Chapter 18: Outside Interference

June 15, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

“I had a message that you called yesterday,” Jamie said. “I was in meetings until 6:00pm.”

“No worries. I have a potential problem, and I need some advice. Hang on one sec.”

I covered the mouthpiece with my hand and asked Penny to step out. She wasn’t happy, but she did so and closed the door behind her. I explained the situation between Jeri and her parents and described the phone call from Mrs. Lundgren.

“You’re serious? Your programmer is worth over $8 million?”

“Yes. But you’ve met her, Jamie. She’s down-to-earth and wants to do the job she’s doing. Obviously, she doesn’t need the money!”

“Obviously,” he laughed. “If I had that kind of cash, I’d be in the Bahamas drinking some kind of fruity drink with my wife in a string bikini next to me!”

“I’ll be sure to let Jackie know!” I chuckled. “Anyway, what’s your take?”

“You have no obligation to talk to her for any reason, and in fact, you can’t divulge any private information about your employee under any circumstances. Make sure your staff knows that.”

“Already handled. I discussed it with Julia and with Elyse and her team. Nobody will talk to anyone about Jeri. What can I do if her parents show up uninvited?”

“Well, you’re not open to the public, per se, so you can simply demand that they leave and call the police to report them for trespassing if they refuse. It could be more complicated if you had some kind of public venue, but you don’t. You might want to consider setting up a CCTV system to record everything that happens in your reception lobby.”

“I already put a call into Patrick Shaughnessy about that. He’s putting together a proposal for internal and external cameras that would record to a VCR-type device, as well as an upgrade to our keycard system. I should have the proposal soon, and I’ll sign it and get it going as quickly as possible. I guess my question for you is what kind of trouble they could cause.”

“Who knows? I suppose they could try using the legal system to harass you, but I’m not sure what they would try. Possibly some kind of defamation action or alienation of affection or tortious interference, but I can’t imagine any of those working. The problem is, you’d have to spend money to defend against those claims, and if they’re worth a few hundred million bucks, they can simply spend money until you can’t. You might be able to get some protection from the courts after you get the first suit dismissed or win it, but they can make that very expensive for you.”

“Swell,” I sighed. “What else?”

“I don’t know if they have political pull, but there’s always the chance of using regulatory agencies against you or trying to dig up dirt on you.”

“As if that’s difficult? You know my personal life.”

“Yes, and they could make things very, very uncomfortable for you in business. They’re in the circles that lawyers and doctors travel in, and a quiet word here or there could be a significant problem for you.”

“What’s your advice, Counselor?” I asked.

“Retain a personal attorney as soon as possible. I can give you some recommendations. This isn’t in Melanie’s or Gwen’s areas of practice. You’ll want someone from another firm so we don’t have any issues of conflict of interest between you and NIKA.”

“I AM NIKA,” I protested.

“No, you’re the majority shareholder. The Board is NIKA. I know it’s a fine distinction, but it’s true. You need to let the Board know as well.”

“Wonderful.”

“Would you consider letting her go?” Jamie asked.

“Hell no! She hasn’t done a damned thing wrong, and she’s one of my most important employees!”

“Illinois is an ‘at will’ state, so having done nothing wrong is no bar to termination. If this were to get very ugly, it might just come down to doing that to save the company.”

“Gee, Counselor, I thought I paid you to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

“You do. But you know damned well that there are no guarantees. Keep me informed. Let me give you a name — Phil Lache. He’s part of a Loop firm, Washington, Thompson, and Rowe. I’ll call him and let him know you’re going to call him. Put him on retainer and wait to see what happens. And remember, he’s your PERSONAL attorney. I’m your CORPORATE attorney. We’ll coördinate, but we might not always give the same advice.”

“Fuck me, Jamie. This is insane!”

“I know. If you want another opinion, ask Melanie. I think she’ll agree. She knows Phil, also.”

“I trust you, but I am going to call her.”

“That’s always wise.”

I hung up and went to talk to Elyse and Julia about the call. Julia said she’d set up an emergency conference call with the Board. Elyse accompanied me back to my office to call Melanie. I asked Penny to step out again and got a death stare from her. I waited until she’d left, then dialed Melanie’s number.

“What’s up?” Melanie asked.

“You won’t believe it, but it’s true.”

She laughed, and I explained everything that had transpired, including my call with Jamie. As Jamie had predicted, she agreed with him.

“I know your inclination is to try to handle things yourself, but let Phil and Jamie take care of anything that comes of this, just as you did with Gwen and the paternity suit.”

