Limiting Liabilities: Book Two - The Martinique Files

by Colette Alaine

  “Please. You shot the black panther. We just all had terror overload. Remember I almost crashed the helicopter.”

  “I assure you that never happened. Tawny, you maneuvered that flying machine like you’d been flying for years.” Ken will not let the conversation drop.

  “We need a new topic. Let’s talk about anything else.” Tawny takes a stand.

  “I agree. How is your family doing? Your father sure helped us out last year.” Ken tries to find another subject they all share. It is not that easy with two single attorneys completely wrapped up in their careers.

  “Now you have no idea if it was my father, Ken Shelton, who gave me information.” Tawny will defend her family to the finish. She is a farm girl from Indiana and those family ties run deep.

  “Well whether or not it was him or anyone else you knew growing up, how are they doing?” Ken will let her off the hook because he understands the value of privacy when it comes to protecting the ones he loves. His wife Judy shows up only when necessary for her husband’s honors and Christmas parties. Now that the last of their eight children is off to college, she is pursuing her dream of gardening, canning and anything else that keeps her outside in the yard during the day and inside her kitchen at night.

  “Very well. His land is ready to be tolled and he’s hoping for a productive year with his crops. He’s a little nervous using the government’s regulated pesticides instead of the stronger stuff he’s been using but he’s hoping for the best. My Mom is still trying to set me up with the local young farmer, Luke Simpson.” Tawny betrays her agitation at her mother’s insistence upon hooking her up.

  “Really? I’ve never heard this before.” Billy finally joins the conversation.

  “Yes, my dear mother, Gloria Martinique, is quite convinced I’m making the biggest mistake of my life by not staying on the farm and wooing Luke.” Her voice lowers to emphasize the sting.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Now Billy is really interested in Tawny’s dilemma.

  “Nothing, really. He’s very nice, polite, good-looking, I guess. He’s a hard worker and has family money.” She clicks off the same qualities her mother’s been listing.

  “But he’s boring,” Billy figures it out.

  “Well, yes. And he’s afraid of me. I don’t know why but he can hardly talk to me whenever I’m around him. Probably because his mother and mine are so set on getting us together he feels as awkward as I do when we’re together,” Tawny laments her predicament.

  “Have you ever gone out with him?” Billy is finding this conversation to his liking.

  “No.”

  “Why not?” He wants to know as much about how she thinks as he can.

  She shrugs. “Well why would I?”

  “To find out if you have anything in common. It would shut up both your mother and his.” Billy sees this as a solution.

  “But we don’t. I’m an attorney in Chicago and he’s the son of a farmer in Indiana. Neither of us is going to change our positions. I’ve been around him my entire life. I pretty much know most of what I need to know about him. None of it interests me enough to go out with him.” Tawny does not get what Billy doesn’t understand.

  “You’ve told me that in order to really get to know someone you have to spend time with them. I don’t think you’ve given this Luke a chance.” Billy pushes forward. “What, you see each other when you’re surrounded by your families?”

  “Basically,” she replies slowly, enunciating every syllable of the word.

  “So go out with him one time and talk to him. Don’t even make it a date. Have coffee with him or lunch.” Billy continues to offer his advice and Tawny wonders what he is up to now.

  Tawny begins to explain what he obviously does not know. “Farmers don’t just go out to lunch or to coffee. . .”

  “Well, whatever.” He dismisses her jab that he has no clue how farmers live. “Just do something with him and only him. If it’s the same as it’s always been then you know for sure and you can quiet the families.”

  “It’s really just the mothers. I don’t even know if he’s interested in me.” Tugging on her hair to get it out of the back of her blouse, she says, “I shouldn’t have brought up Luke.”

  Ken rejoins the conversation. “Tawny, every guy is interested in going out with you at least once.”

  “Thanks, Ken. That makes me feel so good.” She does not take the remark as a compliment.

