Jail Cell Love Affair - 15. Meetings, Meetings, and More Meetings

Everybody was curious why Sebastian would call a staff meeting on a Tuesday. Cheryl knew something, but she wasn't saying. All of Sebastian's junior associates, Kirsten, and Cheryl were waiting in the small conference room. Sebastian walked in. It was obvious he was unhappy about something.

"I won't keep you all long. Over the course of the next three and a half days, I'll be meeting with all my junior associates to hand off my cases. Fortunately, I only have five open cases, so I can almost distribute them evenly. I've been asked to leave. Friday will be my last day."

Marcus spoke up, being the most senior of the group, "Can we ask why?"

"I suppose I owe it to you. My apologies, ladies, but plain and simple, I fucked up. I didn't vet Silas well enough eight years ago. So much for any success with my first hire here. I didn't monitor his success rate, and I tried to hide some bad news from Conrad."

Sebastian looked around the room, obviously waiting for additional questions. None came.

"That's all I wanted to say. As soon as I decide who gets which cases, I'll ask to see each of you."

Sebastian got up to leave. The team saw him leave the building shortly thereafter.

Later that afternoon, Karter Gold returned from court. Allison, his secretary, told him that Conrad wanted to see him as soon as he got in. He made his way to the boss' office.

"Hi Conrad, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Karter, take a seat."

Karter sat, concerned about Conrad's serious demeanor, "What's up?"

"I've let Sebastian go. His mistakes are going to cost the firm a bundle."

"I'm not surprised. When I saw the email from Kirsten about how many cases we have to review because of Silas, I saw it coming."

"Good, I'm glad you're not upset that I bypassed you on this."

"Yeah, no worries. I mean, your name does come first on the letterhead."

Conrad nodded, "So, I have to ask you, is there anyone on your team you think would be a good candidate for a promotion?"

"Not one that wouldn't piss everyone else off."

"Who would that be?"

"Fred. I mean, he probably just saved the firm. If we lost Wallingford... But he's too new. If he was here even a year, I think I could get away with it. I have a feeling that even though there's an initial cost of reviewing all those cases, in the long run, we'll have a larger client base after he's through. Friends and family."

"I agree on both counts. Promoting him already would make too many waves. You're going to have to replace DeVore at some point in the near future. How large is his case load?"

"He has five active ones."

"Okay, so that won't be a huge burden to the rest of the team. Are there any you think you need to take?"

Karter reviewed the list in his head, "No. I think the rest of the team will be alright with them. I'll make sure he discusses the distribution with me. I would have a few preferences."

"Excellent. I told him he has until Friday to complete the transfer. He's already left for the day, I can't blame him for that. Be prepared to hand out the cases yourself if he doesn't follow through."

"Do you think that's possible?"

"To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see him again until Friday when I promised a letter of recommendation."

"Ooof. Okay. I'll take a little deeper look at his cases and hand them out next week if he indeed doesn't do it. I'll check with Cheryl, but I don't believe he has any court dates scheduled this week."

"Thanks. Start hitting your contacts, looking for a possible replacement."

"Will do. Should I create a post on the bar's website? That worked out perfectly with Jamers."

"Prepare one, but don't post it until some time next week. Let's see what falls just by shaking the trees." What they didn't realize was the dead fruit falls from the tree first.

"Sounds good. Anything else?"

"No. Keep me up to date on the distribution of work, regardless of whether you or he does it."

"I'll do that."

*****

Fred took a look at the folders on his desk, wondering why there were only three. He called Kirsten.

"Did I miss something? Only three more folders?"

"The four additional clients that were left in his drawer were also among the top seven. I figured since you have already started on them, counting them among the seven would make sense."

"It does. Sorry for questioning you."

"It's okay."

"No. It's not. You showed initiative by deciding to go that way. I jumped to a false conclusion. Good thinking."

The smile was evident in her voice, "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Fred glanced through the three more files. Something tickled the back of his brain, but he couldn't track it down. After a short while, it clicked. Talking to himself, he worked through it.

'Why would those be the only files he kept here? All those clients are gay. Is that the full set of his intentional fuckups?

'One hundred ninety-six cases. Seven percent of that would be almost fourteen. Seventy-one percent of that is almost ten. So, thinking four of those fourteen were gay, fits. I've already found one more likely screwup. If only one of those other three was innocent...

'No, I have to discount Mannon, he was guilty, just serving longer. So, he doesn't figure in the conviction rates. Even if all three of the others were intentionally lost, the numbers are close enough to work. Shit, how many more were justifiably convicted, just sentenced longer than necessary?

'I'm probably looking for fourteen or so, around four not guilty, the other ten, guilty of a lesser crime. Shit! That doesn't change what I'm looking for; just how many.'

Dante closed Fred's door.

Fred assumed that last 'shit!' was too loud. It's too many to ask directly if they're gay or not. Forty or so won't be gay, maybe slightly more or less. Asking that many prisoners if they're gay and not doing anything more that they could tell - disaster.

Fred put the cases up on his white-board. Maybe seeing them that way will trigger something.

Client Crime Gay (Y/N/U) Appeal (Y/N/U) Goal Result
Wallingford Manslaughter Y Y Release Released
St. Louis Manslaughter Y Y Release Released
Mannon Arson Y Y Reduction To be filed
Adams Possession Y U Unknown
Lewis Distribution Y U Unknown
Parker Arson Y U Unknown
Simon Manslaughter U U Unknown
Thomas Manslaughter U U Unknown
Wellington Homicide U U Unknown

Well, that was a waste of time. May as well just go through the rest of the next three in alphabetical order. Call what I found on Mannon good enough. Good timing, since his phone rang. He had no idea who might be calling him.

"Lyons, Martin, and Gold, Fred Jamers speaking."

"Wow, so official sounding."

