Side Bet Bluff Ch. 10

"Really?" This came out of left field. "Your father needs legal services? What does he do?"

"He works for Atlantic Financial," Jenny said, naming one of the largest banks around, and my old firm's biggest client. "He worked his way up through the risk management department."

"Funny, that's where ..." wait. Daniels. Jenny's last name was Daniels. "Your father's first name wouldn't happen to be 'Richard,' would it?" Jenny nodded her head. "Dick Daniels. Your father is Dick Daniels."

Jenny just smiled at me. Dick Daniels was the new Banking Group President of Atlantic Financial. It was big news two weeks ago when the old prez got canned as the scapegoat for the bank's role in the current financial crisis.

"Jenny, this is unexpected. Why me?" I asked. "Did your father ask for me?"

Jenny explained. "I told him all about you, and he seems intrigued. He was complaining to me about all of the changes to the law that are going to happen soon and how the bank's going to have to hire a bunch of new lawyers to make heads or tails of it. Since I've been working at a law firm, he asked if I could make any recommendations. Yours was the only name I gave him."

"The only ..." I gasped. "Jenny, why me?"

"Why not you?" she asked, still smiling at me.

Of course, a couple things fell into place. One - Jenny must have gotten her job at the firm through her father's connections. Two - Dick must have checked me out with his contacts among the partners at the firm. Either that, or that's what he was doing right now after receiving his daughter's recommendation. There's nothing like good old fashioned nepotism to supplement one's networking.

"Jenny, I'm flattered, and very grateful."

"Good," she replied. "I'll set up the meeting. Daddy said that he wanted me to be there, and that he'd like to meet you sometime this week. Is that ok?"

"Sure," I agreed. "I don't see any reason why not."

Our conversation continued from there, talking about job prospects for the both of us. Only now I was nervous around her. Before, there was no pressure. Now, she was a connection to a potential job — a job with her father, no less. You're damned right I was careful with what I said to her.

I even got a little flustered at one point, prompting Jenny to laugh at my embarrassment. How humiliating. Crap, how can I go back to viewing her as just the supermodel receptionist?

One thing I noticed that we most carefully avoided talking about was our romantic entanglements. Except for the earlier discussion of my fight with Jaycee, it seemed like it was a taboo topic. Part of me was all too happy not to hear about Jenny's current boyfriend as it allowed me to fantasize about being with her. Though that thought made me wonder why Jaycee had invited Jenny over in the first place. Which brought my thoughts back to Jaycee. I know, I was just a confused mess by this point.

Jenny was surprisingly sweet and thoughtful, and I was pleasantly surprised when Jenny seemed willing to linger with me at the table over coffee and dessert. But alas all good things must come to an end, be that a string of care-free days with Jaycee or dinner with a hot babe.

I walked Jenny back to her car and got a kiss on the cheek for my trouble. Jenny told me she'd call me tomorrow to set up the meeting with her father. That was one meeting I'd better come to prepared. I'd need to research the crap out of the current banking issues before I showed up to talk with him. Research. Shoot, I hadn't looked up the reporting obligations yet, either. Being scatterbrained was so unlike me.

As I walked back into the lobby of my building, I saw Scott had gone off duty and been replaced by Paul, the first security guard whom Jaycee had met Saturday night. And lo and behold there was Jaycee, doing her best to resist Paul's attempts to cheer her up.

Jaycee stood up as I approached. She gripped a white envelope tightly in her hands.

"Jaycee, have you been waiting long? Why didn't you call me?" I asked.

Jaycee shook her head no. "I haven't been waiting long. It's ok."

"Good night, Miss Daniels, Mister Jennings," Paul called.

We made our way up to the apartment not saying anything to each other. It was very uncomfortable, all the more so when we stepped into my freezing apartment. My makeshift barrier apparently had the effectiveness of a paper bag.

Jaycee placed the envelope on the dining room table and hurried out of the room. I stood and stared at the glass door, doing not much other than wishing it wasn't broken. Should I move out to a hotel for the night?

Jaycee came back in completely naked, and holding the wooden paddle I'd purchased the previous night. She knelt in front of me, lifted the paddle up towards me with both hands but kept her head lowered towards the floor.

