Trial & Tribulations

by Rachel Dylan

  Sofia shook her head. “And then you found out that it isn’t just fun and games.”

  “Exactly. But it’s so easy to get drawn in. The books are really intriguing and Morena is such a great teacher. She was always pushing me to read more and seriously think about my life.”

  “This is all great information to have, Stacey. I’m worried that they’re going to start targeting more of our youth. If you found it attractive, then others will as well.”

  “Yeah, and Morena and Layton make things seem so normal. Plus, the internship was huge for me.” She sighed. “Speaking of that, I should probably get to my school work. My college course load is pretty heavy. Just because it is community college doesn’t mean it isn’t challenging.”

  “Of course. You seem pretty settled, so I’ll get out of your hair, but if you need me at any point just call me. You have my cell number.” Sofia started taking the dinner dishes to the kitchen.

  “I’ll clean up since you cooked. So don’t worry about that.”

  “All right. And remember, Stacey. Don’t let anything get inside that head. The mind is a dangerous thing and can see things when it wants to.”

  “Hopefully, I’m done with any spiritual sightings, at least for a long time.”

  Sofia gave her a quick hug. “Get some rest. I’ll check on you tomorrow.”

  Sofia let herself out and Stacey took a deep breath. What a day. Sofia was trying to help by attempting to convince her that she had dreamt up the episode from last night. But just as she had told Sofia, she knew that what she’d experienced was real. The question now was, what was she going to do about it?

  “I can do this,” she said out loud. She really wanted to go back to Optimism and try to learn what she could about them to help the church. The only person who was in favor of that idea was Sofia. Which made sense. If she didn’t really believe in the physical nature of spiritual warfare then she wouldn’t be as worried about the safety aspects.

  But Stacey was stronger than everyone else imagined. She had taken on that demon, hadn’t she? Didn’t that count for something?

  Yeah, she had royally messed up, but this was a way to give back to the church and start making amends for her sins.

  Then it struck her. She didn’t need to tell Pastor Dan and the others about her going back to Optimism. Once she did and brought back valuable information, they’d see that she was more than capable of handling herself.

  So as much as seeing Layton and Morena again freaked her out, that was exactly what she was going to do.

  Chapter Nine

  Grant focused on the road but even as his eyes were glued to the street his mind wandered. He wasn’t himself lately. Ever since he started working on this case, his world had been warped.

  He’d never considered withdrawing from a case before no matter how tough the facts were or how high maintenance his clients had been. And he wasn’t really considering it now, but it would make his life a whole lot easier.

  What he needed was a strategy for handling not only his client but the opposing side, including Olivia. The first step was putting aside all of the spiritual stuff he was bombarded by on both sides. There was nothing that any of them could do to him unless he allowed the mind games to ensue.

  He’d accused Olivia of playing him. He didn’t really believe that, but it was awfully convenient that she got everything she wanted in the end. Not only did she get the mediation, but she now had the paperwork in motion to get a restraining order. He’d have to figure out a way to get that excluded from the jury during the trial. It would be highly prejudicial for a jury to see that restraining order. That would play right into Olivia’s theory of the case that this was a romance gone wrong between Layton and Nina Marie.

  It was time to buck up and deal with this like a man. It wasn’t like him to be rattled by such insanity.

  Looking into his rearview mirror, he slammed on the brakes and swerved off the road, letting out a curse.

  As the car skidded to a stop on the side of the road, he tried to catch his breath. He got out of the car and opened the back seat door. Nothing. There was nothing there.

  How was that possible? He’d seen someone in the backseat. What in the world? Had he completely lost his mind?

  Realizing his breathing was uneven, he tried to calm himself. He walked around the car in circles looking for any indication of there being someone present. Seeing nothing, he leaned against the car door trying to pull himself together.

  He knew what he had seen—the figure of a person in the backseat—in his backseat.

  Had he gotten too close to this case that it would make him become delusional?

  Get it together, he thought. It was time to drive home and try to get some serious shuteye. This was two times now when he’d been really tired and had strange experiences.

  He got back into the car and started the engine. No, he wasn’t going to call Olivia. She’d claim victory, and he still had an ounce of pride left.

  Needing to talk to someone, he dialed Ryan’s number. Talking shop would help calm him down.

  “This is Ryan.”

  “Ryan, sorry we didn’t get to talk today at the office. I wanted to check in with you on your cases.” He wasn’t going to let Ryan know how messed up he was, or Ryan would never want to become his partner in the law firm.

  “I pitched for a new case today that’s why I was out. I was so bummed that I didn’t get the last products liability suit, but I have a great feeling about this one.”

  “What’s the product?”

  “Some type of health food supplement. Unfortunately, quite a few deaths have results from those who have taken it. I’ve met with members of those families that would make up the class action and be the class representatives. They told me today that they’d narrowed it down to our firm and one other.”

