Sue Me
Daniel
A couple of days after the incident at Blue’s Hideaway, I head into the office after an hours workout at the gym. I’ve always been an early riser and get to the office before most people. Never my Executive Assistant though. I’m convinced Penny sleeps here.
She gets to her feet as I approach her desk which is right outside my office door. My PA is my right hand and I never take her for granted. Penny smiles as I hand her a cup of her favorite coffee from the place down the street. In her other hand is a slip of paper.
I take it and glance at it.
“Why do I need to call my lawyer?”
“Your dad gave me the message last night after you left.”
“Do you ever go home?”
“Why would I do that, when I love it here so much,” she deadpans.
She’s paid an absolute fortune to run my life. She’s worth her weight in gold and although she knows my life would be a disaster zone without her in it. Penny has never been overbearing, demanding a raise. Just does her job without complaint. I’m never gonna let her leave.
“So why does dad want me to ring the lawyers?”
We met the morning after the fuck up with Reed. Dad was pissed as hell about what happened and backed me all the way, just like I knew he would. But he wanted to meet with Faulkner Senior before we took the deal off the table.
I’d been pissed, but knew it really is a huge money maker and a good deal for both companies too. It’d been in the press so for it to fall apart would cause too much speculation. Dad rescued the deal if it meant Reed was no longer a part of it.
He made sure Faulkner Senior knew Reed assaulted me, taking pictures of my bruises, which I’d been against because I’m not a pussy, but he said it was for the good of the company.
It irked me, a little, that we were running with it, but in the long run, dad was right. And Faulkner had been as pissed at his son.
“He was contacted about you being a material witness.”
“In what?” I frown, setting down my sports bag.
“He didn’t give me specifics.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to dad before I call them.”
“He’s in meetings till three.”
She’s good friends with dad’s assistant. Plus, it makes sense they know all the execs diaries. Thanking her, I head into the office. She stands in the doorway and says she will be in after my call to run through today’s meetings, then closes the door.
Sitting at my desk, I sip my coffee and pick up the phone.
“Dan,” my lawyer Ted says jovially when he answers the call.
“Hey, how’s it going?”
“Can’t complain,” he replies. “Angelica just got word she got into Harvard.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. Tell her I said congrats.”
“Will do,” he sighs. All pleasantries out of the way. “I got a call from another firm about needing to talk to you regarding an assault matter.”
“What?”
“It occurred at a bar, called…” he pauses and papers shuffle. “Blue’s Hideaway.”
What the hell? I’m confused. I didn’t press charges. I didn’t even go to the cops. I’m pretty sure Blue didn’t call the cops. That’s not her name. Can’t help thinking of her that way though.
“What assault?”
“Reed Faulkner is claiming staff assaulted him at the bar when he was thrown out.”
“Jesus,” I lean back in my chair. “Has he lost his mind. He was the one throwing punches. And he rightfully was ejected from the bar. I never saw anyone assaulting him.”
“His complaint says he was roughly handled and was punched and thrown to the ground.”
“I saw none of that,” I close my eyes. “And if it did, he deserved it.”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”
“He was the one throwing punches to get kicked out. In fact, he punched me.”
“Did you file a police report?”
“He swung on me when he was drunk. You think I’m going to call the police in for that?”
He clears his throat. “He’s suing.”
“Against who?”
“The owner of the bar.”
Fuck. “That’s bullshit.”
“Well, if you saw nothing, you just need to make that statement. Be aware, the added complication of your business dealings with Faulkner might come into play.”
“I’m not lying.”
“No one said you had to.”
“This is a bullshit case that will cause trouble for the owner of the bar, for no reason, Ted.”
“I’m not the one suing. Just meet with the lawyers, tell them you know nothing and leave them to handle it.”
There is no point arguing with Ted, or bringing up the fact that suing Blue’s Hideaway is the biggest crock of shit I ever heard.
There is no telling what something like this could do to her business. That it might be harmed in this nonsense claim is worrying. One thing is for sure, I won’t be telling them I don’t know anything. I’ll be telling them exactly what occurred that night.
I call out to Penny, and she opens the door and steps in.
“I need to talk to my father.”
“Already got you a slot at three.”
“Thanks Pen.”
She leaves and I get up, walking to the window to look over downtown Chicago. I won’t lie and say I haven’t thought about Blue since that night, but I never thought I would see her again. And not under these circumstances.
I’m not sure if she will appreciate it or not, or even need it. I’ve no intention of letting Faulkner ruin Blue’s Hideaway. Or Blue.
