Limiting Liabilities: Book Two - The Martinique Files

by Colette Alaine

  “How am I going to know what to do in there?” Billy’s worried about being embarrassed.

  “I’m sure there’s a book to follow. If not, just watch what other people do. You’ll figure it out and it won’t last that long,” Tawny reassures him.

  “I thought I’d wait to see God when I die.”

  “Who knows, that could be soon. Maybe this is your last chance.” Tawny does not care how frazzled Billy is.

  “That’s not consoling at all.”

  “People go to church every day. Get over it. Listen to the message and maybe you’ll learn something. Or, Heaven forbid, feel something.”

  They arrive five minutes before the service starts and locate Ken, Judy and their one daughter who lives in the area with her family. Billy sits at the end of the pew and Tawny sits next to Judy with Billy on the other side of her. Handing Billy a book, he is able to follow along and makes it through without dying.

  Ken insists the two attorneys join the family for a bar-be-que at his daughter’s home. Tawny can tell that Judy is not too keen on the idea but reluctantly asks them to come back at four o’clock. She is in town to be with her family, not with her husband’s business associates.

  “Judy doesn’t like us,” Billy confirms Tawny’s suspicions as the taxi takes them back to the hotel.

  “Oh good, it’s not just my imagination.”

  “Do you think we should skip the meal tonight?” Billy wonders aloud.

  “It would make Judy happy. I’m not sure Ken would care one way or another.” Tawny tries to help him out.

  “Now that we’re all holy from church let’s be nice to Judy and tell them we’re heading down the coast and won’t be back in time for dinner.”

  “I’m game. By the way, one hour in church does not make you holy.”

  “Well I’m full of good thoughts so it did me some good,” Billy says without sarcasm.

  “Are you being serious?” Tawny realizes he is not kidding.

  “Yeah. I didn’t mind going at all. It was nice. Maybe I’ll go again sometime.”

  Tawny relaxes as Billy directs the taxi driver to a car rental place. They find a sporty model and quickly change their dressy clothes into casual for the ride ahead. Grabbing lunch in a small café, they’re comfortable with each other again.

  “I wonder what Ken’s news is.” Tawny is eager to find out.

  “He didn’t tell me anything. I think he was upset that we flew down here on the weekend. No way was he going to let me work.”

  “So we’ll wait until tomorrow,” Tawny assures herself she has no way of finding out Ken’s information beforehand if Billy does not even know it.

  “Will you sleep with me tonight?”

  “No.” Tawny cannot believe she is getting this question. “Do you think that sleeping with me shows me how you feel about me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Think of it how I see it. You could have two girls, one you really care about and one that’s around only for fun. You don’t really care about her. You sleep with both of them. It appears to me that you feel the same way about both of them. The only way the one you really love knows that you love her is by committing to her. You treat her like she’s special by being faithful to her and planning for the future. So just asking me to sleep with you doesn’t tell me anything.”

  “I show my feelings with intimacy,” he continues to try to explain.

  “That isn’t very convincing to most of the women I know. And Billy, you can’t keep going back and forth between business and pleasure like this with me. We’ve settled this. I’m only your associate.”

  “That’s not what I want. It’s all this talk about love.”

  “Talking about love isn’t feeling love, Billy.”

  “All those families in church and couples praying together, I felt that.”

  Monday morning Ken greets them with a cup of coffee and a box of doughnuts. Tawny accepts the calorie killer breakfast roll but skips the coffee.

  “I’m a tea drinker, Ken.” She looks around the area and finds a box of Earl Grey and pours some hot water in a cup.

  Billy dives into the doughnut box and accepts the coffee. It has been a rough night for him and some caffeine and sugar will do him good. Working on the case with Ken will relieve some of his torrid emotional state but with Tawny standing right in front of him, the urge to touch her is overwhelming.

  “I have really big news,” Ken announces as Billy contemplates wrapping his hands around Tawny’s tiny waist.

  “And you made us wait until Monday morning?”

