Kenneth
The next few days are some of the best I can remember having.
Despite the court date at the end of this week and all the stress and uncertainty surrounding that, coming home to Jessica and Abbie every day is everything I could have hoped for.
After talking with her, there’s no more doubt in my mind - no hesitation that maybe I should try for a last minute settlement. Jessica is right. That would eat away at me too much. The only thing I’ll settle for is a complete withdrawal of the accusations and an acknowledgment Danielle was lying about the whole thing - which I don’t see happening.
Somehow, once I’d made that decision - absolutely and irrevocably - it become so much easier to deal with the idea that it might not go my way and I could focus on the only thing that would actually make any difference.
Preparing for court.
Which, according to Patrick, I needed a lot of help with.
We’d already been over all the testimony and all the relevant dates and occasions we think Danielle will ask about. I know all the facts and I can remember them easily enough. No, what he’s concerned about is how I’m going to respond when I see her in court - or get asked about the sexual harassment itself.
After a couple of hours of practice, that he deliberately recorded and played back to me, I can see his point.
The frustration and outrage vibrates off me. And this is just when faced with my lawyer - who doesn’t actually believe anything he’s asking about.
I’m not exactly sure that’s a bad thing - of course I’m frustrated, I’m innocent and this whole thing has been a waste of my time, money and energy - but he seems to think it is. Being aggressive is not what the court wants to see.
So I’ve been working all week to channel all of that into calm determination and self-assurance. It’s harder than it sounds.
Now that the court date is finally here, I feel like I’m struggling to remember any of it. I’m more nervous than I’d imagined I’d be - and that’s just making me worry that nerves will come across the wrong way and I’ll be mistaken for being on edge for the wrong reason. Which is making me frustrated all over again.
“After this is all over,” I tell Jessica as she casts a critical glance over my suit. “I think I need a vacation.”
“God, yes.” She agrees immediately, sounding as appreciative of that idea as I would be right now. “Me too. It’s been a tough week.”
I nod, turning back to the mirror as she brushes something I can’t even see off my shoulder.
“How do I look?”
“Sexy.” She says, her tone turning sultry as she steps up behind me.
I laugh, looking over my shoulder and surprised I even can laugh right now.
“I’m not sure that was quite the look I was going for.”
“You should.” She continues, stepping around to kiss me briefly. “It’s a good look on you.”
“Uhuh.” I glance back at the mirror, then sigh. “I guess this will have to do.”
“You’re going to be fine, Ken.” She says, turning more serious. “I promise. And I’ll be right there, watching every moment.”
We spent a lot of time talking about that. I didn’t want her anywhere near it at first. There will be press people there - maybe not many, but at least the local newspapers will want to report on this - and Danielle’s people, and…I wasn’t sure I wanted her to see me dragged through all this.
My lawyers had objections of their own, of course. No one was quite sure how it would look for the former-secretary I was dating to show up to support me in court.
Jessica overruled us all. She said there was no way in hell I was going through this without her and that if I could sit there and take all this from Danielle, she was made of stern enough stuff to deal with whatever people might think of her.
Sometimes, she makes me so fucking proud just to be with her. To know we’re a team in this.
“I’ll spend every moment thinking of the instant it’s all done and I can come back to you and forget about it all.” I say, reaching up to stroke her cheek.
She rolls her eyes at me. “I hope you spend at least some of it thinking about what you’re going to say.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “I wonder whether it might be better if I don’t think about it. I’ve never been the kind of guy to over-think or get anxious about anything, but this morning…”
“It’s okay.” She steps forward, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling my head down to me. “Remember? Whatever happens, it’ll be okay.”
I nod, kissing her again. Wishing I could just stand here all morning kissing her instead of going to court at all.
“It will.”
“Come on, you’re going to be late. And then Patrick really would kill me.”
“Just another moment…”
I pull her into me, wrapping her up in my arms and breathing in everything that makes her Jessica.
“I’m really glad you’re going to be there today, Jessica. And I’m sorry I was an ass about it.”
“That’s okay.” She murmurs into my ear. “I have a feeling it’s not the last time you’re going to be an ass about something.”
“If it’s to look out for you? Yeah, sorry, nothing I can do about that.”
