Luxury Cafe Owner

by Andrew Reise

  Anaiya seemed to startle slightly. “Excuse me?”

  “Did you make an audio or video recording of the interview?”

  “No.” Anaiya denied it.

  Claire smiled a cold smile.

  “Here we go,” Alan thought.

  “So, it’s your assertion that you did not record the interview?” Claire asked again.

  This drew another objection from the lawyer for the other side. “Objection, asked and answered. You don’t have to answer that.”

  Claire shrugged. “That’s fine. Court reporter, can you read back the record to show my question and Ms. Williams’ answer?”

  The court reporter did so.

  Claire nodded, still smiling. Then she pulled out a tablet.

  “Let the record reflect that I’m using a tablet to play a video that has been marked as Plaintiff’s Exhibit #2.”

  “The record will so reflect.”

  Claire played the video for Anaiya and her lawyer. It was, of course, the security camera footage showing Anaiya interviewing Alan. It also clearly showed the audio recorder that she had.

  Anaiya’s face paled, and she looked at her lawyer. He was at a loss.

  “This is footage from a security camera in Lux Cafe. Do you recognize the two people shown in the video?”

  Anaiya looked at the lawyer but he just sighed and nodded at her that she should answer.

  “Yes.”

  “Who are they?”

  “Myself and Mr. Pender.”

  “The time and date code on the bottom of the video indicates this is from April 20th at 3:30 PM, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “The same time you were interviewing Mr. Pender?”

  “Yes.”

  Claire smiled. “You are holding a recording device in your hand in the video, aren’t you?”

  Anaiya looked at her lawyer desperately but there was nothing he could do. “Answer the question.”

  Anaiya looked at Claire with a wild look in her eyes. “I guess it is.”

  “You guess? Is it or isn’t it? Let me remind you that you are under oath.”

  Anaiya struggled with herself, but the video was of impeccable quality and everyone could clearly see it was a recording device. “Yes.”

  Claire nodded, but then put on a confused look. “But didn’t you claim earlier that there was no recording?”

  “No.” Anaiya blurted out.

  Claire raised an eyebrow. “No? I can have the court reporter read your answer back to you if you’ve forgotten.”

  Anaiya thought rapidly and shook her head. “No, what I mean is that yes I said that, but no that’s not what I meant.”

  “I’m confused, you’re saying you didn’t mean to say you didn’t record it?”

  She nodded frantically. “Yes, what I meant to say was that no recording existed. You see, after I wrote the article, I deleted it. I have a limited amount of space on the recorder and I needed it for other things.”

  Claire nodded. “So, you’re now saying that you actually did record it, but that you then deleted it?”

  Anaiya calmed down. “Yes.” She smirked to herself. “So, what if you know there was a recording, it’s already gone isn’t it? You have no proof. Even if it looks suspicious, a jury won’t side with you just based on that alone.” She started to feel better as she thought this to herself.

  Claire smiled colder than ever. Then she pulled out another two pieces of paper. “Let the record reflect I’m handing what’s been marked as Plaintiff’s Exhibit #3 to the deponent and opposing counsel.”

  Anaiya, the lawyer, and the head of the newspaper all looked at the paper in despair. They didn't even know what it was yet, but if the other side pulled it out with this timing it couldn't be good.

  As Anaiya’s face paled, the lawyer desperately tried to think of an objection, and the head of the newspaper shook his head ruefully, the voice of the court reporter permeated the momentary silence. “The record will so reflect.”

  Claire set copies of the paper on the table facing towards Anaiya and her lawyer.

  “The document marked Plaintiff’s Exhibit #3 in front of you is a copy of a specific passage from the Journalistic Code of Ethics. The same Journalistic Code of Ethics which your organization has purportedly adopted as their code of conduct. Could you please read the passage aloud?”

  Anaiya’s face paled as she looked to her lawyer in desperation, but he shook his head and said, “Go ahead.” There was nothing left he could do.

  Claire cleared her throat impatiently. “Ms. Williams?”

  Anaiya took a deep breath and began reading.

  “Journalists must maintain their integrity at all times. The public relies on journalists to present them with the truth. If the public loses faith in journalism, then the entire purpose of journalists is null. Thus, to protect their integrity, journalists must preserve all interview notes and recordings. By no means are you required to give up your sources. However, should someone accuse you of lying, you must be able to show some evidence that you are not.”

  Anaiya finished reading as silence fell over the room.

  Claire nodded. “Thank you. Now, can you explain how your deletion of the interview recording is consistent with that policy?”

  Anaiya couldn’t answer.

  “Ms. Williams?” Claire prompted her.

  “I can’t.” Anaiya stammered out.

  Claire nodded as if she had expected the answer. “Indeed you can’t, because it is entirely inconsistent with the policy. Given that your organization has adopted this as their own policy, one can say that your organization is in the habit of maintaining these records in the ordinary course of business. Deleting a record that is normally maintained in the ordinary course of business is indicative of intentional spoliation of evidence.” At this point Claire directed her focus to the lawyer for the newspaper. “We will be filing a motion for sanctions. I’m sure you know as well as I do that spoliation like this will likely result in an instruction that the jury can assume the recording was highly damaging to your case and can take it into consideration. It might even result in a directed verdict.”

