by Cherry Kay
Beck stood up and yelled, “Objection! He’s badgering the witness!”
The judge looked sharply over the top of her glasses at Beck. “Overruled.”
Jackson stuttered and stumbled over his answer. “It wasn’t like that. You’re making it sound like… I didn’t do that on purpose!” He raised his voice in irritation.
Carlson took the document from Jackson and handed it to the judge. “Defense would like to submit exhibit A, financial statements provided by Mr. Jackson to my client at their meeting.”
He then walked back to the desk and picked up another set of papers and walked over to the witness stand again. “Mr. Jackson, do you agree that this is a true copy of the loan documents that you received from your bank and signed by you one week before the meeting with my client?”
Jackson flipped through the pages and handed them back to Carlson with a disgusted look on his face. “Yes,” he answered with a nasty sneer.
Carlson handed the documents to the judge. “Defense wishes to submit exhibit B, loan documents received by Mr. Jackson that were withheld from my client at their initial meeting.” Carlson then returned to stand a few feet in front of the witness stand.
Jackson looked miserable.
“Mr. Jackson,” Carlson continued. “Where was the first meeting between you and my client held?”
“We met at his office,” Jackson said with a grumble.
Carlson nodded again. “Where were all of the subsequent meetings with my client held?”
“They were at his office,” Jackson answered.
“How many meetings did you have with my client?” Carlson asked.
Jackson answered right away. “We had four meetings.”
“Were there any meetings, at any time, that were not held in my client’s office?” Carlson continued, his eyes set unmoving on Jackson.
Jackson shook his head. “No.”
Carlson lifted his hand to his chin and rubbed his chin as if he was in deep thought. “You’ve stated that my client physically attacked you in your last meeting which you just stated was in his office, is that right, Mr. Jackson?” Carlson asked, looking sharply at him.
Jackson nodded and shouted out passionately, “Yes, he did! He called me all sorts of prejudiced names and he came at me, hitting me, beating me and telling me I had to take the deal he was offering me! He hates blacks and he hates small businesses! He just wants to take over everything with his corporation!”
Carlson nodded and was quiet for a moment, looking at Jackson, and then he said calmly, “Mr. Jackson, are you aware that every part of my client’s offices are constantly monitored by video surveillance?”
Jackson stared at Carlson. He answered in a quieter tone. “No, I wasn’t aware of that.”
Carlson walked over to the table where David was sitting and picked up a slim case with a DVD in it, then he turned and walked over to the judge, handing it to her.
“Defense would like to submit exhibit C, this is a DVD provided by the security department at my client’s offices. There are signed affidavits by each member of security who interacted with those security cameras and tapes at all times, as well as by the head of security for the building. The DVD will show the court that it was, in fact, Mr. Jackson who attacked my client first and that it was my client who defended himself. In the course of his defense, he gave Mr. Jackson a blackened eye and a swollen lip, which were the only injuries sustained by Mr. Jackson at the hands of my client.”
Carlson turned and looked at Jackson and raised his voice slightly. “Mr. Jackson, you stated at the beginning of your testimony that you would do anything to save your company from going under and becoming bankrupt. Does that include withholding vital financial information from possible investors in your company and lying to the police, the public, and the courts about an attack that you state you were a victim of in order to induce the courts to award you funds that may save your business?”
Jackson looked as if he had no idea what to say. He looked at his attorney and Beck shook his head almost imperceptibly.
“No,” Jackson said with uncertainty.
“No further questions,” Carlson stated, and returned to his seat.
The Final Chapter
The judge looked at Beck. “Do you have any further witnesses?”
Beck stood and stated, “No, your honor.”
She looked at Carlson. “Defense, you may call your first witness.
Elise felt her heart flutter and begin to pound as she handed Jaden to Sarah.
Carlson called her to the stand. She stood up and straightened her dress, looking for a moment at David who smiled at her with loving encouragement, and then she lifted her chin and walked to the witness stand and took her oath.
Carlson looked at her and she felt like she was back in their practice sessions. He gave her the same expressions he had when he had practiced simulated testimony with her and it eased her nerves and tension somewhat.
He began as they had practiced. “What is your occupation?”
“I’m a small business owner,” she answered.
“What type of business do you own?” he asked.
“I own six cafés in this city.” Elise felt that she was coming off as confident, which gave her more confidence. She focused on Carlson, as he had taught her to do.
“When you met my client, how many cafés did you own?” Carlson asked, looking at her with steady eyes.
“One,” she said, thinking back to the days when she had worked so hard to see that one shop grow and succeed.
“How is it that you increased your business from one café to six cafés?” Carlson took another step back from her and she raised the volume of her voice slightly.
“David loaned me the funds to open five more shops, which I did, and now all of them are doing very well.” She smiled at David and he smiled back at her.
“What is your relationship to my client?” Carlson asked her.
“I am his wife,” Elise answered with a smile.
