by S. W. Frank
“I’m authorized to offer a settlement on my client’s behalf. With the contributory negligence element we believe our number is fair. Ms. Sanchez was aware of the risks when she ignored company policy and went into an area of the plant which requires protective gear.”
Nico discreetly read the case summary from the document in front of Ariana that she knew by heart and didn’t bother to scan.
“What does your client believe is fair and equitable to compensate a young woman with chemical burns on thirty percent of her body, ten percent visible on the face?”
“Seventy thousand dollars.”
“Let’s see that’s about four and half years salary, which does not account for the continual medical expenses, pain and suffering or emotional distress. Does your client intend to insult the injured employee on top of that?”
“Come on, you and I both know this is a very generous offer. Your client was a new hire and disobeyed company policy which led to the injuries sustained.”
“Blame the worker.” Ariana tapped her pen, scribbled a number then counter-offered, “Two hundred seventy-five thousand sounds fair and equitable.”
Levy laughed, “You’re kidding right?”
“I’m very serious.”
“My client will not agree.”
“You’re authorized to agree isn’t that what you said earlier?”
“Yes, but not to a ludicrous amount.”
Ariana frowned. “That’s unfortunate. Five hundred thousand sounds like a bargain compared to the one point two million my client’s suing for. Does your client like paying legal fees and receiving bad publicity for not safeguarding its employees? I would think a multi-billion dollar corporation with unsafe working conditions bordering on inhumane within the United States would generously compensate a hard-working single mother who went to work, followed her supervisor’s order when he reassigned her to the processing department without any other instruction other than she was to fill-in for sick worker for the day and not review the safety equipment she needed to wear or the proper handling is negligent. The supervisor works as an agent for the company and Ms. Sanchez’ injuries occurred within the scope of employment. Thus the supervisor is responsible, I-E, the company. Juries have women on them who often sympathize with other working women with children whose lives are put at risk in the course of doing their jobs.” She leaned in and her last statement struck a powerful blow, “When it comes time to select jurors keep that in mind on your pick Mr. Levy and by the way –men they’re worse. They think about their wives and daughters and once they see the injuries to Ms. Sanchez, the one point two we’re suing for we’ll get and then some.”
Mr. Levy’s subtle discomfort registered when he touched the rim of his glasses. Ariana had him thinking, Nico mused. The woman was good.
The pregnant pause gave Nico the opportunity to interject. “I was married once to a beautiful woman,” goddammit Ariana kicked him in the shin! He brushed it off by moving his chair closer to the table and pouring coffee into the monogrammed cup set out for them. Well, there were only two and he hijacked Ariana’s. He dropped in two cubes of sugar, slowly stirred the black mud and gulped. Levy’s attention was on him, wondering where he was going and eager to hear.
Nico frowned and set the cup down. Nasty ass coffee! “Yep, and I have two pretty sisters. Have you ever been burned?”
Levy shook his head negatively.
“I have.” Nico reached for his collar and pulled it down to display the shiny tight skin, the scars from the fire when he blew-up the Three Kings. “Shit hurts like hell. Man, it destroys tissue and muscle and it gets so bad you want the pain to be over you shrivel up begging for something strong to kill it.” He fixed his collar in place, “But, I’m a man and not a woman and I didn’t get burned on my face. Women’s self-esteem is tied into their appearance. Look at the numerous beauty ads geared toward women. There’s a reason, they know women want to look good and spend money to do it. Now, Ms. Sanchez,” Nico unclipped the picture of the burns on the pretty young woman’s face and flicked it across the table like he was dealing cards, “the emotional distress and the psychological impact from knowing she’s scarred for life must be devastating, don’t you think?”
Levy’s hooded eyes were trained on the picture.
“The company cares about its employees; we both know that, right?”
“Yes, they do. They have a stellar track record in employee safety.”
“A few hundred thousand to help this woman get the care she needs both psychologically and medically isn’t going to make a dent in their profits will it?”
“No, not really.”
“I can’t imagine if this ever happened to my beautiful ex-wife or pretty little sisters, can you imagine that happening to the women you love?”
Levy’s Adam Apple bulged, “No.”
“You’re the man in control here. You’re the legal professional, you weigh the risks versus rewards, you see no one really wins here. Ms. Sanchez hasn’t gained anything really, quite frankly she’ll be the loser but with a little money maybe she won’t be a bitter loser. You’re the man of reason for your client. Advisors are men of truth and the bottom line for your client is money, I understand I’m an advisor too. But, reasonable men act in their client’s best interest, don’t we?”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Seven hundred thousand we can say is reasonable. Yes, it’s more than Ms. Mattheson suggested, but between us men we know its proper compensation for a young mother with three kids who didn’t do anything wrong except go to work and try to make ends meet. It’s also saving your client a helluva lot of money in the end, so you see in fact the company wins, don’t you agree?”
Levy sat back, Ms. Mattheson’s partner was damn good. In court with his persuasive tactics, her client would surely win a bigger amount of cash. He sat forward, “Have the settlement papers drawn up. Send them over and I’ll inform my client seven hundred thousand is the settlement we reached.”
