Private Agendas: A Victoria Rodessa Legal Thriller

by Katherine Smith Dedrick

  The three men looked up just as Jenny saw her son, smiled, and made a beeline directly toward them.

  “Billy, darling, how are you?” she asked, leaning over to kiss his cheek, ignoring the other two. “I tried to connect with you to have dinner and chat about this motion, but your assistant said you were out until next week. Change of plans?”

  “Mother, let’s step outside,” Billy said. Standing, he grabbed his mother firmly by her arm and steered her through the courtroom’s double doors and into the hallway.

  “Why are you, of all people, getting involved in this case? What in God’s name are you thinking?” Billy spat as soon as they were out of earshot of the other lawyers and clients who were milling around while they waited for their cases to be called. He continued to walk her toward the glass walls of the thirty-one story courthouse that boasted some of the best views of the Chicago shoreline. Usually, Billy admired the view. Today was different.

  “Billy, stop dragging me,” Jenny said as she pushed his hand off her arm. “If you would have returned my calls, we could have discussed this before now. Listen”—Jenny softened her tone and smiled up at her son—“you have a reputation for being one of the staunchest supporters of women in the law. You must know that you and the firm you’ve worked so hard to build are being hurt by this lawsuit. Clearly, someone didn’t have your best interest at heart when they fired Victoria. I think I can bridge the divide and do some good for both sides.”

  Sighing, Billy looked down at the ground, then directly into his mother’s eyes with a steeled look he had learned from years of watching his father go from charming to bastard in the blink of an eye.

  “Mother, let me be blunt. I am not going to allow you to get involved in this case. We’re going to take very difficult positions against Victoria I doubt you’ll like. I’m asking you now to walk back into that courtroom and withdraw your motion. If you refuse, I’m going to be forced to bring up some unpleasant matters.”

  A little alarm went off in Jenny’s head. “What do you mean, ‘unpleasant’? What are you talking about?”

  “We don’t have much time. The call begins in about five minutes. Let me just say that I would hate for your reentry into the legal profession to be tarnished.”

  “Tarnished? I had a sterling reputation, and I’ve lived my life admirably,” Jenny responded.

  “If you continue on this path, I will testify that during the divorce, you asked me to move large sums of money from your and Father’s joint account into an untraceable offshore account. That will not only end your involvement in this case, but I’m quite sure the State of California will want to reconsider its moral character determination of one of its newest lawyers too. I wouldn’t be surprised if your ability to practice law is suspended pending a full review, which as you know, can take months if not years.”

  Jenny stared at her son and felt a rush of heat run through her body. She was suddenly flooded with sweat. Tears swam in her eyes as she realized that her only child, one of the loves of her life, was not only capable of lying but was willing to ruin her reputation and potentially her return to the profession she loved.

  Looking at his watch, Billy sneered, “Two minutes, Mother. What’s it going to be?”

  Jenny was surprised at how quickly her feelings changed from sadness to pure, red-fire anger. After all she’d put up with from his father, to now be treated like dirt by her son? She refused to let history repeat itself, but she had to be smart. This was her son’s playground, not hers. Chicago judges were elected, and how much her son had personally helped elect this judge was unknown.

  Guarding her feelings, she looked her son in the eyes. “I didn’t realize how much this meant to you, Billy. Now that I do, I see that the best thing for me to do is withdraw my motion. I can’t control Kat, of course.”

  Smiling and putting his arm around his mother’s shoulder, Billy responded, “Of course not, and I don’t expect that of you. This is the right decision. You’ll see that in the end, Mother.”

  Oozing the confidence of a man who expects people to do his bidding, Billy turned and walked ahead of his mother into the courtroom, letting the door close in her face. Not more than a few seconds after Jenny returned, the door in the back wall opened with a whooshing sound and a swath of blond hair and black robe moved swiftly up onto the dais. “All rise. Court is now in session, the Honorable Margaret McLaughlin now presiding,” the limping bailiff bellowed as everyone rose.

