by Andrew Reise
Claire shook her head. “I’ll do my best, but I can’t make any promises. After all, the other side will definitely question you about what happened in their own depositions as they will want to verify as many facts in the article as possible to prove it was true.”
Gerald nodded in reluctant acceptance. He figured as much. As the founder, CEO, and majority stakeholder of a large business it wasn’t his first time being deposed in a lawsuit. “I know you can’t promise anything, just do your best.”
The three kept talking when Alan suddenly cleared his throat. They looked up at him.
“Um, would it help if I bring out the video?” He asked innocently.
“Video?” Claire looked perplexed.
Alan pointed to a corner of the room, and they all looked. To their surprise, they noticed for the first time a video camera.
“As a business owner, I’m naturally worried about theft. Especially as I’m the only one working here. Someone could come in at any time while I’m in the kitchen and steal the register. That’s why I installed a security system when I arrived. The video doesn’t have sound, but it should at least show that she at recorded the interview. It also shows that she did interview Tom. Isn’t that enough to force them to hand over the interview or something like that?”
Claire looked at Alan wryly. “Yeah that should be plenty.” Here she was thinking this case was going to be difficult. Now, thinking about her line up of witnesses and the video evidence, she was very much looking forward to how this would go. An evil glint shone in her eye, and Alan shuddered at the grin that spread across her face. For a brief moment, he couldn’t help but pity the newspaper.
“They have no idea what they just unleashed.” Alan thought to himself.
Chapter 19
Anaiya sat at her desk at the office, very happy. She could see the page views on her article rising astronomically. She really might make it big with this article. It appealed to both the popular audience and the business crowd.
Her daydreaming was cut short as a voice barked out, “Anaiya! My office now!”
She recognized it was the voice of the chief editor. “He probably wants to compliment me,” She thought to herself in satisfaction.
She got up from her desk and walked into the main office area. People nodded at her as she passed, and she responded politely.
She walked over to the chief editor’s office and went inside. To her surprise, the chief editor wasn’t alone. With him sat two men she didn’t recognize.
He looked at her and briefly introduced them. “This is our chief legal counsel,” he said pointing at a bookish man sitting in a corner. She nodded and he greeted her.
“Sir why is he-” But before she could finish, the chief editor cut her off. “This,” he said gesturing at the other man, “Is Warren Rose. He owns our paper.”
Anaiya’s eyes went wide. “Of course, I know who Mr. Rose is. A pleasure to meet you. Um, why are you…” She trailed off in confusion. What was with this line up?
The chief editor sighed. “Close the door and take a seat.”
She did as he said, finally picking up on the atmosphere in the room.
“Is there a problem?” She asked nervously.
The chief editor went to speak, but the chief legal counsel waved him to silence and looked at her. “Let me ask you this. And before you answer, keep in mind that it’s my job to protect this newspaper from harm.”
She fidgeted nervously in her seat before nodding.
The bookish man looked at her closely and asked. “Did you lie in your article about Gerald Acadian?”
She realized what this was about. She shook her head vehemently. “No, everything I said about him was the truth. He declined to comment even after I confronted him with what Ms. Bianchi had said in her interview.”
The man shook his head. “Not that. The things you wrote about the cafe. Did you lie?”
A moment of guilt struck her, and she felt a thrill of panic start her heart beating faster. She hesitated, and the man picked up on it. But before he could ask again, she shook her head. “I didn’t lie. That’s how that interview went. Moreover, his cafe really was horrendous in its treatment of customers. I stand by it.” She felt herself babbling so she cut herself off. The lawyer eyed her, unconvinced.
“What’s this about?” She asked nervously.
At this point Warren Rose spoke up. “We’re being sued.”
“What?” She asked incredulously. “What for?”
“Defamation,” He answered coolly. “The cafe owner is alleging that you made up what you put in your article and did it with the intention of hurting his cafe.”
She shook her head again, denying it. “I didn’t!” She said, trying to suppress the rising panic.
The lawyer didn’t look convinced still, so she continued.
“I really didn’t make it up. Also, if, and I’m just saying if, but if I made it was made up, there’s no evidence of that.” She hurriedly tried to reassure them. She knew that if it came down to it, the paper wouldn’t hesitate to throw her to the wolves to protect itself.
The lawyer went to speak but Warren Rose raised his hand, cutting him off. “That better be the case. If there is any evidence, any at all, then we are in a lot of trouble during this lawsuit. So there better not be any evidence of that.” He eyed her meaningfully. The lawyer looked like he had just swallowed a toad, a queasy look on his face.
He quickly excused himself and got up. Before he left, however, he stopped and turned back to the room. “I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you all that destroying evidence is illegal. If there is evidence, now that we have been sued, we have to preserve it.”
The room remained silent. The lawyer wanted to say more but shook his head. He’d done his job and reminded them of the law. Whether they followed his advice or not, that wasn’t something he could control. To avoid ruining the relationship with his client, who also happened to be his boss, he left the room.
