Chapter 14: Katherine Victoria Will

January, 1985, Chicago, Illinois

I arrived back in Hyde Park about ten minutes before the end of the Super Bowl. It didn't look like it had been much of a contest, given that the score was 38-16, with San Francisco trouncing Miami. I grabbed a Coke and some chips and sat down on the couch next to Julia and Dave. In the room, besides my housemates, were Jamie, Kenneth, Kurt, Kathy, Jorge, George, Charlie, Bert, and Wen.

"Julia, both guys in Cincinnati gave their approval," I said.

She laughed, "I am not surprised. When do we tell everyone?"

"Tell everyone what?" Dave asked.

"Come to dinner tomorrow night, Dave. We'll explain everything. Your lovely fiancée helped me with something important."

"Now I'm intrigued!" he said.

When the game finished, the guests started to leave, though Wen asked if I could help her with something from the computer class. I excused myself and we went to my study.

"What's up?" I asked. "The assignment was pretty simple."

She put her arms around my neck, "I wanted to properly thank you for saving my life."

I allowed her to pull my head down gently and we exchanged a soft, sexy French kiss. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly to me.

She broke the kiss and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome! I'm glad you're doing better."

"If you let me, I could spend the night and show you just how grateful I am!" she whispered.

"Wen, you don't have to do that. Your thanks are enough."

She giggled, "But I want to. I liked doing it and I was hoping we could do it again, at least once. I know we're just friends, so I don't have the wrong idea."

The problem it presented was Kara, and, honestly, it might bother Sofia as well. And that bothered me. As much as I wanted to take Wen up to my room right then and there, I had to turn her down. At least for the moment.

"Wen, I appreciate it, but I'm really beat and preoccupied. I just flew back from Cincinnati and if we're going to do this, I want to give you my full attention and have sufficient energy. If you'll be patient, I'll make sure you have an even better time than you did the first time!"

She jumped into my arms, wrapping her legs around me, "OK. Soon, though, please?"

"We'll work it out. Maybe a Tuesday or Thursday night in a couple of weeks."

"Thanks," she said, putting her feet down and letting go of me.

"Do you need a ride home?" I asked.

"Charlie's waiting for me. She said she'd wait until I talked to you."

I chuckled, "OK. See you in class!"

I walked her to the door and watched her walk down the steps to Charlie's car. I waited until they pulled away and then went back to my study to call Jennifer. Surprisingly, she answered. She was doing OK and her session with her therapist went well.

"Did you tell her everything this time, Jen?" I asked.

"Yes, except for the bit about you, me, and Stephanie. I kind of finessed that."

"I understand."

"I cried. A lot. It's funny. When I talked to you, I kept my emotions in check and just told you about it. Even when you cuddled me afterwards. When I told Doctor Turner, though, I got super emotional. Josie helped calm me down when I got back to the dorm."

"Were you upset when you told Josie everything?"

"A bit, but not as much as with Doctor Turner."

"So, what did she say?"

"That I need to be careful with any relationships while I'm working through everything with her."

"That sounds like the advice Doctor Mercer gave Bethany and me all those years ago. How are you doing now?"

"OK. Josie's a bit freaked out by the whole thing, but she's doing her best to help me. I wish you were here with me."

"Me too, Jen. We have four more months, and then I'll come get you both and we can be together. And I'll see you in April for sure."

We talked for another few minutes before I pulled the floppy disk from my bag and printed out a copy of my paper that was due in Mark's class the next afternoon. When I finished that, I went to find Kara. She and Sofia were helping Katy and Elyse finish cleaning up, so I pitched in, and when we finished, both girls followed me up to my room.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Sofia needs some attention," Kara said. "I'm willing to share if it's OK with you."

"Share?" I said, arching my eyebrow and leering.

"Jerk! I meant cuddling, Snuggle Bear. You can get that other thing any old time, but your Swedish friend has been missing you."

I pulled both girls into a hug, "I am a jerk; a big, horrible jerk who doesn't deserve either of you, let alone both!"

"At least you're a cuddly jerk!" Sofia giggled.

