Wearing the Spider (A Suspense Novel) (Legal Thriller) (Thriller)
Page 33
While seated in the back seat, Agent Neeley took down the details of her conversation with The Voice. After they had finished, she dialed Joe on her BlackBerry with shaky fingers.
“Joe, can I stay with you tonight?”
“Sure, Eves. I may have to go to California tomorrow morning, but I’ll—”
“Joe, I just got another one of those calls. That man … that voice that threatened me.”
“Where’s the FBI?”
“I’m with two agents in an FBI car, but I don’t want to stay in my apartment tonight.”
“Are these agents you’re familiar with? You’ve met them before in the company of the ones we know are legit?”
“Yes, yes, I have. Agent Weber introduced us the other day, but you’re right. I should be suspicious of everybody.”
“I’ll cut my meetings short and go back to the hotel and make some arrangements. I’ll cancel my trip back to California.”
“I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”
“Eves, you’re not making any sense. The woman I love is in distress. It’s no trouble. Get to the Four Seasons.”
The woman he loves …
“I have a meeting at Michael’s office,” she said. “Ironically, it’s the meeting with Paul and Alan to try to resolve the situation with the firm.”
“Let the Federal Agent keep a close distance, okay?”
“Before the meeting, I was going to stop by my apartment and get a few things, but I’ll have the agent with me. I’ll meet you at your hotel later, okay?”
“Yes, okay. Be careful. Don’t take any chances. I’ll come get you if you need me to.”
“I wish I knew who this person was working for. I don’t know who the enemy is.”
“You’ve got to paint with a broad brush. Don’t trust anyone, except Michael and the feds.”
“I wonder if Hanover is in on this?”
“You have to assume he is.”
Evie hung up and her skin felt clammy as she leaned back in the seat and tried to relax.
They arrived at her apartment building and the agent driving waited downstairs in front of the building. Agent Neeley followed her inside and opted for an investigative look around in the lobby while Evie took the elevator to her floor.
“Who set your knickers ablaze? Where in bloody hell are you going?” Ralph asked looking down at Evie’s suitcase, as she raced past him in the hallway a half hour later.
“Ralph! Oh Ralph. I’m so sorry. I was in a hurry and I—”
“Well, I already worked out that one, sweetheart.” He was just getting a good look at her face. “Evie! God, look at you! Your face is really pale. Even for you. Is everything okay?”
“Ralph, I uuhh.” She took a moment to collect herself and looked him in the eye. “Ralph, I’m working through something. I can’t talk about it. I just have to be out of my apartment for a few days.”
“Does it have anything to do with the bloke with the bulge in his armpit who’s been hanging out in the foyer?”
“Ralph, I can’t tell you. It’s for your own protection. You’re the best.” She hugged Ralph and gave him a peck on the cheek. “I have to go, but I’ll be in touch.”
“Okay, love. But, be careful. Let me know how to reach you, okay?”
“Okay.” She forced a smile and walked to the elevator. Agent Neeley was inside, out of view, and she took a longer breath when she saw him. It was against instinct to distrust Ralph, but Joe was right. She didn’t know who could be trusted. After all, Ralph had brought up Senator Arbeson’s difficulties and questioned her about the work she was doing for him. And, why was he home in the middle of a workday anyway? He’d offered no explanation, but then, she hadn’t asked. She chastised herself. Ralph couldn’t possibly be involved, but could he have inadvertently been a source of information? Paranoia was setting in. Be suspicious of everyone, until proven wrong.
34
The mood was jovial as Paul, Alan, Michael and Evie sat down together for a second time in the conference room at Michael’s offices. Her nerves now a bit less raw, Evie was nonetheless grateful to have Michael in control. As Michael and Paul exchanged cordialities, Evie wondered why Alan was allowed to attend these meetings while being forced to remain silent.
Michael brought the discussion to the topic of focus. “Gentlemen, we’re pleased that you’ve returned so quickly. One would assume that your request for this meeting means that you’ve revised your settlement offer.”
“Yes, we have.” Paul turned to Evie. “Evie, we’d like to offer you in settlement, the amount of two million dollars, subject to a list of conditions to be agreed.”
Evie said nothing and Michael let a second or two pass before he spoke. “Well, that’s not much different than your original offer. Is that final?”
“Michael, I’m not sure what you mean by ‘final,’” said Paul. “As in any such situation, nothing’s final until the parties have nothing else to say to each other.”
“With all due respect, Paul, I have to say we’re disappointed. Do you have anything else to say to us?”
“I’ll tell you what we have to say,” Alan spoke finally. Paul raised his hand as if to stop Alan from speaking, but then seemed to change his mind and his hand gesture transformed into an invitation to speak.
“This Chicago incident Evie described didn’t happen that way at all. She and I … well, she and I had a mutual night together and she knows it.”
Okay, I was wrong, thought Evie. I can still be surprised.
“Oh, really? That’s news to us. Evie denies ever having any sort of relations with you of any kind. She’s never considered any type of relationship with you other than professional. She maintains that she was accosted by you in the hallway outside her hotel room. Kissed unexpectedly on the mouth, without invitation, and that you then attempted to push your way into her room by physical force. She was determined to report the incident until you expressed embarrassment and remorse and pleaded with her to forget the whole thing, promising it would never happen again.”