Warren Rose eyed her coldly. “Do you know what you need to do now?”
Anaiya broke into a cold sweat, and quickly nodded her head.
He stood up and looked at the chief editor. “Clean this up. I own this paper, not because it makes money, but because it gives me a media outlet. If its reputation is lost, then so is its value to me.”
With that he left the room, striding away. A bodyguard, who she hadn’t seen before, seemed to materialize behind him as he left their offices.
Anaiya still felt shaken as she sat there.
The chief editor eyed her and sighed. He’d known her for years, and she’d done a number of good pieces for the paper. Truthfully, he had hoped that there wasn’t anything wrong with the article, but based on her reactions, he had doubts.
Seeing her in a daze, he spoke up. “You had best prepare yourself.”
She looked up at him in confusion. “Prepare myself? For what?”
He sighed again. “For the depositions.”
Things moved quickly on Alan’s side.
After Claire had decided to represent him, she quickly had him send her the video recordings. Within a day, she had drafted a complaint based on her discussions with him, Tom, and Gerald. As soon as she finished, she went to court and filed it. The initial hearing date was set, and she sent out notices to the newspaper informing them of the lawsuit.
“You need to get ready,” She reminded Alan. “I want you to be there at the deposition of this Anaiya Williams. If you notice something out of place or think of something to call her out on that you can prove, just nudge me and I’ll call for a break so you can tell me.”
Alan nodded calmly to show he understood.
She smiled. “Well, I’m not too worried. With that video you provided and what I managed to dig up we should be able to nail them to the wall.”
Her smile contrasted her vicious words and Alan couldn’t help but shudder again. “Litigators are truly a different breed,” He thought to himself.
“Can I get you a cup of cappuccino?” He asked her. Evening had already come around and Claire hadn’t been in during the day as she’d been too busy.
Claire nodded her head. “That would be great.” She went and sat down while Alan went back to the kitchen.
Alan went back to make the cappuccino. He debated what image he wanted to create in the foam. Thinking about it, he decided on something that was relevant to his current situation.
Walking out of the kitchen, he brought the cup and saucer to Claire and set it down. He nodded to her and walked back to the counter.
As Claire reached for the cappuccino, she eyed it curiously to see what the image today would be. To her surprise, she saw an extremely detailed image of the scales of justice. “Did he do this for me?” She wondered, entertained by the idea that she had somehow inspired this latest piece of art.
She sipped on her cappuccino and went back to work.
The days passed quickly. Alan continued to work as per normal, but his routine was interrupted by periodic updates from Claire. She had already been to court on the complaint. The other side had tried to dismiss the case, claiming there was no basis. However, Claire pointed out that she had multiple witnesses to testify to what happened, and there was a question of fact that existed. As a result, the judge refused to throw out the case, as questions of fact had to be answered before deciding a case on its merits. The judge ordered discovery be opened, and Claire took advantage of that to directly request for all recordings of the interview. However, in the response from the other side, they denied recording anything.
Claire said that everything was in place, and now all they needed to do was depose the other side and catch them in their lie.
Alan didn’t really understand everything Claire told him about, but he still appreciated knowing what was going on.
Finally, Claire came in one Tuesday afternoon.
Alan nodded to her. The cafe was fairly empty. His regulars continued to come, but he hadn’t seen any increase in customers. Whether it was due to the article or other factors, he couldn’t say for sure. However, it just made this case that much more important to him.
Alan went to make her a cappuccino, familiar with her order by now. However, as he opened the door to the kitchen to go prepare her drink, Claire stopped him.
“Alan, I wanted to let you know that things have finally arrived at that point. We will be doing depositions in a couple of day.”
“Does that mean I need to be ready to go to them all?” Alan asked.
Claire shook her head. “You just need to go with me to the deposition of Anaiya. Also, you’ll obviously have to present for your own deposition. However, the deposition of Anaiya is first, and I don’t think we will need to actually have your deposition after we do that. My guess is they will offer to settle then and there.”
Alan nodded his head. He didn’t really understand the strategy of it, but she was the litigator and he trusted that she knew what she was talking about. Moreover, he was happy to not need to close the cafe for multiple depositions. It would already eat into his profits to go to his own.
“Anaiya’s deposition is scheduled for tomorrow at noon. Make sure to be on time. You won’t want to miss the show.” Claire smiled that cold smile that Alan had come to recognize as the smile of doom for her opponent.
Alan suppressed a shiver and nodded. Meanwhile he just thought to himself, “I never want to cross Claire or any other lawyer.” Lawyers really were terrifying.
The next day came quickly, and Alan hung a closed sign on his shop at eleven in the morning and tweeted out that the cafe would be closed until later in the afternoon.
Then, locking the door behind him, he left the cafe.
Claire’s law firm’s office was nearby, so he chose to walk there.
He arrived a quarter of an hour later and walked inside. A receptionist politely received him and had him sit and wait. Claire came walking quickly down the hallways of the office.