“C’mon.” She says again, stepping back and wrapping one arm around my waist. “Let me look out for you today.”
Reluctantly, I let her lead me out to the cab waiting for us. I didn’t want to think about driving this morning. Hannah took Abbie out for us this morning - at least I can make sure she won’t be involved in this at all.
“What do you think it’s going to be like?” I ask, as the car pulls out of my drive.
She looks over at me, her gaze serious and sympathetic.
“I think it’s going to suck. It’ll be infuriating and stupid and ridiculous.” She squeezes my hand. “But you’ll be great anyway. You’ll be cool and calm and refute everything she says - and anyone with any sense will work out you could never do something like that. And it’ll be okay.”
“Yeah.” I say, smiling slightly and squeezing her hand back. “It’ll be okay.”
* * *
In the middle of the court room, with the judge looking more intimidating than I think I’ve found anyone for years, it’s a little hard to remember that.
I’ve got Patrick sitting beside me and I can feel Jessica’s gaze on my back, the warmth of it easing some of the tension - but nothing can take away my nerves. I’ve never been in a position like this before. I never could have imagined I would be.
Just seeing Danielle sitting on other side was enough to set my blood boiling and I’ve had to deliberately avoid looking over there. It’s harder than I would have thought. I want nothing more than to walk right up to her and confront her head on.
The need to ask her how she could possibly lie about something like this burns inside me. I don’t understand how she could be that bitter, or greedy, or whatever combination of those things led to all this.
And how the hell could she start stalking me and my family. For fucks’ sake.
I don’t do any of that. But it’s hard.
I wish I could be the one asking her the questions here today. They’d be sharp, pointed, leading questions that would raise every objection in the book, but that’s not the point.
The case starts with Danielle’s lawyer making his opening statement and I brace myself for everything that’s about to come - but to my surprise, it’s not nearly as emotive as I was expecting. He simply states the assertions I already knew - that during Danielle’s time working with me, I sexually harassed her over a prolonged period of time and a number of different occasions, persisting despite her rebuttal and causing an environment hostile enough that she felt her only option was to resign - and explains that they will be calling forward witnesses to support this.
I glance over at Patrick, but he doesn’t seem surprised as he then stands to present his opening statement, and I’m left to guess that maybe since this case is being tried by a judge instead of a jury, they decided that emotive appeals would do more to harm their case than help it.
I’m immediately relieved by that idea - I was expecting to be on edge and dealing with provocative comments from the very beginning.
Maybe this whole thing will be a little more reasonable than you expected. You are dealing with formal legal proceedings here - not just the woman prone to lying, manipulation and stalking.
Patrick keeps his statement as short and simple as Danielle’s lawyer, simply refuting the claims and stating that there is no evidence to support them. I had wondered about including a comment about Danielle’s sexual advances on me, but Patrick wanted to keep any mention of sexual interactions between us out of it at all - saying it was better to elaborate on that when giving testimony, if at all. Based on how this is going so far, I’m starting to appreciate his advice.
After the statements from the lawyers, though, the civility drops off.
Danielle gives testimony first and it’s all I can do not to physically react to the things she’s saying - the accusations of what I apparently did to her - the comments I made and inappropriate gestures and touches…it makes me shudder just thinking about it.
Patrick gives me a warning look and I know I’m itching to say something back as her lawyer barely needs to prompt her to elaborate on details that she’s obviously just fabricated completely. I still can’t believe someone could do this. Who could be so cold and so callous—
“Pay attention.” Patrick murmurs from beside me and I glance over to see him writing down the times, dates, locations and events she’s describing.
Smart.
As I start listening to those details though, trying my best to filter out some of the worst of it, I realize I don’t need to write things down. I know the times she’s talking about - I can vividly picture some of the restaurants, or the meetings we had. I can remember the way she came onto me and even though it shouldn’t, it still surprises me as she turns it all around, claiming the things she did as my own.
That’s going to make it harder and I can see the tension on Patrick’s face. When they ask me what happened at those times, I’m not going to lie - I’m giving sworn testimony - but that means I’m going to repeat exactly what she’s just said…only with the claim that she did it instead. That doesn’t seem nearly as strong a defense as being able to clearly say something else happened.
