“That,” the nameless son said, “is Maximillian Valerious, Esquire.” He inclined his head to Max, a fencer’s gesture, and Max returned it in kind. Then Max stepped forward and seated himself in opposition to the nameless son, his movements brisk and businesslike.
I held out a seat for Maya so that she wouldn’t have to sit across from Tripp Gregory, and then I settled down in front of the guy myself.
“I’ve looked over the contract in question,” Max said to Inverno without preamble. “You have a case, but not an unbeatable one.”
Inverno smiled with his lips alone. “I will have experts lined up to establish damages who will convey otherwise.”
Max smiled as hollowly in return. “Do you honestly think any judge is going to look at the particulars of this case and rule in favor of your client?”
“It lies firmly within the four corners, and I believe my experts will lend us weight. But I think that isn’t the question at hand,” Inverno replied. “I think the question is whether or not your client can afford the depositions and fees for experts of your own to counterbalance me.”
Maya glanced nervously at Inverno and then at Max.
Max patted her hand reassuringly without ever looking away from Inverno. “I wouldn’t worry about that, if I were you,” Max said.
“Indeed not,” Inverno said. His eyes went to Maya. “What your client should be worried about, in addition to the expenses of the trial, is how her own customer base will react when the nature of her past professional life comes out in court.”
Tripp Gregory smirked. “Yeah, baby. Court is a terrible place for that kind of thing to happen.”
Maya pressed her lips together and her face went a little pale. She didn’t look at anyone.
I crossed my legs the other way in a creak of leather coat and smiled. “I’m fantasizing about punching you in the face,” I told Tripp Gregory pleasantly.
Tripp’s smile faltered.
“You aren’t going to touch my client, Dresden,” Inverno said easily. “I think you can imagine the sort of fallout if you crossed that line.”
I beamed at Tripp and then said, toward Inverno, “Just making observations.”
Maya squared her shoulders and said, “Go ahead.”
Everyone stopped and looked at her.
“Go ahead,” Maya replied. “I made the choices I made, and I’ll live with the consequences. You can out me in court, and it might mean that I lose my ability to continue working. But there are thirty-eight other women who need this job. I’ll still fight for them.”
Inverno smiled briefly. “And how will you renumerate your counselor afterwards, with no income of your own?”
“That’s hardly your concern,” Max said calmly. “We’re here to talk about possible solutions short of going to open trial.”
“Sure, sure,” Tripp said, giving Maya a nasty look. “You can buy me out of the business if you want. I’ll take half a million.”
Maya blinked and gave Tripp an incredulous look. “That’s more than twice as much profit as we’ve made in seven years.”
Tripp shrugged. “If I’m getting cut out of my ongoing half, I’m getting something out of it. That’s just business, baby.”
Inverno’s eyes flicked aside to Tripp, just for a fraction of a second, and he did not look amused.
“That’s… not even insane so much as inhumanly asinine,” Maya responded calmly. “If I don’t have a quarter million to give you, I certainly don’t have half a million.”
“That’s my fuckin’ price,” Tripp responded, his tone nasty, his reptile eyes focused on Maya. “You little whore.”
I came up out of my chair.
Inverno rose to hold out a hand toward me, his tone warning. “Dresden.”
I held up my own hand to Inverno, a placating gesture, but I didn’t look away from Tripp. “Please advise your client,” I said in a very calm voice, “that if he continues in such insults against Maya, I’m going to consider them fighting words and I’m going to hit him in his big, fat mouth.”
Tripp scowled at me. “The fuck does that mean?”
