He paused once more to make sure the audience was still engaged.
“And this is the last one, I promise.”
There was a small ripple of laughter.
“Helping the long-term unemployed. This one was tough. I’m all for granting temporary relief. But it can’t end there. A better way to help the long-term unemployed is to find out skills employers need. Look for long-term unemployed people and train them intensively for a short period, and then connect the two. So, that is what I did. I worked with the state department a year and a half ago to get this program launched. And guess what? It has been such a success it’s being piloted in five other cities. Five hundred residents have benefited so far. People are getting placed, finding jobs. It’s working…so things are happening. You’ve seen what I can do with the limited power I now have. Imagine what I could do as your representative. Imagine what I could do with the power to make policies to benefit this state. Imagine what I could do with the power to ensure programs like the ones I just described flourish. If you continue to stand with me we will succeed. We will win this race and start to see the change we want. Thank you, and God bless you all.”
During the resounding applause, David reclaimed his seat.
Bob Gershon stood to one side surveying the audience with a nod of satisfaction. Then he slowly clapped.
Chapter 9
Ronnie sighed as she ended the call with Melissa Holness. She had promised to get back to her on the proof that week but something kept holding her back. She didn’t know why. She wondered if she was procrastinating, but that wasn’t like her. She normally made quick decisions.
She nudged the drawer door closed with her hip and refocused her attention on the file before her as she walked back over to the spacious glass-partitioned cubicle that was formerly Tracey’s but was hers for the time being.
Given his busy schedule, for the past few months Ronnie had generally stayed out of David’s way and tried to figure out most things on her own or with the help of one or two associates. This time, though, she really needed his input on a legal matter.
She glanced at her watch. It was now just after 11:00 a.m. He had been in the office when she reached work that day but had left soon after to attend a fundraising breakfast meeting of the Chicago Bar Association at which he had been asked to deliver remarks. After hearing what a dynamo he had been at the Hilton a few nights previously, she would have loved to have seen him in action, but with her workload it wasn’t practical.
Ronnie was sitting at her desk nibbling on a banana walnut muffin when David sauntered into the office with his usual suave style. He was wearing a navy blue suit paired with a white shirt, lime-green colored tie, and tan shoes. She had noticed he was adding more color to his wardrobe and vaguely wondered if it was her influence.
“Hey, How’s everything?” he asked, stopping by her cubicle.
He didn’t have to pass that way to get to his office. She had learned that one of the doors in his office led to a private elevator. She realized that occasionally, like today, he took the general elevator and stopped by her cubicle before proceeding to his office.
“Pretty good,” she said around a mouthful of muffin.
He pulled back his jacket sleeve and glanced at his watch.
“This lunch or breakfast?”
She glanced at the clock on her laptop. It was now 11:28 a.m.
“Both I guess.”
“Both? As in this is your breakfast and lunch,” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I grabbed one of the muffins I made last night and had every intention of eating it when I got to work, but I was so busy I didn’t get around to it until now.”
“You bake?”
“Everything.”
“So you’re telling me that you bring baked goods to work and don’t share them with your boss. That’s just not nice.”
Ronnie could feel a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
“I didn’t know my boss was interested in baked goods. After all, he’s so disciplined I assumed he wouldn’t let pastry get past those lips.”
He admitted with a wink, “Muffins are my weakness.”
“Now I know.”
He turned to leave, but Ronnie stopped him,
“David, there’s something I want to run by you.”
“Sure. Come into my office.”
Ronnie gathered up her things and followed him.
“How are things going from your end? I know I’ve been very busy lately. But campaigning is very time consuming,” he said.
“Things are fine for the most part,” she replied, following him over to his desk and taking a seat.
She observed him as he placed his laptop bag on a corner of his desk and proceeded to check the messages his secretary had left there.
“So…” he glanced up at her. “…what did you want to discuss?”
Ronnie took a deep breath. “It pertains to Allan Stanfield’s bankruptcy filing.”
Allan Stanfield was a millionaire real estate developer and a longstanding client of Jones Law who had recently approached them to file his bankruptcy claim. He’d insisted that the CEO handle his case even though he was well aware that said CEO was busy campaigning for public office. David had briefed Ronnie on what was required and delegated it to her with the promise that he would be available if she ran into any issues. Of course, it had turned out that he wasn’t as available as she would have liked.
“How’s that going? Near completion?”
“I gave him a list of the documents he needed to file. As you know, that would have included his tax returns or tax transcripts for the past two years.”
“That’s right,” David said, pulling back his chair to take a seat.
“Well, when he eventually produced all the documents, I noticed he had sent in unfiled returns. I contacted him and explained that he needed to indicate why he was not required to file in those years.”