  “Good God,” Kat whispered to Victoria, nodding at the bailiff, “he’s older than petrified wood.” Victoria refused to look at her but sharply rapped Kat’s ribs with her elbow.

  Jenny scooted in next to her colleagues. For a moment, looking at the cherubic-like face of the diminutive, blond, bob-haired judge, Jenny played with the idea that she might be able to convince Her Honor that whatever her son might say about her wasn’t true. But to what purpose?

  Judge McLaughlin banged her gavel. “Please be seated. Bailiff, call the first case.”

  As the first group of lawyers approached the bench ready to argue their motion, the judge unexpectedly held up her hand. “Gentlemen, hold a moment, please.” A huge smile spread across her face as she forced a few unruly blond curls into place behind one of her ears. “Billy, Adam, Trever, to what do I owe the honor of having the founding partners of Acker, Smith & McGowen in my courtroom? I didn’t see anything substantive on the call this morning.”

  All three men rose in unison. Their perfectly coifed hair gleamed under the courtroom lights, while their custom suits showed just the right amount of sheen. “Your Honor, as always, it’s a pleasure to see you,” Billy said. “I believe the last time we were together was at the reception to celebrate your tenth year on the bench. May we approach?”

  “Yes, of course.” Turning to the sidelined lawyers, the judge said, “Gentlemen, the clerk will recall your case. Please step back.” Then, turning to the court reporter, the judge ordered, “Off the record.”

  Smiling at the men now standing in front of her, Judge McLaughlin spoke in a low tone. “That was an amazing party. I appreciate your firm hosting the reception and all the work you and your staff did. Now, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

  Victoria stared at Robert, wide-eyed to communicate how screwed she thought they were. Robert imperceptibly shook his head to let his client know she was wrong.

  “Nothing of any real substance, Your Honor,” Billy answered, glancing over his shoulder at his mother. “Just a request from plaintiff to add a slew of out-of-town lawyers to her case. We simply don’t see the need for it.”

  The judge’s eyes narrowed a bit. “Billy, the standard for whether I will or won’t allow new lawyers on a case is not whether the opposing party sees a need for it. Did you file an opposition to their motion?”

  “Your Honor, if I may?” Robert said as he approached the bench.

  “Yes, of course. Robert, how are you?”

  “I’m fine, Your Honor. Thank you. With all due respect, this is my case. I filed the motion, so if we’re going to address it now, I’d like an opportunity to present our position.”

  “Please, proceed,” she said, signaling her court reporter to go back on the record.

  “The answer to your question is, no. They didn’t file any opposition to our motion, and as you know, these motions are routinely granted. Moreover, defendants certainly don’t have a say in the lawyers their opponents choose. Finally, I called their office”—Robert paused as he gave a sideways flick of his head at the Troika—“at least three times before the hearing today to find out if they had any objections, and I never received a return call. So I certainly object to any last-minute oral response.”

  Lifting her head to look out at the other lawyers waiting patiently for their own motions to be called, the judge rolled her eyes and sent them a conspiratorial wink as if to say, “Can you believe the shit I have to deal with every day?” Her theatrics were met with a smattering
of laughter as the waiting lawyers tried to judge her temperament and gain her favor before it was their turn to step up. Billy, Adam, and Trever glanced at one another, signaling their mutual annoyance at being the butt of the judge’s joke.

  Leaning forward over the bench, the judge crooked her finger, motioning for all four men to move closer. “You know, boys,” she said in a low, quiet tone, “I have neither the interest nor time to referee a fight between bullies pushing each other around on the playground. I’m not at all pleased by the childish behavior you’ve brought into my courtroom this morning.” Turning to look directly at Billy, she warned, “Next time, Mr. Acker, if you want to object to a motion in my courtroom, you’ll put it in writing. Understood?”

  “Yes, Your Honor,” Billy replied, his pale skin flushed red.