"Sir," she said, "I am so sorry that I did not trust your judgment. I am sorry that I didn't learn my lesson from yesterday, even when I said I had. You were right to be angry with me, and I ask that you punish me accordingly as is your right."

My jaw may have hung open for a good five seconds before my mind even attempted to wrap itself around that statement. I took the paddle from her and immediately set it down onto the floor.

"Jaycee, no," I told her.

"Please sir, I didn't trust you and I should have," she begged.

"Jaycee, here take my hands. Up you go. There. No, you shouldn't be asking me for forgiveness. I need to ask you for forgiveness. You didn't deserve what I said to you. Nobody deserves what I said, but especially not you."

"Sir?" tears were in Jaycee's eyes.

"No, just stop with the 'sir's. Please," I said tiredly. "Jeez, you must be freezing, too. If you're going to follow any of my orders tonight follow this one. Go put on some warm clothes. Right now. Go."

Jaycee looked confused, and was hesitant to leave, but her feet seemed to move her even though her head wanted to stay. I thought of abandoning at least the living room and retreating to my bedroom where I could close the door, maybe put something on the floor to block air coming through and then burrowing under a mountain of blankets. I glanced at the envelope on the dining table and walked over to it. There was something bulky within. I turned it over and saw my name written in Karen's handwriting. I may as well get this over with now. I opened the envelope to find a single piece of paper and a flash drive within. Jaycee came back in wearing some flannel pajamas as I was holding the flash drive up.

"It's the master copy of your contact file," Jaycee told me. "Karen said to give it to you in case, you know."

I set it down, opened the letter, and began reading.

William,

I am so sorry about what I did. Belinda explained to me all of the legal troubles that have resulted because of my actions and I can't believe it. I had no idea any of that was even possible, which, I guess, is the point you were trying to make. Again, I'm sorry.

I've worked for the firm a long time. I've seen lawyers come and go. The young ones who couldn't hack it leaving for lower pressure work, and the successful lawyers leaving with so much money they could retire before the age of fifty. And most of those got their money not from providing legal services, but in doing side deals with their clients. All of these opportunities, all of this money, just for the taking it seemed. And this whole time I just plodded away making next to nothing. The lawyers at the firm treated me like a tool to be used and nothing more. A secretary was a fax machine was a copier. No thought was given to making my life better, or even treating me like I was a person.

That is, until you came along. You not only treated me like a person, you treated me like someone who was worthy of respect, and someone whose opinions and advice mattered. You were different. And so when you got your first shot at one of those side deals that would make you rich like the others before you, I thought maybe this once I'd be invited in, too. Maybe I could make enough money to not be treated like a piece of furniture.

But that didn't happen, did it? You rejected the deal. And I was so mad at you when you did. I didn't understand. And when you explained it to me, I respected you all the more but also felt like it was just so unfair. Why should you, who was deserving of all that money, not take it while all those others whom I wouldn't trust with my debit card just walk off into the sunset? So I talked to Belinda, you know us secretaries talk to each other all the time. And Belinda talked to Mr. Beck. And Mr. Beck had that one request first. I saw my chance and I took it. Now I wish I never had.

William, you have to believe me that if I had known what kind of trouble you could get into I never would have faked your signature on that form. ...

"Jaycee, would you get me a highlighter from my desk in the office please?" I returned to reading.

... And now Belinda has told me that you're not even going to get to keep that money. So I went behind your back for nothing.

If there's anything I can do to make it up to you I will. If I can use this money to pay for your legal defense then I'll gladly pay it all. If you tell me to give the money back I'll do that too. I just want to make things right between us. That means more to me than any amount of money. You're my boss. Always my boss. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it.

Love,

Karen

Jaycee handed me the highlighter and I used it over one sentence. Handing the letter back to Jaycee I told her to read me the marked passage.

"If I had known what kind of trouble you could get into I never would have faked your signature on that form," she read aloud.

"So what does that mean?" I asked her.

"That she's sorry?"

"It means that she's only sorry she did it because of its consequences. She's not sorry she did it even though I told her that my principles wouldn't allow me to do it. She still thinks she knows better than I do when it comes to my own future."

