Trial & Tribulations

by Rachel Dylan

  “I appreciate that, Layton. More than you could know. I’m taking this internship really seriously.”

  “Let’s do lunch soon and you can pick my brain about all the aspects of the business.” He walked out leaving her alone with Morena.

  “I’m so glad you came back, Stacey.”

  “Why wouldn’t I come back?” She needed to put on a great acting performance right now. She wasn’t sure enough about anything to spill her guts to Morena. She needed more time to gather all the facts and figure out how she was going to handle all of this.

  Morena reached out and grabbed her hand. “Like Layton said, you have a lot of potential. And when you have that potential, sometimes you’re challenged more than anyone else. Does that make sense to you?”

  She nodded because it did make sense. So much so that it scared her.

  “You don’t have to be afraid of me, Stacey. I’m here to help you and guide you, and I’m never going to push you down a path that you don’t want to go down. That’s not what we’re about here at Optimism. You have the power and control over your own life. You just need to grow into that knowledge and accept it. Once you do, there is absolutely no limit on what you can do. You can make your own way, and do it purely the way you want. Not the way I want or Layton wants. We each have a special path.”

  “You really believe that?” This sounded too good to be true.

  “I can tell you’re skeptical, and I don’t blame you for that. You’re a really smart woman with a great head on her shoulders. Not just book smarts although you definitely have that. Your instincts are strong, and they’re a great asset. You need to learn to trust them.”

  “What if they’re pulling me in different directions?”

  Morena squeezed her hand. “You’ll know exactly what to do when the time comes.”

  Strangely, she felt calm even though she thought she would be afraid. “So what are we going to do today?”

  “I thought we’d step back and re-evaluate your efforts and interests. You tell me what you’d like to learn more about.”

  Before she could even formulate her thoughts she answered. “I’m still interested in the New Age healing methods.”

  Morena let go of her hand. “Perfect, then we’ll work on that.”

  Stacey felt like that was a safe area for her. It was still New Age, but didn’t cross the line into overt witchcraft. Something she was still a bit afraid of dealing with even if it was just a ruse.

  Although as she started to listen to Morena talk about different healing techniques, she wondered if she was lying to herself. Wasn’t she actually still interested in all the New Age techniques including the spells and witchcraft? Couldn’t she draw the line before making any demonic connections?

  While she definitely didn’t want to worship the devil, she started wondering if there was truly any harm in experimenting with witchcraft. It wasn’t like she was asking the devil to do anything. The New Age witchcraft relied on her own power—not that of any other spiritual being.

  She decided then and there that she would keep an open mind. No one at the church needed to know that she was having second thoughts about all of this. She could keep it all together and stay safe. She knew she could.

  **

  Olivia had basically worked around the clock for forty-eight hours writing the response brief to the emergency injunction motion filed by Optimism. The hearing was scheduled for today, and she needed an extra cup of coffee to get her head on straight.

  She walked out of the bustling Windy Ridge coffee shop and down the street to the courthouse. Her strategy was multi-prong. First, she’d found a forensic expert who she felt could provide testimony that the smoking gun email had been digitally altered. The problem was that she just retained him last night, and there was no way he was ready to testify today. But he was going to show up at court to demonstrate to the judge that they were serious about this claim of fabrication. She planned on asking the court for a stay in the action until the forensic examination could be completed.

  But because she knew how these things often worked out, she couldn’t rely on that as her sole strategy. So she’d also written a detailed brief in defense of Astral Tech and refuting all claims of theft with regard to the app. Taking a hefty gulp of coffee, she let the dark roast tickle her tongue as she strategized.

  She’d told Chet that she had this under control. And because she was the one on the ground and doing all the work, he’d decided to let her handle the hearing on her own. She was relieved in part because trying to prep Chet to take over the hearing would’ve been a bit of a nightmare.

  Entering the courthouse, she walked into the lobby area for a few minutes to finish her coffee. The courthouse lobby had a few chairs and benches, so she took a seat in one of the chairs. She had plenty of time before the hearing started. Opening up her briefcase, she took out the outline that she had prepared. The judge would give each side time to make their arguments. She had never prepared full-out scripts, but instead used bullet points to trigger the points she wanted to make. It was much more effective for her that way. And it also allowed for the judge to interrupt with questions without throwing her off her game like a script would do.

  “Hey there.”

  She looked up and knew who it was before she saw him. “Hello, Grant.”

  He smiled and she had to admit that he looked handsome today wearing a dark navy suit with a maroon tie.

  “How are you doing today?” he asked.

  “I’m wonderful.” There was no way he was going to see her sweat. Yeah, when he’d initially told her about the emergency injunction he was seeking, she’d flipped out on him and let her emotions get the best of her. But now that she had time to process it, he wasn’t going to rattle her. Once she’d been convinced about the alteration of the digital file, she felt much better about their chances.

  He knelt down beside her chair. “What have you got up your sleeve, counselor?”

  “Why would you think that?” She didn’t break eye contact with him.