  “I could lie to you but you know it’s true. I agree with Billy. Go out with him once. See what he’s like. Then you can ditch him and say you gave it a try. Unless you’re afraid you’ll like him and that ruins all your big lawyer plans.” Ken tries to push a button.

  “No. I mean I don’t want to end up on the farm. My brother Tom and little sister Lydia will be there forever with Mom and Dad but not me. I’m just there to visit on major holidays.” Both men are watching her. “But, next time I go home, I’ll take your advice,” she nods toward Ken, “and see if he wants to go somewhere with me. I like the idea of finally putting the whole matter to rest. If we go out and it’s horrible I don’t have to listen to the endless cycle of ‘you won’t even give him a chance’ that I hear from Mom.”

  “She’ll probably come back with an engagement ring.” Billy sips his wine after the off-handed statement.

  “If I do that then I don’t know myself because that is the furthest thing from my mind right now. I can’t believe we’re having a discussion about Luke Simpson and especially with the two of you.” She turns toward Ken. “How’s your wife and kids? Any big news?”

  “Mine’s not nearly as fun as yours,” Ken chuckles as he gives Tawny an overview of his family life. “Judy’s planting everything she can in the backyard and she only comes up for air when one of the kids shows up. And the grandkids, of course.”

  “I bet she’s not the only one dropping everything when the grandkids come to see you.” Billy knows his friend and no way would he let anything get in the way of spending time with the little ones.

  “Yeah, they like me a lot.” He almost blushes. “But most of them have moved outta Houston. It’s just too hot and they’ve found jobs in Dallas, Missouri, New York and Montana. I’ve only got two in Houston and one’s single. I got two others in college in Florida and Virginia. I’ll be working until the day I die to pay for all this schooling.” He laughs but he has spent a lot on his children.

  “School is so expensive now. How did you ever do it?” Tawny asks. “I owe a fortune in student loans. My parents thought it would be good if I was responsible for my education but it will take several years to pay them off.”

  “Scholarships helped and they’re all paying for some of it. I just helped when they needed me. It’s the weddings that really killed me. Five girls and four are married. The youngest one is a sophomore and I’m hoping she doesn’t find a guy too soon.” Ken divulges his concern.

  “How old were you when you married? I mean I don’t think you’re that old.” Tawny’s question leaves a smirk on both Billy and Ken’s faces.

  “We tied the knot when we were both eighteen. Kinda early by today’s standards but I knew she was the one and so I asked her after we graduated high school and we had a small wedding that summer, then moved east for school. She had our first a year later and then one every two years afterwards. Just like clockwork. In between she got a horticulture degree so now she’s finally using it.”

  “What a great story.” Tawny flips her hair once again. It just will not stay out of her blouse and Billy is a bit mesmerized when she does it. “It’s like I’ve met the perfect man in you.”

  “I didn’t even know that.” Billy reveals his social inadequacy when it comes to getting to know the personal side of his clients and his friends.

  “Billy, if it doesn’t have to do with environmental law you aren’t interested,” Ken chides him.

  “That’s not true but I’m glad when Tawny’s here so I can learn all these personal things about you.”
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  “Any chance you’re gonna open up tonight?” Ken still thinks Billy should consider dating Tawny again and he has not kept his thoughts a secret. More than once he has said that the two are perfectly matched but neither is going to get there if they bicker all the time. With Billy urging Tawny to date Luke Simpson, Ken probably does not think that is a step in the right direction.

  “I assure you I haven’t drunk nearly enough to go there.” Billy twirls the wine in his glass.

  “Someday, Billy, you’re gonna regret. . .”

  “I doubt it.” He turns to Tawny and asks, “What do you know about Erin Brockovich?”

  “That’s a change of subject but I did see the movie.” She smiles but Billy does not. “Okay, so I have to do this after three glasses of wine, huh? Uh, she went after a California company that was using hexavalent chromium to fight corrosion in a cooling tower, I think. It was part of a natural gas pipeline connecting to the San Francisco Bay area and the wastewater dissolved the chromium 6 and was discharged into unlined ponds. The wastewater percolated into the groundwater. Since chromium 6 is a carcinogen, many of the residents found out they had cancer,” Tawny rattles off the basics of the landmark case.