“You think Jamie is right?”

“I do. Maybe it was just bluster. If it wasn’t, people with that kind of money can make your life a living hell.”

“Gee, thanks, Melanie. Before I forget, what’s up with my sister’s case?”

“You know I can’t talk to you about that,” she said.

“Bullshit. Stephanie gave you permission, I’m sure.”

“Actually, she didn’t do that in writing. Until she does, I can’t discuss it with you.”

“I’m PAYING you, Melanie!” I said.

“Yes, you are. But she’s the client. When she informs me in writing, THEN I can tell you.”

“Fucking lawyers!” I growled.

“I don’t want to get disbarred, Steve. Just get her to write me a letter and fax it over.”

“Yes, Counselor,” I sighed.

I hung up the phone and leaned back in my chair.

“This is fucked up!” Elyse said.

“Tell me about it!” I sighed. “I guess we need to talk to Jeri.”

“You’re not going to fire her, are you?”

“Hell no! I know what Jamie said, but I’m going to draw a line in the sand here.”

“The Board might disagree with you.”

“Then I’ll replace them. And if need be, I’ll exercise the buyout clause to force my dad and Joyce to sell me their shares. Do me a favor and call the bank about loan rates if I need 100K quickly.”

“Seriously?”

“I’m not fucking around, Elyse. I’ll tell them she stays, period.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I hope so, too. Ask Jeri to come in, please. And you come back with her.”

They were both in my office two minutes later. I explained to Jeri what had happened.

“She’s insane,” Jeri said. “Certifiably insane. Let me speak to my lawyer and the trustee. I’ll put them in touch with Jamie and this new attorney of yours.”

“Jeri, do not let them push you around. I’m not going to. You’re too valuable of an employee!”

“Thanks. Let me go to the small conference room and make my calls.”

She left, shutting the door behind her.

“And if her parents find out you slept with her?” Elyse asked.

“Who cares? You think THAT will matter compared to the other issues they could dig up? Jeri isn’t going to flip on me. You heard her.”

“I agree with you, but this could get very ugly, very fast.”

“One step at a time. Let me know when the Board is ready for the call. I’ll want Jamie on the call and you, of course. I’m going to call this Phil Lache guy right now.”

Elyse left, and I dialed the number Jamie had given me. Jamie had already been in touch, so he had a brief outline. I arranged to meet with him in his office on Monday, and we discussed the retainer fee. His rates were high, but given what the Lundgrens had to spend, I figured their lawyers would cost even more. The problem was they could better afford it. Elyse was back just after I hung up.

“2:30pm is the best time for everyone but Doctor Lambert. He isn’t available. His secretary said that his father died.”

“Have Kimmy find out where to send flowers,” I said.

“Will do.”

She left, and Penny came back.

“Going to tell me what’s going on?”

“I can’t, Pretty Penny. Not now.”

“Is Jeri threatening you?”

“No, she’s not. Please drop it for now.”

“If you say so,” she said, sounding suspicious.

I put it all out of my mind and concentrated on some work I was doing for Dante’s project. I took Penny out for lunch, and she tried to get me to tell her what was going on, but I told her that I couldn’t say anything at this point. After lunch, I worked until Elyse came to get me for the call. I went to the conference room with her and Julia and laid out the issue for the Board, minus Doctor Lambert. Jamie spoke after I did.

“Damn,” Karl said. “She’s a key employee. We can’t let her lunatic parents interfere, but as Jamie just said, it presents a significant risk.”

“Only because they have money,” Joyce said. “Honestly, how would we respond if this was just a random parent trying to cause trouble for us?”

“All things being equal, I agree,” Jamie said. “But the money does matter because they can cause serious trouble for us.”

“Son, what’s your endgame here? How far are you willing to take this?”

“All the way, Dad. If we cave in here, what’s next? This isn’t like the situation with Kaitlin, where I made a strategic decision to pay her off. This is about hiring and retaining good people. It’s about running my own company. If we let them push us around on this, then what’s next?”

“Have you considered just meeting with the woman and hearing her out?” Beth asked.

“No. I thought that was a bad idea, and Jamie advised against meeting her at this point.”

“Do we want to wait for her to make the next move or try to head it off?” Karl asked. “Jamie, I know your opinion is sound, but I wonder what a conversation would hurt, especially if Steve had you and this other attorney at his side when he talked to her.”

“I suppose that might make some sense,” Jamie said. “But Steve has to be VERY careful to only say things we agree he can say and to wait for us to decide if he should answer or be quiet.”

