Chapter 58: A Broken Pipe

January 2, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Jesse

“Argh!” Macrina groaned when she hung up the phone.

“What?”

“A pipe burst in the building where my mom works and everyone has to leave. She’s on her way home!”

“Do I need to leave?” I asked.

“Let’s go to Starbucks and then we can have lunch. I told my mom I was having lunch with you today so she won’t be suspicious. I was worried that something might come up with my sister or brother and I needed to have a plan in case they were here and I couldn’t get in touch with you.”

“I have a mobile phone! You can reach me anytime, day or night!”

“I didn’t think about that. Nobody in my family has a mobile phone.”

“How long before your mom gets home?”

“About thirty minutes. We need to clean up the mugs in the kitchen. I’m sorry, Jesse, I really am.”

“Do you think if I talk to your mom or dad you’d be able to come to my dad’s house tomorrow? My Aunt Kara will be home because she teaches at UofC and they don’t start classes until next week.”

“But then we couldn’t be alone!”

I laughed, “First of all, my house is on the same property, and my moms both work. But even if they didn’t, they won’t say anything.”

“Wait! Your moms would let us...”

“Yes. My Aunt Kara won’t say anything either.”

“No way! We could just go to your room and...”

“Yes.”

“Then after lunch, we’ll ask my mom if I can come into the city tomorrow. I’ve never taken the train alone, though.”

“It’s easy and I’ll meet you at Union Station. We have to take the L or bus from there to get to my house by the university.”

“Explain how there are two houses on the same property.”

“Let’s go clean up the kitchen and get out of the house, and then we can talk.”

🎤 Steve

“She’s a friend of Sakurako’s who I actually met, briefly, when I was there in December of 1994.”

Liz smirked, “So giving up Estrella isn’t really going to cause you to suffer, is it?”

“No comment,” I replied.

“Give me a break! When did you start dissimulating with me?”

“Since when did you start using 50¢ words outside of a legal context?”

“Asks the man who has a more extensive vocabulary than anyone I know! Answer the question!”

“I can’t give up something I don’t have. I was serious when I told you that I wasn’t planning on resuming my physical relationship with Estrella. She wanted that, but I’d already discussed with my wives keeping it as a mentoring relationship.”

“Does this girl have a name?”

“Yuriko, which means ‘perfect’.”

Liz laughed, “Of course it does!”

“She’s going to stay with us and she’ll help around the house.”

“Does she have a work permit?”

“She said she does, but it really doesn’t matter because she’s only going to help out the way anyone else who lives with us does. No working hours, and her pay is essentially her room and board.”

“You should check to be sure. I’m not an immigration specialist, but I’m reasonably sure that student visas only allow employment related to your field of study.”

“I think the government would have a tough time claiming she’s employed if she’s not paid, there are no established hours, and she simply helps around the house. It’s no different from what my kids do.”

“Check, Steve. She could lose her visa status if you make a mistake.”

“I’ll make sure it’s kosher, but even I know that if no money changes hands, and there are no set hours, and no required work, it’s not a job! And given we hadn’t planned to replace Winter, there is no job to be had.”

“Remember what you always say - the government isn’t logical or rational. Visas are discretionary and can be revoked without the holder being able to challenge the revocation.”

“As I said, I’ll make sure it’s kosher. Anyway, any updates on the lawsuits?”

“No. We’ll file our response by the end of the month. Of the eighty-nine claims, we’ll get dismissals on either eighty or eighty-one of them as a matter of law, failure to state a claim, or laches. That knocks out most of their claims. The others are a mix of intellectual property and tortuous interference claims which might have to go to discovery, but which I don’t believe will survive depositions. Fundamentally, their claim in the previous cases with their former clients that Knowles and Jackson was not a successor company to EB works against them here, and the fact that we have the same judge helps.”

“What about the speculation about them running to the judge for a settlement?”

“If most of their claims are dismissed, we can withstand that pressure. They literally have nothing. Well, unless you know about a rabbit they can pull out of their hats.”

“I can’t imagine what that might be,” I replied. “Cindi ran all her discount pricing plans past both you and Jamie, and you both agreed there were no antitrust concerns. According to Cindi, both Chickasaw and Hastings Mill created discount plans which are structured differently, and they can’t get us for collusion as there was no coordination. And we don’t compete directly against the original Virtual Law Clerk.”

Liz’s phone buzzed, I nodded, and she picked it up.

“Ask Kimmy to bring them to us, please,” she said into the phone. “What? OK. Sure. He’ll be right down.”

She hung up the phone.

“There’s a process server downstairs. Both NIKA and you personally.”

I smiled, “Care to make a wager?”

“On?”

“Janice Parker. Defamation of character, with a cease and desist letter as well.”

“I’m not betting against your gut. It’s right WAY too often.”

“You know the dossier was completely footnoted, right? Every single source is a public record of some sort. I know MORE than was in the dossier.”

“Go get the papers and come back.”

I went downstairs, accepted the documents from the process server, and took them back upstairs without opening them. I handed the unopened envelopes to Liz. She opened them and shook her head.

