“A leopard never changes its spot,” I mumble to myself.
Still, that isn’t what annoys me the most. It’s the Section 128.5 motion that Girlie had the nerve to send. Bliss is actually threatening to countersue Fletcher and me, alleging that the fraud lawsuit was filed in bad faith.
I quickly Google California Civil Procedure Code Section 128.5. I filed one of these motions years ago, but I’ve never been the target of one.
A trial court may order a party, the party’s attorney, or both to pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, incurred by another party as a result of bad-faith actions or tactics that are frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay.
The witch is accusing us of filing the fraud case to “harass and intimidate Ms. Fenton into abandoning her right to pursue child support on behalf of her daughter, Harmony McClain.”
Who’s using intimidation tactics now?
An accompanying letter explains that the motion has not yet been filed with the court. Girlie is merely providing me with a courtesy copy. If we don’t voluntarily dismiss the fraud case, she says, the motion would be filed at the appropriate time. In the last paragraph, almost as an afterthought, Girlie puts me on notice that she intends to ask the court for a temporary child support order of twenty thousand dollars a month.
Fletcher is going to blow a gasket.
I take a few minutes to do some deep breathing and collect myself. I’ve outsmarted Girlie before and I’ll do it in this case as well. Trying to force Girlie to keep her word about my taking Bliss’ deposition first would be a waste of time. If I took the matter before the judge, Girlie would probably lie about our oral agreement. In order to win this case, I would have to start anticipating what a shady attorney like Girlie would do and stay ten steps ahead of her.
I dial Fletcher’s number.
As usual, he sounds distracted. I can hear the loud thump of hip hop music in the background.
“Girlie Cortez has scheduled your deposition for a week from Monday. We could delay it, but I think it’s best to keep things moving forward. You available?”
“I thought we were taking Bliss’ deposition first.”
“I thought we were too, but Girlie went back on her word.”
“So. Don’t let her.”
“It’s not worth the fight, Fletcher. We didn’t have a formal agreement regarding the timing of the depositions.”
“Why not?”
My spine stiffens at what I interpret as his questioning of my competence. “I couldn’t formally schedule Bliss’ deposition until after she answered the complaint.” I struggle to keep my voice calm. “We verbally agreed that Bliss would be deposed first, but I should’ve known Girlie wouldn’t keep her word. It’s not a bad thing to have your testimony on the record first. I need to set up some time to prepare you. And I’ll need at least half a day.”
“No can do.”
“Fletcher, this is serious. You’ll need to make the time.”
“LaReena’s new CD’s about to drop. I can’t—”
“If you’re not going to make this case a priority, you might as well take out your checkbook right now.”
That throws him into silence.
“Girlie also gave us a draft of a motion seeking sanctions against both of us claiming your lawsuit is frivolous and intended to harass her. She wants you to drop the fraud case.”
“What? She’s the one who’s harassing me,” Fletcher explodes. “What’s going on here, Vernetta? Do you have control of this case?”
First Girlie, now Fletcher. I would not let either of them shake my confidence.
“Absolutely. And as long as I can get you to focus on it too, we’ll be fine.”
“I don’t want fine. I want an overwhelming victory so Bliss and her attorney disappear into thin air.”
“That’s not going to happen. The kid is yours. You’re going to pay child support. The only issue is how much.” I wince before proceeding. “And one more thing. Girlie says she plans to seek twenty thousand dollars a month in temporary child support.”
“Fifteen grand is my max!” Fletcher roars into the phone. “This is a matter of principle!”
I ignore his rant. “You’re going to need a family law attorney to handle the child support demand. My friend Darlene Hayes represents a lot of high-net-worth clients. She’s smart and very aggressive. You’ll like her.”
“I’ll kill Bliss before I pay her twenty grand a month.”
“Fletcher! Stop talking like that. I hope nobody heard you say that. Is your door closed?”
I can hear movement, then what sounds like a door slamming shut.
“I don’t care who heard me. I shouldn’t have to pay her a dime. She stole my friggin’ sperm.”
“Please calm down. I need you to contact that family law attorney I referred you to A-SAP.” I pause and take in a breath. “Fletcher, are you one hundred percent sure you didn’t have sex with Bliss within nine months of Harmony’s birth?”
“I already answered that question.” I can feel the heat from his red-hot face through the phone. “Don’t ask it again.”
“It’s my job to ask it.”
“Not after I’ve repeatedly told you that wasn’t the case.”
The tension between us is now Ferris-wheel high.
“Why don’t we both just calm down,” I say. “I need to prepare you for your deposition. I can work with your schedule. Early morning, late night, you name it. But we have to do this. And I want to do it here in my office so there aren’t any interruptions. How about Tuesday?”
“Fine.”
“What time?”
“I have a series of meetings that I can’t cancel. I won’t be able to get there before nine p.m.”
“Great. I’ll have plenty of coffee ready.”
“I feel like they’re winning already.”