“You’re early,” She said.
“I didn’t want to be late.”
She nodded. “That’s good. It gives us time to go over how this will work.”
Claire began to explain how a deposition worked and what he could expect.
“I’ll be asking her questions and the other side will be objecting. However, she’ll still have to answer them as only certain objections actually stand in a deposition. They’re on the record, but they won’t be addressed until-” She shook her head,” IF it goes to court. Then the judge will decide. I’ll bring up whether she had made any recordings of the interview, and she’ll likely deny it. That’s when I’ll show the video.”
Alan nodded to show he understood.
“Your job is just to listen. If I say anything you think is wrong, or notice a lie or something else, just kick me lightly under the table and I’ll call for a break. Then you can tell me what it was.”
“I understand.”
Claire continued to explain more about the procedure and what to expect. Alan listened, nodding occasionally in response to her.
Finally, twelve o’clock rolled around, and as if summoned by the chiming of the clock, Anaiya and a team of people arrived.
Claire nudged him and pointed out one of them. “That’s the owner of the newspaper. The fact that he’s here shows that they know there is potential for trouble with this interview.”
Alan eyed the man curiously. Instantly, he formed an impression. Like Alexander Willington, this man had eyes that looked down on everyone around him. He had an air of aloofness, as if the proceedings had nothing to do with him. Alan disliked him the moment he saw him.
Claire led the way into the conference room where the deposition was to begin. A court reporter sat in the corner, ready to begin the official recording of the proceeding.
Claire shuffled her papers in front of her as everyone was seated before looking up and giving that cold smile.
“Well then, shall we begin?”
Chapter 20
The attorney for the newspaper nodded and the court reporter nodded and swore in Anaiya.
“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”
Anaiya answered with yes with a bored look on her face.
Then they all sat down. Alan took a seat next to Claire. Anaiya glared at him as he did, but he ignored her.
“If anyone should be glaring at someone in this room, I should be glaring at you.” He thought to himself.
“Well then, I suppose we should get started.” Claire said, giving a polite smile at Anaiya.
She went through a series of questions about Anaiya’s background, her work experience, how long she had been a reporter, and so on. Claire had told Alan ahead of time she would have to do this. Part of it was to get Anaiya to lower her guard, but the other part was that it built up to the great reveal that, despite all these years of experience she violated the ethics of journalism and defamed Alan.
“So, you’re clearly an experienced journalist. How long have you been working with City A Daily News?” Claire asked.
Anaiya shrugged, thinking about it. “I suppose it’s been about five years now.”
“In that time have you ever been disciplined for an ethical violation?” Claire asked.
Anaiya shook her head.
“Excuse me, I need you to verbally answer the question, for the record.” Claire stopped her questioning.
Anaiya shrugged. “Whatever, no I haven’t been disciplined for an ethical violation in the five years I’ve worked here.”
Claire looked at the papers in front of her, shuffling them a bit. “Does your company, the newspaper, have a specific ethical code of conduct they follow?”
Anaiya started to nod again but caught herself and answered wryly. “Yes.”
“What is that code of conduct?”
“It’s the Journalistic Code of Ethics.”
Claire nodded. “And who creates the Journalistic Code of Ethics?”
At this point the lawyer for the newspaper chimed in. “Objection, relevance.”
Claire nodded. “Noted, but you can go ahead and answer the question.”
The lawyer nodded at Anaiya and she shrugged. “The National Association of Journalists.”
Claire pulled out two copies of a sheet of paper. Alan looked at it curiously as he hadn’t seen it before. It seemed to be a printed-out image of the City A Daily News website, specifically their mission page.
“Let the record reflect I’m handing what’s been marked as Plaintiff’s Exhibit #1 to the deponent and opposing counsel.”
The court reporter chimed in. “The record will so reflect.”
“The image I’ve placed in front of you is a printed-out image of the City A Daily News website Mission page. You recognize it don’t you?”
Anaiya looked at it and nodded.
“Please answer verbally.” Claire reminded her.
Anaiya sighed exasperatedly and said, “Yes, I recognize it.”
“Does it look accurate to you?”
Anaiya shrugged. “I suppose.”
Claire nodded, looked at her notes briefly, and then said, “Could you please read the highlighted line?”
Anaiya took the piece of paper and began reading. “City A Daily News prides itself on maintaining the highest levels of ethical reporting in the industry. We have fully adopted the Journalistic Code of Ethics as our own internal policy. We are committed to serving as a bastion of truth for the community.”
Claire nodded. “Thank you. Now I’d like to turn to the day in question. Do you remember interviewing my client Alan Pender at the Lux Cafe on April 20th at 3:30 PM?”
“Yes.”
“And you claim that the article you authored reflected that interview truthfully and accurately?”
“Yes.”
Alan restrained himself from reacting, but inside he couldn’t help sneering at her. “She really is too good at lying. Her face didn’t even change.” He thought to himself.
Claire nodded then asked, “Did you make a recording of the interview?”