I know it’s on them to prove their side, not me, but even so…
Then I’m called up to testify and I don’t have anymore time to think about it.
Once I’m on the stand, looking down at the lawyer and everyone else in the courtroom, I can feel my heart beating at double-time. I let my eyes drift to the rows of benches just once - catching on Jessica’s determined face and lingering for a brief moment - before I refocus.
It helps that she’s here - but the moment the questions come, even after all the preparation, I still feel myself starting to struggle.
Danielle’s lawyer asks such specific, pointed questions and then cuts me off before I can give a full explanation and even though I knew that would happen, it’s still a struggle to deal with it. I look over at Patrick for support, but they’re not doing anything exactly wrong and we both know it. I have to fight the frustration as I confirm the dates and times that Danielle has given, without having a chance to say exactly what happened.
Patrick told me this would happen and said that we’d fill in all the missing information and gaps when he called me up to speak, but it still irks me that I can’t fully elaborate now.
At least it’s not a jury. The judge should be well practiced at working this stuff out.
“One last question.” Danielle’s lawyer says, looking directly at me.
I have to hold back a breath of relief. I talk to clients and investors all the time, I’m used to being at the center of attention and finding exactly the right thing to say - but here none of that is helping me at all.
“Are you having sexual relations with your secretary?”
I blink, taken aback. Somehow, in all the detail of times and dates and places and everything else I’d memorized - I’d forgotten about that.
My eyes flick to her and even though I know Patrick was hoping this wouldn’t come up, the part of me that’s used to negotiation and winning is suddenly elated.
They’re wrong here. They don’t know what they’re doing.
My natural instinct kicks in and I have to fight to keep a straight face as I reply.
“No.”
He pauses for a moment, and that’s the only hint of surprise I get. Still, for a lawyer, that says a lot.
Based on my approach so far, I’m sure they know I intend to tell the truth, and I enjoy throwing them off - if only a little bit.
He recovers quickly, glancing down at the notes in front of him and rephrasing the question.
“You say you are not currently having sexual relations with a Miss Jessica Reynolds?”
“No, I said I was not currently having sexual relations with my secretary. Miss Jessica Reynolds isn’t my secretary.” I look over at her as I speak and this time I don’t try to stop the small smile as I do. “She’s the love of my life.”
I watch her blush, the silly smile I have on my face crossing hers as well - and for a moment, I forget we’re even in the courtroom. It’s just the two of us, and all the things I want to say to her. All the love I want to give her.
From the slight downturn of the lawyer’s expression, I’d guess that he doesn’t exactly approve of declarations of love on the witness stand.
Well, screw him. I’ve sworn to tell the truth. That’s the greatest truth I know.
I’m more than a little distracted by Danielle, too, and the flash of anger across her face as she turns in her seat to see who I’m looking at.
The lawyer comes forward with a piece of paper and draws my attention back to him as he slides it across to me.
“I have evidence here that states that Miss Jessica Reynolds is your secretary - could you please summarize the document you see?”
I glance down and blink for a moment at ExVenture’s HR records. I have no idea how he got those, but I clear my throat and speak with the same confidence I just answered.
“These are records of Miss Jessica Reynolds’ employment with my company, ExVenture.”
“So you can confirm that she is employed with your company? If she is not your secretary, please state what role she is employed in.”
“I can confirm she was employed with my company - in the position of my secretary. When we started dating, she resigned her position and left ExVenture because it stopped being appropriate for us to work together.”
I can’t help the appropriate comment there. If they’re going to question me about this, I’m going to do everything I can to use it to prove exactly the opposite.
That makes him pause again and I have to fight not to smile - or look at Jessica. If I had to guess, they underestimated just how serious our relationship was - and I start thinking that maybe this won’t go so badly after all.
“During her time as your secretary, did you engage in sexual relations with Miss Jessica Reynolds?” He continues, and I have a moment to hate the unflappability of lawyers, before I nod.
I’m not ashamed to admit it. It might be slightly ill-advised that she didn’t resign first, but it’s certainly not sexual harassment.
