by Robin Shope
“I have the contract ready and I’m at my lake home, if you want to come over for it. I can explain it to you when I see you. Pretty straight forward, actually.”
“Thanks, John. I appreciate you doing this for me.” Lucy wasn’t sure she even wanted Joe to sign it now but she couldn’t just ignore the work John had done for her. “How about if I come over tomorrow after work?”
“I thought we’d have dinner.”
“I would love to have dinner with you,” Lucy wasn’t sure how much of her agreeing was to get back at Joe for all his secrets and how much was wanting to be with a good friend. She pulled the phone cord as she moved around to the other side of the desk.
“Sounds good. By the way, how did you ever get a psychiatrist such as Joseph McNamara working for you at the paper?”
Alarm slammed into Lucy. Her knees buckled as she sunk into the chair behind her. “What did you say?”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t know this about him?”
“He told me he graduated with a degree in Journalism.”
“That’s right, he did. He also graduated with a degree in psychology and then went onto Harvard for his medical degree.”
“He did say he worked with files in a Chicago hospital.”
“I would imagine he did paperwork like any doctor but he is pretty well known for his other work in Chicago.”
“I never checked on his references,” Lucy admitted.
“Well, it seems to have worked out well this time, but in the future, I would suggest you thoroughly check out someone before you hire them.”
“Point well taken; thanks, John.”
“I will see you tomorrow then?”
“What time?”
“About six, there’s a new restaurant that just opened up in Williams Bay…”
“Clear Water?”
“Yes, that one. Have you been there?”
“Yes, today, as a matter of fact.” Lucy didn’t want to talk about dinner. She wanted to get back out there and confront Joe. “I don’t mean to be rude, John, but I have a situation here that needs my immediate attention. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Lucy returned the phone to the cradle. She rubbed her face with both her hands trying to think.
Now all those odd little idiosyncrasies about Joe began to fit together as a puzzle and she saw the complete picture. Of course, Joe was some kind of a medical doctor. He knew a lot about cold laser treatment and was concerned that Ulilla treat her cold properly. These were just for starters. She remembered his exercise advice for her elbow and even his concern over her dad’s previous heart attack.
Then it also occurred to Lucy that psychiatrists were trained in how to ask questions in order to get people to open up to them, thus his successful interviews. He could read people. He read her and used her. Perhaps Oliver and Duckworth were in on this, too. Maybe they planted him in this office. Her stomach felt queasy. Lucy opened the office door to find Joe packing up his laptop. She couldn’t tell if he was going home for the night or forever.
“May I speak to you for a moment, Doctor McNamara?”
Now it was Joe’s turn to look surprised but he recovered faster than she did. “So you did a background check on me?” he answered disgustedly.
“Why should it matter if you don’t have anything to hide? Anyway, this isn’t about me. It’s about you and you deceiving us.” Lucy walked closer to him. Her anger rose making her hands shake and her voice quiver. “You’ve been working undercover for those men you had lunch with today, haven’t you?”
Joe began walking toward the door.
She stepped in front of him to block his path. “You owe everyone here an explanation.”
Ulilla, Carol, Monica, and Mike stopped their work to listen.
Joe still didn’t answer. He stared down at the floor.
“Hey, everyone!” Lucy called out. “I would like you to meet Doctor Joseph McNamara. He’s a top psychiatrist in Chicago, has his medical degree and everything.”
“Oh, so I was seeing a real doctor after all about my aches and pains. I feel so much better now,” Ulilla said.
“He has studied how to manipulate people and that training helped him use us all. Now he has sold out everything he knows about us, including how vulnerable we are, to the enemy Oliver and Duckworth. Right, Joe? Isn’t that what all these secret meetings have been about?”
Joe looked at Lucy. His voice was soft when he spoke, “Don’t do this, Lucy.”
“Don’t do this or what? You’ll quit? I don’t think you ever really worked here.” Lucy turned on her heels and went into her dad’s office, slamming the door behind her.
Joe continued on out the door.
The Christmas Edition
The Christmas Edition
Chapter Eighteen
December 20
Joe had cleaned his things from the apartment hours ago. He was gone. It seemed as if he had never really been here. Lucy stood in the small kitchenette, wishing it were not so. But she couldn’t blame him. What other recourse was there since she had accused him of selling out and using everyone at the newspaper, including her. He didn’t defend himself. Never tried to. He packed up and left. Either he was guilty which made him leave. Or he was totally innocent and left because she jumped to a terrible conclusion without asking him for his side. Her family and employees stood divided in their own opinions. Ulilla, Carol, Abe and her parents were on one side while Monica and Mike were on the other. Lucy straddled both sides.
