by Rachel Dylan
“Nina Marie is the driving force behind Astral Tech. So I’ll let her explain our business,” Clive said. “I’m more of the big picture guy and Matt is our number cruncher.”
“Sounds good,” Olivia said.
Nina Marie smiled. The thin auburn haired woman wore tortoiseshell glasses. Her hair was swept up into a loose bun, and she wore a black blazer with a rose colored blouse. “Astral Tech was my baby, but Clive has the financial backing and business acumen to make it happen.”
“I’d like to hear all about it,” Olivia said.
“We’re a company specializing in bringing New Age theories and ideas into the tech space. We felt like we filled a void in that area. Yes, New Age has been quite popular for years now, but no company has really brought New Age into the current technology arena and made it work for the next generation. Through the Astral Tech app and other electronic means, we’re making New Age relevant again. Our target audience is youth and young professionals. We don’t even try to reach the baby boomers and beyond because it’s a losing battle. They’re too traditional, and they’re not as tech savvy. We have to target our energy on the demographic that makes the most sense for our product.”
“Excuse my ignorance, but you use New Age as a blanket term. I need a bit of education on what exactly you mean in the context of your business.”
Nina Marie clasped her hands together in front of her. “Of course. I think a woman like you is in our key demographic. I would love to hear your thoughts on all of this. But to answer your question, New Age is a lot more than incense and meditation, although that is definitely a part of it. New Age is a way of life. A way of spiritually connecting. We care about the whole body—the environment, mysticism, spirituality. And we do that in an innovative way through the Astral Tech app that starts you on your path of self exploration from day one. You have to download it and try it for yourself. It will definitely help you understand our issues in the litigation better.”
“Yes, the litigation. I read the complaint on the plane. Optimism’s central claim is that Astral Tech actually stole the app from them.”
Clive jumped in and leaned forward resting his arms on the table. “It’s a totally bogus lawsuit. That’s why we’re hiring a firm like yours to nip this in the bud. We don’t want any copycat litigation. This app was developed totally in house by Astral Tech employees. To say that there is any theft is absolutely false. We certainly didn’t steal it. It’s just a trumped up charge.”
“What about the other claim regarding defamation?”
Clive nodded. “The defamation claim is actually a bit more concerning to me because it’s subjective. We won’t have a technical expert that can testify about that like we have on the actual theft claim.”
She sat up in her seat. “What was said by Astral Tech that they are claiming is defamatory?”
“A few off handed comments about Optimism and their lack of integrity. They claim they’re part of the New Age movement, but some of their actions indicate otherwise.”
“Could you be more specific?”
“I can elaborate,” Nina Marie said. “Optimism isn’t really centered on New Age techniques in the same way we are. Their original founder, Earl Ward, was a connoisseur of many New Age techniques, but when he passed away Optimism’s purpose shifted a bit under Layton Alito’s rule, solidifying their allegiance to the dark arts. Layton is a ruthless leader who doesn’t tolerate any type of dissent amongst his ranks.”
Olivia felt her eyes widen, but she tried to hide her surprise. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, very,” Nina Marie said.
“And Astral Tech isn’t like that?” She couldn’t help herself. She had to ask. It was better to know.
“We’re a big tent. We don’t want to alienate anyone who is seeking a spiritual journey,” Clive said.
Well, that wasn’t exactly a denial. What had she stepped into here? “And why New Age?”
Clive smiled. “Think about this as a lawyer. A businessperson. The world is becoming more and more open minded about spirituality. Which is obviously a good thing. Let everyone do what they want. We’re moving away from strict codes of morality to something that fits with the modern person in this country. It’s in. It’s now. That’s why we do it. We’re using principles that have been popular for the past few decades and bringing them into the tech arena.”
“For some of us, it’s more than just about what makes money and make sense,” Nina Marie said. “I’m proud to say that I’m a believer. A strong spiritual being. Those things have value. What we’re doing matters. We have the ability to revolutionize the way people think about New Age principles.”
Olivia could feel Nina Marie’s dark eyes on her trying to evaluate whether she was truly friend or foe. A strange uneasiness settled over her. There was more to all of this than Nina Marie was saying. This was much larger than a lawsuit. Spiritual forces were at work here.
Focusing on the task at hand, she stared at her laptop and the page of notes she’d typed while hearing her clients talk. “I’ll need to make sure you have a proper litigation hold in place to collect all relevant documents. I’ll also want to talk to your IT person on staff right away about preserving all documents. The last thing we want to do is play cute and get sanctioned by the court. If Astral Tech has nothing to hide, then there’s no reason to be evasive.”
