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“No problem. See you in a couple hours.”
* * *
I dressedin my black knee length sleeveless sheath dress. I wore my multi-colored pumps and black blazer. I put my diamond studs in my ears and my Tiffany locket necklace around my neck. I was ready for business.
I entered the conference room at Valentine Law. The room was full of people sitting at the table and standing. Samuel, Xavier, Morris, and Ray stood when I entered the room. I placed my leather briefcase on the table next to Samuel and pulled out my legal pad.
“Good morning! Can I have everyone’s undivided attention please?” The room settled. “For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Averie Patterson. Mr. Valentine asked me to be a part of the legal team for the Elkanah/Jenkins case. Everyone in this room has touched a part of this case, and from this point forward everything that relates to this case will come through me. I don’t care if it’s something as minute as seeing the district attorney walking past this building, I want to know everything. I will hold separate interviews with each of you to find out the details of what you’ve touched and give you instructions on how you will proceed. Who is the mail person that delivered the boxes of discovery to the office?”
I looked around the room until an unassuming, pale, white man raised his hand.
“Great, I will start the interviews with you.” He nodded and stepped back into the shadows. “Nothing about this case will be discussed with your family or friends. No one will answer media calls or respond to anything on social media. If I find out any of those things have happened, I will be coming for you. I have zero tolerance for people who don’t follow the rules. I know some of you are looking at Mr. Valentine thinking he is your boss and not me. For the duration of this case, I am the Alpha and Omega. Everything begins and ends with me. There is only one road to this case, and it’s through me. Don’t try to circumvent me because I will know. Don’t try to keep anything from me because I will find out. We have a job to do. We have a case to win, and with all of your help, I plan on making a win the reality. That may mean some early mornings and some late nights for some of you. I would apologize, but I’m sure no matter how late you stay, Mr. Valentine and I will be here later. Please respond to the appointment time for your interview as soon as you receive it. Thank you for your time. I look forward to working with each of you. If there are questions, please save those for our one on one meeting. Please clear the room. Thank you.”
The entire room filed out except Samuel, Ray, Morris, Xavier, and Countee who I didn’t see until I began the meeting. He was standing in the corner observing the room.
I closed the door to the conference room before I began speaking to the men.
“I would say I hope I didn’t come off too harsh, but I really don’t care how I came off. My concern is getting this case won. If I ruffled some feathers, they will get over it. Time heals all wounds.”
Countee chuckled.
“Before I start. Countee is there a way to scramble any listening devices that may be in the room?”
“Yes.”
He tapped away on his phone then sat it in the middle of the table.
“Done.”
“I want to use the empty office next door as the strategy room. Countee is there a way to make sure that room is secure? I’m not trying to be paranoid, but the DA has a way of coercing people into helping them by using family members who are currently awaiting trial or those who are already locked up. Sometimes the people don’t even know they are feeding the DA info and sometimes they do. I don’t know if they’ve gotten to anyone in this firm and I don’t want to take any chances.”
“We can put some toys in there to make it secure. We can also install a small camera which will record anyone who enters or leaves the room. We would have to install it after hours, so no one knows it’s there.”
“Samuel?” I looked at him for permission.
He threw his hands up in surrender. “This is your show. I told you yesterday. Do whatever you see fit.”
“You can speak up if you disagree.”
“I will. I don’t disagree with anything. Count, take care of that whenever you are ready.”
I felt a boost of confidence and stood a little taller hearing Samuel give me complete control. I figured he would’ve changed his mind today, but he hasn’t.
“I’m on it,” Countee responded while typing away on his phone.
“Xavier, I need for you to go over the list of expert witnesses the DA is using. Find more qualified ones we can use to dispute their findings. Call all the Ivy League schools. We want professors and pioneers in the field to rebut everything their expert witnesses says.”
“I can do that,” Xavier said while writing down notes.
“I want our experts to make their experts look like they are novices.”
“Got it,” Xavier answered.
“Morris, this jury needs to be comprised of white female millennials. You know ones who make statements like, ‘I don’t see color.’ Also, black women who’ve either had a run in with law enforcement or ones who’ve lost children to the street. We can backfill the other slots with people who seem sympathetic to the plight of the black male.”
“The DA is going to fight for the opposite on the jury,” Morris answered.
“I know. You fight harder. You are smarter and wittier than all of those people in that office combined. Use their prejudices against them. Consult with my secretary so she can connect you with the jury consultant we use, please.”
