The Partners by Mr. Trick
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Part 4 -- Self Promotion
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Once upstairs, Mitch hurriedly cleaned up all traces of Wendy's
presence in the house. He made the bed; he hid her Nike sneakers
which were on the porch and all traces of the clothes he had stripped
her of; he rinsed and put away the glass of water; he washed his hands
and face; and he got dressed in a sweatsuit, the sort of outfit you
would normally wear around your house on a nice autumn weekend. He
gave the place another quick inspection and found absolutely no
evidence to suggest that Wendy King had ever been in his house. He
then turned on the stereo and sat down on his couch with the newspaper
as he waited for his guest to arrive.
Ten minutes later, a black Lincoln Continental pulled up the
driveway and a middle-aged man stepped out of the driver's side of the
car. Benjamin Henderson, the managing partner of Henderson & Sloan,
was 58 years old, balding with spots of gray hair around his ears and
a sizeable paunch. He was clean-shaven and wore tortoise-shell
glasses. Mitch had not had much contact with Henderson in the office
because Henderson had been relegated more to managing the firm and
bringing in clients rather than actually litigating cases. The few
times Mitch had met the man, he found him to be crotchety and
cantankerous. Mitch also recalled Henderson as having breath that
smelled from coffee, his one vice since he quit smoking cigars two
years earlier. Mitch could not imagine what would prompt a senior
partner from his firm to visit him at his home over a long holiday
weekend.
Mitch's curiosity was further piqued when he saw a woman climb
out of the passenger seat of the Lincoln. He recognized her
immediately as Linda Draybeck, another partner at Henderson & Sloan.
A tough and occasionally nasty attorney, who concentrated on complex
litigation matters, Draybeck, who was not married and in her early
forties, was the one person in the firm that all associates, including
Mitch, did their best to avoid. All of the associates, Mitch and
Wendy included, had worked for Draybeck. In fact, Wendy had most
recently been Draybeck's whipping girl because all new associates
worked with her. Kind of a baptism by fire. If you could survive
working with Linda Draybeck, you could face any judge or adversary in
court.
The two partners walked up to Mitch's house, surveying the
place as they approached. Before they could knock on the door, Mitch
opened the door and ushered them in. "Mr. Henderson. Ms. Draybeck.
What a surprise," Mitch said somewhat nervously. "What can I do for
you?" They moved into the living room and sat on the L-shaped couch.
"Mitch," said the female partner, "We're here to talk to you
about Wendy King."
Mitch tried hard to keep his poker face on and appear
nonchalant, but inside, his stomach started to churn. "Wendy?" he
asked with a surprised tone.
"Yes, Wendy," Henderson growled through clenched teeth. "You
know. The bi . . . associate you mentor."
"What about her?" Mitch asked innocently.
Draybeck put her hand on Henderson's arm in a futile attempt
to calm him down. It didn't quite work because Mitch observed
Henderson growing redder in the face. "Ms. King resigned last night
from the firm. You didn't know?"
Mitch shook his head. "That's news to me. What firm is she
moving to?"
"She didn't say. But that's not important. We need to ask
you a few questions about her?"
Mitch looked at the two partners suspiciously. "What kind of
questions?"
"You can relax, Mitch. You're not in any trouble. We just
need to know if she ever spoke with you about leaving the firm or any
difficulties she was having at the firm."
Mitch shook his head again. "Not a word, Ms. Draybeck, but
you have to realize that over the past few months, we weren't all that
friendly."
Draybeck looked carefully at Henderson who nodded. "Okay,
Mitch. We're going to be candid with you but you must understand that
this is a very sensitive issue so it can go no further than this room.
Everyone's future, including yours, is at stake. Do you understand?"
Mitch shrugged his shoulders and answered, "Not yet, but go
ahead."
Draybeck took a deep breath and began her explanation. "Last
night, Ms. King charged into Mr. Henderson's office and threatened to
file a sexual harassment suit against him, the firm, myself and the
other three partners. Her accusations were entirely baseless but the
mere accusation could be devastating. Word spreads and before you
know it clients are going elsewhere and you have no credibility with
the courts and your opponents. She tendered her resignation with a
letter that makes no reference to her claims but told Mr. henderson
that unless she received `a nice severance package' as she put it, she
would file a complaint and go to the newspapers."
"Stupid fucking slut," muttered Henderson under his breath.
