You’ve never helped anyone other than yo...

You’ve never helped anyone other than yourself. You give when it’s convenient and only when it allows you to manipulate partner against partner so you can take more. Nobody takes more than you. Some people spend time watching sunsets, or playing with kids, or just enjoying people. Your time is spent scheming so you can keep good people off-balance. When they falter, you step on them. You’re very clever, Bernie. You search out people’s flaws. Everyone has one. You search for the flaw, and as soon as you find it, you attack. People are usually too surprised to defend. And as the attack continues, they become weaker. You gain power over one good person at a time. Power, Bernie. You have gained power with your cleverness. And now you have to work every day to keep it; otherwise you will lose the only thing that makes you important to yourself!

[Bernie: (stuttering.) You…you…you…!]

Char: (moves closer to Bernie, points to the portrait of Beau Maguire) You never had anything to give. Maguire gave it all. He gave us his clients. He helped our careers. He gave you your clients. He made you, and you hate him for it. You hate him because he helped you, and without him you know you would be nothing. You would be like all those associates who kiss your ass and keep on kissing because they are fearful. They lost their lives after a few years here. Now all they know is your ass. That is the limit of their vision, your ass. (Moves face-to-face with Bernie.) Bernie, you proved that if you ain’t the lead dog, the scenery is always the same. Not much of a perspective in the larger scheme of things. (Turns, walks away from Bernie, stops, and again looks at him.)

Bernie, you were fortunate enough that Maguire did not expect to get his ass kissed in return for his generosity. All he expected was loyalty and decency. Because he was old, you knew you could take from him, and you didn’t even need to give him anything in return, not even loyalty and decency.

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