Have been dealing with a lot of personal things, so this has been delayed too many times for my taste. That said, I only have a little left to tell for this story, so I'm trying to wrap everything up in a concise manner. I hope you all love reading it as much as I love to write it!
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"Well, I think that will get their attention, don't you?" asked Calvin.
He was seated across from Danny and Rose in the back of a limousine, having just ushered the both of them in after a sudden press ambush outside of the courthouse. It hadn't been a surprise, as they had planned it with Lauren in advance. She let slip a few key details to some contacts and the information had made the rounds quickly.
A former employee was suing Gen-U-Tech for $500 million, and was being represented by Calvin Burke, the notorious cutthroat lawyer who won all the major cases for the companies and clients who had money to spare. That was what she had let slip to a few people, and it wasn't long before word got out on when he was planning to file his complaint.
It took Calvin barely a day to get the papers together and ready. According to him, they had quite a few prepared templates for cases, so it was only a matter of changing the parts that needed to be adjusted for specifics. Despite Rose insisting on filing additional criminal charges against Henry Brahman for his attack on her, Calvin had suggested going directly after the company, as then they could tie in many other things, such as improper handling of materials, and they could hold him and the company equally responsible, which would do far more damage than taking him on in another case.
He was calculating and devious in his approach, and he had given them things to specifically mention when they were accosted by the media, things that would catch headlines for the following weeks. Since Rose was not open to arbitration of any sort, the company would be forced to take the case to trial, and the media frenzy that was already snowballing even now as they pulled away from the curb was going to change everything.
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"-the world received a shock when it was discovered that the esteemed lawyer Calvin Burke, known for his near flawless win streak in corporate lawsuits, is instead going to be taking the fight to the big business, instead of for them. The defendant? Gen-U-Tech, the infamous experimental pharmaceutical company that gained its own brand of fame many years ago with the announcement of a new type of drug, one that could combine the DNA of man, and animal. The plaintiff in this case? A former employee, who you have to see, to believe."
The CNN news anchor was giving a quick rundown of the events, as Gen-U-Tech had been out of the limelight for a good while, with the news that they had shuttered Project Graft barely ranking a spot on the 11 o'clock news reports. His introduction was barely a scratch at the surface, but it wasn't the case itself that had everyone's attention. It had been the moment Rose had removed her large hat and veil, revealing herself to the world, for the first time.
The video cuts to Danny, Rose, and Calvin descending the stairs in front of the courthouse, with a swarm of reporters firing off questions and all talking over each other, and they all stop when Calvin holds up a hand.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the world, my client, Miss Rose Vansant, is bringing a landmark case against her former employer, after a series of events left her permanently altered, and we will not be discussing the particulars at this time."
Calvin was smooth and speaking with a well-practiced tone borne of experience, and for the most part no one spoke while he addressed them, but then one reporter shouted and got his attention.
"Mr. Burke, what do you mean by "altered"?" inquired the young woman, holding out her microphone after asking her question.
Calvin smiled. He had told them that when it came to the media, they were an elaborate instrument to be played, and the better you played them to your side, the stronger the public opinion would sway in your favor.
"Despite what people think," he had told them as they had been discussing the plan only days prior, "the public holds significant sway over events such as this, especially when dealing with a company that markets a product. If the public refuses to touch a product, it will die out in popularity and eventually cease to be produced. Even if they only market to other businesses, if there isn't enough interest, it won't sell."
Calvin had been right. He had provided several examples of products or companies suffering massive revenue loss, or even filing for bankruptcy, after word of mouth made the product or company in question mud to the general public. On the video he opened his mouth to respond, but Rose reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, something they had discussed before as her cue to do her big reveal. He stopped and stood aside as Rose stepped forward and looked at the gathered crows, and they all listened with rapt attention.
"Forgive Mr. Burke for the term he has used. It is not the one I would have chosen myself. I, personally, don't have a word to describe my situation. I doubt I could even sum it up in a full sentence, let alone a single word."
Rose paused for a moment to take a deep breath, and slowly reached up, grabbing the brim of her large hat with her gloved hands and lifting it slowly, taking it up and over the front of her face, hiding herself from view for just long enough that several of the reporters had visibly leaned closer to get a better look. When her hat fell and revealed her face, there were multiple audible gasps, but the prevailing sound was that of silence.
Her ears were folded down and back, which Danny knew she did when she was nervous, but after a quick breath to steady her nerves, they perked back up. While you couldn't see it in the video, the looks on each of their faces was utter disbelief and shock. Words were a powerful thing, but silence spoke volumes more than any words ever could at that moment.
The silence lasted for all of 5 seconds, followed by someone shouting her name to ask a question, and then every reporter was tripping over the others to get a word in, but Rose ignored them. Danny stepped forward, holding out his arm to lead her down the steps, and the camera panned to follow the three of them as they descended.
The video abruptly cut back to the news anchor, who began to rattle off more info that they had dug up on the topics at hand, but they weren't paying any attention to it anymore. Rose had been silent for most of the car ride, her grip on Danny's hand not once lessening in its intensity. It wasn't until they had arrived back at the hotel that she had collapsed on the bed, taking in a deep breath and letting it out with a shudder.
She covered her face with her hands, and Danny sat next to her, his hand on her shoulder and his thumb rubbing her fur gently. She was mentally exhausted from the brief media ordeal, and he could only imagine what was in store for them going forward. After a moment Rose rolled over and took his hand into hers, and she kissed it lightly as she snuggled up to him. He leaned back and let her press into him as she got comfortable, and within a few minutes he heard her snoring quietly.
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"Well that was the fastest turnaround for a settlement I've ever dealt with," Calvin said as he walked them out of the courtroom.
Despite not intending to take the money, they still had to hold at least one arbitration, during which they had been offered even more than had been requested as damages, $750 million in fact, to which Calvin had immediately told the Defense that there was no amount of money they could offer for them to reach a settlement, and that they would see them in court. The other lawyer, who had been wearing a smug look up to that point, now looked like he had just been sentenced to death with how rapidly the color had drained from his face. Calvin had returned the look with his own sadistic grin of grim satisfaction.
They had tried to argue that the legal documents that Rose had signed when she had been employed had made the money a formality, and that if they went to court that Calvin would lose to the letter of the law. His grin didn't falter even once through all of their argument, and his only response was to turn and look at Rose for a few seconds, looking her up and down as though he were just seeing her for the first time, and then turning back to face the Defense.
"Somehow, I highly doubt that is going to hold up at trial. Call it a hunch."