“But that’s the thing,” Matt said. “We believe we haven’t broken any laws, but we also believe in our privacy and that of our customers.”
Olivia nodded. “We should be able to petition the court for a protective order for any sensitive information that is turned over in the litigation, including customer lists. That’s something we can handle.”
Nina Marie stood up from her chair. “Let me take you to the office space we have set up for you while you’re working here on this case.”
“Thank you.” While she was eager to get to work, she wasn’t so excited about being alone with Nina Marie. But she followed the woman out of the conference room and down the hall, reminding herself that Nina Marie was still the client.
Nina Marie stopped abruptly about half way down the corridor. “I know this will sound a bit strange, but I’m getting a really interesting vibe from you.”
“Vibe?”
“Yes. Do you have any interest in learning more about New Age spirituality? Anything like that?”
“No. That’s not really my thing.” She held back her direct answer which would’ve been totally unprofessional. She didn’t feel comfortable in this environment, but she was also torn between her job and her faith. Could she really do both? Would defending a company like Astral Tech really be possible?
Conflicted feelings shot through her. No, she didn’t believe in aliens or monsters, but she definitely believed in good and evil. Angels and demons. And this entire situation seemed like a recipe for disaster.
“I’m not giving up on you.” Nina Marie reached out and patted her shoulder.
Nina Marie was quite a few inches taller than her, but that wasn’t saying much considering she was only five foot three in heels.
“Once you learn more about our product offerings, I think you’ll be excited to hear more about what we can do for a strong and smart professional woman like you.”
“I appreciate your interest, Nina Marie, but my chief concern and responsibility is the lawsuit. So I think it’d be best if we could concentrate on that.”
Nina Marie quirked an eyebrow but didn’t immediately respond. Olivia followed her into another conference room, but this one was set up with multiple computer workstations around the large table. The rest of the décor matched the previous room they were in.
“This will be the legal work room for you. You should have plenty of space for everything you need in here.”
“This is a great workspace.” She looked around the room and was pleased by the size and technical accommodations. “I’m sure I’m going to run into a lot of factual questions as we star
t preparing for this first phase of litigation. Who is the person at Astral Tech I should go to with questions?”
“That would be me for pretty much anything that is detail oriented about the company or the app. Clive is good on the general business and philosophy but not so much on details. He’s also not in the office everyday like I am. Matt can also serve as a resource both on the financial aspects and the spiritual ones.”
“Got it.” She’d never worked on such a strange case in her seven plus years of practicing law. Thankfully, she was steadfast in her beliefs. She just hoped that nothing in this litigation would require her to do things that went against her faith. Because she’d have to draw that line somewhere. And if it was a choice between her career or her faith, she’d always choose her faith.
**
Grant Baxter reviewed the document requests he had drafted one last time. He enjoyed being on the plaintiff’s side of the table—even if it was for an odd client. Some wacky New Age group had retained his small but reputable law firm to sue Astral Tech—an equally wacky company in his opinion.
He didn’t have any time for religion whether it be traditional or New Age or whatever. To him it was all just a convenient fiction made up to help people deal with their fears and insecurities. But if this case would help his firm take the next steps to success and keep paying the bills, then he was all for it.
He’d built his law firm, The Baxter Group, from the ground up—something he was very proud of, given all his long hours and sacrifices. Not a thing in his life had been given to him. He’d earned it all the hard way.
He couldn’t help but chuckle as he read over the document requests that he had prepared. All the talk of witches and spirituality and the Astral Tech app. He’d never drafted anything like that before. His law school classes and nine years of practice had equipped him with many skills, but working on a case like this was totally foreign to him.
It wasn’t like there were witches in a coven out to get him. People were entirely irrational when it came to religion. Luckily for him, he wasn’t one of those people. He might be the only sane person in the entire litigation, and he planned to stay that way. One thing he was certain about. A jury was going to eat this stuff up.
“Hey, boss man.” Ryan Wilde stood at Grant’s door.
“What’s going on?” Grant asked.
“I asked around town trying to find info on Astral Tech, but most of my contacts had never heard of them, and the few that had didn’t really have anything useful to say except that they’re trying to become players in the tech space.”
