Chapter 4 -- The Plot Thickens
Monday December 5
Yesterday we resumed shooting the J-drama. They seemed to think we
had
to go late into the night. We were meeting today to do the read-through of the second episode of
College First
.
Dad had invited Adrienne and Tyler to stay longer, and they'd accepted. Adrienne was originally from California, and she and her partner decided to reconnect with some old friends. Sarah had to get back to school.
Bill and Ai had stayed the weekend. I worried they would drop from lack of sustenance and sleep. Maybe you
could
live on love alone. Bill had classes, and Ai was needed on set today, so they parted ways for now.
Lexi showed up this morning and promptly decided she was not staying in her old room. She said it smelled funny. I almost bit off my tongue, trying not to laugh. She immediately got the job of finding someone to come in and clean. I hadn't anticipated the long hours and was almost out of underwear.
The party Saturday night had gone late. I guess the neighbors and my castmates decided it was time to leave when we ran out of booze. I was glad I hadn't bought my dad a $200 bottle of scotch.
---
We were all gathered in a large conference room when Mr. Otsuki whisked in.
"The plot thickens. This week's first major event is Jiro's character asks Haru's character out on a date. As you know, we are using the tried-and-true second-lead ploy. This is where she should have fallen in love with Jiro's character, but she's too stupid to see it. Said another way, 'nice guys really do finish last.' Jiro is always polite and caring, and he's wealthy and good-looking. However, he won't get the girl. In this case, that is Haru.
"David's character will continue to be oblivious to Haru's interest in him. This week he will go on a date with Ai. Jiro's bad luck is that he takes Haru to the place where David has taken Ai, and Haru will obsess about what David is doing. Jiro will suffer in silence.
"Any questions?" Mr. Otsuki asked.
"Yeah. Ai, will you go to lunch with me tomorrow?" I asked.
She blushed but nodded. Everyone else found it amusing.
---
Over lunch, Dad and I drove to Cal Bell's office to talk about the civil lawsuit I wanted to file against Zander Lewis. Zander was responsible for the injuries I'd sustained when he ordered his security to ram our van.
I'd been simultaneously looking forward to and dreading this meeting. I wanted some payback for what Zander had done to me. At the same time, I still had a deep loathing of Cal for what he tried to do to me when he found out I had fathered his daughter's baby. I think my mom still wanted to get him in a room alone for five minutes for threatening to put Coby up for adoption.
The only reason I'd agreed to let him represent me in this was that I knew if things got ugly, Cal would get down in the dirt and fight. Well, that, and I trusted Ms. Dixon to watch him.
His offices were in an upscale building, and I was impressed when his secretary didn't make us cool our heels in the lobby. We were sent to Cal's office as soon as we arrived.
"I don't think we need to shake hands," Cal said to acknowledge our animosity towards one another.
It seemed to bother my dad more than it did me. In business situations, he was always polite, regardless of his feelings for someone. He seemed to take it as an insult to his ideals of how business should be conducted. I put my hand on his arm to tell him to let it go and just sit down.
"I wanted to talk some sense into you and go after the deep pockets in this whole circus, the studio that employed the security for Zander. They're insured, and I'm sure we could negotiate a nice payout from them," Cal said.
"We already made a deal with them to acquire the filming rights to
Love Letters
," Dad said.
"I've read the documents, and I don't see anywhere where it talks about this being compensation for David's medical bills or his pain and suffering. You did have some pain and suffering, right?" Cal asked.
I could see he took a little joy in asking that. This time Dad was the one to touch my arm. When I didn't respond to his goading, Cal continued.
"Not going after them is a mistake. I'd also like to talk to Halle James and convince her to let us file on her behalf for the workplace sexual harassment. I know that this is just the tip of the iceberg on this topic. This could even become a class-action lawsuit that would end up setting her up for life."
"Stop right there. Yes, I have personal knowledge that trading sex for roles does happen. It probably happens more than I want to even think about. However, I don't think my friend needs to get into the middle of something like that. She would never be able to get work in this industry again," I said.
"Someone needs to be the brave one who stands up and starts this," Cal said.
"If you want to do that on your own, feel free. You should find an actress with a well-established career who won't face the same backlash as someone like Halle, who is just starting out. Someone who can withstand the pressure and possible end of her career better than Halle could," I said. "As for your class-action suit idea, from what I've read, the plaintiffs seldom make out that well. It's the lawyers who get rich."
"What about the two security guys who were with Zander? Do you want to sue them too, or are you going to wimp out on that as well?" Cal asked, ignoring my comment.
