Chapter 24
Murphy's Law of Catastrophes
“Even the darkest hour has only 60 minutes—it just seems longer.”
If Bateman hadn’t wanted her report on the breach of contract options Monday morning, Toni would have stayed in bed all weekend, icing her hand. She’d worked on her laptop for hours going through everything on the Rayaneta server related to the formulas and Starling. Calls from her family remained unanswered. She hadn’t slept. Crystal handed her Friday’s mail and messages on Monday, noting the bruises on Toni’s knuckles. Toni shrugged, saying, “Just an accident.”
Crystal gave her a sympathetic look, saying with a grimace, “Bateman called—personally—sounding very insistent.”
Rolling her eyes, Toni nodded thanks and entered her office, plucked the thin folder out of her briefcase, and marched right back out, telling Crystal to hold her calls as she didn’t know how long the meeting with Bateman would drag on.
The Chairman made her wait fifteen minutes before his frosty executive assistant ushered her into the man’s lair. This time he watched her walk all the way to his desk and held out his hand for the folder.
After scanning the one page in the folder, he threw it down. “What is this?”
“After hunting for causes for a suit all weekend, that’s a list of all the things Starling could do to be sued for under a breach of contract.”
“There’s only one item on this list.” He held up the page. The sentence on it read:
Dr. Starling would have to attempt to interfere with the production and/or distribution of the form ula s Cozy and Seduction to create grounds for a breach of contract. No cause currently exists.
Leaning forward, she said, “Unless he’s done something not contained in the various documents and your correspondence regarding production, Starling hasn’t provided any actionable grounds for a suit.”
“I want you to sue him, and in response you tell me you can’t?”
“No, you can sue him for whatever you want, but you can’t win unless Starling has interfered with Rayaneta’s operations. Has he?”
“Damn it. That’s not the point . I want you to sue him, freeze his assets while the suit remains unresolved.”
“Dr. Bateman, that isn’t what you asked me to do. You asked me to find reasons to sue him, and that’s what I did. However, if you do sue him, his lawyers will naturally have any work on the formulas halted, and you will lose big time in court.”
“I don’t care.” Bateman slapped his immense desktop. “I want you to sue him.”
Toni leaned back, astonished. “You don’t care?”
Bateman glowered at her. His face grew red and puffy as she watched, knuckles turning white on each clenched fist. She glanced up at the snarling stuffed bear head mounted behind him. They both looked fierce and intimidating, but Bateman suddenly seemed as impotent as the poor dead bear.
“Has Starling done something?” Toni waited, but Bateman just glared out the window. Weird . She said, filling the silence, “The sales contract paid Starling to relinquish all rights to or connection with the formulas. The board cut him out completely, so what could he have done?” No answer. “Dr. Bateman, if I’m going to help, I need to know what this is all about. I can’t file frivolous lawsuits without endangering the company and my law license.”
Bateman growled and ground out the words, “The formulas don’t work.”
Toni wasn’t sure she’d heard right. “Of course they work. I’ve seen their effects. I’ve felt them. You know that. Surely, your security guy, Martin what’s-his-name, reported that.”
Bateman pounded the desk with his fists. “They. Don’t. Work!”
Sitting back, Toni frowned, utterly confused. “What are you talking about?”
He abruptly strode over to the bar and poured himself a drink. Toni wasn’t surprised when he didn’t offer her one. He downed two shots before he poured a third and stalked back to his desk with the golden liquid sloshing in his glass.
He seemed to collect himself. “The formulas are unstable. They last less than fifteen minutes after contact with the air. If stored in a vacuum, they still break down in an hour.”
Stunned, Toni sat with her mouth open for a moment then, muttered “I suppose you’ve tried—”
“Everything! Keeping the various components separate until used, and it still lasts less than fifteen minutes. The damn compounds themselves only have a four-hour shelf-life.”
Bateman rapped the table with his knuckles, his face quivering with helpless rage. “The preliminary development and production costs have become astronomical. As an exclusive vanity product for the rich, we still couldn’t make enough money to cover a tenth of the costs.” Standing over her, he shook his fist, practically hissing, “That fucker knew we couldn’t use the formulas.”
His words rocketed through her body like a bomb explosion, jolting her upright.
She remembered.
BJ had promised that Bateman would “ never get to use the formulas ” not that he wouldn’t sell them. A flash flood of understanding, loss, and pain made her gasp for air.
BJ had asked her to trust him.
He’d gotten her the corporate position she’d coveted. He’d been paid all the money the company had kept from him and then some. Her chest muscles seized up, making breathing an effort. Bateman said something to her, but it was just noise.
