Trial & Tribulations

by Rachel Dylan

  But still the questions abounded. He had so much to learn before he could even know what he wanted to question further. So each night after work and during his lunch breaks, he’d been spending time reading the Bible. Not front to back, but based on Olivia and Dan’s suggestions. And then sometimes, he would just pick a part that looked interesting to him.

  While it was only Wednesday evening, he felt like it had been much longer since he started down this path. His doorbell rang, and he got up from the kitchen table. He wasn’t expecting any visitors.

  He looked through the peephole and saw Olivia on the other side. But instead of wearing that beautiful smile, she stood with arms crossed. A deep frown on her face. Something was wrong.

  He opened the door. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Of course.” He actually took her gently by the arm and guided her in.

  “Am I interrupting your dinner?”

  “No. I just finished. Have a seat.”

  She looked down at the kitchen table where his empty Thai takeout box sat alongside his tablet.

  “You’re reading the Bible?”

  He laughed. “Isn’t that why you bought it for me.”

  Finally a smile. “I’d love to talk about that, but first I need to tell you something else, and I wanted to deliver this in person, not via email.”

  “What is it?” His pulse thumped loudly as he wondered what she was about to drop on him.

  “I had a long meeting today with my computer forensic expert, Blake Sanchez. You saw him in court last week.”

  “Yeah? I’ve got my guy lined up, too, as soon as your guy turns over his findings.”

  “Take a seat, Grant.”

  “You’re acting like someone died, Olivia.”

  She shook her head. “No, but this isn’t going to be news you want to hear.”

  “Let me guess...” He paused and leaned toward her. “Your paid expert is going to testify that the email was fabricated. Shocking. I knew that right when you hired him. These computer guys can always come up with a theory. That’s the nature of the expert game in litigation.”

  “It’s not that simple. Yes, that is what he concluded, but it’s the details that will concern you.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Blake has determined beyond all reasonable certainty that the changes to the email took place inside the Astral Tech office, on Nina Marie’s office desktop.”

  “No way.”

  “There’s more. Blake couldn’t give an exact time stamp, but he did provide a window that we then cross referenced with the Astral Tech security video. There were two people connected to Optimism who were in the Astral Tech offices during the window.”

  “And they were?”

  “You and Layton Alito.”

  He recoiled. “Are you accusing me of something, Olivia? Because if you are, then you should just come out with your accusation. Or have you already written your brief asking for sanctions against me, or something worse? And you just wanted to what, deliver the good news personally?”

  She reached out and grabbed onto his arm tightly. “Calm down and just wait a minute. I’m not accusing you of anything. I know you wouldn’t have done something like this. But I am accusing your client. Layton has put you in a terrible spot, Grant. And I wanted you to know now. My expert will be emailing out his final report any time now, but I wanted to explain this to you before you got the email to hand over to your expert.”

  He blew out a breath. “How confident are you in your guy’s assessment and his abilities?”

  “Blake is one of the best. It’s not my place to tell you how to handle your client. But as another member of the bar, and as a friend, I ask that you think long and hard about how you want to proceed.”

  “I’m not a quitter, Olivia. We’ve been over this before.”

  “Yeah, but that was before all of this happened. Layton could face criminal charges. Not to mention how this is going to play out in your lawsuit.”

  “Are you thinking settlement?”

  “I think both sides would be well served to consider ending this. But the hatred is so strong between Layton and Nina Marie, I don’t know if there’s a business solution out of this like there would be in normal corporate litigation.”

  “Right. There’s often animosity between competitors, but this is highly personal.”

  “And throw in the spiritual elements and you’ve got big trouble.” She sighed. “This is much more than a lawsuit to them. You and I both know that.”

  He put his head in his hands, all of a sudden developing a headache. She was right. If Layton had broken into Nina Marie’s computer and altered an email and then Grant had used that email as the basis for the emergency injunction—then what a mess. “I’m going to need some time to figure this all out. Thanks for giving me the heads up. My expert will no doubt want to conduct his own assessment.”

  “Of course. But I’m confident he’ll come to the same conclusion. I’m sorry, Grant. You don’t deserve any of this.”

  “Neither do you.”

  Silence fell between them as they sat looking at each other but not speaking. Until Olivia looked away and broke the silence.

  “So tell me about your Bible reading.”

  He never thought that he would feel more comfortable talking about the Bible than about his litigation, but then again, he’d never faced a case like this before. “I’m a bit overwhelmed but still intrigued at the same time. I have appreciated your emails pointing me to certain things I should read. Pastor Dan has also sent me some good places to go. I’ve started a list of questions and thoughts I have.” He lifted up his legal pad that was beside the tablet.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “What changed for you? When we first met, you wanted nothing to do with any of this. Then after what happened to you here at your house, I thought you’d had a breakthrough, but then after that you shut off again. Why now?”