"Cal, you're about to get punched in the mouth. You'd better start showing some respect," Dad said. "The question you should also be asking is whether baiting either of us is worth our snatching the lawsuit we are willing to file out from under you."
Cal blinked as he realized he'd gone too far. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Sorry, I was letting my frustration show. I think you can understand that I have reason to be unhappy with your son. I do realize that he stepped up and made the best of the situation with my grandson, but in a perfect world, it should never have happened."
"Yes, I agree, but we're living in the real world where life isn't perfect, and shit happens. You need to let it go," Dad said.
"Just say the word, and I'll punch him," I said.
"David! You're not helping," Dad warned.
I wanted to remind Cal of our last physical confrontation. He got the first punch in but soon found that I could handle myself.
"I think we got off track," Cal said.
"If it helps our case, then, by all means, go after the security guys. They stood by while he tried to rape both Halle James and Brook Davis. Those guys were both in the car that hit us, and one of them in fact drove it into our van," I said.
Cal seemed happy with that.
"Let's talk strategy. I've arranged to meet with Zander's legal team on Thursday. I would like to intimate that we might also go after the security people and the studio. Zander does not want the studio involved in this. He has the same worries that Halle apparently has. If Zander gets a studio sued for something messy like this, he won't get work. I'd bet he'll have a hard time the way things stand anyway," Cal said.
"From what I heard, he's well-connected. He'll get work," I predicted.
"Maybe," Cal agreed. "I still don't understand how he got the sweetheart deal for the criminal charges."
"Would you seriously expect a wealthy client to get the same treatment as a regular Joe?" Dad asked.
"I would hope not," Cal said with a smirk. "If that were the case, there would be no need for overpriced lawyers."
That made me smile. Not that the justice system was fair; it wasn't. It was that Cal admitted it and his role in the inequality.
"Let me go into the meeting with the threat that I'm willing to go after everyone. The two security guys already turned on Zander when they gave statements against him to the police. It might be best not to file against them to start with because we don't want all three of them to be united in this," Cal explained.
"We're going to give you free rein on this, with one overriding goal and one condition. David wants Zander to feel it when he's done," Dad said. "Our goal is to make sure that Zander understands in his bones and his wallet that messing with David or his friends has consequences he really doesn't want. The condition is that you are to communicate fully with Ms. Dixon regarding everything that's going on. You will make any information or documents she wants available to her. From what she's told me, I think she can actually go on the paperwork as your co-counsel, even though she's from out of state."
Cal didn't look happy that Dad had just told him that Ms. Dixon was in charge.
"I know what needs to be done. I don't need someone looking over my shoulder and questioning my every move," Cal said.
That sealed it; this wasn't going to work. I shook my head and sighed. Uncle John had been telling me to trust my instincts; I should have done that from the start. Heck, I should have used the tools Uncle John had given me, primarily the Circles of Trust. Cal fell into the realm of people who would actively try to harm me. I'd wanted a shark to go after Zander, and there was no one I knew who was more shark-like than Cal. I'd let my hatred for Zander cloud my judgment.
"I want to thank you for your time. It's clear this isn't going to work, so we'll find other representation," I said.
I didn't let it show on my face, but it felt good to see the look on Cal's when he realized I'd just fired him. I don't know why, but I got the impression he didn't think I had it in me to actually do it.
"You little ..." Cal began.
"Stop right there," Dad said sternly. "Even I was surprised when David agreed to you being his lawyer after the crap you pulled before Coby was born. He was a better man than I would have been about it when he gave you a shot."
"You're making a mistake," Cal tried.
"No, I think I finally made the right decision," I said, feeling defeated. "Look. I think it's best that we just act like we can tolerate each other for Pam and Coby's sake. Maybe in twenty years we can look back and be able to have a beer and laugh about this, but right now ... I can't see us working together."
Cal took a moment to think it over and then looked me in the eyes.
"You're right. I don't like you, not even a little. Honestly, I wish I could represent Zander in this matter," he shot back.
I snorted out a laugh. If my dad hadn't been there with me, I would have probably kicked his ass. Gawd! He was such a jerk.
Dad and I took that as our cue to leave. I sent a text to Manaia that we'd finished, and he picked us up outside. My next scenes involved playing golf, and I was already dressed for them, so we drove straight to the golf course.
"What did you think?" Dad asked.
"That we won't be having that beer in twenty years."
"Want to go back? I'll hold him," Dad offered.