Lucy went to the pantry. Cans of tuna fish, beans, and soup remained, labels facing out. In the freezer were still a few frozen dinners and pizzas. The fridge was totally empty and clean. Lucy walked through the other rooms and found them to be immaculate and tidy. Even the garbage had been dumped.
She sat on the bed and ran her hand over the spread thinking about Joe sleeping here. Lucy gazed out the window. It was then she noticed he had a perfect view of their cabin. She couldn’t help but wonder if he had looked out of this window at night as much as she looked out her window toward him. But she would never know.
Lucy checked out the dresser drawers. All empty, as was the closet. She checked the drawer to the side table. Empty. She felt empty. Joe’s departure was for the best. Try as she did, she couldn’t come up with any other explanation of why a psychiatrist came to town to work on their newspaper and meet privately with the men whose aim was to put them out of business. Joe played her. It made her heart ache. What an easy target she had been. How could she explain this to her parents and her friends at the paper?
For now she had to put everything aside. There was too much to be done at the newspaper.
She was looking forward to dinner with John this evening; maybe there was something his legal mind could come up with to block Oliver and Duckworth from coming to town.
****
They sat facing one another across the table. The view of Lake Delavan was spectacular. Lights dotted the frozen shoreline. It was another freezing day outside in a string of very cold weeks, but it was nice and toasty warm inside by the dining room fire.
Lucy picked up her fork and stabbed a few pieces of the spinach salad. “I never expected our dinner invitation meant that your housekeeper would be preparing our meal right here.”
“I thought eating in would be more private. I trust that is okay with you.”
“This is great.” Lucy bit into the salad as she looked across the table at John. Dark curly hair, winning smile, gentle soul with a trap mind for legalese. They had been friends for years and she always felt comfortable with him. He was clever, cute and kind. “This is so delicious, John. I always enjoy it when we’re able to get together.”
“The last time we had dinner together was just at the end of summer. You may not believe this, since I haven’t called, but believe me when I say I’ve missed seeing you. Not that I am trying to excuse myself but this fall I took on a few cases I’ve been consumed with. I believe the last time we were together you mentioned hoping to
become manager of the newspaper. Is that still your plan?”
“At this moment, yes, although Dad plans to be carried out feet first from the place. Retirement is a swear word as far as he is concerned.” Nerves were the order of the evening reducing Lucy’s desire for food. Having eaten just enough of it not to be considered rude, she pushed her salad aside. “I’m sorry but I don’t seem to have much of an appetite tonight.”
“Okay, Lucy, this isn’t like you. I have known you for at least ten years and never have you turned down a meal. What’s going on?”
“The newspaper is in real trouble; there’s another newspaper coming to town. They’ve already bought land and are breaking ground as soon as it thaws. Behind them is money and power so it’s just a matter of time before they put us out of business.”
“Really?” John seemed upset for her, which she found both comforting and endearing.
“I’m afraid so.” Lucy nodded and looked out at the frozen lake.
“Your family business goes back to the early nineteen hundreds, if I’m not mistaken. That was way before there were any other papers in the area.”
“John, I need your help,” Lucy replied with optimism.
“Sure. Just tell me what I can do.”
“I need for you to find…” Lucy stopped while the housekeeper cleared the table for the appetizers, fresh shrimp cocktail on ice. He set one serving in front of Lucy and the next in front of John.
When he left the room, John prodded, “Okay, what were you saying?”
“Is there a legal way to block the other paper from building in our town?”
“Lucy, this isn’t my law specialty. I do know there has to be legal grounds to prevent them. I know enough to give only the minimum of legal advice. However, I do know someone who is very good and I’ll talk to him about this, okay?” John dipped a shrimp into the sauce and ate it in one bite, leaving only the tail.
“This sounds expensive.” Lucy nibbled on her shrimp.
“It will be expensive. If it were me doing this, I would do it pro bono, but this man is a colleague and I can’t ask him to do this work for anything less than what he charges his clients.”
“Oh, I don’t expect you to, John. If I came across that way…”
“Forget it. You’re fine, as usual.” he waved away her concern. “By the way, once we’re done with dinner, we can go over the contract you asked me to draw up for your new editor.”
Lucy’s stomach knotted at the reference to Joe. “John, I’m really sorry you have gone to so much trouble for me. It turns out we don’t need the contract after all. Dr. McNamara is no longer employed with us.”
“That’s a shame. I wish I could have gotten this to you a lot faster, but I can’t say as I am really surprised. A popular and well-known Chicago psychiatrist working as an editor for a small town newspaper doesn’t add up. So he quit, huh?”
“Yea, right after I discovered he was also working for Oliver and Duckworth.”
“Oliver and Duckworth?”
