Page 9 of Wild Omega

The witness pales, his gaze darting around the room as if searching for an exit. “Yes.”

I switch tacks. “And how many times have you been employee of the month?” I ask.

“None.”

“Hm.” I don’t give him a minute to think as I grill him, not only about his own work performance, but his take on my client, and how clean her office area was compared to other clients in the building. I load my ammunition piece by piece, and then pull the trigger.

“And how much did you get paid for leaking client information via Ms Felton’s computer?”

“Three—” His body spasms, and he tries to claw the words back, fear widening his eyes. “I mean—”

“Objection! He’s leading the witness!” the opposing counsel screeches.

I round on the startled witness. “You said you’re only proficient at your job, Mr Saunders, don’t interact with staff or clients, and have never received a staff member of the month nomination, not to mention you failed to pass the training Velos paid for, so how on earth did you earn fourteen bonuses in four years?”

He stiffens, arms clamping in against his sides.

“Do tell us what these performance bonuses are for, because from where I’m sitting, no plausible reason exists for you to have received them unless you were doing Velos’ dirty work. On God’s name, Mr Saunders, because you are under oath.”

The cleaner clams up, mouth setting rigidly.

I smirk. “Your Honor, according to the cleaning logs, Clark Saunders was on my client’s floor during the same hour data leaked from her account. He admits to being average at his job and he’s had less than eighteen months of professional education, and yet he receives a performance bonus equating to once every three to five months.”

The paper rustles as I hold out the cleaning log and the judge waves me forward to present it. “Meanwhile, my client, an experienced and well-educated administrator, received two bonuses during her entire period of employment. Two, in eight years. Which, according to our assessment of employees so far in the discovery file, is above average.”

I turn back to the wilting employee. “It was very calculated of you to never get the certifications for your IT training, because then it would be listed on your employee file.”

His glare’s more acidic than a lemon as I turn back to the judge. “Now, I posit it’s a simple matter for a cleaner with full access to the floor and IT knowledge equivalent to the junior IT workers in the building to set a data leak in motion while Ms Felton went to the break room, which had a freshly mopped floor thanks to Mr Saunders’ presence.”

Nothing sounds sweeter in my ears than the furious whispering of the opposing counsel as they realize they’re backed into a corner. The two lawyers glare at me as I return to my side of the room. Heads will roll, and my win streak will go to ninety-one.

I lean over the table and whisper to my client. “This one’s all yours.” The grateful look she throws me is worth all the long work hours I put in, not only in this case, but my career. I promised my father I’d make something of myself, and here I am, climbing the ladder with my bare hands.

It takes another few hours of deliberations and witnesses, but since the first domino has fallen, the rest eventually follow as we pin the trail back to the company.

I fold my arms, satisfaction welling up inside as Judge Harmon presses his lips together. He bangs his gavel, the rapping sound piercing the whispering courtroom. “We have a verdict. I find the defendant, Velos Corp, guilty of unlawful dismissal. We proceed to sentencing.”

Once it’s done and Ms Felton has a payout that will set her up for life, I flash the bastards at the opposite desk a smug nod as I escort her out. The long-running professional feud between my firm and theirs just racked up another point in our favor.

I see Ms Felton off with a warm handshake and pull out my phone, ignoring a bunch of missed calls in favor of dialing Hale. “Damn, you’re good,” I crow when he answers, unable to hide my grin.

“I know,” he answers calmly. “Bring Alpha Fried Chicken for dinner; we need to go over the details for your next case, and a new one just came in.”

I laugh. “All right.” Business as usual. “No rest for the ambitious.”

Hale hums, his deceptively gentle voice ringing down the line. “Oh, your mother called the office four times this week. Could you contact her so she stops wasting the receptionist’s time?”

“Sure thing.” Dammit, that must be the source of all my missed calls. I hold my hand out for a cab, dialing Mom’s number as I wait on the curb.

“Callisto, nice to finally hear from you,” Mom says dryly as she picks up. “Was starting to think I needed to put out a missing person’s report.”

A cab pulls up and I climb in and give the legal firm’s address to the driver. “Don’t be dramatic, Mom. I’ve been in court all week.” As she already knows.

“You’re always in court. I think you’ve forgotten how to live a real life.”

I shake my head, smiling fondly as I watch the busy streets slip by. “This is my life, Mom.”

She huffs out a breath. “I know, but listen to me, son. I just can’t rest well when you’re so fixated on a single future. Have you lodged your scent sample with the Omega Center yet? When will I get grandchildren? I don’t want to see you walk down the same path as your father, sacrificing family for—”

---