Draybeck gave him a look to be quiet and Mitch slowly began to see
what was happening. Wendy's accusations were most likely not as
baseless as Draybeck wanted him to believe.
Draybeck continued, "You can see how concerned we are. We
already checked her office and computer for any evidence that might
suggest Henderson & Sloan was guilty of any inappropriate behavior but
found nothing. Mr. Henderson bought us some time by telling the bit .
. . Ms. King that he needed to speak to the partners so she has given
us until next Monday to pay her off or she goes public. We are
confident that we would be vindicated in a court of law but the damage
to the firm's reputation would be irreparable."
"What can I do to help?" Mitch asked.
She smiled a condescending smile and said, "Think. Did she
tell you anything or did you overhear her telling anybody else
anything that could be damaging to the firm."
Mitch decided to take a gamble. "Well," he began with a
pregnant pause, "Once she did mention that Mr. Henderson here came on
to her and was a little touchy-feely if you know what I mean."
"That miserable bitch," said Henderson. "Did she tell you
anything else about me or any of the other partners?" Sweat beaded on
his forehead.
"Nothing specific and, of course, I tried to tell her that she
must have misinterpreted your intentions. She didn't mention anyone
else by name."
Henderson coughed and grew redder, this time with
embarrassment rather than anger. Draybeck looked at him angrily.
"You and your old boys club," she hissed. "Times have changed since
you were a young lawyer, Benjamin, and now you and whoever else have
put all of our futures at risk, including mine. A judgment against
the firm will expose us all to personal liability."
She sat back and thought. Mitch did the same. Finally, he
stood up moved closer to Linda Draybeck. "Maybe I can help."
"You? What can you do?"
"Just suppose I could do something to help, really help, like
guarantee that Wendy King files no complaints, makes no public
accusations and doesn't get paid a cent? What would that be worth?"
Henderson growled, "What would you want?"
Mitch chuckled, "That's easy. I want to be a partner -- an
equal partner -at Henderson & Sloan."
Draybeck and Henderson looked at each other and nodded. "If
you could guarantee that there is no lawsuit or scandal and no payoff,
an equal partnership can probably be arranged, but how would you
guarantee this?"
Mitch thought carefully and decided to take his chances.
"Follow me." He got up and walked toward the basement door. "Just
take a peak down the stairs, but keep your voices down."
Curious, Henderson and Draybeck opened the door to the cellar.
Henderson reached for the pull string light switch, but Mitch stopped
put his hand on the senior partner's arm and shook his head. "There's
another light down there and it's already on."
Henderson frowned but continued down the steps with Draybeck
right behind him. He was halfway down the steps when he peaked over
the bannister and looked toward the light. He stopped abruptly and
Draybeck bumped into him. Henderson's eyes were opened wide as he
stared at the sight below him and then turned to watch Draybeck's
reaction when she saw what he was seeing. Like Henderson, she was
awestruck at the sight below her. There she was, Wendy King, the
source of all their problems, stripped naked and bound and gagged.
Henderson smiled as he stared at the helpless associate who had her
eyes closed and so far had neither seen or heard the three people on
the stairs. He felt a stirring in his pants and his breathing became
heavier as his heart pounded faster and faster in his chest. Draybeck
also stared at the trussed up girl and her heart too began to beat
faster. They both looked at Mitch who motioned for them to go
upstairs.
"So," Mitch asked with a wicked grin, "Am I a partner?"
The two senior partners were dumbfounded. "What the hell is
going on here?" Linda Draybeck finally asked.
"Relax, Linda. May I call you Linda?" Mitch snickered and
then told them the entire story of how he had come to have Wendy King
bound, gagged and naked in his basement. "So you see, there is no way
to trace her here. As far as the firm knows, she resigned and you
have her letter to prove it. Her Jeep is parked ten miles away and
will probably be stolen by nightfall and no one other than the three
of us knows she's here. It's perfect."
"But, but," stammered Ms. Draybeck, "What are you going to do
to her?"
Mitch looked at Henderson who smiled knowingly before
answering the question that had been posed to Mitch. "Anything we
want, Linda. Anything and everything we want."
"So," said Mitch, "Am I in?"
Linda Draybeck took a deep breath and answered, "I guess you
are, partner, I guess you are. We'll have to sell it to the other
three, but since the little bitch leveled harassment charges at them
as well, I think they'll go along when we explain things to them."
Henderson laughed. "Looks like we'll be having our partners'
meetings at your place from now on, Mitch. And I think they're going
to be held more often than ever."
