Chapter 19: I Got the F-ing T-Shirt

Sunday November 1

I woke up to find Tami seated on the edge of my bed. I rolled over and found Duke stretched out next to me. When he saw me, his big tail began to thump against the mattress.

“Get down,” I said.

That just made his tail wag even harder. I acted as if I would attack him and he just put up a paw and swatted me. I don’t think he was scared.

“I see he’s getting you trained,” Tami said.

Then I heard the thunder and knew why he had crawled onto my bed. I gave him a stern look and pointed. He did the slow death-march off my bed. It was all I could do to keep a straight face because of his sad act. Tami took his place and put her head on my shoulder.

“When were you going to call me?” she asked.

I knew what she wanted to know. I think she had sat on the sidelines, waiting for me to call to ask her to help me with my problems with Pam. I could tell this was killing her, but I didn’t want or need her advice. Today wasn’t someday.

“What about?” I asked, playing dumb.

She rewarded my answer by sticking her index finger into my ribs. I jerked back and found myself falling out of bed. I grabbed her and pulled her after me.

“David!”

I was, of course, naked. She had already seen it all, so I just stood up, went to the bathroom, and took a shower. She followed me in and sat on the toilet.

“I guess I didn’t even think to call,” I confessed.

“I talked to your mom and she said you had everything under control. I just stopped in to see if you needed to talk about it,” she offered.

I turned off the water, reached out, and grabbed my towel. As I dried off, I wondered what she really wanted. If I knew Tami, this was something about her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she came over to announce she had found someone. Nothing like getting dick-punched when you were down.

“Why are you really here?” I asked.

“Can’t I just want to make sure my best friend is okay?” she asked.

“I call bullshit. Just tell me,” I said.

She got a sad look on her face and walked out of the bathroom. When I was done in the bathroom and came out to get dressed, Tami was gone. Maybe I had misjudged why she was here. I also realized that I was indifferent about it. I guess I really was over her.

It opened up and began to rain, so I passed on the morning run. Duke and I hurried to the house. It was remarkable how quickly he could do his business if he got wet. I might have to turn the sprinklers on him if I was in a hurry. Mom and Dad weren’t up yet, so I made Duke stay in the kitchen with me.

I got ambitious and decided to bake a coffee cake. I found a recipe for a cream cheese and apple butter version. It had been some time since I had a chance to take my time and enjoy cooking. It was something I needed to get my mind off what would happen later today. I had a gut feeling that Cal and Mr. Fox weren’t done with their games.

I’d just put the coffee cake in the oven when there was a knock at the back door. I found a wet Tami, who looked pissed. When I opened the door, she pushed through. I handed her a towel from a laundry basket to dry off with, and then went back to the kitchen to put on coffee and hot water for tea. While I kept busy, Tami dried her hair and then had to love up Duke.

“You hate me, don’t you?” Tami asked in a tentative voice.

I poured her a cup of tea, and then one for myself, and sat down. We both had gotten to like it when we went to the UK. It wasn’t bitter like coffee. I liked mine either plain or with a little lemon. Tami preferred some sugar in hers.

“No, I don’t hate you. I told you before that I hoped we could be friends. I’ve just been wrapped up in this mess the last week,” I said.

“How have we gotten to this point, then?”

I had several obvious answers jump to my tongue, only to die. Could it be her insistence we wait for the mythical someday, which would give her a chance to play the field? Could it have been when I found her and Alan naked in bed together? They could deny it until they were blue in the face, but more went on than they had admitted to. What I suddenly realized was our roles had reversed. I felt I was more of an adult than she was right now.

I’d been forced to grow up. Maybe that was a stretch, but I had taken on much more responsibility than Tami had. I was the leader of my football team, I now was a partner in a farm, I was the face of Range Sports and Jade, I was an actor, and I had two charities. People relied on me. While I still made mistakes, I owned up to them and figured out how to work them out. While I did all that, Tami got to be a teen and experience life.

