Trial & Tribulations

by Rachel Dylan

  A loud knock sounded at the door, but before he could even answer, Morena walked in.

  “We’ve got a problem,” she said. She stood with her arms crossed.

  “We have a lot of problems. What is yours?”

  “Stacey.”

  “What? I thought she was doing great. We just talked about her. Her progress has been phenomenal.”

  “I got a report from Othan. He was at her house last night.”

  “Why in the world would he ever make himself known to her right now?” He stood up. “It’s far too soon for her to be consorting with demons.”

  “Othan claims that he had no other choice because an angel named Ben was at her apartment.”

  “Really?” Now wasn’t that something. Angels just didn’t appear to anyone. “That means that Stacey is even more talented than we thought if the angels have taken an interest in her.”

  “I know.”

  “How did Othan present himself?”

  “He claims it was all going well until she rebuked him. Then the literal fangs came out.”

  He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “You know sometimes I think we’d be better off without the demons. They can’t control themselves and then something like this ends up happening. He should’ve never gone there even in one of his handsome forms. He should’ve given us a chance to handle it without his interference.”

  She nodded and pushed a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes. “Now we have a mess to clean up, and if we don’t act fast we’re going to lose her.”

  “What do you suggest?” Layton asked.

  “First, I think she needs a little time to think about all of this. Then I think you should talk to her. We have to get her back to what she seemed to be really drawn to which was the New Age side of things. Like you said, she’s not ready to be fully submersed.”

  “Talk about a way to screw up a fabulous opportunity. I will talk to her. I refuse to let her go back to church. I saw on her intake file that she used to be a churchgoer. Do you know which one?”

  Morena’s bright red lips turned down into a frown. “Which one do you think?”

  “Are you kidding me? She went to Windy Ridge Community Church?”

  “Yup.”

  “Of all the churches in the Chicago suburbs.” He rubbed his chin. “I don’t like the feeling of any of this. Too many coincidences.”

  “I agree. Which is all the more reason to be persistent. It’s a long battle.”

  “Let’s see if she comes back to work. Then we’ll determine how best to handle it.”

  “Good.” She paused. “How did the mediation go?”

  He threw his head back. “Disastrous. I swear that Nina Marie is getting stronger by the day. We have to turn our attention to neutralizing her. We also need to make a stronger effort against that lawyer. Nina Marie may be too strong to take a hit, but Olivia Murray is another story.”

  Chapter Eight

  Olivia needed to brief the managing partner, Chet Carter, on the litigation and provide a mediation update. She’d been dreading this phone call, but it was one she needed to make.

  After getting his secretary, Darlene, and waiting for a minute, his voice came on the line. “Olivia, tell me how it’s going out near the Windy City.”

  “Strange, sir. Very strange.”

  “How so?”

  “This is unlike any litigation I’ve ever been involved in.” She hadn’t told him about the incident that happened to her hotel room, but she couldn’t leave him totally in the dark. After all, there was a good possibility he would still want to swoop in and be first chair in the trial.

  “Each litigation is a bit different,” Chet said. “They all have their own unique quirks.”

  “This is a lot more than that. Not only is there extreme interpersonal animosity between two of the key players on each side because of a romance gone wrong, there are some things that come along with representing a New Age company that I wanted to make sure you were aware of.”

  “Like what?”

  “It’s not unusual for there to be talk of witches and spiritual forces in our meetings. These people believe they are not only in a battle in this lawsuit, but in some type of turf war over the New Age kingdom.” How else could she say it without him thinking she was completely delusional?

  “Are you buying into any of this, Olivia?”

  This was such an awkward conversation to have, but it was best to divert the question away from a direct answer. “I’m very focused on the litigation, but I wanted to prepare you for all of the external elements at play here. No one likes to be blindsided.”

  “How did the mediation go?”

  “Layton Alito flipped his lid. I don’t know what set him off. My presentation was no more inflammatory than Grant Baxter’s.”

  “What did he do?”

  “He jumped across the table and tried to choke Nina Marie.”

  “You can’t be serious.

  She sighed. “Unfortunately so.”

  “Maybe we should discuss sending additional staff just to make sure you have more people around you. I don’t know if I like the feeling of you being alone to deal with all of this mess.”

  “There’s plenty of legal work that I have people doing back in DC. But as far as it helping with all the drama, I don’t think additional bodies will change that.”

  “What about private security?”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary at this point.” Private security wasn’t going to be able to do anything against the forces of darkness. “I think Layton’s anger is directed at Nina Marie specifically. But honestly she doesn’t really seem that threatened by him. It’s almost like she enjoyed seeing him come after her.”

  He laughed. “Sounds like they’re an interesting bunch. In good news though, we just received full payment on the first three invoices. Between all the hours you’ve been working and the rest of the group here in the office, it was a hefty bill.”

  “Well, there’s always that.” Chet was all about the bottom line. Since she wasn’t a partner yet, the finances were much less of a concern for her. And oh yeah, the fact that she was smack dab in the middle of a battle between two evil enterprises.