  “No working on Sunday, Billy boy. Besides, you couldn’t of done anything with the information anyway until now. The underwater lab has been analyzing marine life in the Gulf of Guinea and they encountered a school of fish exposed to recent toxic dumping.”

  “That’s terrible.” Tawny is almost finished with her doughnut.

  “You’re inhaling that thing. Doesn’t Billy feed you?” Ken’s attention is diverted.

  “What about the fish?” Billy steers him back to the issue at hand.

  “We did some testing of the toxic waste and it’s a perfect match to the sludge in Lake Michigan. Whoever was dumping there has now moved their mess to this region,” Ken informs them.

  “Are you sure it’s the same?” Billy wants to make certain.

  “Absolutely. It’s fresh, which tells me that whoever was dumping in the lake realized they needed to find an alternative and somehow found out about a good Nigerian deal. We need to find out if there’s any recent chatter on negotiations or contracts from the Chicago area with the Nigerian government.” Ken provides the next steps.

  “Will the Nigerian government be helpful?” Tawny inquires.

  “Depends on how much money they’re getting for the dumping and how much value they see in talking to us,” Ken responds.

  “If an American company is making deals with the Nigerians, there should be some reporting.” Billy thinks aloud.

  “Not necessarily. Much of this is done on the quiet. One company finds out they can cut a deal and people talk. It’s a great way to save money and not cause damage to American shores,” Ken continues to enlighten the lawyers.

  “I just can’t believe anyone is this reckless. I know we’re all environmental protectors here but still, how do you dump this thick sludge by the tons and not consider the consequences. Killing fish is a simple and logical conclusion that almost anyone can make.”

  “You never know, Tawny. I hear the wildest excuses that people truly believe. You’ve got a large group of people out there who are incredibly ignorant of the damage they’re doing. Some people just don’t care. It’s about the money or getting the job done no matter how you do it,” Ken answers her.

  “I guess. I just don’t understand how people can even litter much less dump tons of sludge,” Tawny says.

  “It takes all kinds,” Billy interjects. “We need to plan our next steps. We’ve got the link we needed so we know we’re dealing with an American perpetrator who may have broken some international laws along with domestic ones. We’ve done research and Tawny can prepare an injunction that’s ready to go once we identify the culprit. Our buddies in the community group will be hot to sue so we can leverage their anger to move this along.”

  “I can put together a shell petition for filing. If I have the complaint written I can just add the identity of the defendant whenever we learn it,” Tawny offers.

  “Good idea. I want to be ready to act fast on this one.” Billy is fired up.

  “I’ll have it for you as soon as I can,” she replies to Billy. “Can I get all that research, Ken?”

  “I’ll have it sent to you after I finish with it. I want to review it all once again and I’m waiting for anything more that they may find. This is a fresh investigation and it’s not completed yet. I want to see if I can connect any of the dots before we move forward with legal proceedings.” Ken is in charge of this project and he makes certain it will
progress on his schedule.

  “So should I wait on drafting?” Tawny is confused.

  “No, I’ll cover this one. I’d rather have documents prepared in some format that we can fill in blanks instead of starting from scratch and working non-stop. This way we won’t be trying to catch up with mediocre documents instead of ones we can simply polish.” Billy is willing to let Tawny use her billable time on work that may not be necessary.

  “Hey, I never create mediocre documents,” Tawny jokingly protests.

  “You know what I meant.” Billy skips over her comment.

  Tawny needs to stay quiet and be more professional. It is Billy’s constant jumping back and forth from personal to professional that confuses her. When they are together professionally she has to remind herself that he is the boss. He makes it difficult with his overt sexual questioning when they are alone together but then he shuts it down completely when he is in his element, when he is at work.

  Billy knows he cannot snap at her at random. He is not oblivious to the fact that he rocks her emotions from love to hate. He pulls rank on her when he feels like she is slipping into a comfort zone based upon his personal interest. He wants to be her mentor in the working world. He plans to help her succeed. She is an excellent attorney and she will thrive even more than she already has under his tutelage.