“There was a short period between starting dating and Jessica resigning where we engaged in sexual relations. As soon as it happened, though, we knew we had to—”
“And can you describe how these relations came about with someone who worked directly under you?” He interrupts, obviously wanting to cut off my whole description of our relationship and decisions. I guess the less serious he makes it seem, the better. “It’s hard to end up in sexual relations with - or, indeed, to date - someone without that sexual environment being present in your work place. Did that environment not strike you as inappropriate at the time?”
I ignore the interruption, too pleased with the question that he obviously thinks proves his point. This isn’t something we prepped - but I immediately know exactly what to say.
“Sexual relations first developed between Jessica Reynolds and myself when we were sixteen in high school.” I say calmly and this time I actually get a real look of disbelief. “When I saw her again for the first time in ten years, as my new secretary, we decided those sexual relations were so long ago that working together wouldn’t be inappropriate. When we worked out that this wasn’t the case, she resigned.”
I’m skipping a few things there - like all the really fucking hot sex in the office - but since they’re picking and choosing what they let me answer, I figure that’s fair. And they’re too surprised to object or pick any of the rest of that apart.
After a long moment of silence, the judge speaks.
“Do you have any more questions for Mr. Stark?”
Danielle’s lawyer seems to come back to himself, glances at his notes and then shakes his head.
“No further questions.”
I come back to my seat with a few deep breaths, my nerves feeling jangled and tight from the intense set of questions, and I can’t help wondering how I did. I know my answers were good at the end there, but it doesn’t take away from the fact I am actually dating my former secretary, so it seems hard to judge.
Patrick gives me a brief nod - and at least he doesn’t look more tense than he did before I testified, but I still feel uneasy.
“The next witness we’re calling is—”
Someone from behind whispers something to him and he glances back, a brief frown flickering over his face. He turns back before the judge can say anything though, and clears his throat.
“Wendy Lane.”
Wendy - Danielle’s secretary, who used to work at ExVenture with her - comes out and the lawyer starts taking her through the questions. She confirms all the meetings between Danielle and I, but no one was ever denying those, then moves on to give statements about working at ExVenture and character assessments of both me and her boss. It’s irritating, but hardly proof of anything - and I’m more distracted by what seems to be going on over on their side of court, a flurry of activity, with people coming and going and whispered conversations between them.
The judge hasn’t missed it either and I can see him frowning as he looks over at them. Part of me hopes they’ll be kicked out or penalized for causing a disturbance, but he doesn’t actually say anything.
Danielle’s expression becomes obviously drawn and I can’t help the slight hope kindling in my chest as I see it.
Something has gone wrong.
I share a look with Patrick as Wendy’s testimony comes to an end - and their lawyer hesitates.
“We’re having trouble locating our next witness, Your Honor. May I request an early adjournment for lunch?”
The judge raises and eyebrow and that little bit of hope flares even further as I process that.
Having trouble locating the next witness.
That has to be good, right?
He glances at the clock, then finally nods.
“We will take lunch early. You have one hour.”
“Thank you, Your Honor.”
They all stand and start flowing out of the court before I’ve even had a chance to look at Patrick - and I can see the local press following, too. A slight weight eases in my chest at that. We were concerned they were going to question Jessica and I - but now Danielle has helpfully provided something more interesting for them to follow.
Jessica joins us as we head to the meeting room Patrick booked for the day and order lunch to be delivered. None of us had any desire to have lunch in a public cafe in the middle of this hearing - even if the press are distracted, we were never going to risk that.
“They can’t find a witness?” Jessica asks, confused, as we all start discussing what’s suddenly going on. “How does that even happen?”
“It’s more common than you’d think.” Hamish says, musing. “Someone gets cold-feet, is scared of appearing in court, doesn’t want to testify anymore…”
“Which, since they’re all lying for her, I can understand.” I say, just a little bitterly. I’m not in the slightest bit sympathetic.
This is exactly what they all deserve.
“They’re not exactly lying.” Patrick interjects, always one to insist on the details. “Character witnesses are always subjective.”
“They’re supporting a lie.” I insist, feeling obstinate as I bite into my sandwich.
