I took Mr. Johnston into my room, and lead him to a place I had set up with a card table and two chairs that I had grabbed from a nearby hall closet earlier.
"I sincerely apologize for how my stepfather reacted to your entering our living room." I said in my most kind voice to Mr. Johnston.
"Oh it is fine Ms. Richards. I've dealt with much worst emotions from my other clients accusees." He neutrally replied.
I opened the packages of shortbread cookies and Fig Newtons, and set them out on the table.
"Before we begin, care for a cookie or something to drink?" I asked my new lawyer.
"Why thank you Ms. Richards, I believe I will try one of these." He answered as he picked up a Newton.
I opened a bottle of ginger ale, poured it into a cup, and took a sip. Firmly, Mr. Johnston asked me.
"Now, why are you suing your legal guardian, Dr. Richards?"
"Well lets see, to tell you the truth sir, I want to go back to right when I was adopted. Up until that point, I was your typical slum-native and orphan who was on the run most of the time."
I proceeded to tell Mr. Johnston all about not just my horrible life before my adoption, but pretty much how I "slaved" away in Father's lab as his young assistant.
"You see, I was only eight years old when suddenly one day in the summer, my stepfather took me into his lab, and instantly made me go to work!"
"Oh my! Why didn't you alert the authorities any sooner about this! I cannot believe you have actually gone through all of this!" Mr. Johnston replied appallingly.
The truth was I exaggerated just a little in all I said to Mr. Johnston. But, I had to make my answers to his questions real juicy sounding so I could get away with taking Father to court to give him his "just desserts".
"So, we are not just suing Dr. Richards for child neglect, but also child labor?"
"Yes, that is pretty much the whole picture." I responded.
As we were wrapping up, I felt compelled to ask Mr. Johnston one more question.
"How big a trial is this going to be in terms of publicity?"
"Oh, knowing how you and your team are some of the most popular and well respected people in the world, especially in this nation. I expect not only will hundreds, maybe thousands of people make up the jury. But, I'm predicting some stations around the country are going to televise the trial."
"Wow! This keeps getting better and better by the moment!" I happily thought, but kept a "poker face".
I will be seeing you in two days Ms. Richards. Until then, take care of yourself." He said as I began to lead him back to the lobby at the bottom of the Baxter Building.
"Where is your stepfather?" He asked when we reached the floor the living room was on, and stopped at his request.
"Knowing how he reacted to my actions of taking him to court, still in here."
We entered to find as I correctly predicted Father in the chair he always sat in, looking like he was preparing to bite his nails. Mr. Johnston walked up to Father, and handed him a card telling him the time and date of the trial.
"Be sure to be prompt with your lawyer. Same goes for all witnesses, which happens to be your whole team Dr. Richards. If you are not at the trial on time, Ms. Richards here automatically wins the case."
The only response my stepfather could manage to give was a slight nod.
"I sincerely apologize for how my stepfather reacted to your entering our living room." I said in my most kind voice to Mr. Johnston.
"Oh it is fine Ms. Richards. I've dealt with much worst emotions from my other clients accusees." He neutrally replied.
I opened the packages of shortbread cookies and Fig Newtons, and set them out on the table.
"Before we begin, care for a cookie or something to drink?" I asked my new lawyer.
"Why thank you Ms. Richards, I believe I will try one of these." He answered as he picked up a Newton.
I opened a bottle of ginger ale, poured it into a cup, and took a sip. Firmly, Mr. Johnston asked me.
"Now, why are you suing your legal guardian, Dr. Richards?"
"Well lets see, to tell you the truth sir, I want to go back to right when I was adopted. Up until that point, I was your typical slum-native and orphan who was on the run most of the time."
I proceeded to tell Mr. Johnston all about not just my horrible life before my adoption, but pretty much how I "slaved" away in Father's lab as his young assistant.
"You see, I was only eight years old when suddenly one day in the summer, my stepfather took me into his lab, and instantly made me go to work!"
"Oh my! Why didn't you alert the authorities any sooner about this! I cannot believe you have actually gone through all of this!" Mr. Johnston replied appallingly.
The truth was I exaggerated just a little in all I said to Mr. Johnston. But, I had to make my answers to his questions real juicy sounding so I could get away with taking Father to court to give him his "just desserts".
"So, we are not just suing Dr. Richards for child neglect, but also child labor?"
"Yes, that is pretty much the whole picture." I responded.
As we were wrapping up, I felt compelled to ask Mr. Johnston one more question.
"How big a trial is this going to be in terms of publicity?"
"Oh, knowing how you and your team are some of the most popular and well respected people in the world, especially in this nation. I expect not only will hundreds, maybe thousands of people make up the jury. But, I'm predicting some stations around the country are going to televise the trial."
"Wow! This keeps getting better and better by the moment!" I happily thought, but kept a "poker face".
I will be seeing you in two days Ms. Richards. Until then, take care of yourself." He said as I began to lead him back to the lobby at the bottom of the Baxter Building.
"Where is your stepfather?" He asked when we reached the floor the living room was on, and stopped at his request.
"Knowing how he reacted to my actions of taking him to court, still in here."
We entered to find as I correctly predicted Father in the chair he always sat in, looking like he was preparing to bite his nails. Mr. Johnston walked up to Father, and handed him a card telling him the time and date of the trial.
"Be sure to be prompt with your lawyer. Same goes for all witnesses, which happens to be your whole team Dr. Richards. If you are not at the trial on time, Ms. Richards here automatically wins the case."
The only response my stepfather could manage to give was a slight nod.