“Pleaded? I’ve never pleaded with her for anything, except maybe decent client service. She and I had a nice, romantic dinner after a successful client pitch. I’ll concede that she did a great job on the client pitch and we were both ecstatic—it was a big client. We won the representation and were admittedly a bit drunk and celebratory by the end of the evening. We walked back to the hotel together and kissed outside her room before she invited me in.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. That’s the way it happened. I know it doesn’t support a sexual harassment claim, but unfortunately, that’s it. Fortunately for you, the firm’s in publicity-shy mode and is willing to pay you to fuck off.”
“Alan, let’s keep a professional tongue, shall we?” said Paul, raising his hand again—this time it was clearly designed to end Alan’s contribution. Alan ignored the message and continued.
“I don’t appreciate anyone trying to extort money from my pocket. I disagree with my fellow partners’ approach so if I were you, I’d take the two million and retire to oblivion. Okay, Evie?”
“Evie is represented by counsel,” said Michael. “I’m going to have to ask you to address me, will you please?”
The new chill in the room caused all the coffee to grow cold and Evie noticed Paul lean forward in his seat, placing his elbows on the table in a sort of gesture of intimacy. It was clear that his intent was to warm up the discussion again.
“We really don’t want to get into a he-said she-said about what happened,” he said in a neutral tone. “Let’s remember, that there is no lawsuit. You’ve filed no claim.”
“Would you like us to? The papers are ready to submit to the court clerk, we’ve only waited out of courtesy to you. The minute we file, everything’s public.”
“What amount did you have in mind?”
“We will settle for fifteen million and we’re willing to consider confidentiality and no guilt clauses.”
“That is quite a large amount of money for a firm of our size,” added Paul in his soft voice. “Jack is personally willing to mortgage his home to provide the extra cash we need, but I’m afraid we won’t have an easy time with that amount.”
Evie felt the warm flash of guilt that she knew was intended. Michael sniffed and stayed silent when he saw Paul open his mouth to continue speaking.
“Evie has been a respected member of our senior associate membership. She was, and still is, in line for partnership, despite the incident in dispute. We didn’t want to have to bring this up, but I see we have no choice, given that we can’t settle your claim.” Paul paused, looked at Alan and leaned back in his seat. “Evie, we recently received a written letter from a credible source that indicates you had a surreptitious relationship with Senator Arbeson.”
“That’s an outrageous lie!” This time, it was Evie who lost her composure, as her mind flashed on the clipped photo from New York Magazine. She was glad she’d included the clipping and handwritten note in the file that Michael had seen so he would not now be hearing this for the first time. “I’ve never even been alone in a room with him, except for one brief meeting that was called by Jack,” she said. “And I didn’t find out Jack wouldn’t be attending until the last minute.” Oh my God! Is Hanover in on this effort to destroy me? Her emotions churned with this new slanderous allegation.
“Who is the source?” asked Michael.
“In any event,” said Paul, ignoring Michael’s question and continuing in the same even tone, “the letter accuses you of using this alleged relationship with Senator Arbeson to attempt to set up the grant of a government contract to a subsidiary of Gerais Chevas,” he paused. “Didn’t you have some copies of Spellbound! here at our last meeting? There was a story in yesterday’s issue making the same allegation.”
“Probably had the same source,” said Michael.
“Although we hadn’t planned to do anything with the note or its contents,” said Paul, “we’d be forced to use it if we’re sued.”
So they’re apparently willing to sacrifice Senator Arbeson along with me. That must be some merger deal.
“Well, it seems painfully obvious who would have incentive to create such a libelous document and pass it to a reporter,” said Michael tapping his pen on the table. “What a coincidence that the current Schedule B7, defining Project Neon, which Evie drew your attention to but had no role in drafting, says something similar. What relevance does it have to whether Evie was sexually harassed in Chicago, anyway?”
“It certainly shows a pattern of behavior, a willingness to form relationships in the workplace.”
“Yes, okay. I guess if it were true, but it’s nothing but manufactured libel designed to condemn my client.”
“The letter says what it says. I’m not saying we necessarily take it at face value, but it certainly raises questions.”
“Then why even mention it except to intimidate my client?” Michael’s voice took on a slight edge.
Paul licked his lips. “We are just sorting through a situation thrust upon us, the same as you. In any event, the fact remains, Evie, that you never reported this incident in Chicago until it was expeditiously prudent for you to do so. If you were offended to the tune of fifteen million dollars, you would have reported the incident despite Alan’s capitulation, as you describe it. And, as I reminded you before, you did admit to attending certain political events and celebrations relating to Senator Arbeson’s campaign, some in the company of Alan. You were under no duress to do any of those things and apparently enjoyed yourself each time, agreeing to continue working on the Senator’s re-election effort and raising no objection to working on Alan’s legal matters in your capacity as an associate with Howard Rolland. It doesn’t sound like you felt you’d been sexually harassed.”
