"Shut your mouth!" Lennox interrupted violently. "Do you want to give it away to the chiselers?"
"Keep out of this, Jake. Let me handle it."
"You're not fit to handle anything. You'll sell yourself out."
"Maybe that's the best thing for me. Leave me alone."
"What are you trying to do, escape? I will like hell leave you alone." Lennox turned on Ween. "Listen to me, you shyster. 'We're The Most' is Sam's tune. One hundred out of one hundred percent. How do I know? Because I heard him compose it in our house one month before your boy rehearsed it for the show."
"That's a lie!" Ween roared. "You heard what Cooper just now admitted. That's a dirty, unethical lie, Lennox!"
"And you're stuck with it. Take us into court and see what happens."
"I don't want to go into court!" Cooper looked around frantically. "You're right, Jake. All I want is out. Give him his piece of the hit. Give him the whole damned tune. I'm not cut out for this rat race. For God's sake, let me out before I turn into a twitch like Blinky."
Lennox shut Cooper up with a wave of his hand. He scowled murderously at Ween. "Look what you're doing to him, you lousy leech. You sit on the sidelines waiting for someone to hit, and then you're right in there bloodsucking. Agents! The pimps of the business! This is my boy, understand? He worked for this. He sweated for it. He waited for it, and you're taking nothing from him. Now get the hell out of here and go shove yourself up your property."
Ween left the wrapping room like a thundercloud. Lennox ignored him and stepped to Cooper's side. "You stood by me," he growled. "Now I'm standing by you. If you sign anything away.... If you give anything away.... If you so much as open your mouth, I'll kill you. Stop whining. D'you think this is another varsity show? You're doing business with professional cut-throats. Get the hell out there and face them."