Abruptly, she started chuckling at BJ’s ruse, the brilliant maneuvering and at herself. She’d proven to be an absolute fool. It hurt so much, laughing was the only thing she could do to breathe.
Toni slapped her knee. “You were in such a hurry to get the formulas into production, you paid him to drop his requirement that you test the formulas first.” Then she was laughing so hard tears came anyway. “You can’t sue him because of failed tests now . Go after him, and any competent lawyer will have you for lunch.”
“Get out!” Bateman lunged toward her, but she shot out of her chair and met his charge. God, she wanted to hit something, and Bateman was the perfect target. Toni felt real disappointment when Bateman didn’t touch her.
He glared at her inches away, but Toni was still grinning when their eyes met. “In my professional opinion, you, Mr. Chairman, are thoroughly screwed.”
Bateman turned several shades of purple. “ You’re fired, Crenshaw . Clear out your desk.” He pointed at the door. “Now!” Shaking her head but still smiling, Toni left.
Her smile turned to numbness as she walked into her office. She grabbed some tissues and sitting down, dabbed at the tears she couldn’t control. Running dry sometime later, she stared at the Dan Rees painting, feeling like the smear of paint displayed there, squashed, and vacuum-packed. She surveyed her magnificent office. There was nothing here she owned or wanted. Even the law books on the shelves weren’t hers. She went out to Crystal to give her the bad news and asked her to get a box. She decided to keep the bottles of thirty-year-old single malt from the bar.
~ ~ ~
The legal department held a going away party for her on Wednesday, sneaking Toni in, since Bateman barred her from the building. There were laughs and tears, but it all remained very sweet. When the group shared their memories of working with her, some were quite surprising. Rich called her a ‘damn fine lawyer who always challenged him, kept him honest, which got cat calls, and said to the group, “Toni always gave her best and asked the same of him.” Crystal could only get out that she would miss Toni before crying. Toni gave her a long hug.
Surprising her, Childers grudgingly chimed in when he didn’t have to, saying she was “an exacting lawyer and thorough nutcracker.” When it came time for her speech, she looked at all the people she’d worked with, remembering what they’d done together, and what she’d failed to do at times. It left her feeling sadder than she thought possible.
“I will miss you all. I will never find a better partner in law than Crystal or better colleagues. Rich always provided the voice of reason when I ranted, which was often to hear him tell it. Thank you for all the kind words and especially for the last six years.” Toni felt tears come, so she finished by saying, “There’s going to be a little party at Six Seven on Friday during happy hour. You are all invited. Don’t bring your wallet. With my severance package, drinks are on me.”
After all the good-byes, Rich pulled her into his office and closed the door. Looking morose, he planted himself on the corner of his desk and crossed his arms. “Toni, I have no idea how I’m going to replace you. Without your help this last month, I’d be up shit’s creek without a plunger.”
Toni grinned. “Don’t you mean a paddle?”
“Do I?” Rich patted his balding head and shrugged. “What are you going to do now? I can call some of my contacts if that would help.”
“Rich, thank you for that, but I honestly don’t know what the hell I’m going to do. No idea whatsoever. With the severance package, I don’t have to work for the next three years.” She rubbed her arms and gazed out his picture window at the bay. “I’ll definitely let you know when I do figure out what I want to do.”
Rich nodded, saying, “Good, you do that. About the severance payout. I’m supposed to get you to sign a specific nondisclosure agreement before the board will honor the package. You can’t say a word about the formulas or any Rayaneta business since you’ve been here. Period.”
Toni rolled her eyes. “Of course. Well, write up the agreement to include the following,” Toni grabbed a notepad and wrote as she said, “One, my severance package with medical for two years will be transferred to my bank account within a day of my signing the agreement, and two, Bateman and the board will say nothing to any firms, contacts, headhunters, prospective employers, news hounds, or the stray janitor about me and my work as a lawyer and lead counsel. All inquiries are to go to you or HR. If they agree to those terms, and sign off on it, then I’ll sign it too. Otherwise . . .” She tore off the page and handed it to Rich.
Grinning, Rich laid the paper on his desk. “Good for you. I’ll get it written up and email it to you when Bateman and Pendergast sign it. When you sign it, fax or scan it back to me.”
Toni smiled at his grin of approval but turned sober. “You know, Rich, the board and Rayaneta are in a world of hurt. They’re deep in debt with a no-go product and they can’t keep it a secret for long, with or without my silence.”
Her former boss nodded and blew out a long breath. “Yeah, I know. Damage control is already scattering suits in every direction trying to shore up any leaks, but this is a big corporation, and everyone knows that Rayaneta announced they had something revolutionary coming very soon, particularly when the Board has leveraged the entire company to do it.”