"No, Will, she did it for you," Jaycee cried. "She was trying to help you."

"Some help," I scoffed. I handed Jaycee the highlighter as I walked past her. "Tell Karen she can keep her money. I won't be needing it."

I left Jaycee crying behind me.

I made my way to my bedroom and took out my cell phone.

"Sir?" Allison answered.

"Allison," I said, "I'm sorry I'm calling so late."

"No, it's alright. You can call me whenever you want," she said.

"You still want to work for me?" I asked.

"Sir? Really? I mean, of course. Yes," she answered.

"Good. I need you over here."

"What? Now?" Allison asked.

I actually chuckled at that. "No, tomorrow morning will suffice. Though it will have to be very early as I've got an eight o'clock appointment. Can you be here by seven thirty?

"Not a problem, sir," Allison readily responded.

"Good. Do you know how to get to my place?"

"Yes, I can find it. Do I need to bring anything?" she asked.

"No," I answered. "Wait. Yes. Bring warm clothes. I had an accident here and I've got too much natural ventilation for the moment. It should be fixed hopefully by tomorrow, but I may have to give you some hazardous pay bonus for your working conditions."

"Oh, Mister Jennings, you're so funny," Allison complimented. That was a bit too much ass kissing.

"Ok, then. See you tomorrow bright and early," and I ended the call.

I could hear Jaycee on her phone, presumably talking to Karen.

I sat down at my desk in my office. I'd been putting off this search for too long today, probably afraid of what I'd find. For the next half hour I searched for reporting obligations regarding forged documents, specifically for ineffective documents. I found a big fat goose egg.

I had to report to the SEC any evidence of fraud related to material items related to the trading of a security. Was Steven's condition to Karen material? If you looked at it one way the answer was 'yes,' and another way 'no.' She thought it was required before her investment would be accepted, but it wasn't really. The state bar association had absolutely nothing on the situation in their guide to professional responsibility.

I guess I would have to make a couple calls to both agencies tomorrow to determine whether I had to report. Dammit, I wish I had the answer before going to bed. And speaking of bed, I needed to get under some covers fast as I was freezing.

I grabbed the blanket off the guest bed and took it into my bedroom. Jaycee was already under the covers waiting for me. I spread the extra blanket out over her, then moved to the bathroom and got ready for bed.

Jaycee made way for me as I got under the covers. Ooh, she'd already gotten the sheets nice and toasty warm.

"You really wouldn't bend your morals when the world turns on you, would you?" Jaycee asked.

"I'd like to think I wouldn't, though I don't know," I answered. "I said some really horrible things to you today when the world put me in a spot I didn't like."

"Not that horrible," she said. "Not any more horrible than what I've thought of myself the past couple months."

"No, Jaycee, you mustn't," I urged.

Jaycee shook her head. "I've thought a couple times this week that I've become your whore. But it was weird. I felt bad about myself, but not really. So when you told me earlier that ... how did you put it? That you were in the Jaycee market? A part of me leapt for joy, thinking maybe you'd buy me and keep me forever." She snuggled up next to me, throwing her right arm over my chest.

"And who would I buy you from?" I asked.

"Pshsh, I don't know," Jaycee said. "It wasn't that fully formed of a thought. It was just part of me wishing that you'd take care of me so I wouldn't have to worry about bills or jobs or anything really."

I stroked her hair and tried to comfort her.

"But that's not really possible, is it?" she asked. "Even this week I've messed things up and butted in when I shouldn't have."

I sighed. "Jaycee," I started but shifted a little so that I could place both hands in her hair and force her to look me in the eye. "I am sorry for yelling at you. I never should have done that. You didn't deserve it. You were sticking up for a friend and I was upset about different things. I took it out on you and for that I am terribly sorry."

"I have to admit that you really scared me there for a bit," Jaycee said.

"Let's talk about today, then. I take it from Karen's letter that both you and Belinda met with Karen tonight?"

Jaycee nodded. "Belinda told us what the problem was."

"What did she say?" I asked.

"That you couldn't invest in the Beck Fund because to an outsider it would look like Mister Beck was paying you a lot of money for things other than legal services. And so it would be easy to conclude that you were passing along confidential information that allowed the Beck Fund to be so profitable."