  The lawyer looked at the head of the newspaper and shook his head. “Let’s take a break. I need to consult with my client.”

  Claire nodded.

  The court reporter stopped typing, and the lawyer for the newspaper left the table with the head of the newspaper, the owner, and Anaiya. They went out of the room.

  Claire turned to look at Alan and noticed he was just staring off into the distance.

  “Hey, this is good news. Everything went as planned. Most likely they’ll settle. You’ll have to think about what you want from them if you haven’t already.”

  Alan looked at her, confused. “Sorry what?”

  Claire stared at him. “Are you okay?”

  Alan nodded. “Yeah I just, I don’t know, I guess I was daydreaming.”

  Claire shook her head. “You really should be paying attention. Remember that you’re here to make sure they don’t slip anything past me.”

  Alan nodded, chagrined. He stood up to stretch and walk around, trying to wake up a bit.

  “If only we had some of your coffee to help wake you up.” She laughed, but then looked at him. “Speaking of, when are you going to introduce to-go cups? I like the cafe and all, but sometimes I just don’t have time to work there, like when I have to be in court.”

  Alan shook his head. That was something that was up to the system, so he didn’t have a good answer for her.

  As they chatted, the other side walked back in.

  Everyone took their seats, and the court reporter indicated they were back on the record.

  The lawyer looked over at her and said, “Unless there are any more questions, I believe this will be the end of the deposition. We would like to talk with opposing counsel off the record.”

  The court reporter looked to Claire.

  Claire nodded and said, “We have no more ques
tions at this time, so we will go ahead and end the deposition here. Thank you very much for your time. Could you please send a copy to this address?”

  Claire and the opposing counsel handled some procedural matters and walked the court reporter out. Then they sat back down to the table.

  “My client is willing to make a one-time only settlement offer to your client,” The lawyer began, but Claire cut him off.

  “Don’t posture in front of me. We have you over a barrel and you know it. You’re willing to settle, but that doesn’t mean we are. Tell us what you’re offering, and we’ll tell you what, if anything, we want beyond that.”

  Alan nodded.

  The lawyer looked at the owner of the newspaper, Warren Rose. When he nodded, the lawyer turned back.

  “Alright, here’s what my client is willing to offer.”

  “My client is offering to pay Mr. Pender $2,000,000 for the damage to his business. I believe you’ll find that more than generous.”

  Claire’s eyes widened slightly. Truthfully, even if they could win the case, there was still the matter of damages. It was hard to show how damaging his reputation led to monetary damages, as most of it was speculation. There was a very real chance the judge or jury would give them significantly less than $2,000,000.

  Claire looked at Alan.

  Alan sat, his chin in his palm, thinking. He looked at Claire, the lawyer, at Warren Rose, and finally at Anaiya.

  He shook his head. “No.”

  Warren Rose scoffed. His lawyer gestured for him to stop, but he ignored the lawyer. “Look here. Your business is new. The damage to your reputation isn’t worth $2,000,000. We’re being very generous here. If you’re smart you’ll take it.”

  Alan looked at him, then at Claire. “May I?”

  Claire nodded. “Just be careful what you say.”

  During settlement negotiations some conversation between the parties could actually facilitate matters, assuming there wasn’t some relationship between the two that would make it harder, such as in a divorce.

  Alan looked to Warren Rose and began speaking. “First off, it’s not just my reputation at stake here, it’s yours. My business may be small, but your newspaper isn’t. If people lose trust in it, you’ll stand to lose a lot of money. Now, you may not care about that, as you have plenty of other businesses. I know that. But the value of owning a newspaper isn’t limited to just money, it’s in the ability to influence public opinion. And losing that would be seriously damaging. So don’t treat me like an idiot. You have a lot at stake here.”

  Warren looked at him coolly before nodding. “That’s true. I do have a lot at stake here which is why I’m offering to compensate you with so much money. But don’t take me for a pushover. Your lawyer may think she has us bent over a barrel, but I’ll be damned if I let someone threaten me into giving more money than they deserve in a lawsuit.”

  Alan shook his head. “I don’t care about the money.”

  Warren looked at him surprised.

  “$2,000,000 is very generous. I know that. But it doesn’t actually fix my problem. I’ve worked hard to create a cafe that caters to the rich. It’s all about luxury. And something like this is a blemish that money can’t scrub away.”

  Warren looked at him, understanding dawning. “You’re the same. It’s not about the monetary loss, it’s about what else is at stake.”

  Alan nodded. “That’s why I have a couple of demands. First, you need to print a retraction. I don’t need the paper to take responsibility, but you should explain that the reporter in question had a personal grudge and wrote a false article. That will help alleviate the damage to my reputation. Also…” Alan paused for dramatic effect.

  Warren played along and leaned in. “Also?”

  “I want you to print what I originally said in the interview.”

  Anaiya coughed as she choked on her own spit. She needed to publish that ridiculous interview that was more like an advertisement? Not to mention she didn’t even have the recording anymore.

