Page 2 of The Lawyer's Quandary
Steven had become more confident, but now he deflated some. “I told Mark because he’s my friend, and it took weeks for me to be able to do that. I mean, this sort of thing isn’t supposed to happen to guys.”
“You know that’s bullshit, right?” Mark said before Greg could. “Abuse can happen to anyone, and no matter what, it isn’t right. People think that you can do something about it because you’re an athlete.”
“The last time I was with him, I thought about punching him in the face and kicking the shit out of him, but then I would lose my scholarship, and I’d be at the mercy of my father, who would… he’d do whatever he could to try to make me into who he wants.”
Greg got that. The scholarship was to some degree Steven’s independence and his ability to make his own decisions. No one wanted to have to give that up. “Okay. But your father will pay the legal bills?”
“It’s complicated. I know Dad loves me. But he also wants me to be like him….”
“I get it. The relationship with my father is sometimes kind of complicated.” He grew quiet as he thought. “The first thing I need to do is put together an engagement letter. This will outline my fees and contain an estimate of what I expect the costs to be. Once you decide if you want to move forward, then I’ll begin digging into more of the details and devise a strategy.” He leaned forward. “But I want you to do something for me. Think about what it is that you really want out of this.”
“What do you mean?” Mark asked.
Greg sat back. “Well, are you looking for the college to pay money? Do you want them to fire Coach Bates so he can’t do this again? What is your goal?”
“That’s easy. I want him gone,” Greg said, more confidently than anything he’d said up until that point.
“So you aren’t interested in a big court case or anything?” Greg asked.
Mark cleared his throat. “Is that a problem?”
Greg smiled. “Not in the least. It sounds to me like you want this handled reasonably quietly, to build a case that the college can’t ignore so they show Coach Bates the door.”
Both Steven and Mark nodded, and Steven got to his feet when his phone chimed. “We have a game at Dickinson in a few hours, and I need to get over there.” He grabbed the equipment bag he’d stashed near the door and was about to leave.
“Hold on,” Greg said before verifying the contact information he had. “Best of luck in the game.”
“Thanks.” Steven was out the door, closing it behind him, leaving Greg and Mark alone.
“I bet this has to be one of the strangest cases you’ve had,” Mark said while Greg made notes before he forgot some things.
“Not even close,” Greg said with a smile. “Okay. Since I have you here, I have to ask. Is he the first person who has come to you?”
Mark nodded. “Yes, and I didn’t want to believe it. But you have to know Steven. When he finally told me what was happening, I wanted to dismiss it. But Steven isn’t some dumb athlete or someone who would make anything up. He was almost kicked off the team because he went to a party, and one of the people there gave him a toke. The party got busted, and he stood up, said what he did, and took his lumps for it. There is no backing down with him. If he does something wrong, he owns up to it, and he expects others to do the same.”
“But this is….” He was trying to get his head around it. “Organizations should know better, coaches and others should know better, particularly after Penn State.”
“Yeah, but they do know one thing, and that is to try to defend themselves,” Mark said, and checked his watch. “I need to get something to eat right away.” He pulled out his phone, which had beeped a number of times. “My blood sugar is getting low.”
“The Hanover Grill is a block away,” Greg offered. He didn’t have another client for an hour, and he needed lunch of his own. “If you want some company.”
“Sounds good,” Mark said, and left the office while Greg told Angie, his paralegal, where he would be and that he would be back before his next meeting.
“It’s about time you went out and had a little fun,” she told him with a grin.
He growled, and she outright laughed. “He’s a client. Well, kind of.” It was hard to explain, and he had no intention of giving her any more ammunition. Angie was always on his back about dating and going out to meet people. She kept reminding him that he left the law firm because of the hours and the fact that they ran his entire life. And when he started his own firm, he threw everything he had into it and never went out and letittake over his life.
“Then you have fun with the handsome sorta-client.” She winked at him, and Greg knew it was useless to argue with her. She would only dig her heels in further. Angie was great at her job because she was tenacious.
Greg met Mark outside, and they walked through the early spring air, the trees downtown showering them and the sidewalk with white flower petals. “Have you eaten here before?” Mark asked as he pulled open the door.
“Yeah. They’re on my speed dial. A couple days a week, they deliver my lunch to the office. It’s a pretty basic food, but they do some things really well. Their Reuben is really good. For a while they didn’t have it on the menu, but they brought it back due to popular demand.”
“I love those,” Mark said, and they sat down. When Lucy came over, they ordered their drinks and a Reuben each.
“What is it like coaching swimming?”
Mark chuckled. “It’s part parent, part therapist, part friend, and all business. A lot of these kids have never been away from home before. With the freshmen, it’s a matter of getting them to understand that freedom does not mean that they get to do everything they always wanted. You can party all night, and after class, I’m going to kick your butt in the pool regardless of how much you drank. And if they don’t perform, then they can lose their scholarship. It’s that simple. I have to be the disciplinarian and, at the same time, encourage them to succeed. Get them to work as a team and support each other.”