I was surprised when they undressed and got into bed with me. Neither was wearing anything but panties. I wasn't going to complain, but it certainly was a big step forward for Sofia. I pulled them both tight to me and we fell asleep.

The next week started off normally — school and karate on Monday, and then a dinner where Julia and I laid out the business plan for Dave and our housemates.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Cindi said. "I have a job lined up?"

"If you're willing to do it."

"I am. And Chris makes good money, so I don't need a lot to start with, if that's a concern."

"So, what do you say, Dave?"

"I'm in! I was really hoping something like this would happen."

"Pretty amazing," Katy said. "Maybe I should have been a CS major instead of electrical engineering!"

"What are you bitching about, Katy?" Elyse said. "I know you're being recruited by an engineering firm in the burbs!"

"True, but that's not public knowledge, besides, working for Steve would be cool!"

"For Steve, or under Steve?" Cindi teased.

"Hey, Tits, she has a steady boyfriend!" Elyse said, laughing. "And besides, if you look at the business plan, Steve works for Dave, Dave works for Julia, and all of you work for his little sister! And I control the purse!"

Everyone laughed.

"So, how much funding do we have?" Dave said.

"A cool hundred grand plus what I have saved so that I don't have to take much of a salary for a while."

"Damn!"

"Guys, you have to be careful not to blow through that cash too fast. We'll need to figure out a run rate and look at the sources of income," Elyse said, sounding like a Chief Financial Officer. "That means budgets and income projections. And all that stuff you hate, Steve."

"Sounds like I picked the right person for the job!" I grinned.

"So, what do we need to do first?" Dave said.

"I need to make an appointment to see the attorney who Joyce's grandfather recommended to get the corporation set up. I don't know how long that takes. The business plan says we'll start in April, and by then I should be done going to Milford every weekend. You all have copies of the plan. I suggest reading it, and we'll discuss it again in a week or so."

Sofia, Kara, and I went to karate, and then I did homework until nearly midnight.

Work on Tuesday and class on Wednesday were normal, but when I arrived home on Wednesday, there was a man in a ratty parka standing on the porch.

"Stephen Adams?" he said.

"Yes. What can I do for you?"

He handed me an envelope, "Process server. You've been served. Will you sign the receipt?"

"Served?" I said.

"You're being sued, Son. Will you sign the receipt?"

"Sure," I said, taking the clipboard he held out and signing on the line next to my name and handed it back to him.

As he walked down the steps on down the street, I opened the envelope and quickly scanned the document. Callie Shepherd was suing me, Charlie, and Bert for defamation of character by slander and libel! A second document was a subpoena to give a deposition in Callie's lawsuit against the university. I sighed deeply, said, "Are you fucking kidding me?" to nobody in particular, and walked into the house.

I heard the phone ringing in my study and went to answer it.

"Steve! It's Charlie! We're being sued!" she cried.

"I know. I just was served with the papers. I'm going to call my friend Melanie and find out what I should do. She's a law student, but worst case she can ask a professor. I guess we'll need a lawyer. Maybe we can share one."

"I need to tell my parents!" she said. "They are going to totally freak out!"

"Just wait until I consult with a lawyer," I said. "Have you talked to Bert?"

"He's here with me," she said.

"OK. Please just wait until I can talk to a lawyer. I'll call you back after I talk to Melanie."

"OK! I'll be in my room," she said.

We hung up, and I dialed Melanie's number. She answered on the second ring and I quickly explained to her what had happened.

"You need an attorney and right now. Do NOT talk to anyone about this until you talk to an attorney."

"Charlie already called me, and Bert is with her," I said. "Can we share a lawyer?"

"You can, but you might not want to. Let me call my torts professor. I'll call you back with a referral."

"Thanks, Melanie."

I sat down and read through both of the documents. Callie's theory was that everything I'd said was a lie, and that I knew it was a lie, and that both in writing and in words, I'd defamed her. The other document was simply an order from a magistrate judge to show up at Callie's lawyer's office on Thursday, February 7th. What I couldn't figure out was why she'd want a statement from me for her lawsuit against IIT.