  Good question, he thought. “I’m not sure either. You’re totally right, though. When we first met, I had my worldview, and it was something I was entirely comfortable with. I mean, I wanted to be a good person and live my life in a way I was proud of. But that was about it. There wasn’t any higher power or anything that I even considered. I told you that growing up and being bounced from one foster home to another had a huge impact on me.”

  “It would on anyone. You shouldn’t be down on yourself about your past. You did the best you could do. And look at you now. You’re an amazing lawyer with your own law firm. You have a lot to be proud of.”

  “Thank you. It took a lot to get here. Which is why, when this case came in, I thought initially it would be fine. Maybe a bit odd, but I had no idea that people actually believed in this New Age stuff beyond a superficial level. Then I see your hotel room covered in a pentagram, and I knew something was wrong.”

  “Very wrong.”

  “But it’s always been easier for me to accept the rational explanation. I don’t rely on emotions.”

  “You’ve built up a wall to protect yourself as anyone in your position would have.”

  “Hey now. If you want to talk about walls, you have them, too. They’re different than mine, but they are still there.”

  “Believe me, I know. You’re not the only one who has had difficulties in life. After my parents were killed, my world was rocked down the core.” She sat silently for a minute. “But back to you. I shouldn’t be as concerned about the why as I am about how to help you move forward. I want to provide any support I can to you as you try to determine where you want to go spiritually.”

  “I appreciate that. Most of my friends have been hands off when it comes to my spiritual side, they know how I feel.” He laughed. “I know it’s not funny, but just hearing the words come out of my mouth, sometimes I wonder who am I? Am I the same man I was when this case started?”

  She smiled. “Don’t you see, Grant
? It’s a wonderful thing that you’ve changed. Your heart is opening up. The Lord wants to be there for you if you’ll let Him.”

  “You really believe that?”

  “Yes, God isn’t going to force His way into anyone’s life. He’ll knock at the door, but you have to let Him in. Does that make sense?”

  “Strangely enough, it does. Now if I could just get my head around the whole dying and then being raised from the dead three days later. Honestly, I am struggling with that a bit.”

  “That’s all right. In time, all of this will fall into place, as long as you’re wanting to continue to seek Him out.”

  “It’s like you said. I’ve been thrust into a really unique situation without having the tools to understand it, much less to deal with it.”

  “You’re talking about the spiritual warfare?”

  He walked to the refrigerator and pulled out sodas for them both. He opened his and handed the other can to her. “Yeah, I think the first sermon I heard was a useful building block. But I’m having a hard time understanding how the New Age stuff fits into all of it.”

  “I guess I think it’s theoretically possible to be involved in New Age type activities that don’t directly correlate to anything demonic. But the problem is that once you open the door to things like witchcraft, then you’re inviting that type of presence into your life. And what you’re inviting in isn’t a good thing. It’s evil even if it looks good on the outside.”

  He tried to let her words sink in. “So what I think I’ve learned, and correct me if I’m wrong, is that the devil, the same devil that tempted Jesus, works his will through invisible forces of evil that we understand as demons?”

  “Yes, that’s it.”

  “And that if someone starts doing witchcraft or makes other attempts at trying to connect with spirits, that’s like an invitation for the demons to come to you?”

  “I think that’s a fair way of looking at it. And for some people, I think that’s how they get involved. They may have interest in the invisible realm, or witchcraft, or anything like that, and that’s how it starts. But that isn’t all. Then there are people who unquestionably seek out the devil.”

  He let out a laugh, but it wasn’t filled with humor. “I’m sorry, but you’re losing me on this point. Why in the world would any rational human being want to connect with the devil? Even for someone like me, who had no religious background, I know enough to know that everything about the devil is bad, right?”

  She tucked her hair behind her ear. “These people aren’t all the same, nor do they always have the same motivation. But oftentimes they seek power. Following the devil often means putting yourself first over others. You do the devil’s bidding and you profit—that profit could be financial or in a myriad of other ways. These people aren’t as concerned about what happens after we die as they are about what is happening here on this earth. They want to enjoy all the pleasures this world has to offer—even if many times those pleasures are self destructive.”

  He rubbed his chin as he listened intently to her words. “I don’t know where all of this leaves me.”

  She reached out and touched his hand. “Don’t let it discourage you. Just keep on with what you’re doing. You’re not trying to become a theologian overnight. I’m glad you’re reading the Bible and thinking about these things. I have to warn you, though. If they get the sense that you’re going to be a spiritual threat, then they may come after you more.”

  “You really think that I was attacked that night here?”

  “I do believe that, and I think you do too.”

  “What about you? Aren’t you worried about being attacked again?”

  “Obviously I don’t want to face that again, but I’m not afraid. The Lord said that if God is for us, then who can be against us? I carry that with me. I meditate a lot on the Word of God. I prepare myself for battle by knowing that my God is stronger than the devil will ever be. And while the devil may seem to have a bit of a free reign on this earth, that’s only temporary. He can only do so much to me when I have God on my side.”

