Vega’s deposition took almost all day. She was physically and emotionally drained. Most deposition witnesses are difficult, but this one knocked the ball out of the park. The man named Geoffrey Rousseau had obviously been advised by counsel to be as evasive and vague as possible thus making the discovery procedure an uphill battle for Vega’s team. Trying to get any meaningful information out of a witness who is combative, unresponsive, overly and conveniently forgetful, purposefully slow and generally intent in making the deposition go nowhere is always a draining challenge.
One of Vega’s most colorful characteristics was that she always kept a black baseball bat next to her desk. She had named it Betsy after the legendary Shoeless Joe Jackson’s bat Black Betsy. Well, that night, after struggling for eight hours with such an ass of a witness, she wanted Betsy to have a close encounter of the third kind with Geoffrey’s head.
When it was finally over, she needed a drink badly. The whole legal team did, so they went to their favorite watering hole. The place, named simply The Bar, was an establishment designed to cater to members of the legal profession. With cocktail names like Objection, Hung Jury and Guilty Verdict the joint was a favorite for barristers of all kinds – from the ambulance chaser to the mega firm junior partner.
“There was a moment when I thought you were going to introduce Geoffrey to Betsy,” said Dalia to Vega while nursing a specialty beer named Beyond a Reasonable Stout.
“You have no idea how close I was,” said Vega who didn’t go for any of the fancy named drinks and was enjoying the silky smoothness of a single malt on the rocks. “What an asshole.”
“Well, on that subject and on behalf of Oliver, Martin & Simon Law Offices, thanks for saving the firm some bail money today Vega,” said David Roman, Vega’s boss and one of the firm’s most promising junior partners.
“Yeah, anytime Dave. It takes a lot more than a Geoffrey Rousseau to make me lose it.”
“Switching to a more pleasant topic,” said Dalia, “did you tell your Dad what my aunt said about him after their date?”
“I did.”
“Aaaand…” said Dalia prompting Vega for more details.
Before Vega could say anything, Mr. Martin, one of the firm’s senior partners, entered The Bar and quickly approached the group, interrupting their conversation.
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen, can I steal Mr. Roman for a few minutes?” he said.
The junior partner got to his feet and followed Mr. Martin to a table where two other men waited. Vega and Dalia found the whole thing a bit odd and watched subtly from the distance.
The two unknown men seemed to have been there for a while and it was obvious they were the ones in charge of the conversation. Mr. Martin was taking care of the firm’s side of it while David remained mostly quiet.
After a few minutes, Mr. Martin accompanied David back to the firm team’s table.
“I hereby return your boss safe and in one piece,” he said to the group. “Sorry for the interruption. Dave please have the firm take care of the tab.”
“Will do Mr. Martin, and thanks.”
And just like that, the senior partner left The Bar.
“What was that all about?” Vega asked David.
“Oh nothing, just forerunners for a potential new client.”
“Must be a very important one to have Mr. Martin involved,” commented Dalia.
“One with very deep pockets,” said Oscar Levi the youngest member of their legal team.
David remained quiet throughout the speculation process. A smile here and there but not a single word. He couldn’t share anything with the group and besides, he was still processing the information he had been made privy to and wasn’t sure how to go about it. He needed time to think.
The task wasn’t hard, he just didn’t like what he had been asked to do to one of the members of his team.
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