Once Adam lowered his standards a bit, Matthew quickly found a solid tutoring candidate for him. Adam introduced the guy to Jill, and she perked up, throwing herself into the battle to prep for Harvard Law.
Meanwhile, over on the other side of town, the original top pick, Mike Ross, was musing about life's unpredictable twists—trying not to get too high or too low about it all.
The day before…
Mike was at his buddy Trevor's swanky apartment, partying it up. Between the good vibes, he waved a hand and protested, "Listen, man, for real—I can't keep doing this stuff. I took a test for someone today and nearly got caught. It's time I got my act together."
"Come on, dude!" Trevor shot back, decked out in a fancy tailored suit, playing the slick successful guy. "A little hit like this? It's not gonna stop you from making it big!"
"You'd say that—you're the one selling it," Mike snapped, still sharp as a tack even while buzzed.
"Don't be like that," Trevor said, glancing at him sideways. "I've always told you—if you wanna join me, I'm all in. With your brains and my business skills, we'd dominate. New York? Nah, the whole U.S.—heck, the world! We'd be the top dogs in premium medical supplies."
"That's the same line you fed me when you got me to take that math test for you," Mike said, slumping back on the couch with a smirk. "And then I got busted."
"Aw, what a sweet memory, right?" Trevor grinned smugly. "Look, no one's gonna think we're crooks. Check me out—$2,000 suit, and I've got twelve more just like it! We're winners, man! I'm legit running a 'software project' here. Clients hand me briefcases full of cash, I swap 'em for identical ones packed with vacuum-sealed premium medical goods. Totally reasonable, totally legit—am I right?"
"Sure, until you get caught," Mike said, shaking his head. "Once that happens, it's game over. I've got my grandma to take care of, and you've got Jenny. We can't afford to lose."
"Oh, please!" Trevor threw his arms wide and leaned back, brushing it off. "Caught? That's not gonna happen so easy. Team up with me, use that genius brain of yours to cook up a foolproof cover. We'll scale this thing up, make enough cash to go clean, and be whoever we wanna be. Even if you did get nabbed, you'd have enough stashed away. With money, your grandma's set in a nursing home—no problem!"
"Don't tell me you missed the Golden Light Nursing Home scandal that just blew up?" Mike stood up, shaking his head to clear it, eyes narrowing. "I don't want my grandma stuck somewhere she doesn't even qualify for—or worse, trapped in a place where she's got no one to back her up, living some nightmare controlled by others. For her to live out her days in peace, starting today, I'm not just earning cash—I'm keeping myself clean. No more slip-ups! So stop trying to drag me into this, alright? I'm done!"
Trevor watched Mike stumble off, a smug little smile creeping across his face. They'd had this talk a million times. Every time, Mike swore he'd go straight. With his genius IQ and photographic memory, he could learn anything in a flash—but no college degree meant good jobs were out of reach. Plus, his grandma's pricey private nursing home bills kept him from grinding it out at the bottom. Trevor kept poking at him because he knew Mike was torn. Her condition had gotten worse lately, and Trevor figured it wouldn't be long before Mike, desperate for big medical cash, hopped on board.
He genuinely admired Mike's smarts and wanted them in on this together. Why else would he stick with a guy who flirted with his girlfriend Jenny and could've easily stolen her?
Trevor's hunch was spot on.
The next day…
Mike visited his grandma at the nursing home. She begged him to promise he'd quit dabbling in legal gray areas and get a real job. He swore he would. But then they hit him with the news: her worsening condition needed round-the-clock care—$25,000 more, or she'd be shipped off to a public facility. No way Mike was letting that happen. That'd be a death sentence with no dignity.
He called Trevor right away. "I'm in—but I need $25,000 upfront, and this is a one-time deal."
Trevor, mid-hand-off with some new out-of-town partners, was thrilled and agreed instantly. But his grin didn't last.
Cops swooped in out of nowhere, surrounding them. The new guys already didn't trust Trevor, half-suspecting he was an undercover fed. When they saw the speed and scale of the bust, they were convinced he'd sold them out. No chance to explain—guns came out, bullets flew. Trevor, just one guy against three or four beefy dudes, took multiple hits in the chaos. Sweating buckets, he was rushed to the hospital, barely hanging on.
Mike was gearing up to go all-in for his grandma's sake, but before he could blink, Jenny—Trevor's girlfriend—called. Trevor was down, shot up bad. By the time Mike got there, Trevor was gone. Holding a sobbing Jenny, all Mike could think about was his grandma's bills, life's cruel randomness, and a chilling what-if. If he'd been a step slower, would he be the one dead? He feared dying, sure—but he feared leaving his grandma alone and helpless even more.
Watching from a distance was Adam, who'd just finished a surgery. He spotted Mike Ross and, after quietly digging into what went down, was pretty shocked. He'd figured Mike's shady buddy would just get arrested—not gunned down so fast. Then again, when he heard the shooters were hardcore Texas gangsters rolling into New York, it clicked. Everyone knows Texas is trigger-happy central—crooks there drop faster than death row inmates.
And just like that, the biggest headache was gone in a wild twist of fate.
Adam started thinking: why not bump Mike Ross up from Jill's backup tutor to the main gig? It wasn't that Matthew's first pick was bad—Mike was just better. A genius like him, held back by past mistakes from ever being a lawyer? Perfect for Jill. Every big-shot heroine in a show has that brilliant, behind-the-scenes guy propping her up. Mike couldn't take the spotlight, but if they hit it off as friends—or more—he could be her secret weapon while she led the charge. Together, they could tear through the legal world like a boss duo.
Maybe Jill could become a total outlier—a legend in the lawyer game. Industry nickname? The Litigation Double Trouble? The Lawsuit Lovebirds? If she pulled that off and turned into the shining star of the Green family, it'd be a win all around. Forget Leonard's connection—Jill and genius Mike as a power couple would be a huge boost for Adam too.
What's a network, anyway? If Adam had top-tier legends as buddies in every field, imagine the pull he'd have, seen or unseen. With that kind of backup, nothing could touch him. Even if those bald jerkwads like Dick decided to mess with him someday and Adam had to take them out, he'd be untouchable—no hassle at all.