“You are unreal!” she exclaimed.

“Well, there are no possible paternity suits, EB fired every bolt they had, and there are no disgruntled ex-employees. It was a pretty safe bet on my part. What’s the gist?”

“Exactly what you said. It’s state, not federal. I sent the dossiers anonymously; how did she know?”

“Come on, Consigliere! Where ELSE would they have come from? And you know I won’t perjure myself.”

“‘No, officer, I never had sex with an underage girl.’”

“I’d never say that. The girls would deny it. I’d refuse to speak to the detective. And you know I won’t answer ANY questions from the Feds except for the IRS, and even then, I’d have someone from McCarthy/Jenkins answer the questions. Talking to the Feds is dangerous, because they get to decide if you’ve lied to them, and the courts pretty much accept their version. Anyway, as you and others have told me, the truth is a perfect defense to defamation, not to mention her Op-Eds make her a public figure, and as such, the bar is even higher.”

“True. Who does what?”

“I’m guessing you think I should have separate counsel from NIKA?”

“That’s the usual way.”

“I’m curious - would we win a motion to dismiss?”

“No, because the facts will be in dispute. She’ll get a chance to prove that either there are false statements or that she’s not a public figure. Those are not matters of law, so she’d have to dismiss. I assume you won’t pay her to go away.”

“Not one thin dime,” I replied. “I could win this without an attorney, but I’m not THAT big of a fool.”

“Wanna bet?” Liz asked with a smirk.

“I have never tried to represent myself. File our replies as quickly as possible and ask for the earliest possible trial date. And file for an injunction against her making any public statements against NIKA, no matter how veiled they might seem.”

“That’s a tough injunction to win.”

“File it anyway. It sends the message that the next step is a countersuit which we CAN win, because we can prove what she’s saying isn’t true.”

“Opinion is protected, so no, actually, you wouldn’t likely win unless you could prove she knew she was making false statements. I’ve read those Op-Eds, and while I agree with you about what she’s implying, she’s been very careful to couch everything as opinion, not fact. There’s a difference between ‘NIKA Consulting is protecting sexual harassers’ and ‘Companies which use NDAs to prevent women from speaking out are very likely covering up sexual harassment’.”

“Ask for the injunction anyway. No public references to NIKA. We’ll agree not to make any public statements about her. Call it a mutual gag order.”

“You won’t get it.”

“Ask anyway. It sends the message I want to be sent. When you file, include the backup documentations that Katya sent me. That’ll save everyone time. I don’t want to delay while Parker’s attorney tries to retrieve all the microfiche from the newspapers, court records, and depositions.”

“Are you going to call any witnesses?”

“The only one we need is Frederick Winston, who was the attorney Mike Loucks used and who can testify to all of the illegal acts by Janice Parker. He’s retired and living in Florida, but he’ll testify to the illegal acts she committed.”

“I don’t know Ohio law, but the statute of limitations has surely expired.”

“Which won’t matter professionally. She can no longer survive a background check for any job in academia, nor will she be able to pen Op-Eds. And it fires a shot across the bow of Anne Nelson, and others like her. It will also put an end to any claims Parker made to the Illinois Department of Labor, or any claims she’s made to the Feds of which we’re unaware. When can you make the filing?”

“If I give it priority over the EB answer, Monday.”

“Do that, please. We have plenty of time on the other case, not to mention help from Deborah and Jocelyn.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Thanks.”

I headed back to my office and before I got back to work on reviewing logs from the Managed Services system, I read an update on the fire at the Mesa Redonda shopping area in Lima, Peru. The death toll had passed 250, and authorities expected many more once all of the bodies were recovered. Reports stated that the fire had been the result of a chain reaction of fireworks which were being sold in the shopping center, but the investigation was still underway.

Just before the end of the day, I received the call I’d been expecting from Ben Jackson.

“Ready to get to work for the Lundgren Foundation?” he asked.

“You don’t waste any time,” I chuckled.

“I could have called you yesterday! And I do apologize for missing your New Year’s Eve party.”

“No worries. I understand about being with your kids. What’s the plan?”

“Let’s have lunch very soon.”

“How about Friday?”

“Sure. Sounds good. Where?”

“How about Maxim’s? A traditional Chicago place.”

“But will they replace their coffee with Folger’s crystals?” Ben asked.

I laughed, “Man, there’s a blast from the past! That commercial ran in the early 80s! How does 11:30am grab you? We’ll beat the lunch rush.”

“See you then.”

🎤 Jesse

“What you probably don’t know,” I said as we walked to the Starbucks, “is that my dad and my biological mom were boyfriend and girlfriend in High School.”

“She’s bi?”

I shook my head, “No. Mom Two is bi. Mom One had a terrible time in Junior High and High School because she had feelings for girls, and even had a girlfriend, but in the 70s, most gays and lesbians were ‘in the closet’. She struggled because everyone told her she should date boys. She and my dad dated, and they love each other, but it was a real struggle because she was fighting her orientation. She finally came out of the closet when she was at Stanford and met Mom Two. Right after they both graduated, they and my dad made me.”

