Chapter 2 #3
Gideon blew out a breath, resisting the urge to fly across the table and throttle the little prick. He was stone, damn it.
“Um, are you all right, Gideon?” Judge Carey asked.
“Of course.” He glared at Ophelia, willing her to meet his gaze. She wouldn’t. No smirk. No saucy glance from beneath her lashes. What kind of game was she playing?
“All right then. If you’re ready, Louise?
” Judge Carey asked the mousey woman. At her nod, he continued.
“Then let’s proceed. This is the case of Fayet v.
Havers-by-the-Sea, Case Number 2056-CV-8906.
I’m Judge Carey, and we’re here for the initial status conference.
Counsel, please state your names and who you represent. ”
“Gideon Sperry for the Plaintiff, the town of Fayet, no representative is present.”
“Your Honor. Ophelia Diamondé for the Respondent the town of Havers-by-the-Sea, no representative present.”
“Liam Montgomery, co-counsel for the Respondent, the town of Havers-by-the-Sea, no representative present.”
“Thank you,” Judge Carey said, still eyeing Gideon. “Mr. Sperry, if you would, please outline the nature of the case and the relief sought?”
“It would be my pleasure, Your Honor,” Gideon said, leaning forward.
“My client alleges gross neglect and willful appropriation of magical resources on the part of Havers-by-the-Sea. The Plaintiff is seeking monetary damages totaling eighteen point two million dollars, plus interest and legal fees, dissolution of the township, and to be granted oversight of the node.”
“Ms. Diamondé, your response to the allegations?”
She wet her lips, still not looking at him, damn her. Wait, was she trembling?
“Ah, Your Honor,” Liam jumped in, “the Defendant denies the allegations, arguing in the alternative that the events impacting the leyline’s flow of magic were the result of specific, rogue individuals and should be tried as a criminal case. Additionally, as per arcane law…”
Gideon stared at her, his blood pressure steadily rising with every word that fell from Montgomery’s lips.
All the emotion he’d thought he’d been past, all the anger, the hurt, it burbled to the surface, threatening to consume him.
His skin coarsened, graying and numbing him to it. The physical response was infuriating.
And she just sat there, listening to Liam present their damn case like she didn’t have a care in the world. Like nothing that’d happened between them mattered. What a manipulative little strumpet. His fingers twitched, the need to lay his hands on her overwhelming.
“Understood,” Judge Carey said, glancing at Gideon again. “Let’s discuss discovery, shall we? What’s been completed? What remains?”
“An explanation,” Gideon growled.
Across the table, Ophelia flinched.
“I’m sorry?” the judge asked, his brows furrowed. “Can you be more specific?”
Shit. Come on, keep it together, Gideon. He cleared his throat. “This criminal case the Defense is alleging. There’s no associated testimony with their quote unquote, ‘rogue individuals.’”
“That is correct,” Ophelia said, her face still turned away.
Gods, he wanted to wring her slender little throat.
“The former mayor,” she continued, “Daniel Chambers, is currently in weasel form, and his accomplice, the former town attorney, Patrick Montgomery, has fled. A subpoena has been issued, but has not yet been served.”
“And the weasel? Can his, er, condition be reversed?” the judge asked.
“Yes,” she said, her voice gaining strength, “but apparently we need to wait for the correct phase of the moon, and the witch responsible for the transformation has been hesitant to attempt it prior to.”
“Let me guess, Matilda Hanson?” Judge Carey grunted at Ophelia’s slight nod. “Well, that’s not surprising after the frog debacle, but I’ll need a date. Now, I’m pretty sure I know the answer, but I’ll ask the question anyway. What’s the potential for settlement?”
“Zero,” Gideon said, cutting Carey off before the word had fully left his lips.
The judge sighed and flipped his folio open to a calendar.
“Well, given that, I’m inclined to expedite this.
Barring the miracle of a settlement being reached sooner through mediation, the parties are to file a joint status report no later than next Wednesday.
I’m scheduling a case management conference for the eighteenth of next month to review discovery completion and set a date for the trial.
Very good? Very good. This meeting is adjourned.
Ah, Mr. Sperry, if you have a moment?” he asked as Gideon stood, popping his knuckles at Ophelia grabbing her purse and skittering from the room.
Liam shot him a glance and followed in her wake.
“I get the impression that you two know each other?” Judge Carey asked.
“We did.” Or Gideon had thought he’d known her. Whatever she was playing at now, wasn’t it.
The judge pursed his lips. “Is it going to affect this case?”
“No,” Gideon said, tugging his lapels and re-buttoning his jacket. He’d planned on winning it regardless.