  “This one time, I’ll let you proceed orally. Now, step back.” Picking up her gavel, the judge whacked it down hard, producing a sharp crack. “Five-minute recess,” she called out, clearly pissed off, as she stood to walk back through the hidden door in the wall.

  Robert turned and walked back into the huddle of Victoria, Kat, and Jenny. “Well, something’s going on. They’re clearly going to fight this, and unfortunately, the judge is going to let them.”

  Jenny touched him on the shoulder and said, “He threatened me. Take me off the motion. Get Kat in, but I’m out.”

  “What are you talking about, Jenny?” Victoria responded. “We talked about our strategy for hours this week. We knew they would argue against it. Why would you let him get to you?”

  Tears sprang to Jenny’s eyes. “I’m not strong enough yet. He said he’d ruin my career. He’s going to tell the judge I asked him to hide funds from his father during the divorce proceedings. It’s likely my bar admittance will be reconsidered if he makes those allegations.”

  “What? Why that son of a bitch,” Kat muttered, looking over to see Billy smirking at her. “Let’s get your divorce lawyer involved. She’ll testify that nothing of the kind occurred.”

  “No, Kat. For what?” Victoria said, putting her arm gently around Jenny’s shoulder. “All this nonsense will possibly hurt Jenny’s career, deflect from my case, and waste time, which is what they want. Time is on their side. They’re hoping witnesses move on and documents disappear. Jenny’s right. She can’t have her career interrupted at this point after all she’s been through. She’ll act as special counsel and help as we need. Does that work for you, Jenny?”

  Pulling herself together, Jenny said, “I’m so sorry for all of this. I never expected my son would threaten me rather than let me on this case.”

  “Ladies, we don’t have much time. The judge will be back on the bench any minute. Are we agreed?” Robert asked. Watching them all nod their heads, he turned and walked over to the boys.

  “Okay, Billy. You win this one. We’ll remove your mother from the motion, but know that I’m watching all of you so close your balls should feel the heat.”

  “We’re shaking in our Italian-made boots. Now that you’ve finished your little speech, I want you to dismiss the whole motion. Kat has no business getting involved in this case. I’m sure she has more important matters to worry about, like whether her family can continue to get bank financing for all their little development deals. I’m sure she wouldn’t want Trever’s granddaddy to begin an investigation into their company.”

  Turning to see Kat watching their discussion, Robert signaled to her. Keeping one eye out for the judge, knowing they had precious little time, he spoke rapidly. “Kat, Billy here has just told me that if we don’t dismiss the motion, Senator McGowen will investigate your family’s business. I thought he should at least have the balls to threaten you directly.”

  “What?” Kat said, visibly stunned.

  “Well, Miss Kat,” Trever chimed in his exaggerated Texan drawl, “since you and I are from Texas, we both know how prickly our politicians can be if they think someone’s cuckolded their state out of finances. I suspect there might be some problems my granddaddy can dig up about your daddy’s construction company, perhaps about certain tax deductions he took or someone he paid off to get a permit. Seems someone’s always doing something criminal in construction. Or, maybe your daddy got bored and took his mistress someplace special using some of his investors’ funds. Who knows what might turn up?”

  Robert put his hand on Kat’s arm and tried to steer her away. “Let’s take a minute to chat, Kat.”

  Shrugging Robert’s hand off, Kat spat, “In less than five minutes, I’ll be counsel in the case Victoria filed against you and your firm. And five minutes after that, I’ll instruct my lawyers in Miami not only to go hard against the insurance company you set up to defraud millions of insureds, but I’ll make sure they file discovery to elicit the advice it received from your firm. I’m convinced the board members didn’t come up with delaying claim payments on their own. Why would they? They’re all wealthy individuals and would have made significant profit if the company would have operated within normal standards. Someone enticed them, and I think I know just the firm that was behind that.”

  Trever challenged, “Good luck with that. No judge will ever let you get the privileged communications between the insurance company and its lawyers.”

