揗iss Charles,?says Aronson, 搚ou抮e intimidating the witness.?
I am, and it抯 worked. Sandburg抯 gaze veers wildly from opposing counsel to me. 揑抦 done,?he announces, rising from his chair. 揑 want my own attorney present before this continues.?
Aronson looks furious as Sandburg walks out. I抦 smiling like I抳e just won the lottery.
揊unnily enough, none of the strip club outings appears in the expense reports we were sent,?I tell him, sliding the hotel receipt someone clearly forged for the same amount. 揌ow curious that it came to us as this instead.?
He rises, looking only at Ben. 揑 need to talk to my client.?
I remain in the conference room until midnight with Ben, Craig, Fields and another partner, hammering out what we will ask for. Aronson called Ben to say they want to settle. He refuses to speak to me. Perhaps he finds me shrill and abrasive.
There抯 a number that could be arrived at based on what Margaret actually lost: what she抎 have earned over the course of ten years as a manager and what she抯 lost in this past year of unemployment.
揟hat抯 a lot of money,?Craig says when we calculate the amount.
揘o,?I argue. 揑 want to nail Fiducia to the wall over this. They falsified records, for fuck抯 sake. Accusing them of a crime will show the world just how shady they are.?
揥e can抰，？says Ben. 揗argaret抯 our client. We抮e here to serve her, not to reform the system.?
揃ut棓
He runs a hand over his face, tired of my arguments, though he can hardly fault me. When he wants something, he抯 like a dog with a bone too.
揋emma, that they falsified records is the only leverage we have. With it, we can get them to double the amount they抎 have paid her, and that alone will draw a shitload of negative attention. Every story about them for the next year will be about what they抳e done to change, and isn抰 that what you want??
I hate when he抯 right.
揊ine. But it has to be accompanied by a formal apology,?I reply. 揊iducia has to admit they made a mistake.?
揊ine,?he says with a tired smile. 揥e抣l make them apologize.?
We finish up so late that there抯 no point in Ben coming to my apartment梙e抎 barely let his head hit the pillow before he抎 have to wake up and drive to Santa Monica.
揋et some rest,?I tell him when we reach our cars. 揥e抣l celebrate when we win tomorrow. I抣l even attempt to cook.?
He looks away. 揕et抯 save your cooking for a time when we抮e feeling more ambivalent about our lives. I have plans tomorrow night, but we抣l celebrate soon.?
I freeze a little. That word, plans, is the cheater抯 version of a long um卼he pause during which he comes up with some detail to sell his lie.
揓ust a little family dinner,?he adds, while something sinks further inside me. 揃ut they tend to run late.?
I抳e agreed to go to HR, I抳e agreed to go on a trip with him, but he抯 still shutting me out. He抯 gone from being a hundred percent in to acting like a guy who抯 counting the minutes until he can end things.
And it抯 going to hurt a thousand times more than my break-up with Kyle when it happens.
45
We meet opposing counsel the next morning at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Ben arrives a few minutes late because he had to talk to Fields first, and remains in the background during the negotiation, letting me do the work. They give us a number slightly lower than Craig抯 until I remind them that Fiducia falsified records. 揟he last time a CEO was prosecuted for falsifying records, he wound up in jail,?I tell them. 揧ou might want to discuss that with your client before this conversation continues.?
They leave to discuss it, and return with an amount more than double the one they came in with, along with a formal apology. In exchange, we will not accuse Fiducia of fraud.
揧ou can call Margaret to tell her,?Ben says when we抮e done. 揟his was your victory, not mine. You were amazing in there.?
There is something more muted about him than I expected. 揧et you don抰 seem happy.?
His smile is small and forced. 揑抦 fine,?he lies. 揓ust tired.?
I call Margaret from the car. She cries when I tell her the outcome, and it抯 so much better than almost any moment I抳e had in court because no one has been broken by what occurred today. Fiducia might wind up a better company for it. Margaret will have enough to live off, and might even be able to get another job now.
I turn to Ben, who抯 in the middle of sending a text. When he finally glances at me, he looks uncertain.
揧ou抮e still seeing your family tonight??I ask.
揧es,?he says, biting his lip. 揑t抯 my stepdad抯 birthday.?
揑抎 like to meet them sometime,?I say, forcing myself to be this new version of Gemma, the one who is open and communicative and doesn抰 freeze him out the moment I feel a glimmer of fear. 揓ust to make sure you were born and not spawned.?