“Just like when I talked to the FBI back in the day,” I said. “I know how that works.”

“My opinion,” Joyce said, “is that Steve, Jamie, and the other attorney hear her out. See what she has to say. I’d like to hear consensus from the other members that Steve calls her this afternoon and tells her that he’ll meet with her next week but that he’ll need to call her Monday to set the time after he meets the other attorney.”

“I agree,” my dad said.

“I agree,” Karl said.

“Yes,” Beth said.

“You have your marching orders, Steve. You are instructed by the Board to do as Jamie and your attorney say. If they disagree, you need to stay silent. Got it?”

“Yes,” I said.

“I don’t think there’s anything else. I’m sorry I won’t see you all tomorrow, but I’m in Georgia. I believe Ray is still recovering from his surgery as well.”

“I am,” he said. “Enjoy the party tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Joyce and everyone,” I said.

We hung up the speakerphone.

“I swear, just when I thought everything was going well,” I sighed.

“Just let things play out,” Elyse said.

“Can I say that I am VERY happy that I won’t be acting CEO in two weeks?” Julia said.

“You can,” I said. “And I totally understand.”

I left the conference room and went over to Jeri and got her mother’s phone numbers, both at her office and at home. I went back to my office and placed a call to Margaret Lundgren’s office. Her assistant said that she was out but could schedule a meeting. I asked for available times and said that I’d call back on Monday afternoon to confirm which time worked best for me. I hung up and worked on Dante’s project until Kara arrived to walk to the hospital to get Jessica.

“Are you sure about this walk?” I asked.

“I’m fine, but this will have to be the last one,” Kara said.

I took her hand, and we left the office, heading for the ER.

“How was surgery today?” I asked when we met Jessica at the hospital.

“Scut. As usual. Setting up the OR, doing paperwork, doing rounds. But this was expected, so it’s just a matter of showing them that I’ll follow instructions and not have a meltdown the way I did two years ago. Trust is hard to rebuild, but my time in the ER and the glowing final review I had helped somewhat. It’s OK, Tiger. This is exactly what I expected, and if I learned one thing from the last year, I have to be patient. I’m good at what I do, and that’s all that matters.”

“That’s a much better attitude than you had in the past, Jess,” Kara said.

“I know. Shall we get home, have dinner, and play with the kids so we can see Back to the Future Part III?”

“Are you up for that, Kara?” I asked.

“Yes. I know I’m due in three weeks or so, but I feel fine. Just a bit tired, so if we don’t go out for ice cream, I won’t complain.”

“We’ll come straight home after the movie. Tomorrow will be a long day because of the party. I need to tell you two about a ‘fun’ development today.”

The three of us joined hands and walked home while I explained what was going on.

June 16, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

“Morning, Jorge! Good to see you here!” I said when I walked into Alex’s restaurant on Saturday morning.

“My problem was with your sister, not you or the other guys. It would be silly to avoid you because of her.”

“I’m glad to hear that. How was Melody’s graduation?”

“Pretty good,” he answered with a smile. “I heard that the speaker at Kara’s graduation was an Admiral from Puerto Rico.”

“Vice Admiral Diego E. Hernández. He seemed like a decent guy. But you know I have a thing for the Navy.”

“And he takes good care of us!” Howard said, slapping me on the back when he came in.

“You talked to Karl?” I asked with a grin.

I had briefly considered warning him off because of the developments with Jeri’s parents but decided that the one thing really had nothing to do with the other. I knew Jeri well enough that she wasn’t going to be part of the problem. And that meant Howard should have his shot.

He nodded, “I did indeed!”

Alex came over to the table.

“Anything exciting going on this morning?” he asked.

“Besides breakfast at this fine establishment?” I chuckled. “Nope!”

The rest of the guys filed in over the next few minutes, and Pam came to the table to take our orders. For the most part, we were all creatures of habit, and she knew what we wanted. I hadn’t had to actually order in over a year, and that was true for most of the guys. A few of them changed things up on occasion and those men she had to check with. As usual, the kitchen had our orders out almost right away, making me wonder if Pam hadn’t handed in some of the orders in advance. It would make sense.

“How’s Bethany doing?” Karl asked.

“She’s hanging in there,” I said. “She has good days and bad days. It’s better since she started doing some volunteer work to fill the time.”

“That’s a huge void to have to fill,” Pete said.

“One I hope none of our wives ever has to deal with,” Kurt said.

“Amen to that,” Karl sighed.