Chapter 72: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold

August 16, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Birgit

“That’s just EEEEVIL!” Tiffany smirked. “But won’t we get in trouble?”

“Not from my parents!” I replied.

“But will he fall for it?”

“Absolutely!”

“And Libby will help us?”

“For sure! I talked to her already. I thought Jesse was going to need oxygen he was laughing so hard.”

“When?”

“Cynthia is going to talk to Paul tomorrow, and invite him over next Saturday.”

“But they’ll go to Libby’s house because her parents will be gone, right?”

“Yes, but Paul doesn’t know where either of them lives.”

“Remind me to stay your friend!” Tiffany giggled. “It could be dangerous otherwise!”

“Nobody starts rumors about our friends!” I said fiercely.

“Heather should have slapped him harder! Maybe it would have knocked some sense into him!”

“He’s a champion ‘dumb boy’, so I doubt it! Let’s go to Amber’s. Rachel is on her way over.”

We left my room, went downstairs, and went next door. Rachel arrived a few minutes later and I took her aside and told her our plan. She loved it and agreed it was fitting revenge for what Paul had said about Cynthia.

[Saint Martin, Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles] 🎤 Steve

“You should have just gone ‘skyclad’!” Natalie teased. “We’re all getting naked when we finish the champagne!”

“That might have attracted attention,” Jackson replied. “The people down the beach are packing up to leave now.”

“Not sure anyone would really care here,” Leigh interjected.

“Better safe than sorry,” I replied. “I’m not sure what the exact rules are except that the true nude beaches all have signs posted. Once it’s dark, then it’s less of a risk. The sailboats have left, and I only see one light way down the beach.”

“Who’s going to give the toast?” Suzanne asked.

“I think it has to be Steve,” Jackson said.

“Well, I hate long-winded speeches, even when I give them, so I’ll simply say to our two friends - A long, happy marriage; long healthy lives; and healthy, happy children!”

Everyone raised their glass and said ‘Cheers!’. We all drank, then stripped off our clothes and dashed into the surf. We spent about thirty minutes frolicking and goofing around before we went back to the beach to sit on blankets, listen to soft music from the boombox, and drink wine together.

“What possessed you to go all Princess Bride on Holly and Jackson?” Nickie asked.

“You clearly haven’t been around Steve enough!” Holly interjected with a laugh before I could respond. “There literally was nothing else he could have done!”

“So you’re OK with it?” Nickie asked.

“It was perfect! That’s been my favorite movie from the first time I saw it when I was eight! I wore out three videotapes before we got a DVD player!”

“Me, too!” Natalie added.

“What will your parents say?” Kim asked.

“My dad will thank me for saving him $20,000!” Holly said mirthfully. “My mom will be mad enough to spit nails!”

“Mine will be cool,” Jackson said. “My dad wants a grandson in the worst possible way!”

“He’s going to have to wait a few years!” Holly laughed. “But not TOO many. And Steve has three ready-made babysitters!”

I chuckled, “My daughters do love babies, but I think I can wait a few years for grandkids!”

“How old is your eldest?” Kim asked.

“Jesse is fifteen; Birgit is thirteen, in case you were wondering. So I have to wait for eight to ten years.”

“He’s going to have seven teenagers all at once,” Jackson said. “I’m not sure how he’s going to do it.”

“At least I can drink again,” I chuckled.

We stayed at the beach until just after midnight, then made our way back to the house where Suzanne and Natalie joined me in bed. They snuggled close, Suzanne on my right and Natalie on my left, and the three of us fell asleep.

August 18, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

“Jackson, do you agree to marry Holly?” I asked after the Gulfstream landed at Meigs Field.

“I do!”

“Holly, do you agree to marry Jackson?”

“I do!”

“Then I pronounce you ‘man and wife’!”

They kissed, then we all signed the marriage license, which I’d submit to Cook County on Monday morning. I thanked LeeAnn and Louise, handed each of them a very nice bottle of red wine, then walked down the stairs to the tarmac. Suzanne, Leigh, Natalie, and I waited until a pair of taxis arrived to take the others home, and then we got into my BMW. Our first stop was Leigh’s house, and then Natalie’s, and finally, Suzanne and I headed back to Kenwood.

“How was Saint Martin?” Kara asked, jumping up when Suzanne and I came in the back door.

“Relaxing,” I replied.

Kara, Jessica, and I hugged and kissed, and then we headed up to the bedroom so I could change and unpack my bag.

“Where are the kids?”

