Chapter 73: I\'m So Fucked

October 17, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

I was dumbfounded by the words on the paper. Even reading them a second time didn't help.

Kimmy picked up the papers from the floor and handed them to me, then buzzed Elyse on the intercom.

"Can you come to the front? I think Steve almost fainted," Kimmy said urgently.

Elyse was there in a flash.

"What happened?" she asked.

I handed her the papers. My head had stopped spinning and my legs were no longer weak, but I knew I shouldn't stand up by myself.

"Holy shit! Are you fucking kidding me? Is this some kind of joke?"

"It doesn't appear to be," I said.

"Kimmy, could you get some water, please?"

She started to go to the kitchen, but I stopped her.

"I'm OK, Elyse. Let's just go to my office. We can talk there."

"Are you sure you're OK, Steve?" Kimmy asked. "What happened?"

"Just something I didn't expect. Let me talk to Elyse about it, please."

"OK. If there's anything I can do, let me know. And I mean that!"

"I know, Kimmy. Thanks. My office, Elyse. Please."

Elyse helped steady me while I stood up, and then held my arm tightly as we walked to my office. I shut the door behind us and collapsed onto the couch. Elyse sat down in a chair near my desk.

"We need to call Jamie right the fuck now!" she said.

"No, we should call Gwen Meyer," I said.

"The family law attorney that we used?"

"Yeah. This is her area of expertise. We'll need to talk to Jamie too, I'm sure, but we need to start with Gwen."

"Jessica is going to flip!" Elyse said.

"One problem at a time," I said. "First let's call Gwen."

I got up from the couch and went to the desk. I looked up the number in my Rolodex and dialed Gwen's office. Her assistant answered and asked me to hold. Gwen came on the line less than a minute later.

"Hi, Steve. More kids to help you with?" she asked mirthfully.

"Yeah, but not the way I think you mean. I was just served with a paternity lawsuit."

"Is it legitimate?" she asked.

"I don't know enough details to know," I said. "I didn't read through the papers yet. I just saw the case title, and it threw me for a loop. I guess I had a minor panic attack."

"But you're OK now? Someone is with you?"

"Yes, I'm OK now. Elyse is here with me. Let me put you on speaker."

I pressed the button to put it on speaker, but lowered the volume a bit so that it wouldn't carry through the closed door.

"First, do you know the woman?" Gwen asked.

"Sure. It would be kind of silly if I didn't, wouldn't it?"

"You'd be surprised at the number of claims like this that are made to elicit a settlement to keep it quiet, even if it's not real. Next question, were you ever with this woman?"

"Yes. Once."

"When?"

"I can't tell you exactly right now, but it would have been sometime during the Spring of 1984."

"Over four years ago? And this is the first you've heard of it?"

"Yes. I haven't seen her since then. Not even passing on the street. No phone calls. No letters. Nothing."

"Do you have any way of finding out the exact date you were with this woman?"

"I've kept a very extensive journal since I was fourteen. It'll be in there with an exact date."

"Do NOT advertise the fact that you keep a journal. Just go home, get the exact date, then come see me. Bring the papers which were served. And do NOT talk to anyone about it."

"It's fairly public knowledge that I keep a detailed journal," I said. "As for this issue, Elyse is here with me, so she obviously knows. She's going to come with me to see you."

"OK. I have nothing on my calendar for the next ninety minutes. See you soon."

I hung up and took a few deep breaths and let them out.

"First, we need to tell Julia that we're leaving, but obviously we can't tell her why."

Elyse nodded, and we walked next door to Julia's office.

"Hey," I said. "We have a personal issue to take care of. I'm not sure how long we'll be gone, so I might end up going straight to IIT. I'm not sure."

"Is everything OK? Did something happen to one of the kids, or Jessica or Kara?"

"They're all fine," I said. "Elyse and I just need to take care of something."

"OK. See you when you get back. If I don't see you before then, good luck with Scott's class!"

"I guess it's my class now," I said.

We walked out of the building, letting Kimmy know that we'd be gone for a bit and reassuring her that I was OK. She had a worried look on her face, but didn't say anything more. We quickly walked home, where I fired up my Mac and got the date that Gwen had asked for. I scanned my entries about Carla to refresh my memory, then shut everything down. In order to save time, we took my car instead of walking to Gwen's office. We were ushered right in by her assistant.

