“I’m happy I could help,” I said, “and please, you insisted I call you Ted, I insist you call me Tom.”
“Sorry, professional habit,” Ted laughed. “While we wait, care to join me in the parlor for a scotch, Tom?”
“Sure.” I wasn’t a big drinker anymore, but it seemed rude to refuse the offer.
“How do you take it, ice or neat?” Ted asked as we made our way into the parlor, which adjoined the living room and featured a beautiful oak wood bar, along with two fine looking leather chairs.
“Neat, please,” I answered, settling into one of the chairs.
Ted nodded and smiled, as if I’d passed some test. “Good man.” He fixed our drinks then took the other chair. “To Jenna,” Ted raised his glass, “and her newly found financial independence.”
“To Jenna.” I clinked his glass in return, then sipped my scotch. It was surprisingly smooth. Definitely not the cheap stuff.
Again we sat silent, Ted looking at me intently. I could feel something coming.
“I hope you’ll forgive my frankness,” he finally spoke, “but I feel I need to be candid with you. You don’t get far in my line of work without learning how to read people. I’ve seen how Jenna looks at you, and you at her. And it’s not my business to judge your relationship, odd as I may find it. I do, however, feel the need to inform you that both myself and Mr. Wilson will be keeping a close eye on Jenna’s finances, and I have no qualms about stepping in if we see any…discrepancies. Do we understand each other?”
I sipped my scotch again, giving myself a moment to formulate a response. “I understand you,” I answered calmly, “and I have no interest in Jenna’s money. I’m not even charging her rent to stay with me. And she’s returning to her dorm in the fall.”
Ted nodded approvingly. “Of course, of course. And I meant no offense. As I said, I’m a good judge of character, and while I had my reservations, after meeting you my mind is eased considerably. But while I haven’t kept in touch as much as I’d have liked, I consider Jenna family. Her father wasn’t just a client, he was a good friend. So forgive me if I seem over protective of her.”
“No offense taken,” I said, “and no need to apologize. I appreciate everything you’ve done for her, and I’m happy to know she has someone like you looking out for her best interests.”
“It was my pleasure. I appreciate your understanding.”
“Speaking of her best interests,” I continued, “what are your thoughts about that whole incident with her mother’s boyfriend? Do you think Jenna has a case against him?”
Ted sipped his drink thoughtfully. “I’ve discussed it with several of my colleagues. And while we agree there’s a case there, it would be problematic to pursue it. Dick Goatz is as slimy as they come, but he works for a powerful and prestigious firm. It could be tied up in the courts for years. And even if I waive my fees like I did with this whole trust fund business, it would still cost her a pretty penny in court costs and other expenses, and there’s no guarantee she’d win. The best we could hope for is a settlement of some type, and it’s something we may pursue. The threat of that disgusting video becoming public could be enough for him to want to pay to make it disappear. But the way Jenna went about getting it does leave her open to some harsh criticisms should it ever go to trial. Rest assured, though, I’m not simply letting it go. We’re going to write some letters, put some feelers out, so to speak. I can make no promises, of course. But we’ll see how it goes.”
“Well again, thank you, and if there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.”
“We may want a statement from you at some point,” he said. “Although your testimony wouldn’t amount to much other than hearsay after the fact. And of course you’d have to be willing to have the nature of your…relationship…with Jenna called into question by the opposing counsel if it ever came to trial. Which, being blunt, could get…ugly. It’s a harsh world, and people see what they want to see. And they’ll see an older man taking advantage of a younger woman and trying to manipulate her for financial gain.”
I almost spit my drink. “But that’s not…”
“Fair?” Ted interjected. “Justice is rarely fair, my friend. And trials are never pretty. The defense would look under every rock trying to find dirt on you and even if they couldn’t find it, they’d invent it. All they’d need to do is plant reasonable doubt.”
I sat silently contemplating this. I suppose if someone dug deep enough, they could find my history: cheating on my wife, hiring escorts, perhaps even finding the ad I placed that Jenna had answered. They might also discover Jenna’s Only Fans account! And while none of it had anything to do with her case against Dick, it didn’t matter, because it would get twisted just enough to cast a shadow over her intent in taking that video of Dick masturbating in her bedroom.
“We all have skeletons in our closet, Tom,” Ted spoke as if reading my mind, “and even the most innocuous thing could be made to look bad by the right lawyers. But again, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. I don’t think it will come to that. I believe we can manage to convince Dick that a reasonably generous settlement would make this all go away, and that will be that.”
“I suppose that’s the best we can hope for then,” I sighed.
“If I may quote that wise sage Mick Jagger,” Ted chuckled, “you can’t always get what you want…”
“…but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need,” we finished together. “I’ll drink to that,” I laughed. Clinking our glasses, I drained the last of my scotch, as did Ted.
“Another?” he offered.
I politely declined. “Perhaps after dinner. I’m on an empty stomach, and I still have a long drive home later.”
“Of course, good man,” Ted said amicably.
From there our conversation turned to more mundane things; what I did for a living, our thoughts on our football team’s chances this year, etc.
Eventually Jenna returned. “Dinner’s ready!”
——————————————————
After a wonderful meal we retired to the living room to continue our conversations, the Rivers’ telling several cute stories about Jenna as a kid.
Eventually the question of how Jenna and I met came up. We’d expected it, of course, and had rehearsed our story, keeping it as simple and as close to the truth as possible.
Jenna did most of the talking; we’d agreed it would sound better coming from her. “We met at a coffee shop when he offered to pay for my drink after I forgot my purse. We wound up sitting together and had a pleasant conversation, but nothing more came from it. A few months later we bumped into each other again when he showed up at the diner I worked at. I kinda thought maybe the universe was trying to tell me something,” Jenna paused here, giving me her trademark grin. “He gave me a ride home because of the storm, and I wound up giving him my number. We had several very nice phone conversations, and then next thing you know, we were planning for a date at the lake.”
“You must have been very surprised, Tom,” Mary smiled, “having such a beautiful young woman give you her number like that.”