Be Ready…
Flight risk
Joel sat with his leg bouncing up and down and waited for his attorney to be let into the private room.
Finally, after twenty minutes, his attorney swept inside. He smiled, set his briefcase down, and nodded to Joel.
“About damn time you made it up here. I’m flat broke in this here bitch. It’s been two weeks and they still haven’t transferred my account up here.”
“Mr. Miller, I think I know why.”
“Well, spit it out already!” Joel hissed angrily.
“You are not going to like this… it seems a class-action suit is being brought against you, and your assets are in the process of being frozen.”
“What the fuck?” Joel hissed angrily. “Who is behind all this?”
“Halo Raines and all the families that are involved in the charges against you.”
“That’s fucking bullshit!” Joel hissed. “You can fight it, right?” he asked desperately.
“Of course. We may have to settle rather than risk losing everything.”
Joel hugged his head with his hands. “Fuck… fuck, fuck.”
“Sir?” His attorney leaned close.
“What?” Joel sighed, not looking up.
“Sir…”
Joel looked up and saw writing on a very small piece of paper. Joel read the first line: Keep reading this while I talk.
His attorney began talking out loud as Joel read the next line: Do you have any hidden liquid assets?
Joel eyed the attorney skeptically, then cautiously nodded. Then the attorney kept talking as he pulled out another small piece of paper and pointed at it. It read: How much?
Joel squinted suspiciously at his attorney. The attorney changed the subject and began talking right at him.
“Mr. Miller, I am your attorney and am under obligation to assist you in your… legal predicaments. Do you understand?”
“Yes...”
The attorney pointed at the paper as he began rambling on about Joel’s legal issues. The attorney stared intently at him and gestured questioningly while he talked. Joel placed seven fingers on the table. Then he heard his attorney change subjects.
“As I sit here thinking, Mr. Miller, I think we can settle the lawsuit and leave you with seven million. Does that sound right… to you?”
Joel nodded. “Yeah… I guess.”
The attorney slipped out another piece of paper that read: Be ready.
Joel’s eyes widened as his attorney stared hard at him and spoke.
“This lawsuit could be a major… pain. If you don’t want to settle, this fight is going to be ‘hard’.”
Joel’s eyes widened again as he understood the message. “I guess you should try to settle then.”
“Good…. Mr. Miller, did you hear that my secretary blew out her knee last month? She slipped in her garage.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, she’s going to be out for a while. How did that temp service work for you?”
“Not so good… I had to let go of the girl they gave me.”
“Ah… too bad. Well, Mr. Miller, I need you to sign these payment vouchers and I will see if I can deposit some funds into your prison account immediately.”
Joel began reading the papers and learned that he was signing a power of attorney and his attorney fee was going to be three million dollars. Joel looked up skeptically. His attorney nodded.
“The resources I require to represent you fully are expensive… with all this traveling back and forth from Los Angeles to Oregon. I think it would actually pay to rent a… helicopter to fly from Portland all the way out here. It really is a long drive…”
Joel stared at him for a long moment, then nodded, signed the papers, and wrote a bank account number on the small slip of paper along with his access code.
He held onto the little piece of paper for a few moments, then hesitantly slipped it to his attorney.
“Well, hurry up. The fuckers in here are asking if I want to pull tricks for decent food.”
“Understood, Mr. Miller. I will deposit some cash into your account before I leave. Until we meet again, please try to keep your spirits up.” He glanced up at the drab gray ceiling and pointed up.
“I’ll fucking try,” Joel smiled.