Chapter 15: Depositions, Disagreements, and Doctors

September 1, 1991, Chicago, Illinois

“And that caused you to lose the poker tournament?” Kara laughed.

“It’s called being ‘on tilt’,” I chuckled. “Usually it’s because you have a bad beat. You know, a hand that looks like a certain winner but you get beat anyway.”

“But in this case, it was because Keisha implied she knew about you and Fawn?”

“She was fishing,” I said. “I don’t think she knows. And you know full well that was NOT what did it!”

“No, it was you thinking of those long legs you’ve been drooling over wrapped tightly around you!” Jessica giggled.

“Mostly,” I agreed.

“Or later when Jill made you basically the same offer?”

“I think I’m going to Boscobel,” I said, trying to keep a straight face.

“The monastery?” Kara giggled. “Somehow I don’t see you as a monk!”

“Yes, St. Isaac of Syria Skete. But seriously, don’t you think this is a bit much?”

“What? That young women want you? I sure did! And WOW!”

“OK. But I was seventeen and you were sixteen. I’m ten years older than those two girls!”

“And Fawn?”

“Nine years,” I said, again trying to keep a straight face.

“Yes, because that one year makes ALL the difference in the world!” Jessica laughed.

“Did you come on to them?” Kara asked. “Make passes at them? Flirt with them?”

“No. I might have stared a bit, but noticing a pretty girl shouldn’t generate THAT response!”

“And normally, I agree it wouldn’t,” Jessica said. “But you just exude a feeling of safety!”

“So did Ted Bundy!” I retorted. “And Abbie noticed! She made me a serial killer in her porn movie script!”

“You are not a predator,” Jessica said firmly. “In fact, it’s mostly the girls who have the ‘eye of the tiger’. You’re the prey, not the predator!”

“I still don’t get it. Why me?”

“First of all, as I said, you’re non-threatening. Second, you’re nice looking and in very good shape. Third, you don’t treat the girls like pieces of meat, even if your brain sometimes focuses on how sexy they are. Fourth, you’re a super-nice guy. And fifth, you treat them as adults and with respect.”

“And that makes them want to have sex with me?” I asked.

“It makes you a candidate. It’s your eyes that do the rest, Tiger. They did me in that first day in the surgical observation room at the hospital.”

“Assuming all of that is true, I’m still concerned about the age difference!”

“Yes, and what will you do in twelve years or so when one of the girls like Amber or Kristin come to you? The age gap is going to be a lot bigger then!”

“Something I didn’t consider when it was discussed in a theoretical way back at the apartment.”

“Well, then you need to figure it out now so you can deal with it in the future. You already have some very clear rules in place. STD tests. No girls who are taken, which is why you turned down April and Sarah two weeks ago. Nobody who works for you or who is a customer or a close relative of a customer. And nobody underage.”

“And the two you just mentioned?”

“If that were to happen, neither Kathy nor Penny, nor their husbands would protest. In fact, if the daughters are like the moms, they’ll TELL their moms about it to make them jealous!”

I chuckled, “The same way Penny talked to her mom!”

“I didn’t know!” Jessica said. “I was guessing.”

“Penny told her mom that she and I did it six times in one night. Alice was torn between mortification and jealousy!”

“I bet! But see, you DO have rules. Nobody is saying you should have sex with every girl who asks. You shouldn’t. And you don’t. But figure out what the rules are and stick to them like you have since I came home.”

“I suppose. And you’re OK with this?”

“Will you stop already?” Jessica said, exasperated. “Please? We’ve been over this enough times. You having sex with other girls doesn’t bother me. That was part and parcel of our arrangement from day one.”

“Arrangement?”

“You know what I mean, Tiger. Stop worrying about it. Besides, you have a much bigger problem to worry about.”

“And what is that?”

“The minute the ink is dry on Cindi’s divorce, she’s going to be at your door asking for what you wouldn’t give her six years ago.”

September 2, 1991, Chicago, Illinois

“Well, that seals the end of the USSR,” I said.

CNN reported that President Bush had officially recognized the independence of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, and ordered the US embassies there reopened.

“What about the rest of the republics?” Elyse asked.

“That’s a bit more complicated. Those three Baltic nations were free between World War I and World War II. Splitting Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, Moldova, and Azerbaijan from Russia is a different story. To one extent or another, they were historically part of a unified Russian Empire, at least according to the Russians. Bush is going to wait to see how things sort out in Moscow. I bet we know by the end of the year.”

“What’s your take?”

“The same one Mary and Tanya have - independence for all the republics and some kind of currency and customs union. Not as independent as European countries, but not as close as the US states. But unlike them, I don’t think it will last. Ukraine will break completely away and align itself with the West. The Muslim republics will gravitate towards Turkey or Pakistan. I have no clue what will happen with Belarus or Georgia. Those could go any of a dozen different ways.”