“Was his involvement in the expansion of your business in any way related to your marriage to my client?” Carlson stood a short distance from her and she knew that he wanted her to speak louder, so she raised her voice slightly.
“No. He didn’t help me because we were married. He helped me because he reviewed all of the information about my business and believed it could expand successfully,” she answered.
Carlson tilted his head slightly and asked, “How could we know that his involvement in your business had nothing to do with your marriage to him?”
Elise lifted her chin proudly. “Because the money he loaned me for my businesses was a contracted deal and I have paid him back in full with the profits from my businesses.”
Carlson walked over to the desk and picked up another stack of papers. He handed them to Elise where she sat on the stand. “Would you agree that these are records of his loan to you and of your payments back to him, satisfying that loan?” Carlson asked.
She looked briefly through them, having done so in practice several times, and looked up at him. “Yes, they are,” she answered.
Carlson handed the forms to the judge. “Defense submits exhibit D, financial records of the loan my client made to the witness for her business and the documentation of her payments to him which reimbursed him for that loan with interest.”
The judge took the documents and looked over them briefly.
“What is your ethnic background?” Carlson asked, looking at Elise.
“I’m black, or African-American,” Elise answered matter-of-factly.
Carlson nodded. “Did the subject of your ethnicity ever come up during your business dealings with my client?” he asked, looking at her.
She shook her head. “No, it has never come up.”
He slid his hands into his pockets. “Was your ethnicity ever a factor, whether for good or bad, in your business dealings with my client?”
Elise shook her head again. “No, it was never a fa
ctor. It never came up once.”
Carlson walked a few steps away from her. “Has your ethnicity affected your marriage in any way?”
“No, it hasn’t,” she answered.
Carlson indicated Jaden, sleeping in Sarah’s arms. “Do you have any children with my client?” he asked.
Elise smiled widely at Sarah and Jaden. “I do. We have a daughter, that’s her right there.” Elise pointed toward Sarah.
“Has your daughter’s ethnicity ever been a subject of issue in your marriage?” he asked.
“No, it hasn’t,” she answered again.
“In your experience of receiving money from my client for your small business, in order to improve your business, do you believe that he acted with fairness and equality in his business dealings with you?” Carlson looked at her again.
“Yes, he was extremely fair during the entire transaction,” she answered him.
“Did you ever feel as though your ethnicity was a problem for my client?” Carlson asked.
She shook her head. “No. I believe that it wouldn’t have mattered what color my skin was, I think he would have treated me the same way no matter what my ethnicity was.”
He nodded. “Thank you, no further questions.”
She waited as Carlson took his seat and Beck stood up and walked toward her with an obvious glare on his face.
“How long have you been married to the defendant?” he asked, giving her a piercing gaze.
“About ten months,” she answered, keeping her response short and to the point, as Carlson had instructed her.
“So you married him after he was aware that he was coming to court for this situation.” Beck stood in front of her with his hands on his hips.
“Objection!” Carlson stood and called out. “Speculation.”
The judge nodded. “Sustained.”
He shook his head at her. “I’ll rephrase it for you. Why did you marry him?”
“He wanted me to be his wife,” she replied. That was the truth. Keep it short and simple she told herself and don’t lie.
Beck turned and paced a little, watching her intently the whole time. He reminded her of a panther on the prowl, trying to make her feel like his prey. “Did you marry him because of this court proceeding?” he asked her, coming to the meat of it.
“I wasn’t aware of any court proceeding until almost two months ago,” she answered.
He balked at her. “You expect this court to believe that you didn’t know your husband was involved in this situation and was facing court until two months ago?” he retorted.
She nodded her head. “Yes, I do expect the court to believe that because it’s the truth.”
He snapped his head away from her and paced the floor for a few seconds and then looked back up at her again. “You’re a black woman. Why are you married to a white man?” he glared at her again as if she had betrayed her own race by marrying David.
She narrowed her eyes at him slightly, but maintained her demeanor. “His color had nothing whatsoever to do with the reasons why I married him. I love him.” Although she hadn’t loved him when she married him, she had grown to love him and that love was the reason she would stay married to him. She was still speaking truth.
“Did the fact that your marriage to him have anything to do with him helping you with your business?” he peered at her coldly.
She shook her head again. “No, it had nothing to do with it.”
Beck paced around again and then looked up at her. “No further questions,” he snapped at her and went back to his chair. Jackson glared at her and shook his head as if she should be ashamed of herself.
Elise stepped down from the stand and walked back to Sarah, her heart pounding in her chest as she looked over at David and smiled. She took her seat and her baby, and Jaden nuzzled her in her sleep.
Carlson stood and called David to the stand. David drew a deep breath to try to calm himself and then he walked up, took his oath and sat down before the judge. Carlson stood closer to their table than he did to the stand, and he raised his chin and looked at David intently.
“What was your initial agreement with Mr. Jackson?” he asked.