“Out terrorizing the neighborhood as usual!” Kara declared mirthfully.

“I was thinking a bit more specific,” I chuckled.

“Jesse and Albert are with Matthew and Michael at Dave’s house watching a soccer game on TV.”

“Do you know who’s playing?”

“The Chicago team, but I don’t know who they’re playing against.”

“Our team is the Chicago Fire,” I replied. “But I don’t pay any attention to soccer beyond the NIKA staff talking about English Football or the World Cup. There are some big Association Football fans who work for NIKA. Oh, and Sweeney does mention Leeds United, though usually with some complaint about how they’re playing, though they finished fourth in the Premier League last season.”

“For not paying attention you seem to know a lot!” Jessica observed.

“I just gave you what amounts to the sum total of my soccer knowledge, beyond knowing the names of a few other teams in England and Spain. And the girls?”

“All with their respective little gangs,” Kara replied. “They’ll all be home for dinner, then the girls are hanging out at Penny’s house during Guys’ Night and Girls’ Night Out. Jesse, Matthew, and Michael plan to play poker with you. Albert is going to Dave’s to hang out with Peter and Nicky.”

“Sounds good!” I replied.

I took my laundry down to the basement to get it started, then went back upstairs to spend some time with my wives before dinner.

🎤 Jesse

“SIX yellow cards?” Matthew exclaimed. “To ONE for the Earthquakes!”

“But we won!” Nicky declared. “That’s all that matters, right, Jesse!”

“Exactly!” I replied. “We got that early goal from Jesse Marsh, who has a great first name, by the way, and it held up.”

“Shouldn’t that team be the ‘Earthquake’?” Uncle Dave asked.

I laughed, “I asked the same thing when the team was formed. ‘The San Jose Earthquake’ sounds better than if you make it plural.”

“But not the Anaheim Mighty Duck?” Aunt Julia asked. “Or the Pittsburgh Penguin?”

“Those sound wrong to me, too!” I grinned. “But most of the other soccer teams are singular - Chicago Fire, Miami Fusion, New England Revolution, Columbus Crew, Dallas Burn, Tampa Bay Mutiny, and Los Angeles Galaxy.”

“No teams with English-style names?”

“Just D.C. United,” I replied. “And if you add ‘FC’, plurals just don’t make sense. Chicago Fire Football Club or Tampa Bay Mutiny Football Club sound good. San Jose Earthquakes Football Club sounds wrong.”

“How many teams play in this league?” she asked.

“Twelve,” Albert replied. “The ones Jesse didn’t say are the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, the Kansas City Wizards, and the Colorado Rapids.”

“Who’s best?”

“Probably the Fire, Miami, and the two California teams,” I said.

“How did you get into soccer?”

“Matthew and Michael started watching with Eduardo and we all decided it was better than the NFL.”

“So you’re going to ditch NASCAR for Formula One next?” she asked. “And then become cricket and rugby fans?”

“Rugby is cool!” Albert declared. “Jon took me to a rugby match in England. It’s WAY more fun than the NFL! And you actually have to touch the ball down in the end zone to score a ‘touch’!”

“Is that where ‘touchdown’ came from?”

“I think so, yes.”

“We need to get to Dad’s house for dinner,” Matthew said, checking his watch. “Uncle Dave, we’ll see you at the poker table!”

“That’s what I’m afraid of!” Dave said, but he was laughing.

🎤 Steve

“Do you have a minute before the festivities?” Liz asked when she and Julius arrived.

“Sure. My study?”

“Yes.”

“Do you mind, Julius?” I asked.

“She’s your attorney!”

“And your fiancée!” I replied. “And this isn’t the NIKA building!”

“I don’t mind!”

Liz and I went to my study and I shut the door.

“I thought you might want an update before Monday morning,” she said. “Cindi has it on fairly good authority that EB is merging with a boutique firm in Virginia.”

“Which is what she predicted. Does she have any details?”

“No, other than it’s a regional DC boutique which really wasn’t on her radar. They focus on the DC Circuit and their offering is really tailored to things like patent filings, copyright, and other matters heard in that circuit.”

“So in line with the ‘intellectual property’ module we developed for FJF?”

“Yes, though obviously there are other cases heard there. Anyway, Cindi did say that EB tried both Hastings Mill and Chickasaw and was told to take a hike.”

“No surprise there. OK. Without details, no speculation on my part at this point. I assume my sister is up to speed?”

“Yes. She said the same thing - until we know more, we just stay the course.”

