Page 12 of Scarred Trust

“What about now? I can't imagine that you have much of a life outside of ABS if the rumors are true about how hard they work their employees.”

“Not just an employee. I was on the junior partner track.”

“That’s a very interesting turn of phrase. You’re not in the running for junior partner anymore?” Helena never missed anything. It’s what made her a fierce competitor in school.

“Is that what brings you down here to see us, or did you just yearn to see our shining faces?” Julia was the dark horse in every race because people underestimated her under the guise of her bubbly personality.

“I had a friend... he told me some things about ABS that I swore couldn't be true. We had a terrible fight over it. When we graduated, I was the one who was going to save Chicago and make everything right for the underdogs.”

“Well, honey, ABS is the wrong place for that.”

“I needed the money that came with working for a prestigious company. I have sunk every dime I have made into my parents’ restaurant, trying to help defend them from the powers that bullied them into gentrification. I lost track of the number of times there was a threat of takeover or a crazy law suddenly appeared, trying to take their business away. Duffy’s has been in that spot since back before Printer’s Row existed. I was willing to take a lot of crap in the process.”

“Working for ABS is more like digging deep into the pigsty.”

“Don't insult pigs like that.”

“As I said, I didn't believe my friend. That is, until one day when I was sitting in my cubicle next to the break room. I had put my headphones on to block out some of the chatter while I reviewed a deposition. Obviously, my colleagues thought I couldn't hear anything, and at first I wasn't listening. But something caught my attention. Maybe it was the whispering and sideways glances.”

“That’s always a tell.”

“So I lowered my volume and took notes when I heard phrases that caught my attention. Like ‘there was another one’, ‘faulty-wiring’, ‘prime location’ and ‘permits are already in place’. All of it separately didn’t fit. But with suspicions I already had, it made sense. Especially with what my friend had said. Then I overheard my bosses one day...”

“Oh, no. Stop right there!”

“We need to caution you. If you continue, you could violate your NDA.”

“A private consult with my lawyer supersedes my NDA. I need answers, and I need help to get them.”

“Technically, you aren’t under attorney-client privilege yet.”

“Put that aside for a moment. Cate, we want to help you, but I need you to take a step back and think about what this really means for you. Are you willing to commit for the long haul? Because it’s going to be so much harder than anything you’ve experienced. ABS will press until they find your breaking point, and then they’re going to squeeze even tighter until you’re crushed into nothingness. This is who you work for. Our clients have experienced that time and time again.”

“Let’s put all the cards on the table. We want to take these guys down for every client that has been against that invisible force field that ABS hides behind. You would be a prize in our pocket if you worked from the inside. Get that proof for us to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Are you willing to do that?”

“Absolutely.”

“This isn't a question of getting Junior Partnership or not. You could destroy your career. We’re talking disbarment and prison. A cease and desist would feel like a pleasant postcard compared to the lawsuits they would invent. You putting all your money into your parents' pub? Not gonna happen anymore. They will take everything you've got and more.”

“Take a breath. Step away. Take all your documentation with you. Talk to your family and make a very informed decision. We'll be here, ready and waiting when you are.”

I had another late night at work because I had met with Ogden and Wells. No one seemed suspicious, but the stack of papers on my desk with ASAP stickers told me they didn’t appreciate my ‘lax’ behavior. That’s what they called it when I couldn’t work on a holiday because I was helping with a festival or working from home when I had a virus.

I sat in my car in the dark, staring at the front of the firehouse. I wanted to talk to Wes, the version of him before the photoshoot. The one that would take me in his arms and tell me everything was going to be okay. He ripped that away from me, and I had been too stunned to process it. I had finally gone through my stages of grief from the hurt and betrayal. One more person to leave. One more person to step on me to get wherever they thought was a better place, and maybe he still thought that.

The station was lit up, showing shadows of firefighters crossing by the windows. It had been weeks since I’d heard from him. I flipped a thumb drive through my fingers, surprised at its lightness despite the load of it crushing me. I should have assumed I was on my own with this case, but it seemed that giving him the choice was the right thing to do.

I took a deep breath to gather my courage. As soon as I opened my car door, one of the firefighters appeared on the driveway. As I approached, more and more came out, but Wes wasn’t with them.

I knew they were protective of each other, but I hadn’t expected a confrontation. I was glad that he had people like this in his life, but I wished he had trusted me enough to know that I would have been his champion if he had let me.

“Get outta here!”

“He doesn’t want to talk to you!”

“Last thing he needs is your crap to deal with.”