Page 18 of More Than A Boss

“No, I would prefer that you stay, if you don’t mind?” he requested.

“Of course.” She took a seat.

A short, stout man with a bulbous nose and a ruddy red complexion, which was obviously prone to rosacea, pushed his way past Stella and stood threateningly in front of Zane’s desk. Pointing and shaking his finger, he began hurling insults at Zane. “You wouldn’t know how to defend if you were a defensive guard playing football in the peewee league. You are a joke, and I intend to sue this firm for every penny I can get!” He was becoming increasingly red with every word uttered. His puffy round face looked like it was ready to explode. Allie thought he could even stroke out if he didn’t calm down.

Allie said, “Now, Mr. Fletcher, maybe you should calm down and have a seat,” hopeful that she could diffuse his rage.

“Don’t YOU tell ME to calm down, Missy! I am not going to calm down until this firm admits to misrepresenting me. This S.O.B. here. Mr. Fancy Pants, drives around in his fancy cars, getting rich off poor folks like me. Laughing all the way to the bank.” Changing his mind about sitting, since he was breathless from the exertion, he jerked the chair toward him and plopped down, passing gas rather loudly as he sat.

Allie looked over at Zane, suppressing her laughter, her eyes alight with merriment. His expression remained impassive, but she could see annoyance mixed with slight amusement in his eyes.

“Well now, Mr. Fletcher, there is no need for the insults. We have had this discussion before, and, as I stated previously, the prosecutor had ample evidence supporting the plaintiff’s accusations. Even so, we thought we had a strong defense case until we were blindsided by the new evidence that came out at trial. We objected to the undisclosed discovery, but it was overruled. Had you leveled with us to begin with, we would not have been caught by surprise and could have been prepared to rebut their claim. Since they found witnesses at the last minute, whose testimony placed you outside of Mrs. Dorsey’s window, peeking in and trying to enter through the window, it was very difficult to discredit two different accounts of the same action by you. As it is, we reduced your bill by half and agreed to a very fair payment plan,” Zane explained with as much calm as he could muster.

When Mr. Fletcher leaned back, he not only exposed a portion of his ample white belly but also that his fly was gaping open, displaying his white underwear. When Allie saw this, she snorted with laughter then attempted to disguise it by covering her mouth and faking a sneeze.

Zane had to look away for a moment to visibly compose himself. “Mr. Fletcher is there anything that would satisfy you, short of a not guilty verdict?”

“Well, seeing as I am now a registered sex offender, I think I’ve paid my dues. I may be willing to drop pursuing a case against your firm if you were to drop my bill in the trash.” He crossed his arms and sneered at Zane defiantly.

“You know, I may agree to forget about your balance if you promise to never step foot in this law firm again, never call this firm again, and never approach me or my staff anywhere ever again. Do we have an agreement?” Zane said with authority.

“You know I am a reasonable man,” Fletcher preened. “I promise, but I don’t trust any of you lawyers, so I want it in writing,” he said, proud of himself for thinking of it.

“I will get my secretary to write that up immediately. Now, get the hell out of my office,” Zane said menacingly, standing to emphasize his point.

“Hey, no hard feelings, Mr. Dunn, no need to get all huffy.” Zane ignored Fletcher’s extended hand and strode to the door, opening it and ushering him out. Like most bullies when met with someone more powerful, he completely collapsed into a sniveling coward.

The minute the door closed behind the waddling Mr. Fletcher; Allie could not contain herself any longer. She took one look at Zane and they both erupted in laughter. Allie noticed with relief that any tension that had been there before was now gone. They were a team again, on the same side!

“On that note,” Zane said with humor, “What could possibly be the encore?”

Between giggles, Allie said, “Mr. Fletcher coming in to take a final bow and passing gas again.” Visualizing Mr. Fletcher returning in all his glory for the final bow was her undoing. “OH MY GOD, I CAN’T BREATHE!” she gasped. Suddenly, she looked up and caught Zane staring at her with a raw hunger in his eyes and she abruptly stilled. The moment stretched on for what felt like minutes but was in reality only seconds.

“Allie, I can’t tell you how good it feels to have you back again,” he said seriously.

“I feel the same way, Zane. I don’t want there to be a distance between us. I love working here at this firm and with you. This is so much more than just a job for me. We have got this team, you and me, functioning like a well-oiled machine. I don’t want to jeopardize that.”

“I would be lying to you if I said I am content with just a working friendship, but I will do my best to accept it,” Zane said.

—

After lunch, there was a knock at the door announcing Will Havers’ arrival. Stella opened the door without waiting, since Zane was expecting him. An extremely rattled Will and his wife, Camilla, entered the office. Will looked as if he had aged twenty-five years. His cheeks were hollowed out and there were dark circles under his vacant eyes. His normally honey-colored hair was lackluster. Camilla, a stunning woman of Mexican descent, had lost weight and appeared pale beneath her beautiful brown skin. Her speech was heavily accented, since English was her second language, so she was hesitant to share at first.

It was obvious to Allie that Camilla was heartbroken by her brother’s betrayal. She begged Zane to find a way to get their lives back. “My babies!” she cried. “I just want a normal life for my family. We were so happy; everything was so perfect. Mi hermano es despreciable,” she finished in Spanish, calling her brother despicable.

“Have you had anything unusual happen recently?” Zane asked.

“As a matter of fact, we have,” Will said. “Camilla had a phone call the other day, and the person on the other end didn’t say a word, just heavy breathing into the phone. It really freaked her out. Then we thought we were being followed yesterday.”

Concern clouded Zane’s face. “Allie had a phone call like that over the weekend. We dismissed it as a prank call, but this seems like a pretty big coincidence. Just stay on high alert to anything unusual. I will call the police department and request that a patrol car cruise your neighborhood. Keep your doors and windows locked when you’re at home and keep your phone close. If anything concerns you, call 911 immediately. Do you own a gun, Will?” Zane asked.

“Yes, I do, and believe me it is loaded and ready to fire. I have a CCW permit and no one is going to harm my family!” he stated angrily.

They told Will and Camilla that Will’s employee had flipped his testimony and that he would now be a hostile witness. Will looked crestfallen at this news. “I can’t believe Joel would do that. He was like family. Much more than an employee. Why would he lie?” he puzzled.

“Of course, we can only speculate, but it is possible that someone convinced him that it was in his best interest to discredit you. We know that could benefit Silva’s case. We certainly can’t rule that out. The stakes are very high for Silva, so anything is possible. Which is why you must be vigilant,” Zane reminded them.

Will broke down, hands shaking, he held them over his bowed head and cried out, “Why? Why? What have I done to deserve this? What has my family done to deserve this? Please help us! I would give my life for my family to be safe from harm!”

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