Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
K ingston
"Good afternoon, Mr. Chase."
There's a knock on my door and I look up to find Skye standing there with an innocent, polite smile.
"Yeah. Can I help you, Skye?" I say in my best informal fashion.
"There's someone here to see you about a potential new lawsuit," she says.
"And you know their name?"
"He says his name is Javier Estes."
"It doesn't ring a bell." I shake my head.
"He said he would like to see you."
"You know I'm busy." I stare at her. "So that's a no." I shake my head. "Get some more information about the lawsuit from him and tell him I’ll give him a call when I have time."
"Yes, sir," she says. "Certainly."
She closes the door and I try not to smile as she walks away.
The fact of the matter is, I’m not busy, but seeing as today is Friday and tomorrow is our first fun night and I still have no plan, I’m trying to figure out what to do. The entire week has gone by super professionally. Even I had almost forgotten that Skye and I had been intimate. Even I had almost forgotten that we had a plan for the weekend.
She spoke to me informally, sometimes distastefully, and hadn't so much as touched my shoulder, let alone tried to kiss me or give me another blow job. However, that didn't stop me from thinking about the blow job she'd given me the last time I'd seen her outside of the office. Fuck, it had been hot.
I stare at my laptop and think about date night ideas. Even though it's not technically a date, I want it to be fun. I don't want her to feel like I'm only using her for sex, even though that's definitely where the night is going to end.
I think about booking a hotel room someplace that will blow her mind and impress her, but then I don't want her to feel cheap, which is weird because I've never had that thought before and she's already slept at my place anyway. I mumble under my breath, “Which is also weird.” She's the only woman that has spent the night, more than once now. I have two T-shirts that smell of her that I haven't washed, but I’m trying not to think too hard about that.
There's another knock on the door, and this time she opens it, steps inside, then closes it behind her.
"So, Mr. Estes says that he's here about a potential torts case in regards to a pharmaceutical product."
"What pharmaceutical product?" I ask.
"A cream that is meant to stop cramps but actually burns people. He says that he works at a local emergency clinic and they've had several clients in the last couple of months come in with second-degree chemical burns due to using this cream."
"I don't really do torts cases. We're not a torts law firm," I say frowning. "But that does not sound good. Do you know the name of the product?"
"He says he doesn't want to say the name unless he speaks directly to you."
I nod. "Hold on," I say, picking up the phone.
"Hey, Max," I say when my partner picks up.
"Yeah, what's going on, Kingston?"
"We have a potential client here with a tortious claim against a pharmaceutical company for producing a cream that may or may not be burning those who use it."
"What's the name of the company? What's the name of the cream?" he asks.
"He doesn't want to say."
"You know, if it's related to Gold Nugget Pharmaceuticals, we cannot take the case. That would be a huge conflict of interest."
"I know," I say. "That's why I wanted to ask you if you've heard of anything related to this with any of their products."
He says, "I don't know. Hold on. I know Remington's been working on some of their stuff for me. Let's get him on the line."
"Okay."
I look over at Skye and I can tell she's trying not to listen to the conversation.
"Hey, Remi, I've got Kingston on the line with us."
"Hey, what's up? I'm about to head into court. Can this wait?"
"No," I say quickly. "We've got a potential client here with a lawsuit against a major pharmaceutical company. We do not know which pharmaceutical company it is. Apparently, they're making some sort of cream that's meant to relieve cramps but it is actually giving people second-degree burns."
"Fuck, it's not with Gold Nugget, is it? Shit, I told them that."
I sigh. "So they have a cream that is burning people?"
"They took it off the market," he says. "But they did not have it withdrawn from retail stores that it was already in, even though I told them to. However, they did not want to take on any..." He pauses. "Look, I’ve got to go."
He hangs up. Max swears under his breath.
"You're going to have to send that guy away."
"I know," I say. "But you do know we have a problem here because another firm is going to take this case."
Max lets out a deep sigh. "I know. I'll speak to Remington and we'll have to speak to John Schneider, the CEO, and figure out the next steps."
"Okay. Tell him that there is a local emergency walk-in clinic that has a lot of clients, so he'd better come up with a settlement number."
I hang up and look over at Skye. There's a frown on her face.
"What's going on?" she says.
"You're going to have to let Mr. Estes know that we're unable to take his case and that he should find himself another law firm."
"But he has proof. He showed me photos. He?—"
"We cannot take this case, Skye," I say bluntly.
"So what? You don't want to help these victims get money because we may or may not represent the pharmaceutical company that made this product."
"Obviously, we cannot sue ourselves."
Her jaw drops.
"What? But you don't even know the company! Are you...?"
She shakes her head.
"Every time I think you guys cannot be any lower, you are."
"I don't really know what I'm meant to make of that."
"What'd you think you're meant to make of that?" she says. "It means you're representing scumbags. We represent a large pharmaceutical company that makes thousands of different products that help people, but they're also making products that don't help people, that are hurting people."
"That's just the way the cookie crumbles, Skye. They will make good on any products that they've created that have harmed people." I shrug. "Please go and inform Mr. Estes that I'm not available to talk to him and that he should do some research for tortious firms that would be interested in taking a case like this."
"You're not even going to tell him yourself? You don't think you owe him that courtesy?"
"I'm a busy man, Skye, and I have a lot of work this afternoon." I blink at her. "Is that all?"