He stood, they all shook hands and when the door clicked shut Ariana locked it, “Damn Nico you should’ve been a lawyer, you’re convincing as hell. We make a super team.”
Her back was to the door and she was unbuttoning her white blouse and the ribbons from her teddy underneath became visible. With each button released more silk came into view. Soon, she wiggled out of her pencil skirt and the hot red garter belt attached to the sexy undergarment got him in action, too.
Nico tossed away his jacket, highly stimulated by the visual. “We do, don’t we?”
“Hell yeah, now how do you want your dinner partner…you want it served on the table or do you want to be fed on the floor?”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Sergio entered Alfonzo’s office with the confidence of a lightweight entering the ring. He exuded confidence and approached the man sitting behind the desk with the signature New York gait. The swag of the streets, unrefined sass that meant I’m a bad mother-fucker, watch-out hombre!
Alfonzo’s shoes rested on the desk as he texted, not giving the man a second thought. Sergio sat and when Alfonzo didn’t look up to greet him he spoke first, “Thanks for seeing me cuz, I know you’re busy and shit but I wanted to talk to you in person…you know…eye to eye…the way real men do, you know what I’m saying?”
Fucker talks too much!
“Yo, this is nice. Puerto Rico’s the shit. I can see why you love it.”
Alfonzo text Domingo a thanks for the update on what was going on around the way and told him he’ll hit him up later then placed his cell on the desk. He pushed his spine further into the plush leather and swiveled his head to
look at Sergio, the bottom of his polished shoes aligned with his face. The man was beaming like a light bulb, all teeth. Carnivorous sonovabitch!
Alfonzo didn’t say a word as the man proceeded, “I came here hoping you’d give your cuz a job. I got skills and…” he chuckled as if he and Alfonzo were buddies and stroked his goatee, “yeah…you know what I’m saying?”
“Not really.” Now it was Alfonzo’s turn to smirk as the smile faded from the dude’s smug face, “Did you bring a resumé?”
“Well…no…nah…” Sergio stuttered.
“Have you had a steady job on the books, paid any taxes?”
“Nah, not really.”
“What does that mean, you either have or haven’t?”
“Nah.”
“Ever been in trouble with the law?”
“Once.”
“For?”
“Fraud, but you already know that. I got busted for credit card fraud and did a year’s probation.”
“Just wanted to hear it from your mouth. You still scamming?”
“That’s why I’m here. I got to clean up my act. You know what I’m saying?”
“It’s not hard to figure it out, I’m not slow witted.”
Alfonzo’s legs slid from the desk. “Have you finished college?”
“Nah.”
“Trade school…technical school…construction courses…handyman…building maintenance…read blue-prints…know CAD …mechanical or automotive skills…how about carpentry….masonry…heavy equipment…anything like that?”
“Um, no…”
“Did you graduate high school?”
The confidence returned. This he could answer in the affirmative. “Yep, I got my diploma.”
“Is it a Regent’s Diploma or regular?”
“Regents, what the fuck is that?”
“If you don’t know then you don’t have one.” Is the sarcastic remark that came from Alfonzo’s stern mouth. “What skills do you have that you think my company needs Sergio?”
“Yo, I’m good at numbers…”
“Square root of 64?”
“Umm…”
“Convert 3 miles to kilometers.”
Sergio bent his head thinking like he was taking a goddamn test. The questions Alfonzo asked were easy. Sal could answer them and here this sucker said he was good at math. Fucking chump!
“Look I don’t have all day, do you know it or not?”
“8’s the first answer and 5km is the second. Is that right?”
“Bingo. You know elementary math. I have engineers, architects, lawyers, secretaries with Master Degrees and some employees younger than you who’ve worked construction since they were sixteen. They know the construction business in and out, can read blue-prints and the whole nine, so what the fuck can you do that they can’t?”
Sergio sighed when he realized Alfonzo was taking him to task, “I don’t know.”
“Exactly, you don’t know and neither do I. You wasted the trip cuz. I don’t hire motherfuckers off the street, those days have passed and I don’t care if you’re family or not. Frankly, I don’t consider you any relation to me and that street shit you got going doesn’t fly either, you know what I’m saying?” His eyes bore through Sergio, “How much did you get when you pawned my brother’s watch?”
Sergio’s eyebrow’s creased in confusion. He thought Giuseppe and Alfonzo were cousins. They were brothers. Damn, they were some blue-eye mean motherfuckers, weren’t they?
“How much?”
“Ten thousand.”
Alfonzo laughed, “You got ripped off. You took it to one of those neighborhood spots didn’t you?”
Sergio’s mouth stayed shut. He wasn’t accustomed to being ‘dissed’ by anybody!
“Of course you did. If you were really smart you would’ve went to the diamond district and got ten times the amount. Now that’s when your math would’ve come in handy.”
Sergio began to understand who he was dealing with. It’s obvious Alfonzo came from the ‘hood and hustling had been his forte. The suited man sitting there with airs of respectability had mastered the game.
“What did you do with the money and the one hundred g’s Nico gave you, huh?”
“I paid off debts.”
“To who?”
“Some dudes threatening to kill my ass.”
