Alex - 10 Days of Torment Ch. 19

© 2022, All rights reserved -- mimaster

Alex and Ashley have closure; events change Christina.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Monday morning, April 22nd

Ashley sat nervously at the plaintiff table between Alex and Maggie. She'd felt confident when they'd walked into the courtroom together, but that changed when the defendants arrived.

Not only had Elliott Walling shown up for the ruling Judge Newcomb was going to hand down, so had his partners in his law firm; Gregg Allison and Daniel Hughes. They were there in place of the three junior attorneys that had been present for the preliminary hearing, as well as what turned out to be an abbreviated bench trial. Apparently now that the Judge was about to drop the hammer on their firm, they decided they should find out what was going on.

For some reason that made Ashley skittish. It didn't seem to phase Alex whatsoever. He'd actually predicted it to Maggie on their way to the courthouse. In fact, he fully expected a stunt to happen. He just wasn't sure what it that be. In response to what his instincts were telling him, he was ready with an ace up his sleeve. Namely, the stunning redhead sitting beside Ashley.

Judge Newcomb finally entered the courtroom, quickly calling the room to order as he sat down. Looking at the defense table, he smirked. "Well good morning, Gregg. Good morning, Dan. I'm surprised to see you."

Dan stood and said, "Your honor, if we may approach the bench..."

"It's Hal in this proceeding, Dan. And no, you may not."

Gregg stood and said, "Hal, I know you're under a lot of pressure on this. If we could just meet you in chambers..."

"Pressure? What in the world are you talking about, Gregg?"

"Well I know you've received a lot of phone calls about your ruling... and about the appeal we'll be filing, and you know, your threat of sanctions."

"Okay... I'm not sure what you're talking about. First, I've not taken any calls."

"I'm sorry, but I know for fact..."

"No, you don't. I've not talked to anyone about this case. Anyone."

"Look, I can understand your being upset. It's not something we did lightly. But, we needed to know where this was going so we could get prepared for the appeal. Any calls you took from the appellate court were unfortunate, but out of our hands."

"Let me get this straight. You're insinuating that I've received phone calls from the appellate court on a case I've yet to rule on. Do I have that right?"

"Well, yes. After we talked with your office and got an idea of how you were going to go, we made a few phone calls."

"I'm not sure what you're trying to pull, Gregg, but it's not going to work."

"Pull? We're not trying to pull anything. Can we please talk about this in your chambers?"

Hal was getting perturbed. "So it can be off the record? I don't think so. We're going to get to the bottom of this right here, right now."

"I... I'm at a loss, Hal."

"Me too," Dan added.

"Let's start with this. Who at your firm talked with someone at my office?"

The two men looked at Elliott, who stood and said, "I had my assistant call."

"And who did they talk to?"

"I'm unsure of that."

"I'd like to say I'm surprised by that. Obviously I'm not. Your assistant didn't talk to anyone at my office, Elliott. My guess is that you leapfrogged that step and went straight over my head because of my comment about getting started on your appeal. I did say that, but you had to have known what's coming, including the sanctions I alluded to. It's clear to me that you took that seriously, because Dan and Gregg are here."

Dan looked at Elliott and asked, "Did you call his office, or did you just jump straight to the appellate court."

"I... I called the appellate, okay. And she assured me that this would be handled."

"Jesus Christ," Gregg groaned.

Dan was steaming, but maintained his composure. "Whom did you talk to with the appellate?"

"Well I didn't. I had Frederick do it. But he assured me that everything was going to be handled."

"Who did he talk to?" Hal asked.

"I'm not really sure. I just know that it's been handled."

"And I'm just supposed to take your word for it without any proof?"

"I think we can help shed some light on this, Hal," Alex interjected.

"Anything to move this ridiculousness along would be greatly appreciated, Alex."

"Maggie?"

Maggie stood, offering a playful wave. "Hi. Remember me?"

"Yes, Maggie," he chuckled.

"It's Maggie Summers, your honor."

"It's Hal. We've been over this. I refuse to be that formal in this case. It's just not warranted and it has no bearing on the outcome. What can you tell us that will help, Maggie?"

"I'm not Maggie Sumner," she shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure you made that clear."

"I'm making it clear for Mr. Allison and Mr. Hughes. Mr. Walling should already know because my name is on a lot of the filings and evidence in this case. Particularly in my email address. I've prepared most of the documents."

