Chapter 30
This meeting was fucking going downhill, and I had the most probable theory that it was because I was so fucking pissed.
She hadn’t come to work. It was more than an hour now into the workday, and yet she was nowhere to be found. I couldn”t believe it. I mean, I expected it, but I thought that she”d still come in.
Gloria had immediately been notified and had wanted to send someone over to take over for her, but I”d refused.
”Not yet” I replied.
At the time, I had thought I was calm and clear-headed, but now, the more I thought about her instead of paying attention to this fucking resolution meeting I was supposed to be giving all my attention to, the more pissed off I became.
This was the reason why I avoided office relationships or interactions of this sort. It”s an immense distraction that seems so important as to deserve to hijack your time, focus, and emotional energy. And it fucking annoyed me.
Sighing, I released a deep breath, trying to also calm down with my scowling, and listened carefully as George led the settlement. I could tell the opposing party”s lawyer and client were peeved that my associate was handling this, but I truly didn”t give a fuck.
Gary, too, continued to sneak looks at me, but I ignored them all. George was asking all the right questions that were needed for the settlement to be amicable, so there was nothing to worry about.
Eventually, and after we finished presenting our own side of the case, George kept quiet, and we waited for the opposite party and their counsel.
”You don”t take us seriously at all, do you?” he asked.
I expected this, so I relaxed in my chair and listened.
”Even after things have come to this and we”ve even granted you the courtesy of a settlement appointment you”re still letting your lackey handle it instead of you? How fucking disrespectful are you planning to continue to be?”
Usually, I would find a way to amicably let things go, but I wasn”t in the fucking mood.
”You manipulated my client for an entire evening,” I said. ”Not only did you invite him out under the pretense of discussing your collaboration on the new site, you use his penchant for alcohol against him and get him just drunk enough to agree to award you the contract at the fucking exorbitant rate you propose, and now you”re here whining about me not taking this seriously?” I sat up. ”You”re right. I didn”t take this nonsense seriously because only a moron would be blind not to see what happened here. You made him gamble first, lost all your money on purpose, and then made him feel indebted to you. That, coupled with the alcohol consumption, and you swooped in for your prey and closed the deal.”
”That”s fraud, and if you think that contract will hold up when you deliberately had my client sign it while he was intoxicated from alcohol, then you must be out of your mind. So no, I didn”t have to personally handle this. Even a paralegal could settle this case. And let this be clear, the reason I”m even entertaining this meeting with you now, despite your bullshit claim and defense, is that my client doesn”t want this to go to court and, as a result, drag on. It might stop all work on the project altogether, and he cannot afford that. So as a result, here I am, forced to even consider a settlement with you despite how unfair and wrong your actions have been, and you still have the audacity to demand my full attention?”
The lawyer was amused. ”The rumors are indeed right, Templeton,” he said. ”You”re full of yourself.”
”Well, no one”s talking about you, and I”ve never even heard of you, so I guess tuck your tail between your legs and either accept our offer for the settlement or skip away from here.”
I was usually not this rude because it was fucking unnecessary, however, now I truly couldn’t help it. I wanted to get out of here. I wasn”t even going to call her, but... I wanted the space and time to see what she was going to do about this.
Picking up the folder, I threw it across the table to the lawyer.
”That”s our number, and it”s final. This is such a bitter setback, but in order to get rid of your lot, we”re ready to pay you to do that, so please respect the win you have gotten despite the fact that you orchestrated this trap and go home satisfied.”
They opened the folder, saw the number and the terms, and then the client lifted his head to address him.
”So, you pay me this measly amount, and I give up on the contract and working on the projects?”
”It was typed in English,” I said and he smiled. Then his gaze went back to my client.
”You...” he said. ”You don’t remember me, do you?
I was a bit startled at this and quite alarmed because I hadn”t been aware that there was a connection whatsoever between them in the past. Sudden information like this always made me uncomfortable, as I always ensured to get all the facts straight, but this time around, it wasn”t the case, so it definitely wasn”t public knowledge.
”You once had a much smaller company flipping houses in Ohio,” he said.
I glanced at my client then and could see the alarm slowly rising in his eyes, which made me understand that recognition or alarm at the man”s words was slowly hitting home.
I wondered what it was about and paid even more attention, ready to respond as needed.
”How do you know about that?” Gary asked. ”What does it have to do with you?”
The man smiled.
”My wife was pregnant at the time. She went into labor that day, and I wanted to ask permission from my employer at the time, who worked for you, to go to her. You refused. You came in angry about something or the other, cursed them all out, and when you heard they would be a man short because he needed a half day to go to the hospital, you threatened to fire all of them, and so I remained.”
Gary looked at him, and then he snorted in amusement.
”So that”s your beef with me from fifteen years ago? That I didn’t let you go see your wife in labor at the hospital?”
”No,” he replied with a smile. ”My beef with you is that I couldn’t say goodbye to her before she died a few hours later, in labor.”
Then the room went silent.
”I”m not trying to ruin your reputation or anything, Gary,” he said. ”I”ve come too far and worked too hard myself not to understand you. But you will pay in some way or the other for my loss. Let”s start with money. That contract is iron-clad, you were of sound mind, and you signed it willingly. So no, I will not accept any settlement whatsoever. We will take this to trial, and in the meantime, all further construction projects on your buildings will be stopped.”
His smile widened even further. ”You”ve got the most expensive lawyer in the city here with you. Is he the best? I don’t know, but I guess we will find out. Just know, though, that I have other projects going on, and so I have a lot of time to kill. You, however, have a loan in the hundreds of millions that is eating at your soul with every day that passes. So, I guess good luck and have a blast.”
He rose to his feet then, and Gary was sputtering from anger. Wanting to get up then to curse out the man, I placed my hand on his and shook my head.
He was so red he could barely breathe, and at the end of the meeting, he jerked his tie loose. I watched him as the information I had just received began to swirl in my head, and then I turned to George.
I rose to my feet then, and we all exited the conference room.