“You need to trust me. You hired me because I’m good at what I do. I have everything under control.”
“Just make sure you do.”
As I hang up, I question whether my confident declaration is true. Girlie Cortez has blindsided me before. I can’t let her do it again.
CHAPTER 33
“So exactly how does this deposition thing work?”
Bliss was sitting at a conference table in Girlie Cortez’s Pasadena office. Although Fletcher would be deposed first, Girlie didn’t want to wait until the last minute to begin prepping Bliss for her deposition. Something told her that Bliss would require some extra handholding.
“It’s the same as testifying under oath except that you won’t be in court. You’ll be at Vernetta Henderson’s office. There’ll be a court reporter taking down your words and a videographer recording you.”
“So his attorney can ask me anything?”
“No, only things that are relevant to the case. If she starts going off on a tangent, I’ll object. In most cases, you’ll still have to answer the question even if I do object. But if I specifically instruct you not to answer, don’t say a word.”
Girlie could tell that the normally collected Bliss was nervous about her upcoming deposition.
“You’ll do fine. We’re taking Fletcher’s deposition first. So you’ll get a chance to see how everything works when I depose him here at my office.”
“So I get to come?”
“Absolutely.”
Bliss smiled. “That should be fun. And what happens after the depositions?”
“Let’s just focus on your testimony for now. I want to practice going through a line of questioning with you. The most important thing I want you to remember is that you shouldn’t volunteer information. Only respond to the question asked. Make Vernetta do her work. Don’t give her information she hasn’t asked for.”
“Okay.”
“And it’s im
portant that you don’t make any facial expressions, particularly if you’re upset or surprised. Remember that you’ll be on camera and a microphone will be clipped to your blouse. If you need to ask me something, cover your microphone with your hand so it won’t be picked up on the recording. I also want you to dress conservatively. If this case gets to trial, some of your deposition testimony could be presented via video to the jury. People make assumptions based on the way people are dressed, especially women. Wear a nice suit with a high collar. No cleavage.”
Bliss looked down at the low-cut sweater she was wearing. “Okay.”
“So, let’s begin. Please state your name for the record.”
Bliss sat up straighter in her chair and folded her hands on the table in front of her. She was trying to play the role of a model witness.
“Bliss Fenton. I don’t have a middle name.”
“That’s an example of volunteering information,” Girlie said. “You didn’t have to explain that you don’t have a middle name. I want you to answer only the question asked. Nothing more.”
“Okay, okay.” Bliss tapped her forehead as if to remind herself.
“Where did you meet Mr. McClain?”
“We met at a bar not far from his office. He came up to me and offered to buy me a drink. I had no idea at the time that he was—”
Girlie made a timeout signal with her hands. “You’re doing it again, providing way too much information. I asked you where you met him, not how. You should’ve stopped after saying that you met him at a bar.”
Bliss exhaled in frustration. “I don’t see why it’s a big deal. She’s probably going to ask me to explain the rest anyway.”
“You’re right, she probably will. But I want you to wait until she asks you. Don’t volunteer anything. If you get into the habit of not volunteering the little things, then there’s a better chance that you won’t make the mistake of volunteering something major that could hurt your case.”
Bliss pursed her lips. “Okay.”
Girlie had to remind herself to be more patient. She was beginning to have a bad taste in her mouth about her new client. Bliss’ nanny had called with a concern about one of her kids. Bliss had told her to just deal with it and hung up the phone. She definitely wasn’t going to win any awards for Mother of the Year.
“Okay, let’s try it again.” Girlie scanned her notes. “Did you have breakfast this morning?”
Bliss paused for a second as if it might be a trick question. “Yeah, I had plain yogurt and a banana.”
Girlie hung her head and massaged the back of her neck. “I need you to listen to my question. I didn’t ask you what you had for breakfast. I asked you if you had breakfast. That was a prime example of offering up too much information. The correct answer to my question was a simple yes.”
“But who cares what I had for breakfast?”
Girlie could see that she was going to need way more than a single session to prepare Bliss for her deposition. The woman was a beauty but she was a bit lacking when it came to brain cells.
“You’re right. Vernetta isn’t going to ask you if you had breakfast. I’m just trying to help you understand the danger of volunteering too much information. Maybe we should take a break.”
Bliss stood up. “Good idea. Where can I find a Diet Coke?”
Girlie gave her directions to the vending machines downstairs. When they reconvened fifteen minutes later, both were a bit more relaxed.
“Let’s just cut to the crux of the case. We can return to the background facts later. Mr. McClain’s complaint alleges that you stole his sperm from a condom and inseminated yourself. Is that true?”
Bliss started to squirm in her seat. “Uh, well...Not exactly.”
Girlie squinted. “What do you mean, not exactly?”
“Well, you asked me two questions.” She smiled as she took a sip of Diet Coke. The answer to one of the questions is yes, but the answer to the other one is no.”
Now Girlie was the baffled one. “Why don’t we take a short break from our role-playing. Just tell me how you got pregnant.”