“And the nukes?”

“I bet all of them end up in Russia,” I said. “The Russians will want that, as will Europe and the US.”

“Let’s hope so. If any go missing, we’re in for a world of hurt.”

September 3, 1991, Chicago, Illinois

“Are you ready for your first day of Kindergarten?” I asked Jesse.

“Yes! It will be fun! Mom One and Mom Two are taking me to school!”

“I know. They told me! And you have to listen to your teacher. And play nice with all the other kids.”

“Mom One told me! I know!”

“Then give me a hug! I need to go to the office!”

Jesse and I hugged. I was amazed that I already had a kid in school. It seemed like Jesse was born just a few months ago, rather than five-and-a-half years. I watched him walk away, and then Elyse and I headed to the office. I was only there a short time before I had to head to the Loop.

“Mr. Adams? Mr. Littleton and Mr. Zimmer are ready for you.”

“Remember what I said,” Jamie advised.

“Yes, just as Jack did with the FBI, and Robert Klein did when I was here before. I got it!”

We were shown into the same conference room as I’d been in back in 1985, though the furniture was all new, and the artwork had changed.

“Mr. Adams, it’s good to see you again,” Mr. Littleton said.

And I immediately did exactly what I told Jamie I was going to do, and he was unable to talk me out of doing.

“It’s anything but good, Mr. Littleton. As Auric Goldfinger said to James Bond, ‘Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, the third time it’s enemy action.’ This is the third time.”

“Sit,” he said crossly. “And we’ll begin.”

I’d put him ‘on tilt’ already, and I wasn’t going to let up.

“Ask me nicely,” I insisted.

“Sit down, Mr. Adams.”

“I don’t take orders from you,” I said sweetly. “Ask me nicely.”

“Counselor, instruct your client to sit. Now!”

I simply stood, with my arms crossed while Jamie and Brandon Littleton had a staring match. I knew I could only push this so far, though.

“Let the record show that Mr. Littleton refused to ask me politely, and that I am sitting down by my own choice.”

“DO NOT put that on the record,” Mr. Littleton growled at the reporter.

Jamie gave me a sharp look, and I sat down. I’d accomplished what I wanted. I’d hear it from Jamie, but I’d heard it before and I could take it. It was worth it to put Mr. Littleton off his game. I’d beat him before, and I’d beat him again. But now it was Jamie’s turn.

“Mr. Littleton,” Jamie said. “I remind you that any prior interaction with my client, or any previous cases, are strictly off limits. I have a protective order here to that effect. Consider yourself served.”

He handed over the writ that had been obtained from the Federal magistrate judge in Boston. I’d told Jamie I was worried that Littleton would try to bring up either the cheating scandal or the paternity suit, and he’d conferred with the other attorneys working on the BLS lawsuit, and they’d agreed with him that this was the right move.

“You got this ex parte? That’s underhanded, counselor. I’ll make sure Shapiro/Gleason in Boston is aware.”

“They are. We faxed them a copy last night, and a copy was formally served on them this morning. They didn’t tell you?”

If it were possible to see steam coming out of someone’s ears, I would have seen it from Brandon Littleton. We’d just put him totally ‘on tilt’.

“No.”

“Brandon, maybe I should handle this deposition,” Attorney Zimmer said quietly.

That would be the smartest possible thing they could do. But I knew my archenemy would NEVER allow that.

“No. I’m going to do it.”

That was, in my opinion, a huge mistake. One I welcomed. We got through the usual batch of questions of my name, occupation, and so on. I smirked when I saw him draw a red line through three questions before asking one. And in true Littleton fashion, it was purposefully construed to get an admission.

“Mr. Adams, when did you first become aware of the illegal activity performed by your employees?”

“Never,” I said smoothly.

“You’re denying any knowledge of the facts of this lawsuit?”

“No, I’m denying that my team did anything illegal. You asked when I became aware of illegal activity. I answered ‘Never’. That was truthful. We can have the reporter read back the question and answer if you need her to.”

I could see Littleton fuming even more than he had been. And so did his partner.

“Brandon...” Mr. Zimmer said quietly. “Let’s talk. Now!”

“Take all the time you need,” Jamie said helpfully.

They left the room and it was all I could do to refrain from bursting out laughing. Littleton was a bigger idiot than I thought, or he was more ‘on tilt’ than I thought. I strained a bit and read his notepad upside down. The question was actually constructed properly on paper. He’d changed it when he spoke it! I just smiled and shook my head. We got him!

And that was clear by what happened next. Mr. Zimmer sat down at the pad and asked the question properly.

