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“I could use a drink now, but I think I need a clear head this afternoon.”
“You okay? You sound stopped up.”
“It’s been an emotional couple of days. I finally talked to my dad and got things straight with him. Now I’m facing down this whole career decision I made.” Tess tapped on her steering wheel.
“Yeah, I feel sort of responsible for that, so I’ve already read through the contract. It’s fairly standard stuff in regards to business contracts. But there’s this huge loophole. Like, I’m talking big-as-a-cloverleaf-in-LA huge.”
“About my being the project manager?” Tess switched lanes and headed deeper into the city.
“Exactly.”
“So if I quit Upstart… ”
“Let’s start with the contract I drew between you and Upstart in regards to your employment. See, when you and Monique agreed upon the three-month provision, I intentionally left the language loose. That’s not to say you take any business you score for Upstart with you if you part ways, but I made sure you own your work and that it becomes the property of Upstart while you work for them. Intellectual rights stuff can get pretty complex, so I won’t wade into that.”
“My head’s getting muddled just thinking about it,” Tess said.
“So if you were to, say, leave Upstart, you would not be able to take any of the designs you created for Upstart with you. They would belong to the company because you were employed by the company. You dig?”
“Yeah. Sort of.”
“Okay, so this Oedipus deal is different. Miles Barrow is sharp as a pressed suit. In the contract he signed with Upstart, he designated that you, Tess Ullo, must be attached to the project in order for the contract to be valid. In other words, if you walk, he walks with you. In a roundabout way, he signed a contract with you, but because you work for Upstart, they get the krewe’s business.”
Tess hit a pothole and her teeth banged together, even as something radical bloomed within her. “So I’m the key to Oedipus?”
“Pretty much.”
“Why would Monique agree to these terms knowing I could leave Upstart during my interim period without any repercussions, taking Miles Barrow’s business with me?”
“It’s risky, sure, but you said her ego is as big as Dallas, so maybe she’s hedging her bets. After all, she believes you’re out for revenge against your father. She might feel secure in the idea you won’t leave a perfectly good job. Besides, I’m pretty sure she owns your designs. In other words, you can leave and take Oedipus with you, but you can’t take the designs because those belong to Upstart.”
“But those weren’t the original designs submitted by Upstart,” Tess grumbled, disappointed that her best work belonged to Monique… and the woman hadn’t even appreciated it enough to send it out.
Gigi’s lawyer signal kicked in. “What do you mean?”
Tess went over what she’d learned about the original proposal subbed to Upstart.
“So how did Miles know the designs weren’t yours? Do you have some sort of trademark design I don’t know about?”
“No. The only thing I could think of is that Miles saw the signatures or something on the designs Monique submitted that told him they weren’t mine. He knew I had worked the account because I told him as much at the mixer.”
“Hmmm… ,” Gigi said, her wheels obviously spinning. “My advice is to call Miles and see what’s up.”
“Is that official legal advice?”
“Yeah, totally free as long as you invite me to Sunday dinner when your ma makes Bolognese sauce.”
Tess smiled. “Will do.”
Clicking off with Gigi, Tess pulled over to Cuppa Joe’s, her mind reeling with this new information. Something in her was exhilarated at the thought of having Monique by the balls. She’d call Miles and grab a cup of soothing tea to calm her shot nerves.
The place wasn’t too busy so she quickly found a table and dialed Miles. Of course, he wasn’t available.
“Well, this is important, so I’d really appreciate it if you would give him my cell number and have him call me ASAP.”
“All his calls are important, so you’ll just have to hold on to your britches,” Julian said.
“Julian, this is Tess Ullo. I sent you the gift certificate to Emeril’s last year. This is me calling in my favor.”