I knew the issue was that I hadn’t come to her for advice when all this happened with Pam. Two things came to mind: the first was that this had nothing to do with Tami. My biggest issue was this really had nothing to do with Cal or anyone else but Pam and me. The second was Tami would have no idea what all was involved in this mess. I couldn’t imagine what advice she could give me that I wasn’t getting from professionals.

“Look, I know that you care for me, and I probably should’ve called you. I don’t have an excuse for that,” I said.

She took a sip of her tea. I think she wasn’t ready for me to not be a total mess. I think she secretly loved it when she could swoop in and fix everything for me.

“How are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m angry. Pam’s dad has tried every dirty trick he can think of, and if I hadn’t been a little bit lucky and gotten the right people in place I could have been destroyed. I think we’ll get things resolved shortly, and I can move on with my life.”

“David, you’re going to be a father,” Tami said, as her eyes teared up.

That was when I got it, and suddenly my defenses came down. I felt my chest tighten up and it was hard to breathe. Throughout this whole thing, I’d lost focus on what mattered. I would be lying if I said a little part of me didn’t wish that my child was with Tami. That had always been the plan. Tami was supposed to be my one and only, the girl I grew up with and planned to have a life with that was us against the world. While I liked Pam, she and I would never be more than friends.

Mom and Dad came downstairs and the timer on the coffee cake went off. Dad went to check it, and Mom took one look at me and came over and wrapped me in her arms. This was the first time since this all began that I’d let my guard down and let the full import of what Tami had said sink in.

“Mom, I’m going to be a father. I’m too young,” I said.

“I agree, but there’s nothing we can do about that now. David, you’ll be a wonderful father. You’ll just have to figure it out. Of course, your family will be there to help you. If your dumbass brother can figure out how to raise three kids and go to college, I’m betting you can figure it out, too,” Mom said.

“But he has Angie,” I said.

“He also has you and your mom and me,” Dad said. “David, I think you’re forgetting that Pam will be involved also. You two might not get married, but you’ll have something that will bind you together in a very special way. Your child will be a blessing that will fill your life with meaning you’ve not had up to this point. Everything will work out, and when you look back on it, you won’t regret having a baby.”

I remembered how I felt when Kyle was born and the time I spent with him. I loved him, Mac and Nate with all my heart. I knew my baby would bring even more joy to my life. Yes, things would change, and I was too young. I knew I would make it all work out. I turned to Tami and smiled.

“Yes, I’m going to be a father.”

As Mom and I went off to church, I could see where Tami had suddenly realized that our someday might not ever happen. I’d come to grips with that over the last several weeks. It seemed to hit her full-force, and she had quickly left after we’d eaten the coffee cake. I would make it a point to call her later in the week to make sure she was okay. Right now she needed time to figure things out on her own.

I was a little worried about how my church would take the news from the week. I shouldn’t have been. Everyone greeted me warmly, and it was as if they had circled the wagons and let me know I had their support. Some people tend to think that church-going people are rigid in their beliefs. While it would have been better if I’d told them that Pam and I were getting married, they didn’t turn their backs on me.

The way they accepted me made me realize how lucky I was to grow up in a small town. Yes, everyone knew you and all your secrets. The thing was, no one was perfect, and we all supported each other. When church was done, I was ready to face what was to happen this afternoon.

We met Ms. Dixon at the entrance of Tom and Kendal’s office. She had large file box attached to a little dolly.

“Let me help,” I said, as I grabbed the handle.

It must have had rocks in it. It looked like she was loaded for bear today. We went up and the receptionist led us to the conference room. I smiled because it wasn’t like I’d never been there before. Ms. Dixon took over the head of the table and began to create different stacks of folders. She had me sit on her right and my parents on her left. Uncle John had taught me the power of sitting at the head of the table. It established dominance, and that was what we needed today. I planned to get this wrapped up by the end of this meeting. What was the saying about your plans and God laughing at them? I hoped that was wrong.

Next to arrive was the contingent from Rigby, Thompson and Associates, quickly followed by Cal and Mr. Fox.

“We can get started,” Don Rigby said.

Ms. Dixon ignored the fact that Pam wasn’t present. She turned her attention on Don Rigby.