Bliss wiped a bead of sweat from the side of the Diet Coke can with her thumb. “Okay, but what if I said I did steal his sperm from a condom?”
Girlie scratched her forehead. The last thing she needed was another lying client. “Is that the truth?”
“Um...not exactly. But what if I testified that was how I did it. Could we still win?”
“Bliss, I can’t and won’t allow you to lie under oath. I need to understand how you got pregnant. Vernetta will definitely ask you that question.”
“Okay, okay.” Bliss clutched her Diet Coke with both hands, then told Girlie the story, leaving nothing out.
When she finished, Girlie gazed across the table dumbfounded. Girlie fell back in her chair as her lips curled into a bemused smile. She had to take back what she’d been thinking about Bliss lacking in the brains department. This chick was straight-up brilliant.
“So say something.” Bliss wore the most devilish expression.
“I’m...uh...I’m at a loss for words. I’ve never, ever heard anything like that. So you planned the whole thing?”
“Basically. So is that considered fraud?”
Actually, Girlie thought, it did sound like fraud. “I’ll need to do a little more research to make that determination. Let’s not worry about that for the time being.”
“But you look pretty worried right now. Are we going to lose?”
Still reeling from what Bliss had just revealed, Girlie struggled to keep a straight face.
“I can’t make that promise regarding the fraud case. But I can promise you that no matter how Harmony got here, Fletcher can’t get out of supporting her. So you’ll get your child support payments. The issue of whether a judge or jury thinks your actions constitute fraud is a different matter.”
“And what if they do think it was fraud?”
“Then Fletcher could win a huge award.”
“And I’d have to pay it?”
Girlie nodded.
“But what if I don’t have the money to pay it? Would I have to pay him out of my child support?”
Girlie shook her head. “The great thing about child support is that the payments are protected income. You’d have to pay him out of your other sources of income, of which there are none. So even if Fletcher wins a seven-figure verdict, it effectively means nothing since you can’t get blood out of a turnip.”
Bliss’ face glowed. She raised a hand and the two women high-fived.
“You’re amazing,” Bliss said.
Girlie was still marveling over her client’s sheer deviousness. “No, my dear, you’re the amazing one.”
CHAPTER 34
After rushing around all day to make sure everything was just right, Special now regretted her bright idea to invite Darius over for dinner. As she stood on her front porch, peering down at him, Special fought back tears.
“I’m so sorry.” She covered her mouth with both hands. “I just didn’t think about how you would get up the steps.”
Darius was sitting in his wheelchair on her walkway, trying to calm her down. “Babe, babe, no sweat. It’s not a problem.”
“Yes, it is! You can’t get up the steps. I should have thought of this. I can go get my neighbor. He can lift you up the steps.”
“There’s no need to do that.”
“But how are you going to—”
“Just stay right here.” He fished his keys out of his shirt pocket. “I’ll be back in a flash.”
Darius swiveled his chair around and rolled back down the walkway toward his car. Special watched as he opened the trunk. He took out a flat, rectangular plastic board and was back in front of her in seconds. He unfolded the board, angled it across the steps, then smiled up at her.
�
�It’s a portable ramp,” he said, grinning. He whirled his chair around so that the back was facing the ramp. “I’ll do most of the work. I just need you to help guide me.”
With Special’s help, he easily made it up the three steps onto the porch.
“See. I have everything under control.”
She reached to open the door for him, but he grabbed the knob and opened it for her instead. “After you, pretty lady.”
Special finally let herself breathe again. Catastrophe averted. She wasn’t going to let that happen again. She’d thought through everything else. So hopefully there’d be no more missteps.
They enjoyed turkey lasagna with red wine and cheesecake, topping off the evening with a game of Scrabble. Throughout dinner, Darius offered Special his advice about her investigation of Bliss.
He had just set up the Scrabble board on the card table when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the display, hit a button on the side, then placed it face down on the table.
“Work,” he explained. “I put it on vibrate. It can wait.”
Special eyed him with suspicion, but kept her thoughts to herself.
“Getting back to your investigation,” Darius continued, “it’s a good bet that guy isn’t the only man she’s seeing. She could be part of a high-class call girl ring.”
“No way,” Special disagreed. “She’s solo. She’s way too savvy to let herself be pimped out. Her townhouse in Playa Vista is paid for. She didn’t save that kind of dough from years of lunchtime quickies. She has a major benefactor who’s kicking her down.”
“You might be right.”
“And I don’t think it’s the lawyer guy. He’s not at a top-tier law firm. A partner at a firm his size and caliber probably makes about five hundred grand a year. He has a stay-at-home wife, two teenagers in private schools and a son at Brown. After taxes and covering his household expenses, that doesn’t leave a lot of discretionary cash. I doubt he’s Bliss’ primary sugar daddy. Whoever that dude is, he’s rolling in dough. Five hundred grand a year wouldn’t do it.”
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