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“I am.”
“Good. Do not say another word to anyone. Have you been served?”
“Did you know about this?”
“No, but I was pretty sure they would once I saw the paper. I’m on the fourth floor. We’ll be waiting. You’re not in this alone.”
“It sure feels like I am.”
“That’s your fear talking. Believe me when I tell you, you’re not. We’ll get this sorted out.”
Arriving at the address she’d been given, Quinn paid the cabby and saw Genelva and a young man waiting under umbrellas. The young man came forward, offering to take her things, which she was glad to let him have. Genelva helped her out, putting an arm around her so they could share the umbrella and ushered her inside.
“God, you could have drowned between the cab and the door. Let’s take the elevator.”
“You didn’t have to come out and meet me,” said Quinn as she shivered not just from the cold and damp, but from the hand she’d been dealt—one minute she had everything and the next she was pretty damn sure she would lose it all.
“Of course, I did. My business is thriving because of you.”
“I was afraid they’d found out you were the one who made those damning comments for my article.”
“They might have figured it out. But after you left, I kept asking myself the same question you’d asked—why did I tolerate it? Why did I allow them to control my future? I know I didn’t have an answer for you. When I didn’t have one for myself, I knew it was time to make a change. So, the morning after the story came out, I walked into the senior partner’s office and quit. I’m told a lot of firms lost a lot of females and persons of color that morning. So, I owe you. I’m taking your casepro bono.”
“You don’t owe me anything, and I have money to pay your fees.”
“Let’s not talk about that until you have officially engaged me as your attorney.”
Not ten minutes later, Quinn had a lawyer. “I still don’t think it’s right that you aren’t going to charge me.”
“Like I said, if it hadn’t been for you, I might never have gone out on my own. My business is thriving and I’m doing the kind of work for the kind of people I always wanted to. Besides, I think we’re going to need every last dime to get the Comptroller and his cronies to back off. Any chance you have the documentation you were provided?”
“Yes, I scanned and saved it to my personal laptop.”
“Good. I want to use that to show them that there was no malicious intent. Maybe you could have used a bit more due diligence, but you had no reason to question it. But they are going to want to have proof they are vindicated.”
“They have a retraction.”
“From the paper. Trust me when I tell you, your former employer had to have thrown you under the bus and genuflected numerous times to get them to go after you. They’re going to want to try and break you. We’re not going to let them, but we’re going to need as much cash as you can muster to keep this from going to trial.”
“Don’t we want to go to trial?” asked Quinn.
“No. The fact is, you reported what you believed to be true so there is no malice, but it’s pretty clear that you didn’t check out the source or the information as carefully as you might have.” Genelva held up her hand to wave away Quinn’s protests. “Trials are expensive for everybody involved and they have a whole legal department. What I want to do is negotiate a settlement, and that is going to take some doing, especially as I am going to get them to forego looking at any criminal proceedings. It’s also going to take most, if not all, of your cash.”
Quinn slumped lower in the chair. “I wish I hadn’t surrendered my engagement ring so easily.” She shook her head. “He snuck out before I got up this morning, after I finally gave in to his wanting to have anal sex, and then he wouldn’t even look at me. The weasel.”
“Oh, there are far worse things that I’d want to call him. But right now, we need to focus on getting this thing settled. How much of your money can I spend?”
“I guess all of it. I don’t want to go to jail, Genelva.”
Genelva leaned forwards, taking both of Quinn’s hands in hers. “I’m going to do my damnedest to see that we avoid that. Were you living with Todd?”
Quinn nodded. “Yes, Daddy Dearest arranged for the cleaning lady to come and pack my things. They’re at the desk in the foyer. I don’t even know where to stay.”
“I have a friend with a room she rents out occasionally. It’s not the Ritz, but it’s clean, safe, and cheap.”
“Sounds perfect.”
“Great. I’ll give her a call and if she’s on board, I’ll have Ignacio get your things and take them and the stuff from your office over to Malania’s place.”