David took a deep breath and tried to keep himself calm on the surface. “When we met the first time, he showed me his financial records and I agreed that it may be possible for me to absorb his company into mine and keep his employees on at their current wage, with their current benefits.”
“Why did you tell him that?” Carlson asked.
“I told him that because I believed he had been upfront and honest with me about the financial health of his company, and I like to support small businesses. I wanted to help him.” David recalled that first meeting and felt as though he should have been able to see through Jackson’s façade. It was one of the rare times in his life when he had been wrong about the person he was dealing with.
Carlson nodded. “What changed your mind about the business you were willing to do with him?”
“Discovery during a routine background check on him uncovered his recent loan, which he had neglected to tell me about, and which shifted the numbers enough to tell me that it was a financially sound decision to absorb his company. It also told me that he was dishonest in his business dealings.” David took another breath and cleared his throat.
Carlson took at step toward him, keeping his eyes on him. “You discovered he was being dishonest with you and yet you made him a counteroffer?”
“I did,” David said.
“What was that counteroffer?” Carlson asked, while walking toward the table they had been sitting at.
“I offered to buy him out and dissolve his company.” David answered.
Carlson picked up a stack of papers on the table and turned toward David. “Why would you do that?” he asked.
David shrugged. “I still wanted to help him.”
Carlson handed him the stack of papers. “Would you agree that these are copies the first offer of absorption and the second offer of a buyout that you gave to Mr. Jackson?”
“They are,” answered David.
Carlson handed the papers to the judge. “Defense submits exhibit E, the initial offer my client made to Mr. Jackson and the subsequent offer made by him after learning that Mr. Jackson had withheld vital financial information.”
The judge took the paperwork from him and reviewed it momentarily.
“Where did your meetings with Mr. Jackson take place?” Carlson asked.
David looked back at Carlson. “All four of our meetings took place in my office.”
Carlson took a step backward and slid his hands into his pockets. “What happened at the last meeting, when you made your counteroffer?”
The memories flashed through David’s mind. “I gave him the offer and explained that I had discovered the loan he had hidden from me and I told him that I was willing to buy him out. He asked what I would do with the company and I told him I would dissolve it. He grew angry and threw the paperwork at me, telling me that I was only turning him down for his initial offer because I was a racist. I argued with him, I said I wasn’t racist at all and that he hadn’t been truthful with me, so he ought to be glad I was doing anything for him at all. He jumped up out of his chair and said that I was killing his company because he was black and rich white men never want to see poor black people succeed. He lunged at me and I dodged him, but he punched me in the stomach, so I belted him in the eye. He tried to punch me again but I ducked and hit him in the mouth. He grabbed the chair he had been sitting on and threw it at me, but missed, and I called security to come take him from the building.”
Carlson nodded his head and pursed his lips. “Did you have any opinions about his ethnicity?”
David shook his head. “No. I never cared what color his skin was.”
Carlson stepped away from him. “Did you ever make mention of the color of his skin?’
“No, never,” David answered.
“Did you ever insult Mr. Jackson
with remarks derogatory toward his ethnic heritage?” Carlson kept his gaze steady on David.
“No, not even a single time,” he replied.
“How many successful business projects have you worked on with people of ethnic backgrounds different than your own since you started your business?” Carlson was as far back as he could possibly stand.
“Easily well over a hundred,” David answered.
“How many successful business dealings have you made with people of the same ethnicity as Mr. Jackson, since you began your corporation?” he continued.
“More than fifty,” David replied.
Carlson nodded. “What is the ethnic background of your daughter?” he asked with a softer tone.
“She is half black and half white,” David said with a smile that he couldn’t hold back. “She’s beautiful.”
“How do you feel about having a child of mixed ethnic backgrounds?” Carlson asked.
David shrugged his shoulders. “I feel blessed to have her, no matter what color her skin is or what ethnic background she has. She’s incredible, and I wouldn’t trade her for the whole wide world.”
Carlson smiled at him. “No further questions.”
He walked to the defense table and sat down as Beck stood up and walked over to the witness stand. Beck stood and regarded David for a long minute, glaring at him, and then he lifted his chin and spoke.
“You knew this court proceeding was coming up. Were you involved with your wife before you knew about this situation?” he asked with narrowed eyes.
David felt his heart skip a beat. He was terrified that Beck would ask him a question about how he had come to marry Elise and he wouldn’t be able to answer it with anything other than the fact that he had hired her to marry him.
“No, I wasn’t. I met her afterward,” he said shortly.
Beck’s eyes glittered darkly at him. “What was it about her that made you want to marry her?”
David took a deep breath. He could answer that honestly without damaging his testimony.
“She is intelligent and driven. She’s a hard worker and an honest woman. She’s beautiful, dedicated, kind and thoughtful and she has a good sense of humor. I love her.” He looked over Beck’s shoulder at Elise and smiled at her and she smiled back. It warmed his heart and he felt encouraged by her support.