  “Maybe not,” Kat responded as the hidden door swung open and the bailiff announced the return of the judge, “but, may I suggest, gentlemen, that by screwing with me and mine, you’ve just upped the ante. Better clean house, boys, ‘cause I’m coming for you hard.”

  * * *

  “Well, that went well.” Victoria sighed as they got into the elevator and headed down to the lobby. “Was it my imagination, or were they incredibly pissed at the judge?”

  Kat burst out laughing. “Oh my God. I almost started laughing, listening to the dressing-down she gave them when they tried to keep me out of the case. One of my best days ever!”

  “Yes, well, watch your back,” Robert said. “I don’t take their threats lightly and neither should you or your family. They’re incredibly connected, especially Trever.”

  “I’m well-acquainted with the McGowen family and Trever’s granddaddy. I’ve already texted my assistant to set a call with my father while I’m at the airport this afternoon. We have a few connections of our own and a number of strings we can pull. Rather stupid of Trever to threaten my family before he’s fully thought through who we might know,” Kat replied.

  “Kat, I know how they think,” Victoria added. “They’re narcissists, but they don’t make empty threats. Just look at what Billy was prepared to do to his mother. As disgusting as his threat was, I have no doubt he would have gone through with it.”

  Making a quick note on his pad, Robert said, “Their collective egos might also be their Achilles’ heel. Let’s work on that possible weakness. We need to connect before the end of next week to finalize our strategy going forward and to think through how we want to use Jenny, if at all,” Robert said as he hailed a cab to take Kat and Jenny to the airport.

  CHAPTER

  11

  VICTORIA WALKED INTO her apartment exhausted. She had spent the rest of that day returning client calls and working on a motion that had to be filed the next day. When her friends texted that they’d landed and were safe and sound in their respective home turfs, she was surprised at how late it was. Closing the door behind her, Victoria threw her bag on the floor, walked into her tiny kitchen, and uncorked a bottle of Italian red wine. Sniffing it appreciatively, she walked back into her living room and stretched out on the sofa. She had just turned on her television to watch some mindless nonsense when she heard her phone vibrate in her bag.

  “Shit, shit, shit, shit. I’m so tired,” Victoria said out loud. Trying to ignore her phone, she turned the TV volume up a little higher. Glancing daggers at her bag as the vibrating continued, she pushed herself off the sofa and dug to retrieve it. Looking at the caller ID, she smiled. “Armond. How are you? You’re the only person besides
my mother I would have answered the phone for tonight. How’s la-la Land? Are you juicing and running shirtless on the beach?”

  “Hello, my pet. How is that cold as a witch’s tit Chicago treating you?” Armond answered, smiling as he looked out at the view of the city on one side and the Pacific on the other from his new penthouse on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

  “How’s the movie business? Are you settling into your role there?” Victoria asked as she took a sip of her wine.

  “It’s actually rather interesting. I’ve taken over the deal-making side of the business, which is why I called.”

  “Aww, that’s so flattering. I thought perhaps you had called to see how I was or, oh, I don’t know, maybe to talk to one of your best friends. Or, I know, how about to find out what happened in court since you bailed on our strategy meetings this week,” Victoria responded sarcastically.

  “Kitty has her claws out tonight, I see. Well, retract those things because I have a proposition for you that should make you very happy, with the caveat that I might change my mind if I’m forced to listen to more of your smart-ass comments,” Armond teased.

  “Of course, mon capitaine,” Victoria answered, using one of the names she had called him when they’d worked together at the firm. It had always annoyed the crap out of him, which only made her use it more often. “I’m listening.”

  “I’m going to take a trip within the next month or two to Hong Kong and possibly Singapore. I thought I might be able to convince you to come along.”

  “Why in the world are you going to be traveling internationally? And, you do recall, don’t you, that I’m just a hard-working girl from the South Side trying to make it in the big city? I have neither the money nor the time, although I would love to go.” Victoria sighed, flopping back down onto the sofa.

  “Well, while I’d like to empathize and say I know how it is, I can’t. I grew up in the well-padded lap of luxury.”