"Hi, Gwen," I said as Elyse and I sat down across from her.

"Hi, Elyse; hi, Steve. May I see the papers?"

I handed them to her. She spent about ten minutes reading through them, twice.

"These all appear to be in order, at least in terms of form and stating the claim properly. What was the date you had relations with this woman, uh," she looked down at the papers, "Carla Rizzi?"

"March 25, 1984," I said.

She made a note and consulted her desk calendar.

"The papers state the baby was born January 10th, 1985. If we assume that the 25th was during the time she would have been most likely to conceive, that would have her last menstrual period ending around March 10th. A week earlier, and the intercourse would be awfully late in the cycle, but possible. By my calculation, from the 10th of March to January 10th is 43 weeks. That's at the extreme outside range of what's possible for a first time baby. Three weeks past term is highly unlikely. That's good. Now, if we assume her period ended the day before, the 24th, that puts it at 41 weeks, which is entirely possible for a first baby."

"So you're saying I could be the father?" I asked.

"The timing says that it's possible, though a lot depends on the exact date of her last period. Did you use protection?"

"Yes," I said. "I used a condom. I do not know if she was using anything else."

"Do you want to settle the suit or fight it?" she asked.

"If the baby is mine, I'm not going to fight paying child support," I said. "I just can't deny the truth, and I'll take full responsibility. I suppose I'd work out a mutually agreeable amount, unless there's some formula or something."

"Are you willing to submit to a paternity test?"

"Willing? I demand one! If Rachel is my daughter, I want to know. And I'll want visitation rights, and everything else that goes along with being a dad. If she's not my daughter, then obviously I just want this whole thing to go away as quickly as possible. I'll take whatever test you need me to take as soon as I can take it."

"Good. Do you know your blood type?"

"A-positive."

"The quickest method to exclude you is a simple blood test, but that usually only rules out about 30% of men as the father. Most often, we need to have a DNA test performed. It's not cheap, but the new PCR and older RFLP testing methods are very accurate, to the point where if it says that you're the father or not, it's usually conclusive for the court. There's always the risk of a false result, but it's fairly small. If the blood or DNA tests rule you out, that will greatly assist our case."

"Assist?" I asked.

"I've learned to never promise what the result of a family court ruling will be. I'm sure Jamie does the same thing when he talks to you about possible outcomes for any business matter that might go to court."

"He does. And he repeatedly reminds me that court rulings can sometimes seem, well, random, I guess. He doesn't say it that way, but that's the feeling I get."

"You can never be sure what a judge or jury is going to do. I've seen what appear to be slam-dunk cases fall apart because a judge or jury does something unexpected. Let's talk about the separate maintenance claim. Did you ever live with this woman?"

"No. Never. I only saw her maybe a dozen times before we had sex, and she broke it off right afterwards. And I mean right afterwards. It was that one time, and only that one time."

"Do you know why she broke it off?"

"She had some issues from before I met her, and I guess the short version is that she needed someone safe to experiment with. Once the experiment was completed, she wasn't interested in continuing the relationship. I didn't know that was going to happen, in case you're wondering."

"Did you make any promises to her or gave her anything that could be construed as an offer of marriage?"

"No. Nothing. I took her to dinner and the movies, and made her dinner. She also made me dinner. You know, standard dating stuff."

"Good. We've discussed Illinois law on this issue when we talked about Elyse, Jennifer, and Kara, so you know that even if you cohabited, she has no claims against your assets. I don't see how she could hope to collect on the separate maintenance claim, and there's nothing in the suit that makes claims of any extraordinary circumstances. We should be able to have that claim dismissed as a matter of law. If her lawyer has some new angle, that's when we'll find out.

"That motion to dismiss is our first move, even before I talk to her attorney. First thing tomorrow, I'll file our reply denying everything, as well as a motion to strike the separate maintenance claim. With your approval, I'll file a demand for expedited paternity testing. If she doesn't cooperate with that, we'll be able to file for dismissal. Usually, it's the alleged father who tries to avoid testing. You demanding the test will work in our favor. I can't imagine that she'll refuse, but you never know."