  Tawny is young and in a tough position. The overachieving partner propositions her and then forces her to be submissive in an office setting. She is feisty and smart. She knows she must be his support at work but when he comes on to her after hours, she is accustomed to winning that game. Problem is Billy just as familiar with winning. The excitement of that tension has to be put on hold during a case. It is going to send them both into an emotional depth neither wants to experience.

  “I have more news that may entice you.” Ken can always pick up on their strained moments and fortunately, saves something to break the ice.

  “Bring it on.” Billy is taking charge and eager to dismiss the last curt remark he made.

  “I want to take both of you to the underwater lab.” Ken’s one sentence brings surprise expressions from both attorneys for different reasons.

  “In Nigeria?” Tawny is the first to vocally respond.

  “Well, in the Gulf of Guinea but yeah, we’ll fly into Nigeria and take a boat out to the lab. Or we’ll take a helicopter, whichever works that day. We have full access to it by the African governments.”

  “I’m ready.” Ah, Tawny is eager to see the world on the other side of the planet.

  “Billy?” Ken must notice his senior attorney is not as readily open to the idea like his associate.

  “Sure.”

  “That is so not convincing,” Ken remarks.

  “I have visions of traipsing around Nigeria and having to rely on Tawny to rescue me from the elements and probably pirates.”

  “It’s a cultivated country, Billy. It’s not like the island we were stuck on last year. I think you’ll make it. They even understand English,” Ken responds a bit sarcastically, unusual for him.

  “So now I’m going from a sexist to an elitist,” Billy responds with equal sarcasm.

  “I think you’ve always been both, at least as long as I’ve known you.” Ken shoves his good buddy with a movement of his body.

  “So we don’t need guns? Or flying lessons?” Billy grins as he glances at Tawny in an attempt to lighten the conversation again.

  “Cuz I’m not flying anything again,” she announces.

  “Just in case, can you steer a ship?” Ken teases.

  “No. I haven’t done that yet. I did watch the movie ‘Titanic’ a few times,” she admits.

  “He asked if you could steer a ship, not sink one,” Billy reminds her.

  “I could probably sink one easier than I could take the helm.” Tawny is back in the game.

  “At least we know Tawny will be able to escape if we run into pirates. Since we know she climbs trees she can shimmy up the sails.” Billy obviously doesn’t know they will not be in a sailboat.

  “We’ll be going out on a speedboat,” Ken corrects him.

  “I’m pretty sure I can handle sitting on board all by myself then.” Billy realizes he really does not know much about Ken and Tawny’s kind of adventure.

  “We’ll make sure you have a life jacket.” Ken nearly chokes he is laughing so hard.

  Billy shakes his head. “Tawny, we need to get out of here. I feel my manhood being threatened.”

  “So you’re leaving with Tawny, the girl that saved your life last year? That’s gonna make you feel like a man, huh?” Ken cannot help but remind him of their escapade last year. Only the three of them truly know what happened and all of them have remained silent. Ken is forever grateful, while Billy tries not to remember the humiliating experience.

  “I can still boss her around though.” Billy reverts to the common denominator.

  “Oh, Tawny, I really wish I could save you.” Ken sympathizes with her.

  “Don’t worry, Ken. I got this. I’ll just imagine him in a big orange life jacket all tied up to his neck. Tied a little too tightly, maybe,” Tawny assures the engineer as she glances and grins at Billy.

  “Another fun evening,” Billy comments. “C’mon Tawny. I’m sure I have tons of research for you.”

  “Yipee.” And she follows him out the door.

  CHAPTER 21

  “Y ou look incredibly sexy tonight.” Eric kisses his girl.

  “I feel incredibly sexy whenever I’m with you.” Jaclyn lost thirty pounds since first dating Eric and she is donning a shorter dress three sizes smaller.

  “Maybe we should stay here.”

