Page 43 of Pleading Innocence
“Look, I love you, man. And it’s because I love you and because we’re best friends that I’m telling you the truth. I saw you in that file room when we were all in there together. You liked it. You fucking loved it—and you wanted more. But out of all of us, you have the greatest self-control and willpower to fight it. It’s admirable. I wish I had that self-control because we know what we could be risking if Chris found out. But just because you’re having a hard time dealing with the fact that you still crave her, it doesn’t mean you need to treat her like shit. You need to deal with it up here, man,” I said, tapping at my temple.
He growled low in his throat and got to his feet. He didn’t deny what I was saying. He didn’t say anything at all, he just swiped his hand over his face and left my office looking even angrier than before. I knew he’d been looking for someone to vent to, but well, he needed to hear the truth.
Resisting the urge to shout at him to close the door on the way out, I just got up and did it myself while fishing my phone out of my pocket to call Tiffany to check in with how she was doing.
“Hi, Mario.” Her low voice seduced me without trying.
“Hey, you.” I smiled into the phone. “So, I heard you had quite the encounter with Jared today.”
She groaned. “I’m sorry,” she said.
Unconsciously, I stuck my bottom lip out in confusion. “For what?” I asked.
“Well, I’m guessing he must have told you everything. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that I was working on a case in opposition to Crawford & Beam. I was afraid you’d judge me or something,” she said.
My stomach dropped and I almost choked on my words. “Judge you? For what? Taking a job that you needed? That I recommended for you? Come on, Tiff. First of all, you have nothing to apologize for, and second of all, the fact that you thought you had anything to apologize for hurts my feelings.”
“You’re not mad?” she asked as if in disbelief.
“I’m not mad,” I reassured her with a soothing tone. “Never mind Jared, he’s having a hard time shedding his douchebag skin.”
She giggled. “Thanks for being so understanding. Makes me want to kiss your whole face off,” she said.
“My whole face? And what would I be left with?” I said in jest. “Hey, I might be understanding but I’m still team Crawford & Beam. I wish Bronkers & Associates all the luck in this case though. They’re gonna need it.”
“I don’t know,” she drawled. “We might have a few surprises coming,” she teased.
“Oh, do you?” I asked, my voice kicking up a bit.
“Uh oh, I’ve said too much. You’re not getting any more out of me,” she said.
“That’s okay. Crawford & Beam doesn’t need a cheat sheet. Pretty sure you’re not the only one with something up your sleeve,” I teased back, although I knew nothing of the case. We were just bantering back and forth.
Her smile was almost audible through the phone as she said, “Hey, I better go before you have me swooning over the husk in your voice, making it hard for me to concentrate. I’ll see you later?”
“If you’re lucky.” I grinned. “In all seriousness though, good luck, and I’m proud of you.”
I heard her gasp and her tone sounded like melted chocolate when she responded. “Thank you.”
Chapter 27
Tiffany
“SoIwasthinkingthat while we wait for the results of our client’s medical records and the building sample, we could use the potential of asbestos exposure to determine whether or not the opposition would be willing to settle. I think it’s best to meet with the opposition before we get the results so that we can’t be held liable for using false information to get them to sway our way. We can present it as a potential, something to hang over their heads,” I said to Miss Saunders while sitting in her office.
“And how exactly would you present that argument to the opposition?” she asked.
“Well, it is the landlord’s responsibility to provide proper living conditions to a tenant. Ensuring that their building is free of asbestos and warning the tenant before renting or leasing to them is a part of that responsibility. In this case, if the landlord failed to inform the tenant before they moved in that asbestos was present on the property and the tenant got sick, they can be found liable for negligence. This is still true, even if the landlord tries to convince the judge that they didn’t even know that asbestos was present. Well, then they should’ve got it checked and they are also legally bound to do that.
“Say the opposition goes even further to argue, saying, ‘So what? There’s asbestos present. I’m not breaking any laws.’ They might be right since asbestos is likely to be present in building materials. But while they might not be breaking any laws when providing a home that may have asbestos, they are breaking a law if they do not warn the tenant beforehand. The presence of asbestos itself isn’t a threat but if the client goes ahead and fixes something in the house—like maybe a socket or a broken lightbulb fixture—without being aware of the presence of asbestos, fibers can be released into the air. And it’s these fibers that can become poisonous, even leading to mesothelioma. If the tenant falls ill because they weren’t informed by the landlord that asbestos was present in the building, the landlord can be held responsible. The client should be forewarned so that they can make the decision about whether or not they want to live with the threat of asbestos poisoning hanging over their heads and at least know not to attempt fixing anything without first taking the necessary precautions,” I responded.
She leaned back in her chair and studied me. “And what if the landlord had informed our client of those risks?” she asked.
Oh. That thought hadn’t crossed my mind, and my eyes darted from side to side as I sat back in my chair, thinking. The research I’d conducted had me fired up, but I was going down a one-way street. I repeated her question several times in my head before finding the answer.
“Unless it’s in writing, well, it’s their word against our client’s. I’m sure there is a way we could still spin this in our favor. And if it was in writing, then we’d have to find another angle, of course. So I guess our next step is to find out what was put in writing and what wasn’t.”
Ms. Saunders leaned back in her chair and a small smile crept up on her face. Her smiles were so few and far between that whenever she flashed one my way, I felt like a kid in a candy store.