“Do you have any preliminary findings on the security issues with David’s files?” she asked.

Roy Thompson pulled out a report and handed it down to Ms. Dixon. She turned to my dad.

“Could you and Kendal go make copies? Initial the original and copies in different-colored ink, like you did last time.”

Dad and Kendal left the room. While we waited for them to return, Mr. Fox decided to start the negotiations.

“We’ve made some adjustments to our position,” he said, as he pulled out some folders.

“I’m sorry, but one of our conditions was that all parties be present today. Where is Miss Bell?” Ms. Dixon asked.

“She wasn’t feeling well,” Cal said.

My mom pulled out her phone and made a call.

“Hey, Lacy, we were wondering when you and Pam would be joining us?”

Cal blanched when he heard that.

“No, the meeting’s today, and everyone’s here. Could you come right over?” Mom asked, and then hung up. “They’ll be here as soon as they can. She didn’t sound happy, because someone told her the meeting was tomorrow.”

“I thought we could spare Pam from sitting through another long meeting, and we would just bring her in when we were done negotiating,” Cal said as he recovered.

I should hire him as my PR agent, because he could spin anything to sound reasonable. Heck, I wanted to bail and wait until everything was settled before I had to be involved.

Dad came back in with Kendal, and they initialed the original and the copies. Ms. Dixon handed out the copies and gave the original back to Roy.

“Can you explain what you found?” Ms. Dixon asked.

“It appears that Cal accessed David’s financials,” Don Rigby said.

“Did he access anything else?”

“Not that we’re aware of,” Don said.

Ms. Dixon pulled out the sheet of paper Mr. Fox had given us and slid it over to Kendal.

“Can you explain the annotations at the bottom?”

Kendal looked at it and then looked at Tom. He saw what Ms. Dixon was getting at, and his face went red.

“I’ll answer,” Tom said as he glared at Don and Roy. “The CRB is Cal Bell’s ID. The three hundred seventy-four of four thousand two hundred and sixty-eight indicates this is page three-seventy-four of four thousand two hundred and sixty-eight pages that were printed! The other numbers indicate that this was printed last Sunday. It would appear that all of David’s information was accessed and printed out by Cal!”

“This doesn’t matter, because anything discovered in a settlement discussion is not admissible,” Cal said.

“Oh, there are many, many ways around that rule, as you should well know, especially when I told you yesterday that these discussions were not confidential; that Rigby, Thompson and Associates’ role here is that of an observer, and not as a mediator; and when your lawyer explicitly agreed to those conditions,” Ms. Dixon said.

I was shocked when the room went silent. With this many lawyers in the room I didn’t think that was possible. Ms. Dixon would explain to me later that facts disclosed in the course of settlement negotiations typically were inadmissible to prove liability, or to show that someone was lying on the stand. Even though that was the rule, there were several ways to get around it. For example, it wouldn’t prevent discovery of the same documents in the normal course of a lawsuit. Nor would it prevent such facts being used to show improper interference in a police investigation, which one could easily argue Cal had done here. Most important to Rigby, Thompson, Cal and Mr. Fox, we could disclose everything to the media, because such disclosures would have nothing to do with admissibility in a court of law. They had to know the media would have a field day with it.

Ms. Dixon reached out for a stack of documents and handed one to Cal.

“I am hereby serving upon you a subpoena duces tecum, requiring you to produce any and all documents in your possession relating to David’s accounts with Rigby, Thompson and Associates, and including specifically any documents printed out from his files and removed from Rigby, Thompson and Associates’ offices. The subpoena covers any documents in Mr. Fox’s possession as well. Next, you are hereby served with a Temporary Restraining Order preventing you or your attorney from altering or destroying any such documents, as well as any documents relating to the allegations of rape made against David. It also restrains you from disclosing that information in any way to third parties, and from using those documents or the information contained therein in any way. Including, for example, having your lawyer send mail to the private offices of college personnel who have been recruiting David, and trying to persuade them they should not recruit an alleged and, it turns out, falsely accused, rapist.”