“Let me add, Miss Sullivan,” said Alan, “if you persist in this insanity, we might have to consider filing an extortion claim against you. It’s clear that you’re just out to line your pockets at the firm’s expense because you’re angry at the performance review you received.”
Evie, having regained control of her emotions, stayed silent, taking deep breaths and sipping a glass of ice water after having abandoned her coffee.
“If I may be so bold as to point out,” said Michael, the edge in his voice becoming sharper still, “that it takes more than monetary demands to prove an extortion case.”
“It takes a money demand that is grossly disproportionate to any conceivable injury,” snapped Alan. “The courts in this state call that prima facie evidence of a breach of professional responsibility.” Alan scowled at Michael as he spoke. “Your motivation is obviously for us to buy your silence. And, how about this? I received a nasty little anonymous email right after Evie and I had our first clash over her performance. The email threatened me if I didn’t withdraw my complaints about her performance.”
I wonder if that’s the way he really interpreted that email Joe and I sent, thought Evie.
She looked at Michael, who didn’t flinch. Everyone at the table except Paul knew that Alan was stretching the wording of that email to fit his current purpose.
“In addition to the Chicago incident, Evie has labored for some time in a hostile environment created by Mr. Levenger,” continued Michael.
He let that statement sink in and then delivered his knock-out punch. “By the way, you may be interested to know that the Claremont Hotel routinely videotapes activity in its public hallways and keeps copies of incidents that they perceive to be potentially criminal. They kept the one recorded on Evie’s floor the night of November 12th of 2004. They decided it looked sufficiently like an assault, so they kept a copy of the tape just in case the police made an inquiry.”
Alan smirked and shifted in his seat. Paul looked like he’d been punched in the gut.
Michael continued, “The manager, who was quite willing to cooperate with us to authenticate the tape, said he never wanted to be in a situation where he had a dead female body and no videotape of activity on the dead woman’s floor preceding her death. So, Mr. Levenger, it seems we have assault and battery to add to our list of claims against you.”
Paul glared at Alan, and Michael continued, “There is also the matter of some gentleman who continues to call Evie and threaten her if she continues to investigate this Gerais Chevas matter. Whoever is responsible for doing this deal does not want Evie to keep looking into it.”
The clock on the wall ticked by seconds adding up to almost two full minutes.
“You might also want to consider that we can make a case for retaliation, with this leave of absence you so conveniently conceived of to tidy up your little mess. Retaliation makes a sexual harassment claim so much more fragrant. Evie lost email, she lost access to her clients, and she’s had to explain why she won’t be able to continue to serve on deals for Roma Sori and others for whom she’d built strong, solid client relationships. She suffered the loss of her momentum, damage to her reputation and the inability to achieve partnership in this round of invitations. Her only misstep was to fail to report the incident promptly, but case law lends an understanding ear to such situations.”
“I have to say, I’m dumbfounded,” said Paul. “Okay, assuming what you’ve said is true, we have no choice but to settle. Evie, what damages do you have that add up to fifteen million dollars? Would you be willing to explain that to Jack Hanover?”
“We will settle for ten million, but not a penny less,” Michael said as he stood and looked ready to end the meeting. “And, as Evie stands accused of wrongdoing in this Gerais Chevas matter, we will take that to mean that you still believe her to be the one running the deal and will act accordingly. Since you contend that she’s the one who represents them, that means we will feel at liberty to contact Gerais Chevas executives ourselves and proceed with our own investiga
tion.”
Paul took the cue and stood, but Alan stayed seated glaring at Evie.
“Please extend us the courtesy of one final internal discussion among the partnership before you take any such action, as it would further damage the reputation of the firm.”
“Okay, we will wait to hear from you until this time tomorrow afternoon. If we have not heard from you by then, your silence will be interpreted as permission for us to contact Gerais Chevas and Senator Arbeson, and make any inquiries we deem appropriate.” Michael walked around the table and stood between Paul and Alan, in an effort to escort them from the room. After a few weighty seconds, Alan stood and followed Michael and Paul out.
“Well,” Michael said appearing in the doorway. “I’m quite pleased with how that went.”
“Can you believe this letter business?” asked Evie. “Credible source? Are they kidding?”
“I know. I’d be willing to bet that one would be laughed out of court. They’re really desperate and I think we added to their desperation. And, I have it all on tape.” He patted his chest pocket.
“And you haven’t even told them about the fake ID presented by some woman checking into that Dallas hotel as me or what we know about Emira Adelio.”
“We’ll save that for trial if they persist in trying to saddle you with this Gerais Chevas mess of Alan’s.”
Evie followed Michael out of the conference room and back to his office. Agent Neeley was not there, but had promised to meet her downstairs when summoned.
“And I have some copies of the new payment schedule and a system level printout of who’s been accessing these files,” said Evie, pulling the documents out of her briefcase and handing them to Michael.
“Excellent! Okay, Evie, I think you can consider yourself having darkened the hallways of Howard Rolland for the last time. I’ll turn these over to the feds and we’ll declare your undercover work complete. Now, it’s just a matter of letting the feds do their job. Are you going to take a room at a hotel?” he asked, noticing her suitcase in the floor beside his desk.