  “Because you almost seem smug and, at the very least, a bit too confident, given the facts.”

  “Ah, the facts. We’ll just have to see, won’t we?”

  He laughed. “Going up against you is a challenge, Olivia. But I have to admit, it’s never dull. Man, I love my job.”

  She couldn’t help but smile. “We’ll see if you feel that way after the hearing is over.”

  “I admire your confidence, even if I think it’s a bit misplaced given the circumstances. Any judge in the country will look at this set of facts and rule in favor of Optimism.”

  The thing was that Grant didn’t know about her claim of document tampering. Since she’d just secured the expert last evening, she hadn’t put anything about it in her brief that she’d filed by the five p.m. deadline last night. And there was nothing saying she had to tell him now. He’d find out soon enough.

  She looked down at her watch. “We should probably be headed into the courtroom.”

  “Yes, ma’am. After you.”

  She stood up from her seat and threw her empty coffee cup in the trashcan before going through the security line.

  About a half hour later, Judge Wingfield took his seat at the bench, and Olivia was ready to go. From the intel that her firm had gathered, Wingfield was a seasoned, no-nonsense type of judge. In his early sixties, sharp, witty, and slightly impatient. He wore glasses and had big dark eyes and gray hair.

  Since Grant had filed the motion for an emergency injunction, he’d get to speak first.

  “Hello, folks,” the judge said. “Looks like we’ve got an emergency motion for an injunction. I just finished reading both side’s papers that were filed with the court. But I’ll hear arguments now from both of you. Mr. Baxter, you’re up.”

  Grant stood up from the counsel’s table and approached the podium. “Thank you, Your Honor. As you’ve read the papers, I will be brief. Simply, this is a case of theft of technology. We have clear
evidence in the form of an email exchange between Layton Alito, the CEO of Optimism, and Nina Marie Crane, the Chief Operating Officer of Astral Tech. In this email, Ms. Crane all but admits stealing the app that was developed by Mr. Alito, my client. The email was attached to my motion filed with the court as Exhibit One. Does Your Honor need another copy?”

  “No, Mr. Baxter. I have it right here in front of me.” The judge motioned to the stack of papers. “I must say it is an interesting email. I’m sure Ms. Murray will have something in response, but please continue.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor. As I was saying, the email is compelling evidence that Ms. Crane stole the technology from Mr. Alito’s computer. Astral Tech will try to make you believe that this is just a lover’s quarrel gone wrong, but that is just background noise. Regardless of any drama between Mr. Alito and Ms. Crane, the theft issue is separate and must be addressed. Every day that Astral Tech is able to market and sell this stolen technology is a day my client is irreparably harmed. This evidence also supports that we would most likely succeed on the merits once this case goes to trial. And under any balancing test, my client is harmed more than Astral Tech. Given all the factors for an injunction weigh in our favor, we would respectfully request this court to issue an injunction to stop the marketing and selling of the Astral Tech app until this case has been fully litigated.”

  “Are you finished, Mr. Baxter?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “All right, then. Ms. Murray, the floor is all yours.”

  “Thank you.” She stood up and walked to the podium. This wasn’t a normal hearing. She’d never argued an issue quite like this before, but she felt strongly about it, which always helped.

  “Your Honor, you’ve read my response brief to the motion for injunction. And I’m happy to discuss our substantive response, but there is an issue not raised in the briefing which will be of great importance to the court.”

  “Well, Ms. Murray, after a preview like that, you have whetted my appetite for something interesting. Please proceed.”

  “After reading the motion and reviewing the exhibits presented by Optimism, of course I met with my client to discuss the allegations. It is the contention of Astral Tech that the email exchange Optimism has attached as Exhibit One to their brief has been digitally altered.”

  “Objection.” Grant stood up from his seat. “This is the first I’m hearing of this outlandish claim, and there’s no basis for such an assertion.”

  “Mr. Baxter, you really haven’t given Ms. Murray a chance to make her argument. Now please sit back down.”

  Grant frowned and took his seat. She knew she had to win over the judge on this quickly. She didn’t want him to think this was all a ruse or stalling tactic.

  “Your Honor, Mr. Baxter hasn’t heard of this because he just filed this motion two days ago. I’ve been working nonstop to investigate all of the allegations and prepare a response. That included meeting with my client and examining all the evidence that Mr. Baxter presented. During that examination, my client reviewed the email exchange in question and is fully certain that she never wrote the last email in the chain.”

  “Is she willing to testify to that under oath?” Judge Wingfield asked.

  “Of course. But knowing that Mr. Baxter would just claim that she was trying to cover up what she had done, I have retained a forensic expert. An expert that can examine the raw data and determine if it has been altered.”

  She glanced back at Grant, and he scowled at her. Then he rose from his seat again. “Your Honor, you can’t really believe this story that Ms. Murray has concocted.”

  “Your Honor, my expert is here in the courtroom right now. He hasn’t had time to actually perform the analysis, but I asked him to come today in case you wanted to hear from him. I would ask for you to stay this motion for an injunction until my expert has had time to examine the data. Given that Mr. Baxter’s case for an injunction relies almost exclusively on this email exchange, I believe we should have a chance to prove the fabrication.”