“What was his response?”
“It turns out he didn’t have a valid reason for not filing. I told him because of that, he would have to file his taxes and provide copies before his case could be concluded.”
“Sounds about right.”
David leaned back in his chair and formed a steeple with his hands.
“That’s what I thought. He argued that he couldn’t file taxes because he didn’t have enough liquid assets to cover the amount, which was why he was filing for bankruptcy in the first place.”
“Tell him he needs profit and loss statements for the last six months as well as business bank statements to substantiate that.”
“I already did. I also told him he needs to provide information on creditors, co-debtors, other expenses, and any lawsuits he’s involved in. He got agitated and told me that all these things would delay the whole filing by months. I suggested that alternatively, he could obtain a credit report that showed all his debts.”
“Sounds like you’ve covered all your bases. So what’s the problem?”
“After I got everything together I wasn’t sure it was really a Chapter 7 that I should be filing. It looked more like a Chapter 13. I suggested that to him, and he hit the roof.”
“What made you think it was a Chapter 13?” asked David.
“I’ll show you,” Ronnie said.
She got up and went around behind his desk to point out the sections she was concerned about.
“See, look at his bank statement. Based on this, he can pay back at least a portion of the debts through a repayment plan. He makes too much money to qualify for a Chapter 7.”
As David perused the document, Ronnie inhaled his cologne. She could immediately identify its citrusy, spicy and woodsy notes. She reached out to his chair for support and noticed how he was rotating his shoulders. Without thinking, she placed both hands on his shoulders and began to gently knead them.
“Are you tense?”
David immediately went rigid.
He reached back and grabbed her wrists.
“Don’t,” he said quietly.
Ronnie’s face, neck, and ears felt impossibly hot.
“Sorry,” she murmured.
He released her hands and she took a few steps back, then returned to her seat as he continued to leaf through the document.
As Ronnie sat and stared at the red skirt of her Victoria Beckham dress, she willed herself not to do something stupid like cry and complete her humiliation.
When she dared to look back at David, she found him completely oblivious to her state. He was scrutinizing the document.
Finally, he cleared his throat and said, “You’re right. It does look like a Chapter 13. However, no part of the Bankruptcy Code prohibits a debtor from exercising the right to file a Chapter 7 even though they qualify to file a Chapter 13.”
“You mean he doesn’t have to file a Chapter 13?” Ronnie asked, willing herself to act completely nonchalant and focus on the matter at hand.
“No. It’s his choice. In general, most debtors prefer to file for Chapter 7 because it eliminates most unsecured debt and is easier.”
“But with a Chapter 13, he gets to keep all his property in exchange for paying back a portion of his debts through a repayment plan.”
“Why pay back anything when you can get away with paying back nothing.”
“David, he can afford to make monthly payments. He should be forced to do so. This is wrong. It’s unethical.”
“It’s not illegal, Ronnie. I think you see this in black and white. Everything is not as simple as that.”
“How can you say that, David? The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians that everything is legal to me but not everything is advantageous. Everything is legal, but not everything edifies. Just because the law says something is okay, it doesn’t mean it is. The Bible says we should repay our debts.”
David rubbed his eyes.
“You’re one tough customer. Are you advising our clients based on the Bible or on the laws of the land?”
Ronnie pursed her lips. Eventually, she muttered, “The law.”
He nodded. “The law. You’re here to advise clients on what’s legal and what’s not. Come on, you were assistant to a criminal lawyer, I’m sure you had to find arguments to defend clients you knew were guilty as sin.”
“Why do you think I left?”
He looked baffled for a moment.
“Why did you get into it in the first place? Didn’t you know what it would entail?”
She sighed. “I had idealistic notions about helping to reform clients and leading them to God. While I achieved that in a few cases, the majority were finding loopholes to get off people who deserved to get locked up because they were unrepentant.”
“Who made you judge?”
“Excuse me?”
“Who are you to determine who deserves a defense and who doesn’t? Under state and federal law, a defendant in a criminal case is presumed to be innocent. This presumption requires that the people have the burden to prove a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Unless the evidence proves that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, he or she is entitled to an acquittal.”
“That’s fine in cases when the person is actually innocent but what about when they are guilty?”
“If the law permitted anyone to be convicted of a crime without requiring that the case be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, then our life, liberty, and freedom as American citizens cease to exist, and tyranny will reign.”
“How convenient.”
“Okay, you enjoy quoting the Bible.”
He stood and walked over to the wall of windows. He looked down into the streets below, then turned back to her, hand in pocket.
“How about I turn the tables on you for a change? Jesus was called to judge a woman caught in the very act of adultery, which was a capital offense. What would you have done if she’d come to you, Ronnie? Would you have said? ‘I can’t defend you, you’re guilty, you deserve punishment.’”