  “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day, Ryan. If there’s anything I can do to help swing the case our way, just let me know.”

  “That’s good. I know one of the family members in particular wanted to talk to you since you’re the head of the firm.”

  “Set something up and I’ll make myself available.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, why do you ask?”

  “You just seem really preoccupied lately.” Ryan said.

  “I’ll just be glad once this case goes to trial and I can move onto something else.”

  “I can’t blame you. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Thanks.” He ended the call relieved to at least here that his firm might be bringing in another large case.

  By the time he walked into his house, he’d talked himself down quite a bit. He was going to go straight to bed. There was no way he’d allow himself to be sucked into the madness with the rest of the people in this litigation.

  **

  “We need to make sure we’re all on the same page,” Nina Marie said. She looked at Clive as he sat on the big red sofa in his living room. He’d become so unfocused on the task. She was going to have to step in and take charge if they were going to prevail in this lawsuit and their battle against Optimism.

  “I don’t know why you’re so worried. We have the upper hand, Nina Marie. The mediation went our way, the judge granted our petition for a restraining order against Layton. What more could you want?”

  He was so naïve. “This is just the beginning of a long battle. We can’t claim one victory and sit patting ourselves on the back.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “And what would you have us do then?”

  “For one, I’m committed to this campaign against Grant Baxter. If we can spook him off the case that will obviously help our cause.”

  “You seem to have that well in hand. What do you want me to be doing?” he asked with a raised voice.

  “We need to take this opportunity while they are down to really go on the offensive. Both of us need to go after Layton. We’re much stronger as a team than working independently.”

>   Clive blew out a breath. “Honestly, doing the devil’s bidding is becoming quite tiresome for me.”

  “What?” she asked. “What are you talking about?”

  “I didn’t really want to have this talk right now. But maybe it’s for the best if we do. I’m losing interest in fighting. I don’t really think the rewards are worth it.”

  “You must not be feeling well, Clive. You’re not thinking clearly.”

  “I’m thinking more clearly than I have in years. I’m taking some time off and going to sit on a beach somewhere away from all this darkness I’ve surrounded myself with for all these years.”

  “Wait a minute,” she said. “You’re not considering converting are you?”

  He laughed. “Of course not. But I am considering the fact that it’s about time I stopped worshiping the devil and focused on myself. I don’t need him.”

  “You better be careful what you say. I don’t need to tell you how powerful he is. You committed yourself to him. You can’t just walk away. Especially not now in the middle of this lawsuit.”

  “I would still meet any legal obligations. It isn’t like I’d be a no show for trial or anything like that. But this day to day warring between the factions is frankly getting old. I’d like to live in peace for a while.”

  She wanted to scream. Being in charge was what she wanted, but not with him running away from what they’d built together. “You won’t find any peace. It’s too late for that.”

  He shook his head. “I refuse to believe it.”

  “But I need you in this fight. I need you by my side to take out Layton once and for all.”

  “I’m sorry, Nina Marie. The decision has been made. It’s just a matter of implementation. I’ll be CEO in name only. And once this litigation is behind us, you’ll become the next CEO.”

  “You really are foolish to think the evil one is just going to let you walk away.”

  “What can he do to me?”

  “Hurt you! How can you even question that after all the things you’ve seen over the years? The evil one and his demons wield so much power on this earth. You won’t be able to escape that even if you find the most remote beach on the planet.”

  He looked up into her eyes. “It won’t matter. He can’t hurt me more than what I’m already facing.”

  “What are you talking about?” Her mind raced.

  “I’m sick, Nina Marie.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I have cancer. Stage four pancreatic. As you can imagine, the prognosis is pretty grim. I’m not going to sit around worshiping the devil as I prepare to die.”

  The breath felt like it was being sucked out of her body. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’ve seen the best doctors. They are all in agreement.”

  Now it all made sense. His strange behavior, him pulling back, his lack of interest. This could change everything. “You’re not going to die,” she said.

  He smirked. “If only you had the power to heal me. But you don’t.”

  Yes, she wanted to take over Astral Tech, but she hadn’t really wanted anything to happen to Clive. Especially not like this. “I’m at a loss for words.”

  He nodded. “I was too for a while. Now that I’ve had some time to think about it though, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m personally done with all of this. I still need the business to function from a purely financial perspective, but I have no interest in anything else.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “That if you want all of the activities of Astral Tech to continue, then you’ll need to be the leader. I am done with all aspects of serving the devil.”

  She reached out and touched his arm. “This is the sickness talking, Clive. It’s not you.”

  “No, Nina Marie. Like I said, I finally feel like the fog has lifted off of me. And I want to live out my last days my way. That doesn’t include anything having to do with demonic forces. For all I know, I’m sick because of the lifestyle I’ve led.”

  “Do you really believe that?”

  “To be completely candid, I’ve thought about it a lot. I’ve wondered if I’m being punished for the evil life I’ve led.”

