Page 49 of Hello Forever
I was afraid it mightactuallywork.
The first billable hour I spent with my lawyer was a really uncomfortable one. He asked me to start at the beginning. So I told him about our debacle at camp when we were teenagers. And how I’d run into Cax at the basketball game. (I skipped the part about seeing him on the video, because it wasn’trelevant.)
I had to tell him about Merryline, of course. Until you’ve described your pathetic sex life to a perfect stranger, you haven’tlived.
I finished up by describing the confrontation I’d witnessed between Cax and his dad in front of their house, and the bad vibe I gotoffhim.
“And that’s it,” I said. “I know I didn’t do anything wrong. But I don’t know how to make thisgoaway.”
Trevor—my new lawyer—looked thoughtful. “Here’s what we’re going to do. You need to accuse Mr. Williams ofharassingyou.”
I stared back at him. “You want meto…what?”
He leaned back in his chair. “Think about it. Your best defense is a good offense. He’s done this because he wants a mark on your permanent record. So you need to leave oneonhis.”
“Wait a second.” Now my head was spinning. “I don’t see how I can make his bogus claim go away by making one ofmyown.”
“But I think you can. If you accuse him of harassing you, the college will be required to investigate, which he doesnotwant. And it’s not bogus. Heisharassing you, Axel. You’re having sex with his son, so he’s trying to get you fired. That’s what sexual harassmentlookslike.”
“There was no actual, uh, penetrative sex with his son,” I saidquietly.
Trevor rolled his bright blue eyes. “That is a technicality. You went to a hotel with him. Do not defend yourself by saying it didn’t happen. Defend yourself by saying that his father hasno right tocomplain.”
I took a deep breath, because my lawyer was suddenly making a whole lot of sense. “You would make an excellent gay man,Trevor.”
He laughed. “I’ll remember that if my wife ever leaves me. In the meantime, with your permission, I’m going to write out a complaint. As your lawyer, I’d really advise that you sign it. It’s the best way of making sure he knows that you will not run out of town with your tail betweenyourlegs.”
“That’s what hewants.”
“Exactly. Don’t give ittohim.”
I was still worried. “What is he going to do to me if I file the complaint, though? What’s hisnextmove?”
My lawyer tapped his pencil on the desk. “The obvious response is to withdraw his complaint. Then you’ll withdraw yours, because without his yours isbaseless.”
“I’m afraid he’ll punish his son.”Hell. I was already terrifiedofthat.
“But what’s the alternative? You can’t just roll over. If you do nothing, you’ll end up telling a room full of people the details of your trip to Merryline. And you’ve just told me that your friend needs to stay in the closet. The best way to protect him is to shake off his father. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. But you can shuthimup.”
I dropped my head into my hands. “I’m so afraid for Cax. I wish I’d never invited him to thathotel.”
Trevor’s face was full of empathy. “You weren’t trying to get him in trouble. You were trying to keep him outofit.”
“It doesn’t matter, though. The pathtohell…”
“…will be bulldozed by your lawyer,” Trevor quipped. “Now give yourself a break from worrying. I have a complaint towrite.”
“Thank you,” I said, standing up. “Seriously…”
He nodded. “Please don’t communicate with anyone about this case except your boss and your immediate family. It’s especially important not to discuss it witheitherof theWilliamsmen.”
“Okay,” Ipromised.
“We’ll work through this. Just give me time to get our counterclaimlinedup.”
“Iwill.”
“And see what you can do about getting our team to beat Harvard nextweekend.”
