“That’s bullshit.”
“I know that, but we have to deal with it. As your lawyer, I have one question for you.”
“What’s that?”
“Are you still residing in the state of Washington?”
“No.”
“Shit, okay, then I can only practice here. Wherever you are, do you have access to a lawyer? A good one?”
Staci started to say no, but then she heard Katherine’s voice in the background, and grinned. “I do. Write these two names down.” Staci gave them to Paula, and laughed. “I’ll wait for you to do a quick Google search on them.” Staci heard fingers tapping over the keyboard, then her lawyer and friend swore beneath her breath.
“Holy shit, Staci, you know Jason Black?”
“I’ve met him.” She didn’t elaborate any further, and waited for Paula to speak again.
“Holy shit, did you know that he just took on the FBI and won?”
“I had heard something about it, but not all the details. Is he any good?”
“Honey, if you can get him to represent you against these professors, then I would hire him yesterday. Because I was your lawyer back when they tried this stunt before, I was tagged by their lawyers. I have all the information for this new lawsuit. Is your e-mail the same as before?”
“Yes, and like I said, I no longer live in Washington state.”
“Okay, and again, I don’t want to know where you live. Since I won’t be representing you, then I don’t need to know. I will, however, keep you updated with anything that comes in.”
“Can I give Mr. Black your contact information?”
“Yes, please do.” They made sure Staci had given her the correct information, and Paula said she hadsend the report, and told her how many pages to expect. As soon as they hung up Staci accessed her e-mail, and instead of reading the report, she printed it off. Once she had the copies in her hand, she started reading and didn’t get past page two before she jumped to her feet, went to her file cabinet, and started to pull the files she had used in her case against these assholes a couple of years ago. When she had everything stacked up on her desk, she went out and saw Katherine sitting at the front desk.
“Oh, hey,” Katherine said with a smile. “I saw you were on the phone and didn’t want to bother you. Your lunch is in the break room.”
“Thank you, I’m too upset to eat right now. I’d like to ask you a question.”
“What’s that?”
“How well do you know Jason Black?”
“Well, he is dating and living with my mother, and he’s a good guy. No red flags, I don’t know him well, but I like him and know that he’s a good person.” She studied Staci and leaned back in her chair. “May I ask why you’re asking about Jason?”
The two women turned as Caleb walked in and Staci turned to him. “What is your opinion of Jason Black? Not that I’m doubting Katherine, I’m just wondering.”
“Great guy, ruthless lawyer. In my opinion, I won’t ever want to be in court against him. Did you know that he took on the FBI and won?”
“I had heard that,” Staci said on a giant sigh. She slumped into one of the chairs to the side and shook her head. “You have my permission to discuss this with Katherine later, because I don’t want to rehash everything right now.”
“What’s up?” Caleb leaned against the edge of Katherine’s desk and laid his hand on Katherine’s shoulder when she wheeled her chair to sit beside him.
“Paula called me.”
“Fuck me,” Caleb said with feeling. “Let me guess, the assholes?”
“Yes, they say they have new evidence that I stole my ideas from them. Because Paula was my lawyer back then, they sent her everything for this new lawsuit. I printed it all off and only read the first two pages. She’s good.”
“What did she do?”
“She filed a motion for continuance because I no longer live in the state of Washington. The judge granted it. I now have six months to fight this. She shook her head sadly. “I haven’t read it all, and I gathered all the papers from the last lawsuit. Now, I have to bring myself to ask Jason or Ilsa if they would represent me.”