  “We can go to the evil one—all of us united as one and ask him to heal you.”

  “It won’t work. I’m certain of that.”

  “But how can you know if we don’t try?”

  He looked up at her with eyes filled with sadness. “It’s over. When it’s the right time, I’ll call a meeting where I will hand the reins of the spiritual group over to you.”

  “They may not want to stay if you leave though. What if we have people go to Optimism?”

  He shook his head. “I hate to say this, but it’s no longer my problem. I hope you can respect that. Not until you really face the prospect of death do these things really crystalize in your head.”

  Her body felt numb as she heard his words. “Okay.” What else could she say to a dying man?

  “I need you to keep this to yourself. As far as everyone else is concerned once I’m ready to announce, I’ll be taking an early retirement.”

  “And you think our members will believe that?”

  “Doesn’t matter. That’s all I’m going to tell them.” He sighed. “And assuming I’m still alive and able, I’ll be back for the trial. Since no trial date has been set yet, I can’t make any promises.” He looked down and then back up. “They don’t really know how much time I have left, but we’re talking months not years.”

  “I’m sorry, Clive. I know right now you want to step away from all of this, but I’m going to continue what you’ve started. I’ll make you proud.”

  “Oh, Nina Marie, don’t be so melodramatic. I’ve always known that you wanted to run the show.”

  “But not like this,” she said quietly. Yes, she wanted victory, but only when it was fairly won. “I’ll let myself out.” She needed some time alone to come to grips with the revelations of the day.

  **

  Grant felt more rested than he had in a long time. He had woken up with a renewed purpose—to fight for this lawsuit as hard as he could. Once he put all his attention back on the legal issues and away from all the extra curricular nonsense that everyone else was obsessed about, he felt more like himself.

  He’d convinced himself of the fact that he was so tired last night that he had started hallucinating. He needed to take better care of himself. Starting today he was going to make himself get sleep and not skip meals. It had occurred to him once he’d gotten home last night that he hadn’t eaten all day long. No wonder he was seeing things. He couldn’t run on empty any more.

  He was also energized by his latest legal strategy. A strategy that Layton had just signed off on. So he whistled as he pulled up to Astral Tech’s office. It was time to give Olivia a taste of her own medicine.

  Smiling at Melanie as he walked in, the two of them were becoming fast friends because of his frequent visits to the enemy’s office.

  “I know you have to be here to see Olivia.”

  “That’s right. How’re you doing today?”

  “I’m fine and yourself?”

  “Great, Melanie. I’m doing great.”

  She gave him a weak smile and stood up from the large desk. Today she wore what he recognized to be her signature high heels and a black dress. “Come on back.”

  He followed her down the hallway to the room where he knew Olivia would be working. And he couldn’t wait to see Olivia’s reaction to the papers he intended to give her. It was about time he took control of things.

  “Grant.” Olivia stood up from her chair. Today her long dark hair was hanging loose down past her shoulders. She wore a gray pantsuit and a fancy looking silver necklace.

  “Sorry to drop in unannounced.”

  She stood with her arms crossed. She wasn’t stupid. “What do you have for me?”

  He shouldn’t really take this much pleasure in what he was about to do, but he couldn’t help it. “Since you
were so kind as to give me notice before you filed the restraining order, I thought I would do the same and return the favor.” He set his briefcase on the table and opened the latch pulling out her copy of the legal filing. Handing it over, he waited to gauge her reaction.

  Her dark eyes quickly skimmed the first page. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re seeking an emergency injunction?”

  “Why do you seem so surprised?”

  “If the harm to Optimism from Astral Tech selling the app was so great, you would’ve filed the brief for the injunction with the complaint. You and I both know that.”

  He shook his head. “On the contrary, not until I reviewed the first set of documents that you provided in response to my document requests did we fully appreciate the extent of the harm. By your client continuing to use the stolen technology, my client is suffering with each day that passes. We’re going to ask the court for an emergency hearing as soon as possible.”

  She flipped her hair over her shoulder and took a few steps toward him. “This is exactly the type of stunt I expect from plaintiff’s lawyers. I don’t know why I thought you were better than that. But you’ve proven me wrong.”

  For a moment he almost felt a shred of shame, but then he straightened his shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “I’m vigorously defending the interests of my client. You would do the same thing. Every day that Astral Tech profits from the stolen app, irreparable harm is done to my client. And the Astral Tech app dilutes the Optimism brand. A judge will see that when presented with the evidence.”

  “So you’re going to try to get the judge to order that Astral Tech must stop selling the app.”

  “Selling and marketing. All of those activities must cease.”

  She laughed loudly. “That will never fly. The judge will never interfere with commerce in that way. Especially not on these set of facts.”

  “He will when he sees the evidence supporting our theft claim.”

  “I’ve seen the documents, remember? I’m the one who turned them over to you. There’s nothing in there to support your theft claim.”