Page 25 of The Monster I Loved
A devilish part of me agreed. I’d pay anything to see Summer’s face when she found out.
My father wasted no time.Three days after we’d gotten engaged, the news spread around the little town like wildfire. As I walked through City Hall to have the first meeting, it was all everyone could talk about. I found the assigned room and walked in to find Summer, the court-appointed mediator, and, to my surprise, Mimi. I squinted to make sure I wasn’t seeing things and walked over to her. What the hell was she doing?
“I guess we should say congratulations to the happy couple?” the court-assigned mediator said.
Mimi smiled. “Yes. Thad and I can’t wait.”
I leaned in close to her and whispered, “What are you doing here?”
She held her head up a little higher. “I’m the company attorney. Didn’t I mention that? My father’s law firm handles all Fitzgerald business.”
My mouth fell open as every muscle in my body stiffened.
“If the lovebirds don’t mind, can we begin?” Summer raised an eyebrow at me.
Mimi was on her before I got a word out. “Ms. Cohen, the childish remarks aren’t necessary, plus we can gladly leave if you would prefer. All Fitzgerald agreed to do was attend these meetings. We can sit here for a few minutes, go, and still get exactly what we want at the end of thirty calendar days.”
Smirking, I pulled out a chair for Mimi and winked at Summer.
Summer held her own. It was a startling contrast to see her switch into professional mode. With every argument Mimi made, Summer countered with precise legal references and a steady voice edged with quiet authority, her spine straight, chinlifted, and eyes locked; this was something she could do in her sleep. I’d only ever known Summer as a young girl. This was a woman.
The meeting was boring. I felt wholly unqualified to be there, which I was. At one point, Summer threatened to stir the public into a frenzy. She said that the court of public opinion was on their side. I almost wanted to applaud her for the way she carried herself, but I hated her, so that wasn’t going to happen. To her, Fitzgerald was a monster, kicking people out of their homes. Mimi countered with the very basic, and very correct stance, that if people remained there and the building stayed in its current state, people would die. They didn’t have the funds to fix the building.
“Okay, ladies, how about a compromise?” the mediator suggested. “That’s why we’re here.”
Summer spoke first. “Pay for the relocation of all the tenants. That’s the least you can do if you’re ripping away their homes.”
“You mean put them on a bus and drop them off somewhere?” Mimi asked with faux innocence.
I stifled a laugh, and Summer rolled her eyes. You know what, I could get used to my new engagement. Summer getting heated over Mimi’s comments definitely scratched an itch inside me. Unlike the others, she wasn’t blind to this woman’s hypocrisy.
A flicker of irritation crossed her face. “We mean help them find new housing. Housing that meets their needs.”
Mimi nodded. “Sure.”
I sat up straight. “What?”
Mimi gestured with her arm for me to wait. “Since they have no access to computers, we can loan them a laptop and direct each to a few websites they can search for new housing.”
“We think, as a very basic courtesy, Fitzgerald should pay for their relocation costs,” Summer railed.
Mimi shook her head. “Next thing you’ll ask is that we pay for the housing of each tenant until they take their last breath.” Then she turned away from Summer to the court-appointed mediator. “Ms. Cohen is here to waste everyone’s time. There is no way we’ll pay to house all these tenants.”
Summer’s pitch rose. “It’s the decent thing to do.”
I was done listening to this nonsense. “Who says? The building could collapse tomorrow. You’re wasting time with us in here when you should be focusing on getting them out of the building and somewhere safe.”
“Mr. Fitzgerald is right. The town will face liability if the building falls and all those people end up dead while we waste time bickering,” Mimi said.
Towns never want to hear about facing a lawsuit.
The mediator’s eyes shot open. “In how bad of a shape is the building?”
Before Summer could answer, the mediator spoke. “Forget it. I’ll have the building inspected as soon as possible to see if we need to move the residents to safety sooner rather than later.”
I smiled. This was going better than I’d planned. The entire problem had the potential to be fixed in a single meeting. Mimi didn’t look pleased, though. “John Fitzgerald is willing to pay to have the people relocated to a state shelter and has pledged to give them a small monetary gift for the items relocating would force them to leave behind.”
I looked at Mimi, trying to read her face.