Ryan was only about two years younger than Grant. They’d both worked in a law firm together for years, and Grant was glad that Ryan had joined him at the firm. If all progressed as planned, Grant was going to add Ryan as his partner in the firm.
“If you do hear anything, just let me know.”
“Anything else you need from me?”
“Not on this. How are your other cases going?”
“I’m meeting with potential clients this afternoon on a products liability class action. It would be a good case to have.”
“Keep me posted.”
Ryan nodded. “You got it.” Ryan walked out the door and then turned around and laughed. “I have to say, I’m glad that you’re working this case and not me. I don’t think I’d know how to approach it.”
“Just like anything else. It’ll be fine.”
“If you say so. I hope you don’t end up with a hex put on you or something like that.”
Grant laughed. “Don’t even tell me that you would consider believing in any of this.”
Ryan shook his head. “Nah. I’m just messing with you.”
Ryan walked out and Grant was anxious to start the discovery process and put pressure on the other side. It was one of those things he loved about being a plaintiff’s lawyer. He was in the driver’s seat and planned to take an aggressive stance in this case to really turn the heat up on the other side. Going through these steps reminded him how glad he was that he went out and started his own firm. He truly loved his work.
His office phone rang, jerking him back to reality.
“This is Grant Baxter,” he said.
“Hello. My name is Olivia Murray from the law firm of Brown, Carter, and Reed. I just wanted to call to introduce myself. We’re representing Astral Tech in the suit filed by your client. So I’ll be your point of contact for anything related to the case.”
Well, well he thought. Astral Tech had gone and hired a high powered law firm based in Washington, DC to defend them. “Perfect timing. I was just getting ready to send out discovery requests for documents. BCR doesn’t have a Chicago office, right?”
“No, but I’m actually in town. I’m working at the client’s office in Windy Ridge. So you can send any hard copies of anything to the Astral Tech office, and I would appreciate getting everything by email also.” She rattled off her email address.
“Of course. And I have the feeling we’ll be talking a lot. This litigation is going to be fast tracked if my client has anything to say about it. We’re not going to just wait around for years letting things pass us by.”
She laughed. “Yes, I know how it is. I’ll look forward to your email.”
He hung up and leaned back in his chair. Know thy enemy, right? He immediately looked her up on the Internet finding her BCR firm profile. A brunette with big brown eyes smiled back at him. He read her bio. Impressive, double Georgetown girl. Seventh year associate at BCR where she’d spent her entire legal career. That would make her about two years younger than him—but definitely still a seasoned attorney and worthy opponent.
Astral Tech wasn’t messing around. That let him know that they took this litigation seriously. They didn’t see this as a nuisance suit. Game on.
**
“Do you think Olivia’s ready for this fight?” Micah asked Ben looking directly into his dark eyes.
“It doesn’t matter if she’s really ready, Micah. It’s a battle she has to fight and the time is now. We have no one else. She’s the one God has chosen who has to stand up and take this on. She has some idea that she’s meant to be here. But it might take her a little time to figure out exactly what she’s going to be involved with.”
The angels stood behind Olivia watching over her in the conference room. But she hadn’t sensed their presence as she continued to type away on her laptop and hum a tune.
“She isn’t fully appreciative of how strong she is, but she’ll get there,” Micah said. He stood tall, his blond hair barely touching his shoulders. The angel warrior was strong but kind—and fiercely protective of Olivia.
Ben nodded. “At least she has the foundation to build upon. A strong faith that has been growing ever since she was a little girl.” Ben paused. “Unlike our friend Grant.”
“I’m much more worried about him. He has no idea what he’s going to be facing, and he doesn’t have the skills to defend himself. Nina Marie and her followers are building up strength by the day, and she’ll surely want to go after him. We can only do so much to protect Olivia and Grant against the forces of evil running rampant on this earth.”
“But we’ll do everything we can.”
Micah looked at him. “You and me—quite an angel army.”
“The best kind.”
“Let’s pray for her now.”
The two laid their hands on her shoulders to help prepare her for the fight to come. A fight unlike anything they’d ever known before.
About Rachel Dylan
Rachel Dylan writes Christian fiction including romantic suspense and legal thrillers. Rachel has practiced law for a decade and enjoys weaving together legal and suspenseful stories. She lives in Michigan with her husband and five furkids--two dogs and three cats. Rachel loves to connect with readers.
Connect with Rachel:
www.racheldylan.com
@dylan_rachel
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Rachel Dylan, Devoted Defender