“How could you get all this done so quickly?” Cal asked in shock.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and she would have had to have prepared the documents, found a way to see the judge between the time she left us yesterday and now (likely at his home), and gotten him to sign the TRO and order a hearing.

“There are some benefits to being a United States Senator’s daughter, and there are even more benefits to having a reputation for integrity, and for being really, really good,” Ms. Dixon said with a smile. “It may also be that the judge was upset with the less-than-completely-candid-and-forthright actions of you and your counsel in persuading him to sign the TRO against David last week; but then again, I didn’t ask.”

Then she looked directly at Mr. Fox and continued.

“Oh, yes. One exhibit to the Motion for the TRO is a copy of Mr. Fox’s letter to one of the college coaches recruiting David. It was mailed last Monday to that coach’s office address. The exhibit is supported by an affidavit from the coach, stating his office address is unknown to any persons other than his college’s personnel department, and that David is the only person that he’s ever recruited who has been given that address. All the coaches’ mailing addresses are the same: a generic address for the football program is listed in all publications, but the private office addresses are never disclosed as a matter of school policy. The affidavit also states David had told him he doubted he’d ever need that address, but he’d have his agent file it away just in case.”

“As I recall, the letter in question did indeed attempt to persuade the coach that he should stop recruiting an accused rapist. That exhibit might have caused the judge’s eyebrows to go up a bit as well, now that I think on it,” Ms. Dixon said with a smile.

Cal and Mr. Fox both had sick looks when they heard that. She then turned to Don Rigby and she handed him another stack of documents. He didn’t look much better.

“A similar subpoena and TRO are hereby served on your firm, requiring similar production and preservation of records. An expedited hearing on making these temporary orders a permanent injunction is scheduled for Tuesday morning at 10:00 in Judge Hitchens’ courtroom, which is in the County Courthouse, Room 203. The courtroom is a public venue at which the media is allowed to be present. If this is not resolved today, you can bet it will be brought up at that hearing, and we will oppose any suggestion that the hearing be a closed one.”

Ms. Dixon then pulled out another stack of documents and handed a set to Mr. Fox and Mr. Rigby.

“This is an outline of what we’re seeking in terms of a settlement. We are willing to negotiate the fine points, but we would like to reach a point where we can agree on the basic terms, and put together a letter outlining an agreement in principle to that effect by the end of the day. The other thing we want is a chance to talk to Pam and make sure she agrees. Let’s reconvene in one hour. You can then tell me how you want to proceed,” Ms. Dixon said.

We went to the office Ms. Dixon had, so we could wait for the meeting to resume. Ms. Dixon left us alone so she could get a breath of fresh air.

“I’ve been in contact with Lacy,” Mom said. “She was unaware all this was going on. She and Cora were busy getting wedding plans firmed up. Devin and Sandy Range assumed she knew what was going on here. She said that when she confronted them about it, they were embarrassed. Cora was being Cora and focused on just herself.

“It looks like Lacy will divorce Cal over this. When I called her and he’d told her the meeting had been switched to tomorrow, that was one more nail in his coffin,” Mom explained.

“With Lacy back, will Pam be safe? She seems scared.” I said.

“Yes. Lacy made Cal move out when she got home. Once he was gone, she and Pam had a long heart-to-heart. Pam feels awful that she went along with what her dad made her do. Lacy is embarrassed as well, and hopes you don’t hold it against her,” Mom said.

“Did Pam explain how she got the split lip and black eye?” I asked.

Mom gave me a hard look. I think she had kept this part from me, because she was worried what I might do.

“Pam told her mother that Cal had made her make all the charges against you against her will. While Pam didn’t say so, Lacy suspects Cal hit her. That was the main reason he had to move out,” Mom said, and then she gave me a somber look. “Trust Lacy or me to deal with this. You have too much at stake to add physical harm to Cal on top of all the things we have to resolve today.”

I thought about what she had just said. I would reserve judgment on whether or not I would track down Cal and beat his ass. You just didn’t do some things. Punching your daughter, who was pregnant, was one of the big ones. I gave my mom a tight-lipped nod.