  “The case was settled for $333 million.” Billy is always interested in the monetary aspect of environmental law.

  “In 1996, it was the largest settlement ever paid in a direct action lawsuit.” Ken adds his own comments.

  “So anyway, that’s what we’re dealing with here—chromium 6,” Billy summarizes nothing really.

  “We engineers call it by its proper name of hexavalent chromium,” Ken corrects him.

  “Whatever you call it, it’s been big business in the past and it appears to have made an appearance again.” Billy refuses to bend much when it comes to calling the problem by its scientific name.

  “What’s the nature of this case?” Tawny breaks up the mini-disagreement between the men.

  “Mostly that Chicago’s drinking water has gone up from 11ppb to 40ppb in a relatively short period of time. It means someone’s dumping into Lake Michigan.” Ken provides the few details he has.

  “Why would anyone be so stupid?” Tawny asks.

  Billy finishes his glass and pours another before answering. “Because it’s cheap and someone’s looking to cut costs.”

  “But Lake Michigan? Really?” It is clear Tawny cannot fathom what company would take such a risk of dumping in such a visible water source and that would want to poison its own drinking water.

  “Some companies will do anything to make a buck or save themselves. Maybe they figure if they dump a little here no one will notice. Since they haven’t been caught, why not continue to do it?” Billy is going to express his opinion on what’s going on with this case.

  “But how do they start?” Tawny focuses her attention on him, obviously wanting to know his perspective.

  “I don’t know.” Billy again watches her play with her hair so she lets loose of it. “Maybe some guy gets an idea and they go for it. It works and they never stop.”

  “Hmmm, seems plausible. So we’ve been drinking this stuff for how long?” Tawny asks if she is in danger.

  Ken delivers the bad news. “Not quite sure but at least a year.”

  “Yikes. At least I spent some time in Houston last year. What if I don’t drink water from the tap? That helps me doesn’t it?” Tawny hesitates. “I don’t want to have to check for cancer.”

  “It does help,” Ken enlightens her. “If you drink bottled water that avoids the problem, too. But you’re showering in this water and washing your hands.”

  “Oh, that’s right. Man, I do that every day. Now I’m really concerned.”

  “Well let’s figure out more about it before we cause chaos.” Billy calms her down.

  “I’m not going to be the next Erin Brockovich, I promise.” Billy just smiles as Ken gives him a non-verbal warning. It was no secret that the activist was pretty and used it. Tawny catches the nod and waves her hand in mid-air. “Well at least you’ve learned a lesson tonight.” She aims the statement at Billy.

  He takes another drink of his wine. “No sexist comments from me.”

  “Well at least not tonight,” Ken chimes.

  “I still don’t think what I said earlier was wrong,” Billy continues to defend himself.

  “I still can’t believe you. You are one of a kind, boy. Are we gonna finish this bottle or let it go to waste?” Ken decides to take control and Tawny complies by moving her glass toward the bottle. Ken pours her a full glass and does the same for himself and Billy.

  CHAPTER 5

  T wo weeks after leaving without a word Rebecca is back in her office, nose to the grindstone. No one speaks to her and that appears to be her preference. For Tawny to enter her own office she must pass by her manager’s office. Spying Rebecca as she walks in to begin her day, Linda greets her with a quick nod in Rebecca’s direction but doesn’t say anything.

  Tawny saunters by and glances into Rebecca’s office. She senses that her boss knows she is looking at her but ignores the notion to raise her head. Tawny decides it is best to just settle into her own work and let Rebecca approach her. She is the boss and Tawny figures she will want to do this her own way.

  Three hours of researching hexavalent chromium passes without interruption. A few minutes before eleven o’clock, Tawny can feel Rebecca’s presence as she shuffles through the door. Meeting her manager’s gaze, Tawny understands how difficult this is for her.

  “Do you have lunch plans?” Rebecca inquires.