  “Keep me posted. If you have any concern whatsoever for your physical safety, Olivia, you need to let me know immediately. I know I talk a lot about the money, but I need to know my lawyers are safe.”

  “Thank you, Chet. I really appreciate that.”

  “Talk to you later.”

  The line went dead, and she got ready to make her next phone call on her list.

  “Lizzie,” she said.

  “Olivia, how in the world are you?”

  “Just plodding forward with the litigation.”

  “I’m sorry I’ve been so delinquent on answering your calls. This current trial has totally kicked my butt. I’ve been an awful friend.”

  “Don’t even think about apologizing. I know exactly how it is.”

  “How are you holding up spiritually?”

  “It’s tough. But I’m trying to keep my prayer life strong and remember that God has a plan.”

  “I have a piece of good news. Pastor Paul is going to be back preaching next month.”

  “That is wonderful. I’m glad he took the time off and listened to his doctors.”

  “Yeah. I hear he wasn’t so happy about the diet changes, but who is?”

  “I hope you aren’t too run down from the trial.”

  “I’ll be okay. And even though I’m in the middle of the trial, if you need me, I’ll make it happen, Olivia.”

  “You’ve always had my back, Lizzie. I’m so appreciative of having you as my best friend.”

  “Awww. Now you’re going to make a girl cry.”

  Olivia’s heart warmed. “I know you have work to get back to. Keep me posted.”

  “Same to you.”

  She ended the call and reflected on her friendship with Lizzie. She was grateful for having someone she co
uld always count on.

  But now it was time to make the final call on her list.

  This time to Grant and back to the issue at hand. Even though he wasn’t the one that assaulted her client, she had to make clear to him that Layton needed to be kept on a tight leash. She might even go to the court and file a restraining order, but she should run that idea by Nina Marie first.

  She stood up out of her comfortable conference room chair and walked down to Nina Marie’s office.

  When she got to the door, she saw that Nina Marie was sitting behind the desk tapping away on her computer.

  “Nina Marie,” Olivia said. “Do you have a minute?”

  “Sure.” She motioned for her to come on in. “For my star lawyer, I have more than a minute. What do you need?”

  “Do you want to file a restraining order against Layton?”

  Nina Marie laughed. “Layton is the one that needs protecting from me. Not the other way around.”

  Olivia smiled. “I thought you might say that. But we would be filing this more as a strategic move. Not necessarily to actually prevent him from doing harm to you.”

  “What’s the strategy? Your mediation one worked out so well, I can’t wait to hear this one.”

  “We’ve got the upper hand after the mediation. I say we should strike now. At the very least, this will be more paperwork for them and a distraction. I’m sure it will elicit an emotional response from Layton.”

  Nina Marie took off her glasses and placed them in front of her. “You really do have the mind of a strategist. Are you sure you wouldn’t have any interest in coming to work for us after all this is over?”

  “I can best serve clients at the law firm. But before I went and threatened Grant with the restraining order, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t an empty threat and that you would be on board.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Great. I’ll make that call to Grant and then get the paperwork ready to file with the court.”

  “Good job, Olivia. First the mediation and now this. I’m glad to have you as our lawyer.”

  “You’re welcome.” Olivia shut the door behind her, and then she walked back to the conference room.

  Honestly, she didn’t know how to deal with the praise from Nina Marie. Of course she wanted to do her job to the best of her ability and uphold the ethical standards that were required of her as a lawyer. But she couldn’t help but feel a little awkward to receive those words of encouragement from someone she knew was evil and had the ability to hurt so many people. There was a piece of her that wondered if there was any chance for Nina Marie to ever turn away from the darkness.

  Lord, I’m just doing the best I can here. I hope it’s enough, and I hope that I can continue to do Your will.

  Instead of giving Grant a call, she decided to pay him a visit. He’d popped in on her unannounced before. It was time to turn the tables.

  When she arrived at his office, she smoothed down her navy suit jacket and walked into the reception area.

  “I’m here to see Grant Baxter.”

  “Is he expecting you?” The older woman asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Just tell him that Olivia Murray is here.” The woman working today wasn’t the same one who was at the desk during the mediation.

  A few minutes later Grant walked out into the lobby. He looked striking today in a dark suit and hunter green tie that offset his blue eyes.

  He smiled at her as he showed her to his office. “So what do I owe this lovely surprise visit?” He paused and lifted up as his hand. “Wait, are you here to gloat about the mediation?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Please take a seat then.”

  She sat across from him as he took a seat behind his desk in a huge chair. “I’m not here to gloat, but I am here to talk about the events that transpired at the mediation.”

  “Uh oh. I don’t like the sound of this.”

  “As a professional courtesy, I wanted to let you know that we’ll be filing a restraining order against Layton Alito. He physically attacked my client in the mediation in front of all of us including the meditator. I feel confident a judge will grant our petition.”

