The other firms. He’d interviewed other lawyers before he had come here. If she turned him down, he’d just find someone else to take the case. And what if Jay’s team hadn’t been negligent? Would another firm conduct a thorough investigation or would they just start the lawsuit and leave it up to J-Tech to prove it wasn’t their fault and in the process lose their key investor?
“I’ll need to run this past one of the partners,” she said. “I’ll be back in a minute. I’ll send Janice in with some coffee.”
“Does she have any raw meat?” he called out. “I’m still in character.”
She found Tony in his office and explained the situation.
“If you’re not together then there are no professional-conduct issues,” he said. “But you can’t talk to Jay about the case or the client until the matter is resolved, and a relationship is out of the question. In fact, it would be best if you blocked his calls and messages until this is sorted. If you’re wrong and J-Tech was negligent, that could mean years, or it would mean dropping the case and dealing with the financial repercussions.”
“I was there,” she said. “They were very thorough. They had all sorts of metal-detecting gadgets and four guards at the door checking bags. And something doesn’t feel right about the pictures. How could Bob not see someone standing in the restroom with a camera? It wasn’t very big.”
“That’s a lot of faith you’re putting in your gut.” Tony pulled out his lightsaber and gave it a swing. “If you clear J-Tech, and you don’t find the person who took the pictures, you’ll have put a lot of time into a case that goes nowhere. It would be better for your billables to sue J-Tech and make them prove they weren’t liable. Given our financial situation and your tenuous position in the firm, do you really want to take the risk?”
“Yes.” She didn’t even need to think about it. There was no way she was going years keeping Jay at arm’s length. She loved him, trusted him, had faith in him. And she needed him to know it.
She just hoped he didn’t find out that she was planning to sue his ass to save him.
? 27 ?
Jay studied the e-mail from Chris Moskovitz’s assistant with disbelief. Contract canceled. Because of a lawsuit against his company? He’d been staring at his screen for the last fifteen minutes but so far, the words hadn’t changed.
“I got here as fast as I could.” Elias burst into his office. “Jessica and I went for a lunchtime run in the park. She beat me again, but I’m doing sprints in the mornings so . . .” He trailed off. “What’s wrong? What’s the big emergency?”
“Were we served with notice of any legal proceedings?”
“Not that I know of.”
“I called Lucia because she’s our solicitor of record and she didn’t receive anything, either. She’s going to look into it and call me back.”
Elias threw himself into the chair across from Jay’s desk. His hair was still wet from his shower, his shirt clinging to his damp shoulders. “So, who’s suing us?”
“Bob Smith. Apparently, someone got a phone into the zombie party venue and took some compromising pictures of him that he alleges have ruined his career. Chris heard about it and had his assistant cancel our contract. I called her up and she said he’s just landed the role of a lifetime and he can’t take any risks. They need a security company that can make sure no cameras or paparazzi get into their events.”
“There’s no way anyone got into the zombie party with a camera.” Elias straightened in his chair. “We had four people on the door, and we were using a high-sensitivity metal detector—it can detect a phone inside any body cavity.”
“Not an image I wanted in my head.”
“Just saying. No. Fucking. Way.”
Jay handed Elias his phone opened to the app where Bob’s party pictures were splashed out on the front page. “The evidence speaks for itself.”
Elias ran a hand through his hair, scattering droplets of water across the carpet. “How the hell did that happen?”
Jay had been wondering that himself. He trusted the members of his team implicitly. They were serious, professional, and conscientious. In all the years they had worked for him, they had never slipped up. That meant the mistake was on him.
“It had to be me. Zara was there. I was distracted . . .”
“No.” Elias shook his head. “Not a chance. That’s not you.”