Philip turned to look at me and said quietly, “I’ve known Matt a long time Harley, and I should let you know he’s not someone who would take this sort of thing casually. I’m gratified that he sees in you all of the great qualities that I see also. I’d hate to lose you, personally, and I’d hate for the firm to lose you … but it’s a great idea, I think. It’s not the law, per se, which you love, but …”

I licked my lips and said, “I don’t know what to say, Matt, Philip. Thanks, from the bottom of my heart, for being supportive like this. I honestly did not see things playing out this way, and it’s something to think about …”

Matt nodded his understanding. “I understand, Harley. Since you have a lot of my papers, you, more than most, would be able to see what you could be getting into, so I don’t expect an answer right away, of course.”

He clapped Philip on the shoulder and gripped it. They exchanged nods.

Philip then turned to look at me with a puzzled face, “But you said earlier that there’s something Annie did or …”

“Yeah, about Annie,” I let out a heavy sigh. Here’s another tough story: “Well, early yesterday morning, she’d told Aerin that she’d done her own um … investigation … into my past in Vegas … and I don’t know what led her to do that … So she threatened Aerin that unless Aerin broke up with me, in a way that would tear me down, I guess, enough to push me into a tail-spin … she would tell the firm about what I’d done in Vegas, and in a way that would make it appear that I was doing more than what I’ve just told the two of you. She told Aerin that the way she planned to go about it would make sure that this disclosure would inflict the worse possible damage to my reputation, and that I would lose everything, in the process … at least everything I’d worked hard for.”

Philip’s face grew ashen, and I could hear Matt curse under his breath.

“She warned Aerin not to tell anyone, of course, or she would go ahead and carry out her threat anyway,” I added. “Aerin played along at first, but she flew to Vegas to see if she could work out a deal with the lady I’d worked for in Vegas, so that even if Annie was unstable enough to go ahead and tell everyone anyway, the lady could deny it.”