I barely taste a thing, too caught up in everything that’s happening. The whole morning has been a whirlwind of emotions - and the only thing that’s keeping me from pacing around the room is that I finally have Jessica right next to me again, and the reassurance of her hand on my leg is better than any amount of movement.
“Who do you think it is? The witness?” Jessica asks, her gaze seeming far away.
“Amanda Speed.” Patrick says immediately. “It has to be - everyone else are just giving character witness statements or confirming details. They’d just skip those if they lost one. Amanda is the only one who provides an actual witness to the harassment allegations—”
“That didn’t happen.” I point out again, then glance up. “So she’s the only one that actually is lying, too. You’re right, it’s got to be her.”
Patrick doesn’t argue with me this time - and my eyes meet Jessica’s as I slowly start to smile, nudging her slightly.
“Maybe whatever you said to her worked.” I say, watching her eyes widen. “It might not have been enough for us to prove she’s lying, but…”
“We’re not done yet.” Patrick interrupts, shaking his head. “Usually when these things happen, the adjournment is enough for the witness to be talked back into testifying. It’s a nice thought, but lets not get ahead of ourselves.”
“It’s going well though, isn’t it?” Jessica asks, frowning, then glances at me. “This must make their case look weaker - and your testimony seemed really good.”
From the silence that Patrick and Hamish meet that with, I have an uncomfortable feeling that maybe that’s just bias on her part.
“I guess we’ll see.” I say, sighing, the weird mix of hope and adrenaline and anxiety in my stomach a little too much to deal with. “We’ll see how it goes when we get back in there.”
She squeezes my hand and gives me a little smile. “At least, at the end of this, it will be done.”
I manage to smile back, letting myself feel the light at the end of that tunnel. “Yeah. At least there’s that.”
That’s not what happens, though. We get back into court to hear that Danielle’s lawyer has requested - and been granted - a continuance due to the absence of their witness.
From what I can see, the judge looks reluctant, but after hearing details of the testimony he finally allows the delay.
The hearing is brought to a close before I can quite work out what’s going on - and when I finally get a chance to ask Patrick, with us all gathered outside the courthouse together - what he says is the last thing I want to hear.
“We’re going to have to reschedule another court date.” He says, his mouth pursed in a thin line that’s the only indication of his irritation. “I’m sorry, Kenneth, I have no idea how far away that will be. It’s not easy to find another date.”
“Wait, so…this is all just going to continue? We’re going to have to do this all over again?” Jessica asks for me, my brain already rebelling as it comes to exactly that conclusion.
“No. Fuck that.” I shake my head, angry. “Don’t tell me they can just drag this out as long as they want. It’s already been months.”
“I’m sorry, Kenneth.” He shakes his head. “I’ll push for a dismissal, but since the judge allowed it, it’s unlikely. I’ll let you know when I know more.”
There’s nothing more I can say to any of that and I’m left looking at Jessica, feeling more frustrated than I have been throughout this entire process.
“It’s probably a good thing they can’t get Amanda to cooperate.” She volunteers and I know she’s trying to make me feel better, but right now, that’s not what I’m thinking at all.
“I would’ve rather she come out and say whatever she wanted against me than have this dragged out for who-knows how much longer.” I shake my head again, and she steps toward me, wrapping her arms around me and resting her head on my chest.
“I know.” She says softly. “Me too. I just want it to be over too.”
I sigh, but pull her in closer, leaning down to breathe her in deeply.
“I’m sorry. I’m not angry at you—”
“I know. You’ve been dealing with far too much, for far too long.”
“What are we going to do, Jessica?” I murmur, the question more rhetorical than anything.
She looks up at me, her gaze firming as it meets mine.
“We’re going to ignore it.”
I frown. “What?”
“We’re going to live our lives, enjoy ourselves and say fuck them by doing all of that and not letting this get to us. When the next date comes around, we’ll deal with it then, but until then…I just want you, Kenneth. We don’t need to worry about any of this crap.”
As she speaks, the passion and determination lighting her face, I can’t help but feel a smile start to spread across my face again, the hope I’d thought dampened and dead inside me flaring right back to life again.
“You’re right.” I lean down and kiss her, feeling the way she melts into me and reminding myself just how damn lucky I am. “That’s exactly what we’re going to do. We’re going to live - with whatever comes our way.”
