Goldstein reclined in the surprisingly comfortable conference chairs.
“Recruiting reinforcements.” A smile played on her attorney’s face.
Suddenly Monica had a new appreciation for lawyers.
Ten minutes later, Mr. Hudson returned with two more attorneys, one woman in her midthirties with sharp eyes and a pinched face, and a man somewhere in his fifties dressed to the nines. Would you look at that, Monica mused. Mr. Hudson found his jacket.
Everything began with cordial tones. State your name for the record, show us your ID, and your nursing license so we have that as well… everything Goldstein told her to expect. Forty-five minutes into the deposition and the only questions raised were about where Monica went to school and where she was raised. She didn’t see the importance of her childhood home address but Goldstein didn’t stop her from answering the questions.
Finally, after what felt like hours, they asked about her involvement with Borderless Nurses.
“How long have you been on their list of recruits?”
“A year and a half,” she answered.
“And have you ever gone on an assignment with them before the recent relief effort in Jamaica?”
“No.”
“They’ve never sent you anywhere?” Hudson asked.
“No… well there was a training I went to in Florida.”
“Mandated?”
“Yes. The first few days were mandated, I opted to stay for the more detailed course since I was there.”
“So a week in Florida?”
She smiled and felt like she was being led. “Yes.”
“Did you meet anyone on this trip to Florida?”
“Sure. There were a lot of physicians and nurses from all over the country all there for the same training.”
“Anyone else?”
Monica glanced at Goldstein. He sat forward and for the first time during this deposition said something. “What are you getting at, counselor?”
“Did you meet anyone romantically, Miss Mann?”
Her face grew cold.
“I don’t see what this has to do with Jamaica,” one of Monica’s other attorneys said.
“It’s OK,” she interrupted him. “I didn’t see anyone in Florida. The hotel was on the beach and the organization did spring for a farewell dinner the night before I came home. Didn’t even stop in Disney World or anything.”
“So you enjoyed your time in Florida?”
Monica placed a syrupy smile on her face. “I was doing what I love to do with many other people who feel the same way. It didn’t suck.”
Goldstein placed a hand on her shoulder to encourage her to remain composed. She took a deep calming breath through her nose and slowly exhaled. Didn’t work.
“When was the last time you took a vacation, Miss Mann?”
“A friend of mine married last summer.”
“Where did you go?”
“Texas.” Katie and Dean were married in the same church Jessie and Jack tied the knot.
The opposing lawyers spoke to each other under their breaths before the woman started asking questions.
“How much money do you make as a nurse a year?”
Monica glanced at her lawyer, who nodded.
“I claimed a little under sixty thousand last year.” And she was damn proud of her accomplishments.
“So your take home was what, forty-five?”
“I guess. I didn’t add it up.”
“Student loans?” Hudson asked.
“Yeah.”
They spent the next twenty minutes whittling away at what Monica made. By the time they were finished with the questions, she felt like a pauper.
“So according to your own accounts, you don’t have the finances to fly to Jamaica for a vacation?”
“Objection!” Goldstein sat forward, his stare penetrated the wall behind the lawyers on the other end of the table. “Save that for a trial, counselor.”
“It’s OK, Miss Mann. No need to answer that question. I think we have a clear picture of what we need.”
Monica shook her head.
For the next two hours, they talked about what she did on the island in reference to her job. Easy questions and in Monica’s head, nothing damning.
When they took a fifteen-minute break, Monica turned to Goldstein. “Why don’t they ask how I can afford you?”
“My guess is they already figured that out.”
“Wouldn’t my sister and Jack dispel the questions of my using Borderless Nurses for a free ride?”
“That depends. Have you ever taken money from your sister in the past? Asked to use their air accommodations for your own personal use?”
“Of course not. It was hard enough asking that they help me out with this.”
Goldstein raised a brow. “All of which would be brought out in court. They don’t have the actual answers to those questions, and they don’t want to look like the idiots here. They’ll ask for your bank statements, credit card statements, phone records.”
“I have to show them all this?”
“You do if you want to keep your license. Your job.”
She shuddered. “I feel violated.”
Goldstein placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Try not to show it. If they think you’re weak, they’ll pounce.”
“Why? It’s them trying to screw me. I should be suing them for unlawful termination, slander.”
“Pain and suffering,” Goldstein’s second hand said behind her back.
“Exactly.”
Goldstein gestured to his colleague, who placed his briefcase on the table and removed a stack of papers.
“I’ve taken the liberty of having these drawn up.” He handed the packet to Monica. She glanced at them, confused.
“What is it?”
“The papers to file suit.”
Her eyes slowly looked up. “Seriously?”
“Right now they think of themselves as the hunters. As long as they think they have a case they’ll continue. When they’re done they will either mess up your life just to walk away, or they will violate you and walk away. Or violate you, pay you for your trouble, and walk away. Your call.”
Hell yeah. These ass**les shouldn’t get away with this.
Monica held out her hand. “Does someone have a pen?”
“We’ll file them at lunch,” Goldstein told her.
If Monica thought she was violated before the personal questions began, she was wrong.
They didn’t bother with any easing into the personal when they reconvened.