“They’re the owners of the newspaper that is coming to town.”
“He worked for you and for them?” John’s jaw dropped right along with a shrimp. The shrimp he dropped on the white linen tablecloth left a red cocktail stain when he picked it up.
“I strongly suspect Joe was giving our competitors inside information of how we planned to increase sales and productivity. In fact, Joe even gave us some of the ideas, which we have already implemented.”
John slammed his hand down on the table. “That’s it!”
Lucy jumped. “That’s what?”
“That’s illegal.” Lucy could almost see the legal wheels turning in John’s head as he began to run the law through his mind. “Generally working for two companies is not illegal, even if they are competitors. However, if the person has signed non-compete or non-disclosure agreements, then by disclosing information to the competing company the employee may have breached the agreement. Ah, oh. By the look on your face, I can tell you didn’t have Joe sign one.”
“It never entered my mind.” Lucy frowned.
“Well, if Joe is using the information to harm the company, in this case The Turtle Creek Newspaper, there may be a civil remedy of damages and an injunction available.”
“An injunction to stop them from building?” Lucy asked.
“Perhaps, but you should know blocking a business like Oliver and Duckworth from coming to town is very expensive. It could tie you both up in court for years.”
“My family doesn’t have that kind of money. Forget it, John; we’ll just have to deal with whatever comes when it happens.” Then Lucy remembered something. “Wait, my dad shook hands with Joe on the assumption that was their contract. Will that work?”
“Were there witnesses to this agreement?”
“Yes, there sure were.”
“There certainly may be a case of constructive fraud then. It’s where an employee entered into a verbal contract with the company purportedly to work for it, when his true intent was to steal secrets or subvert its business. The fraud is in the act of interviewing and agreeing to an employment contract; it is implicit that the person is going to work for the company and not against it. If it can be shown that the person actually intended to harm the company then there was fraud in the inducement to hire. The proof must be clear and we’ll need evidence.”
“And how do I get this evidence?”
“Was he told that this was confidential information? Did he take any documents? Make photocopies? Did he do any of this while he was employed with you?” John fired off the questions.
“No, I never thought to mention that this was confidential. I am not sure he took any documents or made photocopies of anything. Sorry, but I think I may be our own worst witness.”
“This isn’t going to be easy, but you can still sue the other newspaper for tortuous interference with a business relationship, fraud, and contract violation. If the employee, Joe, gave information to a competitor, Oliver and Duckworth, then the employee has breached his agreement by not using his best efforts. Plus you can sue for damages.”
“Does it hurt that there was no written contract?”
“The handshake implied one, such as, I will do work for you and you will pay me or I will be an honest person who will put forth my best efforts for you. If we do this, I suggest we go after Joe first. He’ll have to pay out of his own pocket, if he is sued singularly. That way I would make sure he used his own money to defend himself. The strategy is this; make him feel it in his checkbook so severely that he makes a deal with you to give you information that allows you to win in a suit against the competing newspaper. If you sue Oliver and Duckworth and Joe at the same time, then the newspaper will likely cover or diminish all legal fees.”
“Should we go forward with this?”
“Lucy, there is no guarantee that anyone will win in this lawsuit and generally it is a Pyrrhic victory, which means you loose more than you win.”
“Then we’re back where we started. It’s hopeless.” The chain on Lucy’s cross broke and her cross dropped into the shrimp cocktail. Lucy found the end of the chain and pulled it out. “What a mess,” she complained.
“Let me have that cleaned up for you.” John reached across the table for the jewelry.
“No, no. It’s fine. Really.”
“Then let me give you this to wrap it up in to take home.” John removed a monogrammed handkerchief from his hip pocket and passed it over the table to her.
“Thanks.” Lucy folded the cross and chain into it and slipped it into her purse. “I think this is a sign that I’m losing my faith in God.”
“You can’t be serious,” John commented with surprise.
“I used to have my faith in God, and just when I considered taking retribution into my own hands, this happens. John, you are a gem to take your time to draw up a contract and now to offer advice.” Lucy smiled and signed. “I think it’s best I put the time into prayers instead of a laws
uit and allow the Lord to work things out.”
“Whatever you want, Lucy. I am here for you.”
“That means a lot to me. John, you’re the best.”
The housekeeper arrived with the prime rib and seared asparagus.
“This meal is wonderful. I am glad you invited me, but I’m always happy to hear your voice and get together,” Lucy admitted.
“We have been friends for a long time,” John acknowledged smiling warmly into her eyes.
“I remember when you came to our school. I was in third grade at the time. My earliest memory of you was when you got in trouble with the teacher and made to stand outside your fifth grade classroom in the hallway. That was the first time you spit water at me from the drinking fountain.”