"I'm not following."

"I get confused with Maggie Sumner quite a bit. It's why I'm careful to answer the phone in a specific way. I always announce the firm I work for first. Shaw, Leonard, Buchanan and Edwards. Alex Edwards office. This is Maggie, how may I help you?. I'm religious about it. However, that doesn't mean I don't occasionally get mistaken for Miss Sumner. Our names are back to back alphabetically in the legal directory a lot of us use."

"And who is Miss Sumner?"

"Well, I've never actually met her, but I have talked to her on the phone a lot. Mainly we give each other messages when we think the person we just talked to didn't fully understand they'd called the wrong Maggie. I call her the Wasp."

"Isn't that... politically incorrect?"

"I wouldn't think so. She's black, from what I'm led to believe. There's nothing white or Anglo-Saxon about her. She could be Protestant, I suppose. Religion has never come up in any of our conversations."

"Then I don't understand."

"It's irony. Her last name is Sumner. Mine is Summers."

"I'm still in the dark."

"I'm sorry. It's just my quirky sense of humor. She's the Wasp, from the movie, Ant-man and the Wasp. Really it's from the Marvel comic books that Stan Lee created. AND... it's a play on band members... look, Andy Summers is the guitarist for The Police. And the bass player is Sting."

"Okay, that I know," he smirked, actually trying to follow along.

"Great. But what most people don't know is that Sting's real name is Gordon Sumner. I'm Summers, she's Sumner... so, she's the Wasp. Get it?," she smiled.

"Ha! Okay. I do now. I'm just struggling with the relevance."

"Oh, that. Maggie Sumner also happens to be the executive secretary for Judge Sheila Harrison."

"Of the 2nd District Court of Appeals?"

"One and the same. It's also ironic that we're both secretaries in the legal profession with our names being so similar," she said as she walked toward the judge in a short sexy skirt, and her tight, form fitting blouse; her five-inch heels clacking on the floor as she moved gracefully around the room. She handed the Judge a stapled document, winking as she said, "Here you go, Hal."

"What is this?" he asked.

"It's a transcript," she said as she moved to the defense table. "I only made one for you gentlemen. I didn't know how many of you there would be here, and the ones that sat here last week were kind of useless. You'll just have to share."

"Maggie, please explain what I'm looking at," Hal requested, unsure if he was comprehending it the way it was intended.

"I'll do you one better. We have a similar system for recording calls that Elliott testified his firm uses. I'll play you the WAV file of the call."

She stood in front of the table, turning her laptop around to open it. Bending at the waist, she flashed more of her long, sexy legs. She opened the file and hit the play button, her voice coming through clearly on the speakers.

"Good afternoon. Shaw, Leonard, Buchanan and..."

"Hello? Is this Maggie?"

"This is Maggie Summers. May I help you?"

"Hi Maggie. This is Frederick Saywer. I'm with Elliott Walling's office. Do you have a minute to talk?"

"First, I need to tell you that this call is being recorded. Can you please acknowledge that you understand and consent to that stipulation?"

"Oh, yes, of course. I consent to being recorded."

"Thank you. How can I help you?"

"It's my understanding that a case currently before Judge Newcomb is going to be ruled on this coming Monday. Do you know if anyone in your office has been informed of this?"

"Yes. Of course."

"Great. So you already have an idea of how Newcomb is going to rule."

"I only know what he said in court."

"And what was that?"

"He said he'd have his ruling on Monday, that your firm could start preparing for the inevitable appeal, that his opinion would be harsh... and that there would likely be sanctions coming. Didn't anyone in your firm take notes?"

"I'm not aware. I'm coming in on this after the fact. Elliott just kind of threw it at me without a lot of explanation. But he wanted to make sure the appellate court was aware of the case, and that it's going to be ruled unfairly."

"I'm not sure how you can say that before the ruling is even made. Besides, if you're just coming in on it, how can you possibly know what the evidence suggests?"

"I'm not saying that. I... I simply want to ensure that when the appeal comes before your boss, that she and the rest of the panel recognize what's happening."

"My boss?"

"Yes. Judge Harrison."

"Ooohhhhh. Now I get it. You do know who you're talking to, right?"

"Maggie."

"Summers."

"Yes. Maggie Summers."

"That's right. Maggie... Summers. Two 'M's' in the middle, 'S's' at the front and back."