“I talked to Ms. Dixon while your mom and you were at church,” Dad said. “When she gets back we need to go over what I asked her to put together. Most of it you’re aware of, but we added one little wrinkle I hope you’re okay with.”

Before I could ask, Ms. Dixon came back in. Mom and Dad caught her up with what they had told me.

“Take a moment to read the different agreements, and then we’ll talk,” Ms. Dixon said.

Agreement Outline: Dawsons and Bells
1. All allegations, charges, dropped. Each side agrees not to sue the other for anything arising from Pam Bell’s pregnancy, allegations of rape, allegations of battery, allegations of abuse, allegations of professional malfeasance, allegations of libel or slander, and allegations of fraud.
2. The Bells and their attorney are to turn over all documents and computer files containing David Dawson’s records and documents in their possession or control, including any and all such documents and files in their attorney’s possession or control. Neither they nor their attorney can keep any of those records. All databases are to be purged of all documents pertaining to David Dawson.
3. Rob and Carol Dawson to get primary custody of the child, transferred to David on reaching the age of 22 or graduating from college, whichever is sooner.
4. David Dawson acknowledges the child is his.
5. Pam and Lacy Bell to have unrestricted visitation rights.
6. No one pays anyone any child support.
7. David Dawson to be responsible for all reasonable uninsured costs of pregnancy and childbirth.
8. Cal Bell to agree to a permanent injunction barring him from being near the baby or Pam Bell.
9. Each side agrees not to do or say anything privately or in the press to harm the other’s character, reputation or earnings potential, nor to encourage or assist others in the same.
10. Should either side breach, the other side can come after them with all legal means, but custody and visitation privileges and restrictions will remain in full force and effect.
11. This agreement is not confidential.
12. Cal Bell to pay half of David Dawson’s attorneys’ fees and expenses, including consultant fees (e.g., IDC – Public Relations).

Agreement Outline: Dawsons and Rigby, Thompson and Associates
1. Rigby, Thompson and Associates to turn over all documents and computer files containing David Dawson’s records and documents. They cannot keep any of those records other than an index of what documents they had had. All databases to be purged and wiped post-production of documents to David Dawson.
2. David Dawson is no longer a client. They will assist transition to the new firm/agency.
3. Neither side to do or say anything to damage the reputation, character or earnings potential of the other, nor to assist or encourage others in such attempts.
4. Rigby, Thompson and Associates to continue to pay David Dawson’s commission override from business generated by David Dawson.
5. This agreement is not confidential.
6. Rigby, Thompson and Associates to pay half of David Dawson’s attorneys’ fees and expenses, including consultant fees (e.g., IDC – Public Relations).
7. Rigby, Thompson and Associates will make up any shortfalls in regard to David Dawson’s attorneys’ fees and expenses (including consultant fees) if Cal Bell fails to make his full payment within 30 days. Furthermore, Rigby, Thompson and Associates cannot offset the shortfall against Cal Bell’s salary.

Agreement outline: Cal Bell and Rigby, Thompson and Associates (Confidential)
1. Cal Bell will be retained as an employee for one year, paid at his current rate; and benefits, including insurance, are to be retained.
2. Cal Bell is prohibited from entering the offices of Rigby, Thompson and Associates except one time (supervised) to remove his personal property and documents.
3. Rigby, Thompson and Associates will give him a satisfactory reference as regards his work.
4. Cal Bell will be terminated one year from date of agreement.
5. Cal Bell’s salary will be paid and his benefits will be maintained for the full one-year period, regardless of whether he finds another job or not.
6. Neither side to do or say anything to damage the reputation, character or earnings potential of the other, nor to assist or encourage others in such attempts.
7. Cal Bell is free to look for other employment.

Two things jumped out at me. The first was that my mom and dad planned to take custody of my child until I either graduated from college or reached the age of 22. I guess my dad had read my fears of becoming a father at such a young age. I was relieved they would support me like this. The other was I didn’t understand why Rigby, Thompson and Associates would be forced to keep Cal on. So I asked about that part.