  Grant leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands above his head. “Well played, Olivia. I must say. I was almost starting to feel sorry for you, but you’ve shown you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself. To think for a minute I was wondering if I was going crazy. But it was all for show. To gain advantage in the litigation. So again, well played.”

  She shook her head. “You’re mistaken. Yes, I’m litigating this case as hard as I can and doing the best I can. But in no way did I mislead you about the other things that have been going on ever since I arrived in Windy Ridge almost four months ago.” Her frustration started to build and she took a deep breath. “You felt it too, Grant. Don’t forget that.”

  “If you’re right, then maybe I should be the one filing the restraining order against your client.” He threw down the gauntlet.

  “If you take a minute and think about all of this, you’ll see that I’ve always been straight forward with you about everything.”

  He waved his hand in the air. “Including the witches and demons part.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.

  “What has gotten into you?”

  “I’m tired of everyone talking all of this nonsense and acting as if it’s a rational approach.”

  “I hate to break it to you, Grant, but you took on a New Age company as a client. That’s what they do.”

  He looked at her with his big blue eyes wide. “I expected incense and meditation and holistic medicine or something. I’m not even sure exactly what I expected, but I can surely tell you it wasn’t all of this.”

  “All I can say to you is that nothing I’ve done or said has been untruthful or misleading. I’m doing my job the best I can, but I’ve never had a case like this before either.”

  “And yet you’re here trying to push the envelope and no doubt try to get a reaction from my client.”

  “Wouldn’t you do the same thing if you were in my position?”

  He didn’t answer, and she knew she had him on that one.

  “Grant, is everything all right otherwise?”

  “Yes. I feel fine. The mediation wasn’t ideal obviously, but none of that will matter when it comes time for trial.”

  “Good. That’s all I needed. I didn’t want to just drop the filing for a restraining order on you without any notice. I’ll be filing it with the court by the end of the day today.”

  “Great.” His sarcasm was still in full effect.

  “You used to like me, you know. I’m not the enemy here.”

  He frowned. “Unfortunately, at the rate this is going, if you aren’t the enemy, you will be very soon. And I’m sure you’ll start to feel the same way about me. It was probably foolish to think we could have a friendship while a case as stressful as this was ongoing.”

  “It doesn’t have to be like that.”

  He nodded. “Actually, I think it does. From here on out, if you have business to attend to, please make an appointment.” All the warmth had left him as he spoke devoid of emotion.

  “I understand. And I’m sorry.” She stood up and walked toward his door.

  “Olivia, wait.”

  She turned around.

  He looked at her but didn’t say a word.

  “Yes?”

  “It’s nothing. I’ll talk to you later.”

  She walked out feeling like she’d just lost a battle even when she should feel victorious over the restraining order.

  **

  Pastor Dan took a sip of coffee as he put the finishing touches on his Sunday morning sermon. While he enjoyed preaching, this message he was preparing was particularly resonating with him.

  “Pastor Dan,” a female voice said.

  He took off his reading glasses and looked up at his office door. “Stacey! I haven’t seen you in such a long time.”

&nbs
p; “Can I come in?”

  “Of course. Please have a seat.”

  “Sorry I didn’t schedule a time to talk or anything.” She sat down across from him.

  Something was off with her. The smiling and vivacious young woman he knew looked anything but. She fiddled nervously with the hem of oversized shirt.

  “Whatever it is, Stacey, the church will be here for you. Just tell me what’s going on.”

  She placed her head in her hands, and he thought she was about to start crying. But instead she looked up at him. “I’m ashamed for what I’ve done.”

  “The fact that you’re sitting here in my office right now is a big first step. I’m sure whatever it is we can work through it together with the Lord’s help.” His mind raced wondering what had happened to Stacey. As a college student she was faced with a lot of issues.

  “It’s not going to be what you think.” She sighed. “I guess I have to just spit this out. Lately, I’ve become involved with a New Age business called Optimism.”

  He eyes widened. He could only thank God, though, that Stacey was safe, sitting in front of him right now. “I’m familiar with them.”

  She nodded. “Then you know how bad this is going to be. I met Layton Alito in the Indigo bookstore. He introduced himself and offered me an internship. I’ve been working with Morena. I don’t know if you know her.”

  “I don’t think I do.”

  “Anyway, needless to say, I’ve been headed down a dark path.” She shook her head. “Honestly, I didn’t realize all I was exposing myself to. I was intrigued by a lot of the New Age philosophies I read, and I was admittedly drawn into some of the aspects of witchcraft.”

  “Why the change of heart?”

  “If I tell you, then you may want to take me to the hospital and have me psychologically evaluated.”

  She looked perfectly in control as she spoke, so he felt comfortable continuing this conversation. “Try me.”

  Not making direct eye contact for a moment, she took a deep breath. Then she focused her attention back on him. “I was visited by an angel last night.”

  “There’s nothing crazy or wrong with that, Stacey. I believe you.”

  “That’s not the only visitor I had. The angel said his name was Ben. He was talking to me about the dangers of what I was doing experimenting with Optimism.”