“Good. Am I going to be happy on Monday morning?”

Liz frowned, “Stephanie terminated Lee on Thursday morning. He wasn’t willing to take anything she considered reasonable. We were served yesterday afternoon.”

“That makes me happier than the alternative where Lee is still employed. What’s your analysis?”

“Allowing for the vagaries of juries...”

“Spare me the standard lawyer ‘weasel words’, Consigliere. I’ve heard them often enough.”

Liz smiled and continued, “Allowing for the vagaries of juries, he’ll have a VERY tough time winning. I’m sure his attorney advised him to sue to pressure a larger settlement.”

“Does his attorney know we self-insure?”

“Not yet. He will when we file our response and don’t include an insurance carrier as a party. That will force him into a reconsideration of what it might take to settle.”

“Are you going to defend this, or do we need outside counsel?”

“I can do this with Jamie and Jocelyn consulting on the case. We’d have very little in the way of outside legal fees unless it goes to trial and we need expert witnesses.”

“What did Stephanie say?”

“She’s going to talk to you on Monday because, as she said, you know more about lawyers and lawsuits than anyone who isn’t a lawyer, and most who are!”

“Present company excepted, of course!”

“I’m still a toddler in that regard!” Liz laughed. “But she has a good point.”

“I want you to handle it. I’ll tell Stephanie. I mean, seriously, what’s the point of having my own mouthpiece, to whom I pay a princessly sum, if she doesn’t actually do what I hired her to do!”

“We’re going to need that ‘princessly sum’ - public defenders don’t make a lot of money.”

“No kidding. And that’s a serious problem because the prosecution can outspend them by orders of magnitude.”

“The prosecution could have outspent Noel Spurgeon if they chose to.”

“Obviously, though this is a state employment case, right?”

“Yes. And given he and NIKA are both in Illinois, there are no diversity claims. He’s also under forty, white, male, straight, and not disabled. It’s a straight-up ‘wrongful termination’ suit. There is no EEOC angle.”

“There has to be more to it,” I said. “He has a losing case for sure.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me if they filed a defamation suit against Margaret and something against the person who made the anonymous complaint.”

“You may as well tell me. It’s going to come out in the suit.”

“Bob will be pissed.”

“It’s not an HR matter at this point,” I replied firmly. “It’s a legal one. And it is perfectly in my purview, and I need to know so we can properly devise a defense.”

Liz sighed, “You aren’t going to be happy.”

“Why do I think this just became even MORE complicated?”

“Because of the REAL reason she didn’t want you to know. She was afraid you might literally kill him.”

I thought for a second and there was really only one person he could have been hitting on who would have had that reaction.

“I know I can be volatile at times, but given it can’t be Kimmy or Penny, both of whom would have told me instantly so I could kill him, and because I’m sure it’s not you unless you lied to my face, then that concern was overblown for sure.”

“It was Noelle.”

“She’s not even in the Club, so why would she feel that way?”

“You carrying your firearm in the office really concerned her.”

“I know a bit about her background - Chicago born and raised, so her view on handguns is likely VERY different from mine and Eve’s. But she and I hardly interact except on occasional technical issues.”

“Do you think it’s a secret how protective you are of the women in the Club? Think about how that looks to any OTHER female staff.”

I nodded, “Got it. If they don’t know about the Club, they hear about it from women who do know about it and assume I’m that protective of everyone.”

“Exactly.”

“I haven’t carried in months,” I replied.

“Memories are long about things like that. Remember, too, Eve still carries, and nobody except she and I know why you aren’t carrying and where your guns are. Well, Elyse, too, obviously.”

“Honest opinion, Counselor, should I suggest to Eve she stop carrying?”

Liz smiled, “I notice you didn’t say require her or ask her to stop carrying. I’d say that unless there’s a specific threat, it might be best for her to leave her pistol in her car. Or in her desk, if she wants to bring it inside. I’m sure you know there are people who work for you who are very uncomfortable around guns, even if they support your views on the 2nd Amendment.”

I nodded, “I get that from some parents, too. The sick part is, they don’t object to the police having guns despite the fact that not only am I a better shot than most police, but I’m also far less likely to shoot someone than any police officer I know! Anyway, I’ll discuss it with Eve and see what she wants to do. How should I handle the situation with Noelle?”

“I’d let it go at this point. Unfortunately, there is literally no way to prevent her name from coming out in the court filings because we’ll need to produce the emails, either as part of our defense, or because Lee subpoenas them.”