She smiles, linking her arm with mine as we turn to find a cab.
“And you know, that’s probably going to piss Danielle off more than anything.” I say, smiling at her as I pull her closer, wanting to feel as much of her soft curves against mine as possible. “Did you see all the evils she was sending your way in court?”
Jessica laughs, then grins at me. “I guess I did what she couldn’t - entice the rich corporate CEO with all the money.”
“Mmm.” I smile, a spark of electricity running through me at the thought. “Entice is exactly the right word…and you know…looks like we have the rest of the day alone together.”
Her eyes light on mine. “Ooh, I can think of a few ways to spend that…”
I chuckle. So can I.
And what better way to spend the time waiting for news on this whole clusterfuck?
* * *
Even with all the positivity between Jessica and I - and the amount of fun for the rest of the day - I’m still anxious to hear about the next court date. I want to know how much longer I’m going to have to wait.
How much longer this whole thing is going to be in my life.
Over the next few days, though, that’s not what comes back.
Instead, Patrick calls to tell me he thinks Danielle’s case might have fallen apart - and he’s not sure there even will be a court date. It might just go away. It seems too crazy to believe that after all this time stressing and worrying about it…but as the week continues, it looks like that’s exactly what’s happening.
On Friday, I finally get the call I’ve been waiting for.
“It’s done.” Patrick says. “It’s final - they’ve withdrawn the case completely.”
“What?” I ask, still unable to believe it. “After all that…”
“I guess Amanda never came back to them. Without any direct evidence or witnesses, it’s just Danielle’s word against yours, and that never works out well - even in the current climate of suspicion, and with the whole thing with Jessica.”
“I…damn, I don’t know what to say. It’s all over? It just seems so…sudden, for her to just give up.”
“Well…I heard a few other things too.” He pauses, and my curiosity spikes.
Patrick isn’t usually one for discussing unsubstantiated rumors or gossip - so if something caught his interest, I really want to know why. Especially if it’s about Danielle and this case.
“What things?”
“I don’t know for certain—”
Of course not.
I have to smile at the disclaimer.
“—But I think the lawsuit became uncomfortable for Danielle too, particularly if there was a high risk she was going to lose it. There was probably a reason she was pushing so hard to settle - and I don’t think it was just about the money or ease of it. I don’t think she ever wanted to go to court - I don’t think she ever expected you to actually do that.”
“Uncomfortable?”
“She’s just started a new job. I get the impression her boss there wasn’t too comfortable about working with someone who filed a sexual harassment lawsuit.”
Oh. I hadn’t thought about that.
“Particularly an unfounded one.” I mutter.
“Yes.” This time Patrick’s voice is amused, and that tells me more than anything just how pleased he is about this result. “Particularly an unfounded one. Congratulations, Kenneth, it’s over. You won - enjoy it.”
I smile - and unbidden, it breaks out into a full-on grin.
“Thank you.” I say. “I most certainly will.”
I hang up and have to grab onto the wall for a moment, the sudden feeling of relief making me almost giddy, as all the tension floods out of me.
Fuck.
I don’t think I even knew how much stress that had been causing me, that constant tension I wasn’t even able to fully place.
I relay the whole conversation to Jessica later that night, absolutely thrilled.
“Oh god, you did it.” She grins at me, hugging me tight.
“I think you’re the one that really did it.” I murmur, stroking her hair back from her face. “I have no doubt what happened was because of whatever you said to Amanda, Jessica, really. Thank you.”
She blushes, leaning forward to kiss me anyway.
“It’s over.” She whispers. “We can forget about it.”
“We can.” I deepen the kiss, tilting her head up to mine. “No job to worry about, no lawsuit…now we can just enjoy what we should have had all along.”
She grins, pushing me back, and I let her almost tackle me to the bed.
“I’ll hold you to that, Kenneth. Every day.”
“Please do.” I say, reaching up to pull her properly on top of me, giving myself over to the pleasure and passion - none of the hesitations or doubts left to worry about.
Just us. And Abbie, happily asleep in the room down the hall and oblivious to what we’re about to get up to.
The only things that matter.