"How much can she get?" Elyse asked.

"Under Illinois law, it's based on a percentage of Steve's net income, but a judge can modify that. There are all kinds of factors involved. I have to warn you that having other children out of wedlock will likely cause the court to weigh any evidence in Miss Rizzi's favor. And if her attorney is smart, he'll subpoena your agreements with Jennifer, Kara, and Elyse."

"Shit," I said. "So because of Jesse, Matthew, and Birgit, her claim is lent extra credence?"

"If you think about it, it establishes a pattern of behavior," Gwen said. "And you won't be able to treat Miss Rizzi's child any different from the others you have out of wedlock. She could use that to get a much, much larger child support payment."

"Well, crap," I said.

"What about the fact that it's been well over three years since the baby was born?" Elyse asked. "Doesn't that matter?"

"No," Gwen said. "She's claiming back support as well, which, if she's successful in her paternity claim, she's entitled to as a matter of law. I don't believe she'll get the requested temporary support order because there is no 'clear and conclusive' evidence provided; a simple claim generally isn't sufficient. So for now, you're not liable to her for anything."

"What about my business?" I asked.

"I don't believe that Miss Rizzi has any claim to it under Illinois law; neither would the child, though depending on how it's set up, the income could be part of the calculation. Your will does specify 'any living children', but it has the caveat of limiting them to your four women. But that's a concern for the future. How is your business structured?"

"NIKA is not a sole-proprietorship nor is it a sub-chapter S. There's no pass-through income. I receive a paycheck the same as every other employee. And my stock is the same as everyone's. Well, except my two initial investors who have preferred shares that pay dividends."

"I believe that it's unlikely that a claim against the company or any of its assets would succeed," Gwen said.

"Thank heaven for small favors," I sighed.

"Just relax and let me handle this. Make sure that your corporate attorney is aware just in case we need him. Is it still Jamie Ferguson?"

"Yes."

"One other point, and Jamie will tell you if this is the case — you may have a fiduciary responsibility to inform your Board of Directors and shareholders of this lawsuit."

"Swell," I said.

"I'll get everything prepared and file tomorrow, as I said. It's all boilerplate right now. I'll draw from the retainer I have from you, but you'll need to replenish it."

"No problem. I'll get a check to you tomorrow," I said.

I thanked her and then Elyse and I left.

"Now what?" Elyse asked.

"Back to the office. Keep this to yourself until I can tell Jessica and Kara."

"Do you think you could be the father?"

"I had sex with her, so yes, it's certainly possible. I did use a condom, and you know I know how to use them properly. But they aren't infallible. What worries me is that she was a virgin, and she was afraid of sex for a long time before we did it."

"So if it's not yours...?"

"Yeah. Whose is it? Is it really likely that a virgin who was afraid of sex, and as far as I know, wasn't dating, had sex with another guy so soon after she was with me?"

"Shit," Elyse said.

"Tell me about it," I sighed.

"Jessica is going to lose her mind," Elyse said.

"Tell me something I don't already know," I said.

"What's your gut feeling about this whole thing?"

"I don't believe it, but I can't see any reasonable scenario where I'm not the father."

"How much do you know about this girl?"

"Some, but not a lot. If you remember, that was before Kara moved to Chicago, but after she and I made love at Christmas. Carla was that photographer's assistant that I saw a few times."

"Her? Holy shit! I didn't place the name and face. She's the Italian one who basically kicked you to the curb as soon as you fucked her! I just didn't put it together, even when you told Gwen."

"Yes. That's the one."

"And you are absolutely sure you used a condom with her?"

"Positive. I didn't have any, but she did, which is how I knew she'd thought it through."

"You don't think...?"

"Are you fucking kidding me? Holes in the condom?"

"It's been done before."

"I'm so fucked," I whined.

We walked back to the office, walked past a curious Kimmy, and we went to my office and shut the door. Through the glass that let me see the rest of the office, I saw Jeri get up and I signaled her to wait by holding up a finger. I took a few deep breaths and then dialed Jamie's number. He was in a meeting and his assistant said he'd call me back within an hour. I looked at the clock and that was about all I had before I needed to leave for IIT. I asked her to relay to Jamie that if I wasn't here, he should speak to Elyse.