“What are you going to do, Rich? Go for lead Counsel?”
“Me?” He gave a dry bark of a laugh. “ Hell no! I never wanted that job. I’m no good at silently holding someone’s coat.” He pursed his mouth, contemplating the floor, and then glanced at her. “I knew you wouldn’t be either.”
“So, what’re you going to do?”
He gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I’ll ride out the storm. I retire in a few years. Bateman and the Board can’t kill off the company in less than three years. Until then, I’ll do my best, enjoy my family and”— he grinned— “move my 401K out of the company’s fund.”
Toni sighed, grabbed her coat, and went up to Rich. “Thank you for hiring me six years ago.” She gave him a hug and stepped away. “Boss, for the record, the board and their brainless executives don’t deserve you.”
~ ~ ~
“Geez, woman, you’ve got the world at your feet.” The party at Six Seven had finally wound down. Toni felt sure her credit card had been maxed out. Lots of friends had shown up for free drinks. It had been fun, but after five hours she was more than slightly drunk and feeling depressed. Now, it was only Rena with her in a booth.
“It doesn’t feel that way.”
“I can see that.”
Toni frowned unfocused at her friend. “So, why did you say Sam couldn’t come?”
Rena eyed her friend. “That’s your last drink.”
Toni gazed at her glass. The Long Island Iced Tea sat half gone. “Is it?”
Rena shook her head. “I’m tired of repeating myself. Sam had to work on his thesis. He had a lot of tests to run on BJ and it all had to be ready for the doctoral committee tomorrow.”
“Right.”
When she saw Toni wince at the mention of BJ, Rena said, “But Sam wanted to come. He suggested getting together next week.”
“Great. I’ll clear my schedule. No, wait, it’s already clear. Pick any day in the next year.”
“No it isn’t. Y ou , cupcake, scheduled a drink with The Crew next Wednesday, which you are going to keep.”
“Right. So pick one of the other three hundred and sixty-four days.”
“Okay, girlfriend. That’s it.” She took the glass out of Toni’s hand. “You’ve done a great job steering clear of it all evening, but we are now drifting dangerously close to Pity Party territory. It’s time I took you home.”
“Right.”
Rena helped Toni get up and into her coat. “I’m driving you home.”
She made an emphatic slice with her hand. “You’re not putting me to bed this time.”
Rena huffed, “You got that right.”
Once she was stuffed into Rena’s car, Toni fussed with the seat belt, but couldn’t get it to lock, and finally gave up. She laid her temple against the window. The cold glass felt good.
Rena snapped Toni’s seatbelt shut and frowned at her. “Are you crying?”
“Only on the outside.” Toni found a box of Kleenex in the glove compartment and blew her nose.
“You need to see BJ.”
Toni gurgled a laugh that turned into a hiccup. “And say what?”
“Say you’re sorry.”
Toni shook her head. “You didn’t see the look on his face after I hit him.” She flexed her hand. “Or my hand.”
“No, but I’ve seen the look on his face for the whole week after you hit him.”
“Yeah,” Toni drawled, and the tears came again. “You said his eye was swollen black and blue.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
The rest of Rena’s words were lost in a dizzy fog of alcohol because Toni had fallen asleep, or at least that’s what she claimed later.
~ ~ ~
Early the next morning, the phone sang “Danny Boy.” Toni groaned, sounds beating a piercing rhythm against the inside of her skull. She reached the cell on the fourth attempt.
“Yeah?” Only after answering did she realize it was her father. She groaned and then cursed when she finally focused and saw the time illuminated on her alarm clock, 5:30. Sitting up, she closed her eyes against the vertigo. God, she hadn’t been this hungover since Stanford.
“What did you say? Are you swearing at your father?”
Toni lay down, hand to her head. “Now, why would I do that when it’s a Saturday morning and still dark outside?”
“So, you did swear at me?”
“Why do you ask?”
“What is wrong with you, child?”
“Nothing that more sleep won’t fix.” Toni rummaged around for the patience to deal with her father and failed to find even a shred. “Da, what do you want?”
“I want to know when you’re coming home. I want to know when you are going to fix whatever it is you’ve done to Jane. She refuses to come home. Jane may even have the babies at her mother’s.”
An icy clarity came over her, which she welcomed with open arms. She frowned, wondering why it had taken so long. Even though the realization made her tension headache hurt like hell, her heart felt lighter.
“Da, I am not coming home now or any time soon. I’m definitely not coming home until you and my brothers stop blaming me for something that happened three thousand miles away. Mario and the rest of you are to blame. You fix it .”
“Antoinette! You can’t—”
“And don’t any of you call me until you all have settled things with Jane.”