"Yes. I can spell. Can you help me?"

"I can assure you that the case before Judge Newcomb will be handled appropriately."

"Great! That's what I was hoping to hear. Thanks for everything, Maggie."

"You're very welcome, Frederick."

Maggie bent over again as she turned off the audio, still standing in front of the table. She was letting the judge's eyes wash over her ass, knowing her skirt had risen enough that he'd be able to see her stockings, and the garter belt that was holding them up. If only she had the nerve to bend a bit further to show she wasn't wearing panties. It was pure folly, but it appealed to her naughty nature.

Dan was livid. "Your honor, she didn't tell him she was with Alex's firm. She clearly led him to believe she was affiliated with the appellate court."

Turning to the judge, Maggie calmly said, "I attempted to identify my firm. He cut me off, but I got three fourths of the partners out before he did. Then, I clearly identified my name. After that, I answered all of his questions honestly, even though I had no obligation to do so. And once I realized that he'd called me in error I made it clear to him again, twice, who he was talking to, including the proper spelling. I even confirmed my name a second time."

"But you didn't tell him a second time who you work for."

"And yet everything I told him is still true."

"You're missing the point."

"No. You're missing mine. I didn't dial the wrong number. I didn't refuse to listen to the introduction. I didn't try to go over a Judge's head before a ruling was ever made. I didn't do any of that. What I did do was my job. I work for Shaw, Leonard, Buchanan and Edwards. My boss is Alex Edwards. And I know how to make a goddamn phone call and not screw it up. My only obligation to your employee was to be honest. I was."

"You should have told him he called the wrong number."

"Look, just because he unzipped his fly, it doesn't mean I have to drop to my knees and suck his cock."

"Maggie!" Hal reprimanded.

"I'm sorry, Hal. But he's out of line. Once again one of Elliott's underlings fucks up, and their firm thinks that the rest of us in the profession should just bend over and take it. Remember, I'm the one that figured out Elliott was using Cassie's pregnancy as a tactic. She's a friend of mine. That pissed me off. I don't owe anyone that works for him anything. He deserves whatever he has coming his way for using Cassie the way he told Ashley to."

"What do you mean about using Cassie's pregnancy?" Gregg asked.

"Holy... are you serious?" Hal exclaimed.

"Elliott?" Dan questioned.

Hal raised his hand. "Gregg, Dan... have a seat. I'm going to give my ruling now. It's apparent to me that you have some serious internal housekeeping issues you need to deal with, and I don't think you really want any of that on the record. There's enough on it already. My God I can't believe you didn't hire outside counsel. It's like you don't believe in damage control at all," he said, shaking his head.

Judge Newcomb spent the next twenty minutes going over his findings. He started with the scathing rebuke, letting the partners know it was actually tempered from his original draft.

After that, he spelled out the legal and financial ramifications. He ruled totally in Ashley's favor, finding her firing to be unjust. He ordered her old firm to pay her for lost wages from the time she was terminated to the date of the ruling, and an additional year from that date for damages. They also had to pay her for any earned vacation and paid sick time accrued. In addition, they had to cover her insurance costs until she found a new employer and those benefits kicked in. Finally, he forced them to pay off all of her student debt, stating that their unfair practices caused her undue harm, and untold damage to her career.

"The fact that Miss Davenport has had the resourcefulness to find a lucrative job in the interim is both admirable, and irrelevant under the circumstances, because it is also fact that she intended to fulfill her financial obligations to her college and law school using the degrees she successfully earned. You took that away from her in an attempt to do personal damage to her ability to earn that living, and the potential financial rewards that might go with it. So it's stipulated that you will relieve her of that burden so she can get her career back on track.

"Lastly, as part of the sanctions, I'm fining Allison, Hughes and Walling $250,000 for the unethical practices they attempted to use in the Patterson vs. Swanson case, and I'm placing your firm on probation for a period of twenty-four months, subject to monthly review by the California Bar Association."

Dan started to stand, but Gregg put his hand on his shoulder to keep him seated. Instead he rose and said, "Any words of advice for an appeal, Hal?"