  “Well, well. I must say that when I read the papers I thought this would be pretty much an open and shut case, given the evidence presented. But Ms. Murray has raised a possible defense—and a serious one at that. Ms. Murray, you do know that if it turns out that the email is legitimate, you would’ve made a representation to this court that I would not appreciate. And if I determine that you are using this as a tactic to buy time, I would definitely consider sanctions against you and your client.”

  She nodded. “I am well aware of the gravity of the situation, Your Honor. But I believe, given the circumstances, my client has a right to have a chance to present evidence to disprove the authenticity of the email.”

  Judge Wingfield sat quietly for a minute. She took deep, even breaths trying to think about the next step.

  “Your expert, where is he?”

  “He’s in the third row, Your Honor. Mr. Blake Sanchez.”

  Blake nodded and raised his hand.

  “Mr. Sanchez, I have no need to swear you in as a witness quite yet. But if I’m considering Ms. Murray’s proposal as an option, I’d like to hear from you as to how long it would take you to make a finding regarding the authenticity of the email.”

  Blake stood up. “Yes, Your Honor. Since we’re only dealing with one email that is in question here as opposed to a lot a data, I believe I could make a determination within a few days.”

  “Very well then. Ms. Murray, I’m going to allow you to pursue this path. Mr. Baxter, I presume you will want to hire your own expert in this matter.”

  “You’ve presumed correctly, Your Honor.”

  “All right. We will reconvene a week from today. That should allow both parties ample time to investigate and present findings on this email.”

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “See you next week.” The judge stood up and left the courtroom.

  She walked back toward Blake. The forensic expert was tall and thin. He wore a nice black suit with a navy tie. His dark hair was styled neatly, and he definitely looked the part of an expert witness. “Can you meet me at the Astral Tech office later today to start working on the data?”

  “Yes. I need a couple of hours to tie up something else. How about two p.m.?” Blake asked.

  “That’s perfect, thank you.”

  “See you then.” He walked out of the courtroom.

  Olivia went back up to the counsel’s table to grab her stuff.

  “We need to talk,” Grant said. His tone let her know that he was angry.

  “Sure,” she said.

  “Not here. Let’s go outside.” His voice was gruff, and his blue eyes flashed with annoyance.

  None of this was her fault. She wasn’t going to let him take his anger out on her. They walked in silence from the courthouse and out into a sunny and mild fall day in Chicago.

  “The deli down the street has some outdoor seating, let’s go there.”

  She didn’t bother to argue with him. She just walked by his side, struggling to keep up with his brisk pace.

  Once seated outside at the deli, she leaned back in her chair and waited for him to speak.

  “Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?” he asked.

  “I don’t know why you’re acting so hostile. First, you were the one that said this was business and not personal. Two, you’re the one who filed this totally unnecessary and inflammatory motion. And three, your client falsified evidence. So if anyone deserves to be angry now, it’s me, Grant, definitely not you.”

  His eyes widened. “You can’t truly believe that nonsense you were talking about in there. Digital alteration? Fabrication? Get real, Olivia. Your client has played you and you stepped right into it. Now you’re probably going to get sanctioned when this is all said and done.”

  “Why is it so hard for you to believe my client’s side of the story?”

  “Because your client is a liar.”

  “And yours isn’t?” She challen
ged him directly.

  He blew out a breath. “I don’t know why I consider you a friend when you’re my rival, but for some strange reason, I do. It’s not like I would’ve ever acted this way before with any of my other opposing counsels.”

  “So why me?”

  He shrugged. “I have no idea. But if you would’ve come to me with this hair brained idea first, even if it was last night, I could’ve stopped you from making a huge mistake that would adversely impact your career.”

  “And how are you so confident?”

  “Because digital alteration is a pretty crazy step to go through. We can win the lawsuit without it. Even if my client were willing to do something illegal, which I’m sure he’s not, he wouldn’t take that kind of risk with no need to do so. He’s a smart businessman. That’s why he’s so successful.”

  She laughed. “So it’s not out of knowing between right and wrong, but that it wouldn’t make good business sense to do so.”

  “It doesn’t matter the motivation. All that matters is the result. Which is why I’m sure that your fancy expert will tell you exactly what I already know. The email is one hundred percent legitimate.” He paused. “And you’re in a world of trouble.”

  “While I appreciate your concern, I think you’re wrong. Think about it logically, Grant. Why would Nina Marie ever say something like that, even if it were hypothetically true? You talk about Layton’s business smarts, well Nina Marie has them, too.”

  He shook his head. “I guess you had to do what your client told you to. But still…”

  “I’m a big girl, Grant. And if something happens to me, it’s not on you. We’re both doing our best to represent our clients.”

  “Cavorting with the enemy now, Olivia?”

  Olivia looked up and Nina Marie stood in front of their table smiling.

  “Grant and I were just discussing the issue surrounding the evidence fabrication.”