Whatever Reed Faulkner hoped he was getting when he named me in his lawsuit as a material witness, he didn’t get. Ted came with me to make sure my testimony was recorded, because Faulkner would likely not want to use it.
I confirmed my version of events. The Truth. That Reed started it and was ejected from the bar. The bruise on my jaw served as evidence, although they disputed that saying it wasn’t necessarily their client who caused it.
Ted was doing a good job of backing up my story with irrefutable evidence. He had footage from Blue’s Hideaway which showed how Reed attacked me. When the hell did he get that?
My anger rose and my fists clenched tight. Watching it back made me madder. Luckily, it was a sloppy punch. If I’d moved a fraction faster, he would have swung into air. That pissed me off even more. Ted played it a few times to make his point.
I stopped watching Reed swing and my reaction, instead watching Blue. She turned away and pressed something on the wall, then she jumped over the bar as the doormen came into view.
Jesus she is something else. Even in those tiny little shorts and her sneakers, she moved like a panther, like it was no big deal vaulting a four-foot-high bar. Was that some kind of alarm on the wall? It was a good idea, and it worked.
Nothing about what the doormen did made me believe they took Reed outside and beat him up.
Whatever happened outside of the club that night had nothing to do with me. I couldn’t do anything about helping where the doormen were concerned.
I want to make sure she is okay. My instincts tell me to stay away from the bar. I played my part, did what I could to derail the pointless lawsuit. Who knows if it is enough? Blue will know I’d been pulled into it, given my lawyer showed up at the bar for a copy of the footage.
A couple of days after meeting Faulkner’s lawyers, I’m working late again. Ted just left, this time we’d completed the divorce. The papers are signed. Ted just needs to do his end and then it’s done. We’re no longer married.
I pour myself a shot of whiskey, which I keep in a locked drawer in my desk. Penny knows the exact brand I love, it’s not expensive, like the aged bottles dad keeps in his office. It’s the only thing I ever accept from her as a Christmas gift.
Sitting down I pick up my phone and open up the camera roll. I have to scroll back a good few months before I come to any pictures of Lauren and me together.
I don’t know why I didn’t see it sooner, the distance in her eyes. Mine aren’t that present either. Our smiles are almost perfunctory, like we’re playing at something we used to be.
My family insisted upon an iron clad pre-nuptial agreement. Even so, Lauren is entitled to a good pay out. I don’t begrudge it. It’s a one off. We have no kids, we both want a clean break.
It’s time to go home. And time to get Penny out of here.
I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve told her not to stay after six. She doesn’t need to hang around because I’m working late, especially when I’m only here to meet with my lawyer about a personal matter.
After I’ve convinced her, we leave together and I see her to her car. As I’m about to pull out after her my cell rings and the screen display lights up with my wife’s name.
Ex-wife. I don’t know what to call her. Lauren, I guess. Rolling my eyes, I answer the call.
“Hi, Daniel.”
“Hey.”
“I just had a call with my lawyer. Thank you for making this go smoothly.”
“We both wanted it over quickly and easily, Lauren.”
God, even to my ear that sounded heartless. Whether or not this is mutual, it irritates me she slept with someone else, before she admitted we were over, or asked for the divorce.
Lauren goes quiet. She has to take some responsibility. I don’t appreciate her trying to make me feel guilty. Driving out of my parking slot I sigh. “What did you want, Laure?”
“How did this go so horribly wrong, Danny?”
My foot hits the brake a little harder than I should as I come to a stop at the barrier, making me lurch in the seat. She hasn’t called me Danny in years. Not since we were in college. It’s hard to describe how it makes me feel. Like shit?
“People fall out of love all the time, Lauren. It happened to us.”
She sniffles. “That may be true, but I do still love you as a friend.”
What the fuck is this crap? I’m not sure what she wants me to say that won’t hurt her, so I say nothing.
What do you say to the woman you were with for years when you reach the end? Nice knowing you, thanks for the good times? Chances are we won’t see one another again.
Pulling onto the street, I say the only thing I can think to say.
“Take care of yourself, Lauren.”
“You too, Danny- Uh, Daniel,” she corrects herself. Lauren knows how to interpret my silence.
I cut off the call before she does and clench my jaw so hard it’s a wonder my teeth don’t crack. I’m good at convincing myself I have no feelings about this but not right now. I’m pissed, I’m upset, and confused by this reaction.
I need a fucking drink. Across from the stop sign where I’m waiting for the light to turn green, there is a sign indicating a left turn for Lakeview. Tapping the steering wheel, I make what is probably a reckless decision.
I turn left.