"Very good, and that's what the big deal was today, but that's only part of it."

"There's more?" Jaycee asked.

"When I first turned the investment down, it was for a very different reason," I replied. "As an attorney, it's my job to give objective advice. I can't allow my judgment to become compromised by commingling my personal finances with that of my client."

"I don't understand," Jaycee said.

"When I was in school, we studied the heck out of the Enron scandal, both in law school and business school, probably because it was the newest and biggest scandal around and all kinds of new legislation was being passed as a result." I briefly thought of sitting in the b-school library, debating with Billy. "It made quite the impression on me. The underlying problem with Enron, and again in the current financial crisis, is that people whose job it was to give objective advice or to act as watch guards were compromised by being paid by the people who they were supposed to be keeping in check."

"So," started Jaycee, "if you were being paid by Beck, he'd get you to do something you shouldn't do?"

"Kind of. I'm sure that happened directly in a number of instances out there. But even if Beck didn't come right out and tell me to do something, there's the strong possibility that I would become biased to such an extent that I would rationalize doing something because it would give me more money whereas if I was actually objective I would have done the exact opposite."

"But you wouldn't do that, Will," Jaycee insisted. "I know it."

"You can't say that," I told her, "because I can't say that. Everyone becomes biased, especially if they help themselves in doing so. I'm reminded of one of my favorite Benjamin Franklin quotes: 'So convenient it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do.' In other words, people do what they want and decide on a reason only after they've made up their mind. I am most definitely not immune from basic human nature. So it's best to try to avoid situations where you could become biased."

"So that's why you're so upset with Karen?" Jaycee asked. "Because she went ahead and signed you up for those shares when you were afraid you'd change your advice if you had them?"

"I'm upset with Karen for two reasons. First is for thinking that her judgment is better than mine when it comes to my own behavior and principles, as you just said. The second is the predicament her actions have placed me in."

"So in her letter," Jaycee reasoned, "she apologized for the second, but not the first. And you're still mad at her because she didn't even recognize the first reason?"

"Pretty much, but I'm still furious at being placed in this position such that I don't think I want to accept her apology no matter how genuine it is," I admitted.

Jaycee burrowed her head into my side and hugged me tight.

"Can't you forgive someone who made a mistake because they were just trying to help?" Jaycee asked. "It's not like she was trying to get you in trouble. She loves you so much."

I sighed again. "Let's change the topic," I prodded.

"If you insist," Jaycee replied. "Ok, how was your dinner with Jenny?"

"Surprisingly good," I answered.

"How so?"

"She was very easy to talk to. I wasn't expecting that. Plus, she thinks her father might have a job for me."

"What?" Jaycee asked, her head popping up in the air.

"Yeah, it turns out her father is the number two person over at Atlantic Financial. She's setting up a meeting with him in the next few days."

Jaycee looked like her brain was spinning. "So you're not going to work for Beck?" she asked.

"I don't know yet. If I worked for him as an employee then I'd have to abandon my other clients, and I'm not sure I want to do that," I responded. "Plus, I'd be more likely to lose my objectivity and become biased."

"So ... what? Jenny's dad would be another client?" Jaycee asked.

"I don't know, and I can't know until I meet with him to see what he wants. But it's always nice to have options," I said.

"I guess you won't need to hire her as a receptionist if she's got a rich father then," Jaycee commented.

"You're still thinking it's your place to decide whom I should hire, huh?" I asked.

Jaycee looked guilty at that line. "Sorry."

"Will? Don't you ever manipulate people?" Jaycee asked. "I'd think being a lawyer it would be your job to do so."

"I'd like to think there is a difference between persuading people and manipulating people," I replied. "Manipulating people implies you are getting people to do something that they otherwise would not want or do."

"I guess," Jaycee agreed. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," I said.

"Why did you blow up at me like you did today? After talking to Belinda, I understand why you were upset, and I'm sorry that whatever it was that I did pushed you over the edge like that. Really, I feel so bad that I had anything to do with upsetting you so much. But it was so unlike you. You're normally so ... so ..."