  “No, I don’t.”

  “I’d like to take you out to lunch,” Rebecca extends the invitation. “Will eleven-thirty work?”

  “Sure,” Tawny replies and Rebecca exists as silently as she entered.

  Finishing the research within the half hour, Tawny grabs her suit jacket and her purse. As she reaches her door, Rebecca arrives at the same time and the two female attorneys head toward the elevator. Tawny is not certain what to say so she keeps quiet.

  Getting into the elevator with two male attorneys, the entire group remains ominously quiet. Obviously, everyone knows the issue and no one wants to say the wrong thing. It is the longest elevator ride of Tawny’s life and she is sure the same is true for Rebecca.

  Tawny follows her mentor to her black Ford Explorer and crawls in the passenger seat. Rebecca starts the motor and Tawny thinks they are going to drive out right away but Rebecca does not put the gear into reverse. She just sits there.

  Tawny cannot stand the silence and is not exactly sure what she should do. She knows Rebecca needs to talk to her but does not want to have the conversation. It is inevitable for sure but still not desired. Tawny’s head is spinning. Should she address the issue to get Rebecca started or ask an unrelated question? Rebecca sits in the driver’s seat and Tawny is afraid she is going to start crying.

  “Are you alright?” Without thinking any longer about what to say, Tawny blurts out the sentiment.

  “No.” Rebecca almost chokes on the word.

  “We don’t have to go to lunch if you would rather not.” Tawny feels like she needs to let the woman off the hook.

  “No. I have to face this today and it’s better to start with you. Can we talk now about it and then not discuss it at the restaurant?” Rebecca pleads with her young associate.

  “Of course.”

  “What do you know? I don’t want to have to repeat the humiliating details if you know them.”

  “Just that you were sent on administrative leave because you told me to go home since there wasn’t any work to do and that I didn’t have to take vacation days. Oh, and that you didn’t check with Billy first,” Tawny summarizes what she knows as quickly as possible. She is as eager to get through this conversation as Rebecca is.

  “That’s pretty much it. Word spread like wildfire when you left and Linda found out you weren’t taking vacation days. The support staff is more concerned about their time off than they are
about their work,” Rebecca digresses a bit to take away some of the sting.

  “I know. They get to work at eight o’clock sharp and, if they can, they leave at five sharp. Heaven forbid they have to stay a moment later to finish what they didn’t get done during the day. They’re checking for overtime permission when they should’ve been working instead of checking Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.” Tawny joins the digression to help Rebecca and to vent some of her own frustration.

  “Secretaries and even some of the paralegals have no work ethic. It’s just a paycheck for them. Anyway, the whole thing caused a big stir. Linda immediately went to Billy and he wasn’t in the best mood so he exploded. Don’t get me wrong, I know I did the wrong thing. I just wasn’t thinking. Billy is rarely here and I’ve never asked him many questions when it comes to management so I just didn’t. He’d been here a lot more lately and that should’ve been my clue that something was going on.” Rebecca provides her side of the situation.

  “You didn’t know about Brandon Harper?” Tawny is finding out how much Billy kept Rebecca in the dark.

  “No. My workload has been pretty light and I know that Nick and Mark are bombarded. I figured that’s why Billy got three summer interns. I should’ve known that they couldn’t handle Billy’s big cases. He’s bringing them in so fast and he can’t keep up.” Rebecca lightly taps her knawed-off fingernails on the steering wheel. “He didn’t want to use you because, well, you know, the whole dating thing and that was fine by me. So we stayed outta each other’s way and it worked.” Her tapping increases to a thumping.

  “It’s not just that he needed more help. He’s also been hearing from the managing partner that the environmental department is much too small for such a big firm and for his reputation. Apparently, they want him to hire several more lateral hires and stick around the building to manage them. Billy doesn’t want to manage. He wants to jet around the world with his cases but he refuses to report to a manager now that he’s so famous.” Rebecca repeats what Billy had generally told her two weeks ago.