"Yes, Gregg. Stick to the sanctions. If you want to debate that punishment, feel free. But I'm adding the discovery of the phone call Elliott authorized to Sheila Harrison's office to my opinion. That this Frederick fellow mis-dialed is unfortunate, but Maggie was correct. She had no obligation to do more than she did. He truly did unzip his fly. My recommendation is to settle your debts with Miss Davenport immediately. If you want to take your chances appealing the fine and the probation, it's more likely you might have them reduced if you showed you took that part of the ruling seriously."

"I'll take that to heart."

"I hope so, Gregg. I'm not sure what's happened the last few years, but you've gained a reputation that staining your shingle. That's not just my opinion. Judges talk amongst each other, just like lawyers do."

"I hear you loud and clear."

"Good. This court is adjourned."

Gregg sat and quickly jotted a note on a page from his legal pad. Ripping it off, he walked briskly over to Alex, handing it to him. A minute later he and his partners had left.

"What's it say?" Maggie asked.

"He wants Ashley to be in my office in an hour. You too."

"Why?"

"He wants to talk to us."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Monday afternoon, April 22nd

Ashley sat nervously at Alex's desk, Maggie by her side. She wasn't sure why she was nervous, other than she'd hoped the lawsuit was behind her. Now for some reason she was awaiting a phone call, and instead of one hour, it had been nearly three.

Alex had lunch brought in, and the three of them had already finished. Yet the phone still hadn't rang. Maggie actually got up once to make sure she'd forwarded her extension to Alex's desk. With the door closed, she couldn't hear her's ring and began to wonder if she'd forgotten. Once confirmed she hadn't, she shrugged when she walked back into his office.

When the call finally came, Maggie hit the speaker button and then answered.

"Good afternoon, Shaw, Leonard, Buchanan and Edwards. Alex Edwards office. This is Maggie. How may I help you?"

"Hello Maggie. This is Kim Jaffey with Allison and Hughes. Please hold for Gregg Allison."

The phone went on hold, and Alex and Ashley looked at each other. It was Maggie who said, "Did she say what I think she just said?"

"Alex?" Gregg asked as he came on the line.

"With Ashley and Maggie," he replied. "Good afternoon, Gregg. We're recording."

"After today I don't blame you. I consent. Sorry for taking so long to call. I've had a lot of loose ends to tie up pretty quickly."

"That's fine. Sooo... should I mention the elephant that just walked into my office?"

"If you'd like. Dan might shy away from talking about it, but I'm the senior partner. My name falls first; so does my reputation. What would you like to know?"

"It's... really not our business."

"No. But it's certainly Ashley's."

"Pardon?" she said.

"Ashley, I'm glad you're there. A couple of things. First you should know I'm taking Judge Newcomb's recommendation. I won't question or challenge his ruling regarding you. Get me the current payoff on your student loans and I'll take care of it by the end of the month."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. I've got Kim checking on what we owe you regarding vacation, sick time, and lost wages. Besides your base pay, I'm assuming that I can use your average billable hours over your time here as the premium adjustment, plus ten percent for any variances?"

Alex nodded and said, "That sounds fair."

"Perfect. I'll have those figures for you by the end of the week for you to review, Alex. If you agree with them, we'll cut the cashiers check the same day. And of course, Ashley, you're fully insured as of this moment. Do you still have your insurance card?"

"Uh, yes. I think so."

"Okay. If you don't, get in touch with Kim. If you do and you have a problem with coverage for any reason, get with her on that as well. Alex, I'm making an assumption here, but you are intending to hire Ashley, aren't you?"

"We've discussed it. That will be up to Jim Leonard. He has an opening."

"Well, let me know if he needs convincing. And I'm not saying that to get out of covering her insurance. I'm assuming we're on the hook for that for a year if your enrollment is anything like ours. The truth is you'd be foolish to let her get away. We were. It turns out we let the wrong person go. I just rectified that, but too late."

"Elliott?" Ashley asked, wanting confirmation.

"Ashley, I'm not sure what good it will do at this point, but all I can do is apologize. We were in the dark on a lot of things. Dan and I put too much trust in him, and a lot of good people got hurt. None more than you. I am truly, truly sorry."

"Apology accepted, Gregg. It means the world to me that you'd offer one at all."

"I have to. It's come to my attention that I have a reputation to repair. Alex... my apologies to you too. I'm sure Elliott was a pain in the ass to go against. But I won't tolerate unethical behavior. Please, let me know if I need to do anything to make things up to Cassie. I'm just appalled that... hell, I can't even bring myself to say it. He used her baby! That's unconscionable."