“Mr. Adams, when did you become aware that the actions that your employees took might have been illegal?”

“When we were served with this lawsuit.”

“And when did you become aware that the actions of your employees might have violated the license agreement between BLS and Nelson, Reed, and Pulver?”

“Again, when we were served with this lawsuit.”

“Have you seen the license agreement between BLS and Nelson? I’ll use that shorthand if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind. Yes. I read their license agreement which was an exhibit to the claims, but not before then.”

“OK. Good. Now, please tell me the exact instructions you gave your team with regard to the allegations in the suit.”

My answer, and several follow-up questions occupied the best part of an hour. I had my notes, Greg’s notes, Julia’s notes, and Mario’s notes, along with all of our correspondence with the client, and with each other, to refer to. I could see in Brandon Littleton’s eyes that he wanted those notes in the worst possible way. He’d get them, as part of court-ordered discovery, and not a second sooner.

We broke for a bathroom and coffee break, then resumed. We hadn’t finished by noon, but when queried, Mr. Zimmer was certain we would finish by 1:00pm, so Jamie and I agreed to continue and not break for lunch. There really wasn’t anything that posed a problem for us in anything that was asked, at least in my opinion. Jamie and I would debrief afterwards.

“Thank you, Mr. Adams,” Mr. Zimmer said when he’d asked his final question.

“You’re welcome, Mr. Zimmer,” I said extending my hand. “It was a pleasure.”

We shook hands warmly, and I simply ignored the offered hand from Brandon Littleton. My goal was to piss him off as much as possible. Jamie didn’t think that was wise, but in that regard, I was beyond caring. Jamie shook hands with both of them, and we left their offices. We grabbed sandwiches at a deli, and went to Jamie’s office.

“That wasn’t smart,” he finally said.

“What?”

“Are you trying to make enemies?” Jamie asked, sounding somewhat exasperated.

“He’s ALREADY an enemy, Jamie. Look how I dealt with Mr. Zimmer. And how he dealt with me.”

“It worked out OK today, but you know full well the kinds of trouble an attorney can cause.”

“Sure. And I know I can beat this one every time! He went ‘on tilt’ the moment I said I wasn’t happy to be there. It didn’t faze Zimmer one bit. Littleton thrives on theatrics. Well, I’m a better actor than he is! And I’m a hell of a lot smarter. Zimmer, on the other hand, is dangerous.”

“And why do you think that?”

“Because he was subtle, calm, cool, and collected. He almost tripped me up a couple of times. Not because I was changing my story, but because of how he asked a question. And some of his seemingly casual follow-ups were nothing of the sort. That’s the guy we have to watch out for, not the man with his name on the door.”

Jamie smiled, “Very perceptive. You’re right. Zimmer is a top litigator. Littleton is known for grandstanding and theatrics. It usually works for him; though with you, apparently not. But it’s a dangerous game to play. You could easily offend a judge or jury with those kinds of antics.”

“Yes, I know. We’ll worry about it when we get that far. Right now, Littleton is in his office, seething mad. And I think that’s a good thing. It’ll ruin his preparation and he’ll be beside himself that Zimmer basically forced him to take a back seat when I’m being questioned or deposed. And I bet those two fight about it, too. I assume you saw him cross questions off his list?”

“Yes. Could you read those? I know you read the first one he asked.”

I chuckled, “Very observant, Jamie. Yes. Basically they were more statements than questions, and I assume he wanted on the record that I’d framed Callie Shepherd and fathered Carla’s baby, even if it was his statements and my denials. I think his goal was to put ME ‘on tilt’ but, I was prepared because I know my opponent.”

“You’d have made a good lawyer, Steve. Someone I would never want to go up against in court.”

“That’s a blood insult, Jamie,” I chuckled. “You take that back right now!”

We both had a good laugh, and finished our sandwiches.

“So,” I said, “overall, it seems to me that they didn’t get much. What do you think?”

“Nothing that wouldn’t show up in discovery from your notes and records. I’ve reviewed those and I don’t think there’s anything for them to hang their hat on. In the end, it was a waste of their time. The real question will be Greg’s deposition, which is tomorrow. He’s retained his own attorney, in addition to you sending me as the firm’s attorney.”

“I’m not surprised. Greg has a reputation to protect. My instructions are that you let his attorney take the lead. Only intervene if there is something seriously detrimental to NIKA. Let Greg be Greg.”

“Are you sure?”

“Remember what I said about a blood insult? I was kidding; Greg won’t be. He took this suit as a personal affront. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him sue them for defamation once this part of the case is over. He’s PISSED!”

“Good to know. I’ll play it by ear, OK? You know I’ll do what’s best.”