It was fifteen minutes later when Melanie called me back and gave me the name Robert Klein, and said that I should call him in the morning. She reminded me not to talk to anyone about the case until I talked to the attorney. I thanked her and said I'd let her know what happened. I called Charlie back and said that I was going to talk to an attorney first thing in the morning and she should wait until I did so to talk to anyone about the lawsuit.

On Thursday morning, I outlined for Scott what had happened and asked permission to call the attorney from Nuvatec's office. He said that he'd been subpoenaed as well. He gave permission and let me use his office. I placed the call and the secretary who answered the phone said that Mr. Klein was expecting my call. She put me through.

I gave him a quick rundown, and he asked me to drop the paperwork at his office in the Loop on Friday. I asked if he'd work with all three of us and he said he wanted to read the actual complaint first, but that if it was what he thought it was, then most likely he would represent all three of us. I promised to drop the papers off around lunchtime and then went back to work.

Penny came over after dinner with her mom, who was watching her like a hawk. I thought about talking to Alice, but I was juggling so many things at the moment that I decided to wait another week or so. If Penny let the cat out of the bag before then, I'd just have to deal with the fallout. What I had expected to be a nice, smooth semester was turning into a nightmare. I wondered when it was going to stop. I was afraid that it wasn't going to.

On Friday, as soon as my last class of the morning was over, I drove to the attorney's office in the Loop and dropped off the papers. The secretary made copies for me, and told me I'd hear something soon, most likely on Monday. I told the secretary that I'd call Monday afternoon to check, because I wouldn't be home before 5:00pm, then thanked her and drove back to IIT in time to have lunch with Kara.

After dinner that evening, I spent several hours doing homework, sitting with Sofia in the Indian room to give her more attention. She was taking my absences harder than anyone, though I could tell that Elyse missed having me around as well. Kara, much to my surprise, was taking everything that happened in stride. She'd been a rock of support through all the turmoil since Thanksgiving.

Kathy arrived late in the evening so that we could save time in the morning. I hugged her, and she went straight to bed, and Sofia and I went up to my room.

Early on Saturday morning, Kathy and I headed for Meigs as I'd done the two previous weeks. Patrick was waiting for us, having already pre-flighted the Twin Beech and less than ten minutes after I parked we were taxiing for takeoff. Three minutes later, we were in the air, heading towards Cincinnati. I was sitting in the back, with my homework spread out around me, wanting to get as much homework done as possible. Kathy was in the co-pilot's seat, with the headset on.

Somewhere over Indiana, she got up and moved to sit next to me.

"What's up?" I asked.

"The altimeter says 5,000 feet. It's not quite a mile, but I wondered if you would initiate me into the club?" she giggled.

"Katherine Victoria Will! You are an engaged woman! Engaged to one of my closest male friends! Not to mention that there's no privacy in this airplane!"

"Kurt won't mind. I told you that before! And we're behind the pilot. He can't see us!" she giggled.

"Are you kidding me? You can't possibly be serious!"

She leaned forward and gave me a soft kiss on the lips, then began unbuttoning her blouse. She gave me a sexy look and licked her lips. I put my hand out to stop her, but she batted it away. I was horrified by the thought of betraying my friend. This was completely insane. I struggled to control the reaction in my loins that came from thinking about the sexy former cheerleader that was trying to entice me.

"Kathy," I hissed frantically. "Enough! We can NOT do this!"

She started laughing and buttoned the three buttons again, but not before she'd given me an eyeful of those small, pert breasts that I'd once enjoyed, encased in a sexy lavender lacy bra.

"I told Kurt I was going to mess with you! Not mess around, mind you, just mess with you. The look on your face was priceless. I wish I had a camera!"

"You actually had me worried. I honestly thought you meant to go through with it."

"Let's just say that I was tempted, but I also know you well enough to know that there was no real risk. I'm glad I can still excite you. And yes, I noticed your, uhm, discomfort. You know how much I love you, right?"

"I do. And you know that I love you, too, but in the end, I could not give you what you really needed."

"Orgasms?" she giggled. "You sure as heck did!"