  “Not on your life, Eric Usher. I spent two weeks finding this dress and I’m gonna show it off.” She twirls around for him to admire once again.

  “Man, you are so hot.” Eric cannot stand to just look at her. He has to touch her.

  “Take me to dinner. First,” she teases.

  “After you, my darling.”

  Driving to the restaurant, Jaclyn plays with Eric’s fingers as he lightly holds her left hand with his right one. They are so connected with each other. He cannot believe he finally found the one for him. As much as Jaclyn watched Tawny get all the men, Eric watched his best friend, Jay, play with beautiful women without any remorse.

  Eric always hated the way Jay treated them. Not much of a comforter before, he found himself more often than he ever expected hugging one of Jay’s conquests after he leaves them. He is good at being the shoulder to cry on.

  Now he wants his own relationship. Learning how not to treat a woman by watching Jay’s antics, Eric is ready to give himself to the perfect girl. He never imagined it would be the perky little Jaclyn Carter. Instead, he envisioned a more reserved date, a girl who enjoys taking long walks, watching a movie or discussing a topic of conversation; a woman more like him.

  When he met her, he thought Jaclyn was a fun time. She could entertain him with her mile a minute chit chat and coax him to the dance floor. He thought he might spend the night with her and that would mostly be the beginning and end of it. He did not plan to imitate Jay; he just thought that would be Jaclyn’s preference.

  Then Tawny kills the evening by rejecting Jay’s invitation and both he and his roommate come home alone. Jaclyn crept into his thoughts but he dismissed them, telling himself it was only because she is a little livelier than his usual dates.

  Hearing from her this summer was a surprise but Eric decided to go to the party and he was hooked. She dominated his thoughts and he could not wait to see her again. He still figured it would not be any deep relationship so he talked Jay into going when Jaclyn suggested Tawny come along. Double dating with two people who do not like each other much is a chore so he decides to man-up and take out Jaclyn alone. It is the best decision he ever made.

  As a serious guy Eric stays focused on his goals. His list is long and it includes succeeding in his profession, a strong marriage with three c
hildren and a hefty bank account for retirement. Fitting in a house, two cars and education for the kids is all meticulously designed. His wife would be as orderly and organized as he is.

  Jaclyn does not fit his picture at all. Adjusting it takes him a little time. Refocusing his life with a party girl who loves to buy and sell jewels is so far beyond what he ever envisioned he cannot believe she swept him off his feet but she has.

  Besides being a really fun girl, Jaclyn does want the same things he wants. She would love to have his three children and live in his dream house with all of them. Money is nice but it will not make her happy if she does not have him. She supports his work even if she does not understand it. Someday she will listen to him explain the intricacies of chrome plating but right now she only wants to kiss him.

  “I have to confess that I need this night out as much as I want it,” Eric tells her as he gets out of the car and goes to her side to open the door for her.

  “I’ve noticed you’ve been a little tired lately. I know you’re putting in longer hours.” Jaclyn accepts his hand as he draws her out of the passenger seat.

  “We’re getting great work and it’s important for us to do a good job. Will is teaching me everything that Robbie isn’t and I’m soaking it all in.”

  “Maybe they have plans for you that you don’t even know about,” Jaclyn encourages him.

  “I do think something is going on but I’m not sure it’s about me,” Eric reveals.

  “Why do you say that?”

  They enter the restaurant and are seated right away. The waiter hands each of them a menu and they select an appetizer to share and entrees. Eric orders a bottle of sauvignon blanc and then they return to their earlier conversation.

  “I think Will is getting pressure from the owner. He’s been all out of sorts these past few months and he’s keeping it all to himself. Well, he might be telling Robbie but he won’t say a word.”

  “You think Will might get fired?”

  “I don’t know how he could fire Will. He’s been there forever and like I said, we’re getting the best work. Naw, I think it’s more of a personal issue. I’m afraid it’s a money issue. It’s no secret the owner likes to gamble.” Eric shakes his head in dismay.