“You’re not dead. Guess that’s smart.” Alfonzo replied, then cut the dumb sucker some slack, “How bad do you need a job?”
The slouched posture started to come erect, “Like yesterday, word. I’m out of cash.”
Georgina stuck her head in, “You’re next appointment is here Mr. Diaz.”
“Thanks set him up with some coffee and take him to the conference room and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
The door closed and Alfonzo stood then buttoned his suit jacket. “Here’s the problem I have with you Sergio, you’re looking for a hand-out when you’re an able-bodied man. I’m not knocking your hustle, but what gets me is you have no contingency plan. Every thug and hustler still in the gutter is because they’re too damn stupid to stash away the bulk of their money and does something smart with it. Only an asshole wants to remain in poverty and not see beyond the ghetto. It’s nothing wrong with having reasonable aspirations, yours is unreasonable. You haven’t acquired wisdom. You’re the mugger who won’t work but robs the hardworking lady. A house, an investment, hell a damn bodega is a business. Instead, you spend it on chicas, cars, jewelry and dumb shit. Then, when the money’s gone you’re back at the same nonsense. Round and round like a dog chasing its tail before bending down to lick its shit.” Alfonzo came from behind the desk and stood in front of Sergio, contemplating whether to give the dude a break or kick him out. His gut decided. Sergio was Nico’s problem, not his. “Go back to Nueva York hombre, get a trade. Stop ripping off working people with those credit card scams. If you’re serious about working for me, then go legit, learn construction and come back when you have a résumé, your head on straight and can answer why the hell I should hire you instead of using blood and some whack answer about being good in math. Your father thought quickly on his feet. Vincent worked hard and earned respect. When I look and listen to you I don’t see him. All I see is a two-bit punk too old to be so stupid and it irks the shit out of me. When you’ve acquired a measure of self-respect then approach me and I’ll listen, comprendé?”
Sergio got up. He was inches shorter than Alfonzo, but tall nonetheless. The confident younger man who came through the door like a contender got his ass slammed to the mat by a heavyweight. Alfonzo made it clear who the amateur opponent was and Sergio respectfully admitted, Alfonzo’s verbal punches knocked him down for the count, but he picked himself up. “I’m going to do that cuz and when I do you’re going to hire me.”
His surly cousin’s face boasted a lopsided grin, “Then we’ll wrestle again hombré and hopefully you’re mentally prepared!”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Ha, good for the snot!” Giuseppe remarked when he spoke to his brother after a long day of meetings and issuing favors. Every family wanted a favor and it’s worse when blood relatives such as Sergio emerge from the woodwork like roaches whenever they’re in need. Alfonzo did well by sending the bum into the street. He would have punched Sergio in the nose and laughed when the punk bled. Fucking nerve of the kid!
“I tell you, what are we to do brother with this family we’ve inherited, eh?”
“Live with it is all we can do.”
Alanda snuggled closer to Giuseppe during sleep and he smiled. He loved her womanly curves. He palmed her ass and she pressed into him like warm bread. “Okay, I will see you soon enough. Go have lunch with Selange before she searches you out with a gun.”
“I believe you have the gunslinger groupie, not me.”
At the mention of Geovon
na, Giuseppe stilled. Geovonna died in a car accident. When he heard the news there were mixed emotions, sadness and relief. She had become a nagging thorn in his side and to think he once cared, is what evoked the sadness. He was a whoring fool.
His mother told him about her attempt at blackmail and he laughed when she did. Only a crazy person would concoct such a scheme and believe it might work. “My groupie died in a car accident.”
“Whoa, sorry to hear that bro. You all right?”
“I am being comforted.”
Alfonzo laughed, “Then return to your comforter and get the fuck off the phone!”
“Arriverderci fratello.”
“Yeah go get some pussy and we’ll talk later!”
Giuseppe dropped the cell on the night stand and stared at the ceiling. He wasn’t in the mood for pussy. The warmth of Alanda’s body was enough. His mind drifted, it went places he preferred it did not go. He didn’t want to think, he didn’t like questioning past actions. The more he reflected, the less he understood. He liked Geovonna, during sex that it is; out of bed she put him in a foul mood. Her acid tongue and gossiping drove him insane. Ah, Alanda was a refreshing bedmate. She possessed a soft body and a softer tongue. He preferred her company over many, but the sparks he felt with Shanda is what he couldn’t ignore and is what he reflected on. There was something about her. She was not hard like Geovonna. The tough act was all pretenses. In fact, he saw vulnerability. She was a woman hurt many times who clawed at anyone who approached like a wounded cat.
Giuseppe sighed; he was turning into mush. He saw what women did to men and feared it. Yes, he was afraid to love. But sex had become monotonous and the women blurred together. They were different colors, shapes and sizes that soon turned abstract. Despite his aversion to commitment, he longed for a woman to love.
He envied Alfonzo somewhat. Family, sons and a funny woman.
Yes, that Selange was hilarious.
Always running about with those innocent eyes of an angel, getting men to do whatever she wanted. Poor Alfonzo he was imprisoned by her love. Ah, Giuseppe began to laugh…the picture of her running after Alfonzo a comedy.