Ronnie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. This man was good. No wonder he had a reputation of being a lawyer one did not want to see across the aisle or across the negotiating table for that matter.
“I don’t know,” she mumbled.
“Let me tell you what Jesus did. He defended her. Successfully. And then charged her after that with go and sin no more.”
“What’s your point?”
“A few points actually. First, an attorney representing a wrong doing party can work out a solution that is more beneficial to all involved than, say, the blunt rule of law. That addresses your point about everything being lawful but not everything being beneficial. Second, your original thinking was not idealistic. You were on the right track. It was an opportunity for you to minister to the spiritual needs of others as the Spirit leads. Third, being an advocate doesn’t mean you should lie or cheat or obscure the truth. It means you should zealously defend within the limits of the law. That takes me to my final point, and our point of departure. If Mr. Stanfield insists on filing a Chapter 7 and has the means through the law to do this, who are we to decide he shouldn’t? The law has decided he can.”
Ronnie got a sense of what it was to watch David give one of his lectures at the university.
“I concede you have a point. Will you agree to think a little more about what I said – that sometimes what the law asks us to do isn’t ethical?”
He smiled as he returned to his seat. “You’re tenacious.”
Ronnie countered, “Nowhere in your league, though.”
She didn’t want the man to think she was a slacker, so she reluctantly uncrossed her ankles.
“I’ve got to get back to work.”
“So, let Stanfield know that we’ll file the Chapter 7 for him,” he said, already looking down at his phone.
“Thanks, David.”
He looked up. “For?”
“Your time, your advice.”
“Anytime,” he replied with an easy smile. As she rose to leave, he asked, “By the way, don’t you have a social life?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you work late practically every evening. Some Saturdays too from the emails I’ve been seeing. Remember, all work and no play…” he said, placing the phone on the desk.
“I thought employers liked stuff like that.”
“I don’t. When people are tired and overworked, they make mistakes – sometimes costly mistakes.”
“Hmm…I see what you mean. So what do you suggest I do then?” she asked teasingly, gazing down at him.
“Leave on time this evening.”
“And here I was thinking you were inviting me out.”
David pursed his lips. “Ronnie–” he began carefully.
“I was just kidding,” Ronnie said hurriedly. The last thing she needed was another lecture from him about keeping a professional distance.
When David’s phone rang a second later, he reached for it and Ronnie took the opportunity to back away. “See ya,” she mouthed with a little wave.
As she closed the office door behind her, Ronnie released a sigh. Surely the man was now convinced that she had a thing for him. And while that was the truth, it wasn’t a truth she wanted to be revealed to a man who didn’t feel the same way. She really needed to watch her words and body language around him.
~*~*~*~
But that proved easier said than done.
A few days later, Ronnie was walking into David’s office with a stack of files when he came out of his bathroom wearing a fitted white shirt with the sleeves turned up to his elbows. As her eyes rested on him, she inhaled a sharp breath. Had he missed a button? Because she could see a few chest hairs. Even though she hadn’t planned on staying, Ronnie placed the files on a corner of his desk and quickly found a chair.
“Where are you going?” she blurted as she took a seat.
“A cocktail reception at Decto for the unveiling of the new Ferrari 488 GTB.”
Ronnie’s eyes opened wider in u
nveiled interest.
“Really? Wow! I’d love to see that.”
The words flew out of her mouth an instant before she realized what she had done. It was the second time in a matter of days she had hinted at wanting to go somewhere with him.
“You want to come?” he asked, pausing as he buttoned the shirt, instantly closing the view of the chest hairs.
Ronnie badly wanted to say yes, but she hesitated – first, because she didn’t have a change of clothing and, second because she didn’t want to appear any more pushy and desperate than she no doubt already did.
“No, it’s okay. I wasn’t invited. It would be rude to impose.”
“It’s not an imposition,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “You worked hard completing the paperwork for the Ferrari account. If I choose to bring you, it wouldn’t be a problem. In fact, I should have asked them to invite you. It was an oversight.”
“But I don’t have anything to wear,” she said helplessly.
His gaze traveled over her body.
“It’s an after work affair. Most people there will be dressed like you. You won’t look out of place.”
“Okay, then. I’ll go,” she said, suddenly excited at the prospect of not only seeing a fast car in action but spending more time in David’s company.
“Great.”
“So I’ll meet you there, then?” she asked, standing.
“Meet me…no. We can travel together.”
“Just me and you?” she said with an eager lilt to her voice that made her cringe inwardly. Down girl.
A Case For Love (Royals Series Book 3) Page 9