“Cal will have to make house payments and pay Lacy maintenance for Pam. This way he has an income that will enable him to do that, and he has insurance to help pay for Pam’s medical bills through childbirth,” Ms. Dixon explained. “More importantly, he’ll need the breathing space and the temporary financial security this gives him to find another job. Given a decent reference, and given the way Cal has shown he can spin things, I don’t doubt he’ll be okay.”

She gave me a feral smile and continued.

“Stated another way, a cornered rat will always fight. A rat with a bolt-hole handy will always run. Your purposes are best served by this particular rat running, and not fighting.”

I thought about what Ms. Dixon had just said. I was smart enough to know that I didn’t need Cal or Mr. Fox’s head on a pike at this time. What I did need was to get this behind me. Uncle John had taught me that when you did a deal, everyone had to feel like they got something out of it. If that meant that Cal got to keep his job for a year, so be it. I was sure that I didn’t want Lacy or Pam to suffer financially from this. From what I’d seen, if Cal was given the time, he could talk his way into another job. That is, unless Rigby, Thompson and Associates torpedoed his efforts. I wondered if something similar had occurred in California. My PR agent, Frank Ingram, had said he had information on Cal that Tom Dole admitted they hadn’t uncovered when they hired Cal.

The other thing that stuck in my craw was that Thomas Fox wasn’t being punished in all this.

“Why can’t we go after Mr. Fox for his part?” I asked.

“I want you to think about something for a moment: if I had screwed up, and handed the opposition the smoking gun that wrecked your case, would you be inclined to pay me?” Ms. Dixon asked.

“You scare me enough that I would pay you,” I said, but I saw her point.

I think she took that as the compliment that I intended it to be. The more I was around her, the more I realized that I hadn’t been represented by the very best until she came on board. That wasn’t a slap at Tom or Kendal; Tom was asked to take over the new Entertainment Division, and Kendal was right out of college. I knew that there would be learning curves like when they gave away my work product (photos) to clients, staff and friends. That was what had triggered the need for more security. The implementation of the software that tracked access to my files was eventually the other side’s undoing. Well, maybe not Tom and Kendal, but it was obvious someone had to have given Cal access to my files. Ms. Dixon seemed to think that was just something that should have always been in place.

“If I were Cal, I wouldn’t pay Mr. Fox a dime. It was through his negligence that Cal is on the hook for half of my fees and those of IDC. You saw Mr. Fox’s office, or should I say lack of one. If Cal doesn’t pay him it will be a big hit on his bottom line. Combine that with all the social media you put out about him in regards to the restraining order, plus him losing this case, and you have the perfect storm for him going out of business. Who wants to hire or refer anyone to someone who doesn’t win, especially where the local DA actually gave a press conference to clear you of false charges? Trust me, he’ll be flipping burgers sooner than you think,” Ms. Dixon assured me.

Her last statement put a smile on my face. I was seventeen, after all, and had a need for instant gratification. The mental vision of Mr. Fox in a fast-food uniform was all I needed for today.

We walked back into the conference room. One thing I noticed was that since we had been in last time, my picture was no longer in the entry where their clients were displayed, nor in the conference room. It was a not-so-subtle shot that we’d parted ways.

Pam and Lacy entered the room, and I was surprised when Lacy sat Pam down next to me. Pam still hadn’t made eye contact with me, but when I reached under the table to hold her hand she gripped it tightly. She then looked up at me, and I could tell she was about to start to cry, so I stuck my tongue out at her. I think it surprised her. I know it did Lacy, who burst out laughing at me. Pam and I looked each other in the eyes, and I knew she’d be okay with her mom there to support her. I still had a burning hatred for her father because of what he’d put us both through, but Pam just wasn’t the type of person to be mean-spirited.

“I’ve read this, and I can tell you right now I have no desire to pay any of David’s expenses,” Cal said.

“I’ve had just about enough from you,” Mom said. “At some point you’re going to have to grow up and realize that there are consequences to picking on two teenagers. I’m not a teenager, and you have crossed the line for the last time. David has tried to hold off his attack dog of a lawyer out of respect for you as an adult. What sickens me as a parent is how self-centered and childish you’ve been.”