  Seeming to read her thoughts, Alan continued. “I know the recording is gone, but I can repeat what I said before. It was basically just expounding on the great aspects of the cafe to address Ms. Bianchi’s attack.”

  Anaiya looked at him, furious. In what way was that a response, it was clearly an advertisement.

  Alan ignored her and looked at Warren.

  “Do we have a deal?”

  Warren looked at him. Truthfully, this outcome was different than he expected. The fact that the other party wasn’t greedy for money, but rather cared about his business reputation was surprising. He felt a grudging respect for the man in front of him.

  Warren looked to his lawyer and nodded.

  Claire clapped her hands. “Alright, I’ll draft up a settlement agreement and get it to you to review and sign.”

  The lawyer nodded. “Then I guess we’re done here.”

  Anaiya let out a breath of relief. When Alan brought up his two demands, she was sure one of them would be that she was fired.

  Alan saw her sigh, and sneered a little in his head.

  “I won’t even need to deal with you,” Alan thought to himself.

  The parties stood and shook hands, and then parted ways. As Alan walked away, he looked at the relaxed Anaiya and shook his head. Then he left.

  Chapter 21

  Anaiya followed the lawyer, the head of the newspaper, and Warren Rose out of the room. The ride back to the City A Daily News offices was silent. No one said a word the entire way.

  Anaiya looked to Warren, expecting some sort of criticism, but he was eerily silent.

  The car pulled up to the office and they got out. Warren Rose looked at the head of the newspaper. “Let’s go to your office.”

  Then he turned around and walked inside. The head of the newspaper looked at Anaiya and sighed before following him inside. Anaiya felt a cold lump in her stomach as she grew queasily nervous.

  They talked for less than a minute before the head of the newspaper came out. He looked to Anaiya and beckoned to her with a hand.

  Anaiya walked over, dread growing. She looked at him, hoping she was wrong.

  He shook his head. “I’m sorry. We’re letting you go. You violated our internal policies, cost us so much money, and on top of that your credibility will be gone after we print the retraction. There’s no way we can keep you.”

  Anaiya sagged visibly as his words hit her. Not only would she lose her job, when the retraction was printed she would find it hard to get a job in journalism anywhere.

  She went to her office in a daze, packing her things in to a box. She barely remembered leaving the office and heading outside. As she walked she thought to herself, “Why? Why did I have to go after that stupid cafe?” As she thought that, her dread changed into genuine confusion.

  Her face sported a perplexed look as she thought. “It’s not like he was that intolerably rude in the interview. Not to mention I’ve had much more offensive things said to me. Even if I was angry what could possibly have driven me to make things up in an article?” She genuinely didn’t understand why she had acted so unreasonably.

  As she walked down the street, an author hurried past her, knocking into her shoulder as he did so. “Sorry about that,” He called over his shoulder as he continued past her.

  Anaiya barely noticed as she continued to ponder her strange behavior.

  Chapter 22

  Alan and Claire left the deposition in good spirits. It had gone perfectly. Not only did they win, they got everything they wanted.

  “Want to go back to the cafe? Coffee is on me.” Alan offered.

  Claire smiled and shook her head. “I need to head back to the office once I walk you out and draft up the settlement agreement. It’s not over until they sign it.”

  Alan nodded. “In that case, I’ll just give you my thanks. If you hadn’t encouraged me to do this, it would have taken a long time for my cafe to recover. Since they settled for so much,
let me pay for the hours you put into it.”

  Claire waved him off. “None of that. Like I told you this was pro bono. If you really want to thank me then hurry up and get to-go cups!”

  Alan laughed and they shook hands before parting.

  Alan hailed a cab and went back to the cafe. He busied himself in the kitchen, preparing the cafe for opening. Finally he walked to the door and flipped the from closed to open. As he went to do so he noticed someone already waiting at the door.

  He opened the door and Tom hurried inside.

  “The deposition was today right? How’d it go?”

  Alan shrugged. “As well as it could have. We came to an agreement about a settlement.”

  “How much?” Tom asked.

  Alan shook his head. “I’m not sure I can tell you, but just pay attention to the newspaper in the days to come. You’ll see something then. In any case, it went well.”

  Tom felt frustrated, but he understood. Revealing the agreement can sabotage it, and the actual agreement would likely include non-disclosure provisions.

  “Fine, since it went well we need to celebrate. Let’s throw a party here at the cafe. We can invite Gerald, Claire, all of the regulars. It’ll be a nice get together.”

  Alan thought about it. Generally he wouldn’t agree to something like that, but he felt somewhat indebted to all of them. They had all supported him through this. He nodded.

  “Alright, let’s plan on tomorrow night, that should be fine right?”

  Tom shrugged. “We’re all our own bosses anyway, so that should be fine.”

  Alan laughed. It really was true. Claire was a managing partner at her firm. He owned his own cafe. Tom and Gerald both owned their respective businesses. It was weird to think of himself as a boss, especially in comparison to the other three.

  “It’s hard to believe I’m the same person who was struggling to find a job right out of college.” Alan mused to himself.

  Then he shook his head, clearing the thoughts away and focusing on the task at hand. He went to the kitchen to make Tom his cappuccino. Before he went, he texted Claire and Gerald to let them know about the party.