"Mo! Shit, I should have stopped to get you a phone. Where are you calling from?"

"I took a walk to the Wal-Mart and bought a pay-as-you-go phone; or whatever they're called now. So, I'm at your apartment. I wanted to ask if you knew when you'd get back. I'll throw dinner together."

"I'm not working late, I'll tell you that. I'll shoot to leave around five, should be there by five-thirty."

"Great. I can't wait."

"Me neither. I'll call you if I'm delayed."

"Sounds good. See you later, love you."

"I love you too, Mo."

*****

Sebastian didn't stay away for very long. He came back after a liquid mid-afternoon snack and took out all his case file summaries. He put down six sheets of paper, each with one of his junior associates' names written on them, and played eeny, meeny, miney, moe to randomly reassign them. He felt why should he care who got what? That task complete, he left; not wanting to spend any more time there than absolutely necessary. He'll pop in on Friday, hand out the cases, pick up his recommendation, and screw anybody who wanted more. He returned to the bar and had a few more drinks.

*****

Fred had pounded his head against the wall enough for one day. At least that's what it felt like to him. It was time to go home, see what Mo made for dinner, and make love to Mo until one of them passed out from exhaustion. Fred had his money on petering out himself first.

He walked into the apartment to Mo sitting on the living room couch.

Mo stood up, "You don't cook much, do you?"

"No. Stephane was the cook. I was in charge of the dishwasher."

"The frozen mac and cheese should be done in about five minutes. Just enough time to have a healthy make-out session."

"That's an awesome thing to come home to."

Fred sat next to Mo and their lips met, ne'er to part until the microwave dinged. During dinner, Mo queried whether he might be able to get some compensation from Texas for incorrectly being incarcerated. Fred said he'd look into it. The firm had a huge team of lawyers well suited for exactly that hind of thing.

After dinner, they wasted no time, but went straight to the bedroom. Fred had been too busy and tired to even jerk off recently, so round one went very quickly. Knowing Mo would be released, he'd stopped on the way home yesterday to buy some lube and condoms. Both were put to good use. Mo made love to Fred first, frenetic and passionately. Fred responded similarly. The next round was slower, and more tender but still filled with passion. They stopped for a snack and a drink. Round three was basically a repeat of round two. The love they felt for each other filled the apartment. Fred set his alarm for an hour earlier than usual. There was no way he was leaving for work in the morning before making love with Mo yet again.

Fred arrived at LMG a little later than his norm, but still before most of the rest of the employees. Checking his email, he saw that Conrad had called an all-hands meeting at nine o'clock. Anybody that wasn't in court would be in by then. He was obviously curious.

LMG had a large conference room that would rival many local banquet rooms. Hell, including the kitchenette, it took up the whole fourth floor. With thirty lawyers in the litigation division, the space was needed; not often, but it was there when necessary. The murmurs and small group discussions ended immediately when Conrad, Percival, and Karter walked into the room.

Conrad was subdued, "Good morning. I'll keep this brief. As I'm sure many of you are aware, Sebastian DeVore was dismissed yesterday. He was given until Friday to distribute his case load. That won't be happening. Sebastian decided to throw himself a pity party yesterday and got excessively drunk. He was arrested last night for driving while intoxicated after he sideswiped a number of parked cars. He sustained some bruises and lacerations, and I'd imagine a massive headache, but otherwise is okay. Whether it's a good thing or not remains to be seen, but he has asked that the firm handle his defense. A conviction is guaranteed. His BAC was almost triple the legal limit, at point twenty-two. Karter will be discussing Sebastian's cases with the defense team over the next few days. Apparently, Sebastian randomly put a first shot at that together yesterday, but Karter will definitely be modifying it. I'm sure I don't have to tell you all this will be somewhat of a black eye for the firm once the news is out. As usual, your reply to any queries will be 'no comment, you'll need to ask Mr. Lyons.' Any questions?"

There were none.

"Thanks. Fred, would you stay for a minute after everybody leaves?"

"Um, sure Conrad."

The crowd dispersed, and Conrad began, "I know you've just gotten buried with reviewing all of Silas' failures; so this couldn't come at a worse time. Sebastian has requested you handle his defense. I tried to convince him otherwise, but he was adamant. Like I said, we all know he'll be convicted, so we won't count the loss against you. I strongly suggest you convince him to take a plea bargain, or outright plead guilty. I'm sure I don't need to tell you, but I'll say it anyway. The firm does not need this to go to court. Karter is speaking with Kyle now. He'll be getting Sebastian's simplest case and will assist you with the mountain the A.C. has dumped on you. Even though he's more senior than you, he'll be informed that you're in charge of this activity. So, use him as a resource as you see fit."

"Sure thing, Conrad. I was actually considering bouncing some of my thoughts off him."

Conrad smiled at that admission, "Karter will also bring on another paralegal from a temp agency to help. He or she will report directly to you. Also, Cheryl will be at your disposal. Again, use them in any and every way possible. We may not be able to show as much progress, but as long as we can make some progress, I think the A.C. will be satisfied. Any questions or roadblocks, Karter will do whatever he can to remove them. Questions?"

"Unrelated, but about possible lawsuits against the state for wrongful imprisonment for Wallingford and St. Louis. How would I pursue something like that?"

"Good thinking. I'll give Percival a head's up. I can see that being fairly lucrative in the face of numerous Silases. I think that's a good term to use internally for these fuck-ups. Check with him in a day or so. That will give him a little time to consider who he wants to run with that. Anything else?"

"Not at the moment."

"Good. Once again, good job on Wallingford. I'll repeat something I agree with that Karter said yesterday, you may have saved the firm."

"Wow. Thanks Conrad."

"You're welcome. Keep up the good work."

Next up - "Strange Bedfellows, and Some Progress"