She stares at me for a couple of seconds after I dismiss her then shakes her head. "You're such a jackass," she says under her breath.
"What did you just say?" I stand up.
"Nothing, sir," she says, rolling her eyes and leaving my office, slamming the door shut behind her.
"I guess I have to plan a really good fun night tomorrow," I say under my breath.
I know that she doesn’t understand why I’m unable to take the case, or rather, she does understand, but she doesn’t agree with it morally. She doesn’t understand that when it comes to the law, morals have nothing to do with it.
I sigh. That's not your problem, Kingston. I lick my lips and sit back down again, pulling up the travel website and searching flights to Paris. I sit back, smiling, wondering what she would say if I did fly her out to Paris for the weekend so that we could stroll arm in arm down the Champs-élysées, eating chocolate croissants and drinking espressos in the City of Love.
Maybe we take a boat ride down the Seine, then go for dinner and feast on escargot and bone marrow before taking her back to a palatial room where we'd make love all night long. The thought seems ridiculous. There's no way in Hell a friend with benefits or a boss with benefits would plan such a romantic, delightful date, especially as it wasn't even meant to be a date.
I take a deep breath and exit the site. As much fun as it would be, I'm not flying her to Paris. I don't want her to get any ideas.
My email screen pops up with a new notification and I click on it. I see I have an email from Skye so I open it quickly and read.
"Dear Mr. Chase,
I just wanted you to know that you are a horrible lawyer. You have no qualms about taking advantage of the little people and you make me ashamed to even work for you. I hope that you are able to sleep well tonight knowing that you're giving another win to the corporations of the world that take advantage of people like me."
I stare at her email and roll my eyes before hitting respond.
"Dear Ms. Redding,
Thank you so much for your email. I'm not really sure how you want me to respond to this, so instead I will attach a copy of my recent bank statement, and yes, it is seven figures, and yes, I will sleep well tonight. Have a good evening."
The reply comes almost instantaneously.
"Dear Mr. Chase,
I think it's obnoxious of you to send me a copy of a bank statement showing you have over $5 million in the bank. Number one, I don't even know if that's true. And number two, if it is, I don't think it's smart to have that much money in the bank, but what do I know? I'm just simply your assistant.
Miss Redding."
I grin and respond back.
"Dear Miss Redding,
You are my assistant, and as such, you're being a little bit obnoxious yourself, not to mention rude and disrespectful, seeing as I sign the checks that pay your salary each month. The simple fact of the matter is, I have this money in an account because it was going to be used to purchase a commercial building in another state. I would love to inform you that I have the majority of my money in mutual funds and real estate and I do know what I'm doing. Just in case you didn't know, I have an MBA as well as a JD.
Your boss, Mr. Chase."
I sit back and wait for her response. I smile when I see it pop up a couple of minutes later.
"Dear Mr. Chase,
Good for you that you have an MBA and a JD. I guess it's true what they say. People can have brain smarts, but they don't always have common sense or a heart, which is sad. You can’t actually think money makes you a decent person. In my eyes, money is the crux of all evil."
She didn't sign her name to this one. I respond.
"Dear Ms. Redding,
Are you saying that you think I'm evil?"
The response comes quickly.
"Dear Mr. Chase,
I didn't say that, but if you think you are."
I respond.
"Dear Ms. Redding,
Just so you know, I have a heart and I volunteer as a big brother with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and I donate a substantial amount of money each year to causes I think are worthy, so hopefully that means I'm not as evil as you might think I am."
She responds.
"Dear Mr. Chase,
I'm not the one that you have to be worried about. The people that Mr. Estes represents and is fighting for are the ones that should be on your conscience."
I roll my eyes as I read her reply. Why is she not going to let this go? I respond.
"Dear Miss Redding,
I am going to pick you up at 2:00 PM tomorrow afternoon. Please wear something comfortable."
I hit send and sit back. No response comes and I can feel my shoulders getting tense. What if she changes her mind? What if she no longer wants to do this? What if she's so upset at the work that I do that she's going to call it off?
My breath catches as I see her response come through.
"Dear Mr. Chase,
I sure hope tomorrow is fun because I'm pissed off at you right now."
I grin as I stare at the email. She’s still in. That's all I need.
I turn my laptop off and I jump up and head out of the office. I walk over to Skye and look down at her as she stares at her computer screen so intently that I realize she hasn't even noticed that I'm here.
I clear my throat and she looks up, blushing slightly.
"Doing something important?" I ask her.
"I was just waiting for your response," she says, glaring at me.
"Okay. Well, there will be no more email responses this evening as I am leaving for the day."
"You are?" She stares at her watch. "But it's only three o'clock."
"I am aware of the time. I'll see you tomorrow," I say softly, lowering my voice.
She nods. "I guess so."
"Wear something sexy," I say.
"Excuse me?" She raises a single eyebrow.
"I said, wear something sexy."
"You can't tell me to wear something sexy," she says, shaking her head. "That's against the rules."
"Against what rules?" I ask, chuckling.
"Against the rules of this boss with a benefits relationship. You don't get to tell me what to wear."
"Okay, then don't wear something sexy. Wear whatever you want." I grin. "But I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay," she says with a nod.
"I'm looking forward to it," I say.
She licks her lips nervously and I head out.