  “Seeing you so steadfast in your faith has been pretty amazing for me. You’re really a special woman, Olivia.” How he wanted to bring her into his arms and hold her close. But while this case was ongoing, he knew he couldn’t. He wondered if after it was over if there could ever be a future for them. She lived in Washington, DC, and he lived in Chicago. Could it ever work? And the bigger question, would she even be interested in a man like him?

  “Thanks for that. You’re pretty special, too. I should be going, though, before it gets too late. Look for the report by email in a bit, and once again, I’m sorry that your client lied to you.”

  Ouch, that again. He’d allowed himself not to think about that for a few minutes. Now back to reality and what he had to do. “Thanks. I’ll walk you out.”

  When he closed the door behind her, he was filled with a sense of dread. He was going to have to present this evidence to Layton, and then prepare for what were likely the lies that would follow.

  **

  There was a little voice inside of Stacey’s head urging her on. She sat at home in her apartment with a New Age spell book in front of her. She had no reason to be looking at it now. She wasn’t at work. No one was there with her. Reminding herself that she was supposed to be making amends for what she’d done, not making it worse. But then she kept coming back to the fact that she was still drawn to the spell book. Still curious.

  Steadfast in the belief that she was not going to ever worship the devil, she wondered what harm could really come of dabbling in a bit of witchcraft. It was interesting to her. Learning not only the history of witchcraft, but also the current day applications.

  It certainly didn’t seem like Morena or Layton were worshiping the devil. No, they were both smart businesspeople. Just like what she wanted to be. She’d know if they were sacrificing animals on their lunch break. She laughed to herself at the ludicrousness of it all.

  What she needed to do was to get her head on straight and stop stressing about all of this. Wasn’t there a happy medium between devil worship and being a bible thumper?

  Her mind went back to the experience she had in her living room, though. And a chill shot down her arm. She’d gone back and forth over whether she thought it was real or whether she’d dreamt it up. The further away it was, the more dreamlike it seemed.

  Stop being irrational, she thought. It was time for her to take charge of her own life. Live it the way she wanted. Not the way her parents had wanted her to. No, she needed to make her own way, and this internship was the first step in doing that.

  A light knock at the door had her jumping. She hopped up off the sofa and looked out the door seeing that it was Morena. What would she be doing coming to her apartment? She hoped that she hadn’t messed up the review of orders that she’d been asked to double check today. Morena was currently splitting her time in between working at Optimism and the bookstore Indigo. When Morena had asked for help, Stacey immediately took her up on it.

  Opening up the door, Morena stood on the other side and flashed her a big smile. Hopefully that meant she wasn’t in trouble.

  “Morena, hey.”

  “Sorry to just drop by. I had your address on file, and I wanted to stop by to talk to you about something.”

  “Sure. Come on in.” She led Morena into the living room and offered her a seat.

  Morena’s eyes immediately went to the spell book sitting open on the couch. “Brushing up on some homework?” She laughed.

  “Just some light evening reading.”

  “I’m glad to see you’re taking this so seriously. Not everyone has the same dedication that you do. Which is part of the reason I’m here.”

  “Can I offer you anything to eat or drink?” She was trying to be a polite hostess, even though she didn’t exactly have a lot around the house as a struggling college student.

  Morena smiled. “No, dear. I’m good.”

&nb
sp; “All right. So what do you need to talk to me about?”

  “Layton and I have really been watching your progress around the office. You’re so dedicated to your internship, and you’re really going above and beyond. You’re by far the best intern we’ve ever had since we started taking on interns.”

  She felt her neck flush with the praise. “Thank you. I am trying really hard. I want to do well, and I need to be able to get a good job at a company when I graduate. Even though it’s just community college, it still costs a bit of money, and I’m doing it all based on student loans. Which, as you can imagine, adds up.”

  Morena’s blue eyes sparkled. “I’m so glad you brought that up. That was one of the reasons why I wanted to stop by. Layton wanted to come too, but he got tied up at the last minute with something related to the lawsuit against Astral Tech.”

  “Okay.” Stacey had no idea where Morena was going with this. But from all the compliments, it definitely didn’t seem like she was about to lose her job.

  “Optimism would like to offer you a tuition scholarship. You continue your internship, and we will pay for the rest of your school. In exchange, you commit to working at Optimism for two years after you graduate.”

  “Wow,” she said. She couldn’t even begin to wrap her head around this. What a dream come true. If she didn’t have to keep taking out tuition loans, she’d actually be able to eat something other than boxed noodles for the next two years. “This would be life changing for me, Morena. I don’t even know what to say.”

  “I realize that a two year commitment might seem like a big deal to you, so you should take your time to think about it. But if we’re investing in you, we’d like you then to put those skills you’ve learned in the classroom to work for us. A lot of companies have programs like this, and you would be our test case. Basically a pilot program to see how it works.”

  “Thank you so much. I am really at a loss for words.”

  “Like I said. No commitment tonight. Sleep on it and take a day or two. Then we can revisit it.”

  “I’m beyond thrilled to hear this news.” Her eyes even started welling up with tears. “I thought you might be here to fire me.”