Lassiter blinked but did not respond.
Aaron went on, “We are here simply to clarify one point, and then we will take no more of your valuable time.”
“And that is?”
“The University of North Carolina system holds no claim to anything my client has developed,” Aaron said. “Now or at any point in the future.”
Sykes said, “That is an extremely complicated issue.”
“Only if you choose to make it so,” Aaron replied.
Roland said, “You have students graduate from here and go on to make their marks in any number of disciplines. Do you seek to retain a segment of their future earnings?”
“This is different in the extreme,” Sykes said.
“How so?”
“Colin Eames has been researching and designing this project while still a student,” Lassiter said.
“Again, Counselor, there are any number of precedents to counter that argument.”
“He used university labs—”
“Correction. All his work on this specific project was accomplished off campus.”
“No labs,” Colin said. “Not ever.”
Roland added, “In any case, our client has signed no agreement regarding ownership of research he might have conducted while here.”
“It is implied,” Lassiter said.
“Courts of law frown upon implied ownership,” Aaron countered. “Again, the precedents go back years.”
“Decades,” Roland agreed.
“We need time to discuss the implications,” Lassiter said.
Aaron nodded. “Very well. In that case, my client hereby resigns from the university.”
Sykes blanched. She asked Colin, “You would just walk away?”
Roland answered for him. “Only if you force him to do so.”
Sykes continued to glare at Colin. “You feel no loyalty toward the institution that has granted you so much?”
“On the contrary,” Roland said. “Our client has established a trust. One that will act in conjunction with the group that has financed his time here. If his project proves as successful as we anticipate, ten percent of all earnings from this project will go toward future scholarships.”
Sykes leaned back. Lifted her gaze to the ceiling. Then, “Give us a moment.”
“Most certainly.” Aaron opened his file, drew out several sets of documents. “In case you might find this helpful, we have drawn up the agreement covering today’s conversation.”
CHAPTER42
It was midafternoon by the time they left. Both men were late for other appointments, so Colin drove back to the academy. He did his best to ignore the lines standing outside polling stations, the myriad of placards planted along the sidewalks, the people who waved posters overhead and shouted at passing cars. His father’s name repeatedly appeared, seeking to break through and invade.
There were even placards planted in front of the academy’s entrance, and more than a dozen stuck in the quad’s lawn, some for Hillary, others Trump. Colin fled inside, locked his apartment door for the first time in forever, turned on his stereo, and tried to lose himself in jazz. But for once not even Keith Jarrett was welcome. The music formed a discordant echo, a refrain that did not fit with the day. Colin left the house, and to his relief saw a groundskeeper pulling up the placards and carrying them away.
He paced.
