into bed?”

“Pretty much,” Ben said.

“Then you’re on some serious hallucinogens,” Lisa said, heading back to her desk. “You may’ve pulled off one miracle earlier today, but that doesn’t mean you can do two.”

Sitting up, Ben readjusted his tie. “Does this mean we’re not having sex on the sofa?”

“That was unbelievable,” Ober said as he and Eric stepped out of the elevator and into the Great Hall. “I can’t believe you guys pulled it off.”

“It was all Ben,” Eric said. “The moment I told him about Rick, he had the whole plan designed within a few hours.”

“The boy’s no dummy,” Ober said.

“All I can say is, thank God he’s no longer mad at me. He can be a devious bastard when it comes to revenge.”

“Do you think Nathan will forgive him?”

“Not a chance in hell,” Eric said as the two friends walked past the security guard station and out the front entrance of the Court.

“Are you sure that was him?” Lungen asked as Eric and Ober left the building.

“Are you kidding?” Fisk said. “Of course that’s him. I had my friend point him out last time I was at the Herald.”

“And he didn’t sign in under the name Eric Stroman?” Lungen asked the security guard who manned the main entrance.

“Nope,” the guard said, flipping through the pages of his clipboard. When he found what he was looking for, he pointed to the sign-in sheet. “See, he said his name was Nathan.”

“That’s the other roommate,” Fisk said. “Ben’s been blowing smoke since the beginning. I told you he’s a liar.”

“I want you to call our friend at the Herald,” Lungen said. “If Eric and Ben are on speaking terms, I want to know why.”

Returning home from work, Ben dreaded his inevitable confrontation with Nathan. Maybe he won’t be home until later, Ben thought, slowly walking up the never-shoveled, ice-covered front path. As he opened the door, he wondered how he would break the news to Nathan.

“So you set up the whole thing and trusted everyone but me and Ober?” Nathan asked before Ben could pull his key out of the lock.

“I guess you heard the good news,” Ben said.

“I have one question for you,” Nathan said, standing face-to-face with Ben in the middle of the living room. “Why did you trust Lisa over me?”

Ben stepped around Nathan and toward the kitchen, hoping to somehow defuse the situation. “I didn’t trust Lisa over you. In fact, I didn’t tell her about the plan until three days ago, when Rick finally invested his money in Grinnell. When I found out Rick bet on the wrong decision, I knew Lisa was innocent. If she was working with Rick, she would’ve told him that he had the wrong decision.”

“But that didn’t mean you had to tell her everything.”

“Yes, it did,” Ben said. “Otherwise, she wouldn’t have stopped talking about how Rick bet on the wrong decision, which was something I didn’t want anyone saying out loud.”

“Fine. Thank you,” Nathan said, heading for the stairs. “That’s all I wanted to know.”

“Wait,” Ben said, turning back toward the living room. “Where are you going?”

Nathan didn’t answer.

When Nathan was out of sight, Ben looked at Ober. “What did he want me to say?”

“Oh, c’mon,” Ober said. “You’re a grown-up. You know what you did. Did you really expect to hug and make up?”

“Yeah, but please, the silent treatment?”

“It’ll only last a while,” Ober said. “Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll come around eventually. I mean, he’s still your friend.”

“But that’s such an immature way to-”

“Look at it this way,” Ober said. “At least he’s not asking you to move out and find a new roommate.”

“Ho-ho. That’s very funny,” Ben said sarcastically. “I just hope he comes around in time for New Year’s.”

“Why? Are you actually going to have some time off to enjoy it?”

“Well, we still have piles of cert petitions to go through, but the justices are gone for the next few weeks. We’re basically closed down until the second week of January.”

“Do you still have to go to work every day?”

“Are you kidding? Justice never sleeps. It doesn’t even nap. And if it does doze off, you can bet it never hits the snooze bar.”

“I get the idea,” Ober said, getting up from his seat. “Just tell me when you’re going to be off, so I can figure out where to make plans.”

“I’ll probably take off on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, but that’s it.”

“Then I guess we’ll make plans around here,” Ober said as he walked to the kitchen to make dinner.

“I don’t care where we celebrate,” Ben said, following Ober to the kitchen. “All I want is for next year to be less stressful than this one.”