“Clear it with Stephanie, but call Lee’s attorney, tell him there is no ‘deep pockets’ insurance company which will be looking to settle and that we’re willing to go to court. I suspect he’ll change his tune. Do that before Noelle’s name would come out, please.”

“We can file our response without naming her. We’ll just refer to ‘Female employee A’ and ‘Female Employee B’. Once we do that, and he’s served with copies, he’ll know we don’t carry insurance for this kind of thing. That’s when I should approach him. I can reassure Noelle that we’ll do our best to keep her name out of everything. I’m sure Stephanie will agree to the strategy because it’s in effect what we need to do, anyway.”

“Thanks, Liz.”

She smiled, “Going to Saint Martin seems to have relaxed you.”

“I find that taking three or four one-week trips a year helps me stay «lagom», so long as I truly disconnect from work.”

“Then I think you have a strategy for staying off the drugs.”

“I hope so,” I replied. “I really hope so.”

August 19, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

“How was your poker game last night?” Suzanne asked at breakfast on Sunday morning after Birgit got her cuddles.

“I finished second to Terry, with Matthew third. Jesse had a really bad beat early on.”

“Terry’s that good?”

“Yes. He always gives me a run for my money. Jesse and Matthew are close, and Michael is learning fast.”

“Have you ever let girls play?”

“Once a year when we do our joint gatherings. Eve is very good, and surprisingly, so is Sam. How did Ingrid and Astrid fit in with the group?”

“Perfectly, I think. They seemed to have a good time, and it won’t surprise you they were getting chummy with Jennifer and Josie.”

I chuckled, “Thank you for that lovely mental image!”

Suzanne smiled, “You’re welcome! And, before I forget, Birgit was telling me that you have Navy recruits join you for Thanksgiving?”

“We’ve done that for more than a decade,” I replied. “It lets those kids who are at RTC Great Lakes get a good, home-cooked meal once during boot camp!”

“Is that how you became friends with all the Navy guys?”

“No. I knew Pete in High School, which I think you know, and he went to work for the Naval Investigative Service, which is now NCIS. Pete was assigned to Great Lakes, and through him, I met Nick Evans and later Karl Schumacher. And from there, Aaron, Brian, Clayton, and a host of others. Jake I met when he was in ROTC at IIT and I offered tutoring services.”

“Did you charge the same for guys and girls?” Suzanne asked with a smirk.

“Yes!” I said, laughing. “First of all, you know me better than that - I’d never ask for sex in exchange for tutoring! And second, it was under the auspices of the CS Department.”

“But if THEY offered?” Suzanne teased.

“Actually, no, for the same reason. Think of the trouble that could cause. That said, Charlie Johnson was one of the students I tutored, along with her friend George, which is short for Georgina.”

“Wasn’t she involved in the cheating thing at IIT? Charlie, I mean.”

“Yes. But you know I give people a second chance, and that’s served me well.”

“Has that ever gone wrong?”

“That was what I was talking to Liz about last night when she and Julius showed up. Someone I gave a second chance at NIKA failed to live up to the trust I put in them when they get a second chance.”

“Ouch. What happened?”

“I can’t really discuss it now because that individual filed a lawsuit against us on Friday afternoon.”

“Double ouch.”

“Sadly, it’s part of doing business. When we were smaller, and I knew everyone personally, we didn’t have these problems. That’s not to say we didn’t have problems, but I can no longer just go talk to people to work out a solution the way I could when I knew everyone.”

“You sound like you regret the growth of the company.”

“I regret the side effects,” I replied. “But I’ll also point out that many of the problems are caused because my hands are tied by the government.”

Suzanne laughed, “I knew you wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to blame the government.”

“I am predictable that way!”

“What’s the topic for today’s session?”

“A surprise wedding reception for Jackson and Holly. As soon as we finish breakfast, we’ll run to Jewel and pick up what we need. I called them to make sure they have a large sheet cake, which they do.”

“That’s a GREAT idea!”

We finished breakfast then headed to the store, picked up everything we needed, and were home for lunch. Leigh joined us, though we skipped our usual love-making session. When everyone had assembled, I said that Jackson had an announcement.

“Holly and I were married on Thursday night in Saint Martin!” he declared.

There was instant pandemonium, and that was the cue for Suzanne and Leigh to bring out the cake while Jessica, Kara, and I went to get the other snacks. The impromptu reception was a lot of fun, and everyone enjoyed themselves, and when it ended, Holly and Jackson thanked us.