“Wait! Like all three of them had sex together?!”

“Yes. Anyway, while my dad was in college, he and his dad bought the house my dad lives in. Later, the coach house, which was like the servants’ house, and which was originally part of the same property, became available. Dad and his dad bought it, combined the two properties, and Mom One and Mom Two moved in when they came to Chicago. I was born about nine months later.”

“So who lives with your dad?”

“His legal wife, two other wives, my youngest brother, and my three sisters. My other two brothers live with their mom and her boyfriend in Aurora.”

“Holy smokes! That’s even MORE complicated than I thought! I thought your dad just had lots of girlfriends!”

“He does! And he has three wives. And kids by four women, which I’m sure I told you.”

“No wonder you’d be allowed to fool around in your house!”

“It’s totally up to you.”

“Let’s ask my mom after lunch. I mean if I can come to your house. She’d NEVER let us do it in my bed!”

🎤 Steve

After lunch, I had two interviews scheduled - Amara Chaudhary, who was interviewing to be Eve’s assistant; and Brock Shaw, who was interviewing to replace Noelle. Amara would be first, and because she was going to be working at the C-level, I would do a full interview. Surprisingly, she’d listed Dante as a reference.

But that wasn’t the strangest coincidence. Her current position was with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and one of her listed references was Anala. I had tried to get in touch with Anala, but she was on vacation until the 7th. I hadn’t known until Amara’s documents had been forwarded earlier in the morning, and neither Bob nor Eve knew about my relationship with Anala.

Amara was shown into my office and we sat down at the low table.

“How long have you known Anala Patel?” I asked.

“She’s my sister’s friend, and I think I first met her in ‘80 or ‘81. Do you know her?”

“I met her not long after you did. I see you’ve had quite varied experience - property management, office management, and facilities management. And a bit of IT infrastructure management. You spend about three years at a company and then move on.”

“The last two before Skidmore were downsizing. Each time I took the package because I knew I could easily find a new job. Once I heard packages were going to be offered by my previous company, I sent my resume to Skidmore and invested the package.”

“You don’t have to answer, but why invest the packages?”

“I had enough savings each time to not have to use the buyouts, because I found positions quickly each time.”

“That’s actually genius,” I replied. “May I ask about the buyouts?”

“Three months each, so I ended up with six months of pay in my investment account.”

“Nice. That’s not going to work here, by the way. We’ve never had a layoff and never downsized.”

Amara smiled, “I did my research, read the article in Crain’s, and read the material that your HR department sent me. This is a place I’d like to work.”

“I’m curious how you know Dante Puccini.”

“He was our next-door neighbor growing up, and my sister, Gudia, worked for him as a programmer in the late 80s. When I let her know I was thinking of applying here, she suggested I speak with Dante.”

“Did you ever work for him? I didn’t see it on your résumé.”

“During High School and college, I worked as a receptionist and office clerk during breaks.”

“Why leave Skidmore?”

“I wasn’t specifically looking to leave, but Anala Patel pushed me to apply. She felt I would be a great fit in a company you ran, and that I could actually make a real difference here, which I couldn’t at Skidmore.”

“So you’re happy there?”

“Let’s just say I’m not unhappy, but I’m also not ecstatic. NIKA is absolutely a place where I want to work.”

“I see you completed a Master’s while you were working,” I said.

“It made the most sense,” she replied. “I decided to participate in recruiting at graduation, and secured a good entry-level position. I worked for a couple of years, then went back to Northwestern for my Master’s.”

“You do realize that everything you learned while getting your MBA, except for financial reporting, is likely at odds with how we do things?”

“Eve made that abundantly clear, as did your employee handbook. It will be nice to work at a firm which prides itself on being a pure meritocracy, not to mention which provides excellent benefits and is run by women.”

Her comment confirmed something which I suspected, and had felt her résumé confirmed - she’d been penalized for the cardinal sin in many male-run firms - having two children and taking time off to care for them. It explained her apparent lack of advancement, despite having an MBA, and her willingness to take the ‘buyout packages’ when the firms she worked for were looking to downsize. Of course, that was something I couldn’t ask about, because questions like that were off-limits, even if there was no discriminatory intent.

Bob had explained, much to my annoyance, that questions like that were not only presumptively discriminatory, but the intent of the person asking wasn’t taken into account. I’d said to him, as I’d said to so many others, that collective punishment, and assuming of guilt, were no way to run a society. I hadn’t pointed it out, but that was how authoritarian governments tried to keep people in line, and in the end, it always failed.

All of that said, there was a way I could broach the topic without violating the arbitrary government restrictions on my speech.

“Some might say you’re overqualified for this position,” I observed.

“And given the way your company was described in the Crain’s, I think you understand the challenges I’ve had with having children and a career.”

I had the answer I was looking for without asking the question which could get me into trouble, and that satisfied my concern that she was overqualified for the position.

“Did anyone share the pay scale with you?”

“Yes, HR did. I was surprised that you don’t want to know what I’m making, but when HR explained why, it makes perfect sense. The salary is acceptable.”