Legal Problems
News of what had happened to Nick on that first Monday in August only came to everyone else's ears the following day, when the man himself announced it on Facebook. As a true friend, Mike had said nothing about it to anyone, even Tina. There was a sense of moral outrage amongst them all that something like this could have happened. Thad was the first to call, to tell him that everyone he knew at Dalton was right behind him, and would support him as best as they could. Ethan and Beats asked around the moment they heard at their offices, to see if their respective employers needed a good lawyer on the staff, but to no avail. Flint did the same, and told his father-in-law the whole story. Mr Bernstein confirmed what Nick already knew; if Lionel Vallent said that you would never work in the law in the city again, then the chances are you wouldn't. He did say that if he had a vacancy, he would have offered it to him, but at the moment, there was nothing. He still promised to put a good word out for Nick in the ears most likely to be sympathetic.
Across town, someone else was doing the same thing; someone that felt that rather than censure, Nick Sterling-Duval deserved a medal for speaking out in the way he had. As it happened, she had some sway of her own, and she was determined to use it for him…
That first day afterwards was a hard one for Nick; he had woken at his usual time, not having reset his alarm, and for a moment he almost got up out of bed to get himself ready to head to work. Then the reality of his situation had come flooding back, and he realised that he had no reason to get up quite so soon anymore. There was no longer a desk with his name on it, and his pigeon hole would have been reassigned already. He lay there as his thought swirled through his brain, wondering exactly what was now in store for him, and where he was going now. He couldn't doze off again as a result, and Jeff was still sound asleep beside him; Nick climbed very carefully out of his bed as he did not want to wake him. He loved his husband, but as in all marriages, a little alone time was sometimes a bonus. As he walked past his son's cot, Wes stirred, and Nick was quick to pick him up and take him down into the kitchen with him.
Wes did not cry in his father's arms, just gurgled a little as he stared up at his father. Nick still could not help but feel that he had let his son down in some way; the paternal need to protect and provide was strong, and now he wasn't doing the latter. He wondered if he could be counted on to do the former… He prepared a bottle of milk for his son before even considering his own needs, and when he did, he chose a glass of juice over coffee; far safer when he was holding something so precious and special in his arms. He sat down at the table, and a little lightness entered his heart as he glanced down at his boy. In his arms was the evidence that he had done at least one thing right…
"You really do need to stop being quite so hard on yourself, Nicholas. After all, you did the right thing; that man is guilty as sin. To even attempt to defend him is in my opinion wrong."
Nick started a little at the sudden voice, but if he was honest he had been expecting to hear it long ago. "I know that, Wesley, but I almost did," he replied tetchily, using the full name of angel in question as he had used his. "I cast all of my principles to one side in my determination to hold on to a job that I didn't even particularly like, but that I felt I needed."
"And from that moment on, I knew that there was a deep internal conflict burning away inside of you, ripping you in two. All that matters is that in the end, you made the correct choice, and put the cat well and truly amongst the pigeons in the process. The trial is being postponed for four weeks, as the judge has also rejected the case, and the whole cost of that is being charged to your erstwhile employer. He has also been told that he can under no circumstances sue you for that cost, as it would be a major breach of professional ethics. What Lionel Vallent has done to you has attracted a lot of unwelcome attention on to him, and I think it is safe to say that his time will be running out very soon…"
"Whilst that is nice to know, I do wish that I had just said no right at the start, and had been able to resign with my head held high. It would have made it so much easier to find another job."
"That much is true; he does have a degree of influence, and even those that are not caught up in that will regrettably think twice about employing someone that has done what you did. However, there is always hope, my dove; trust me when I tell you that your life will be better now that you have taken this path."
"I guess so; running a bakery has to be less stressful that dealing with judges, bad clients and corrupt lawyers."
"Possibly, but would that be as satisfying for you at the end of the day?" mused Wes, a knowing smile on his face; after all, as an angel, he knew what was coming for Nick in the near future. "On a positive note, my namesake gets to spend more time with his daddy just now, which is no bad thing. My advice to you just now would be to see this as a holiday of sorts, and time in which to bond with your son. After all, you had no time just after he was born thanks to that man. Plus it also gives Jeff a break, because he does need it, not that he would ever admit that. It will let him use those talented hands of his for what he does best. For a start, he could draw a proud father and his son…"
That notion put a smile on Nick's face, and he resolved to suggest exactly that to his husband later. Posing for such a portrait would be a good way to spend his first day as an unemployed lawyer…
When Grace arrived at her office that morning, it was to find a letter from Mr Valllent sitting front and centre; she knew what it would say before she opened it, and sure enough, it was confirmation that her position was under review as party of the firm's drive for efficiency and modernisation. Grace knew that her dismissal wasn't being considered, it was a done deal; she put the letter back in its envelope, and placed it carefully in her bag for evidence in any case she brought against them later. She dealt with her morning workload, then headed out to lunch, meeting up with her fellow conspirators in the firm some distance away. She was greeted with warm smiles, and a toast was proposed to her brother. After all, his actions had angered Lionel Vallent so much that he was being less diplomatic than usual in his conversations with people, and was expressing his views much more frankly. All he was saying had been noted and in a couple of cases, it had been recorded…
"We know for a fact that he wants Grace gone ASAP, and we have a number of witnesses to that fact; people that will have no issue with testifying at a tribunal. We will win that case easily, given that he has told three people you are only being sacked as a further dig at your brother…" was the comment from the most long served of the women there.
"And any cash I win at such a tribunal I will plough almost entirely back into the new firm, save some for my poor brother. I think that we should begin to actively seek out premises…" replied Grace.
"I am ahead of you there; there happens to be a very well appointed suite of offices, recently refurbished, just a block away from here. The rent is reasonable, they are available now, and they do not require a large deposit. We will need to seek out an office manager though, and some level of secretarial cover."
"Well," said Grace quietly, "I might know someone that could easily run the office for us, and is just as fed up at that place as the rest of us; Valerie Pittman. I can talk to her later if we are all agreeable to such a move."
"Much as we would love to have her, she has been with the firm for years, Grace; she will never agree to leave."
"My brother's dismissal might just have been the straw that broke the camel's back on that score… Incidentally, speaking of Nick, might there be a job for him with the new firm, given how much he has helped us inadvertently. I know we said all female, but in the circumstances…"
"We said that for a reason, Grace; we have done extensive research, and that is what there is a real demand for. Women want a firm where they know it will be safe to come, and know they will be treated with real sympathy. I do feel sorry for your brother, and I know that without him taking his stand, we might not yet have reached this point, but we just can't have him working with us, however sympathetic he is to the rights of women. In any case, family law is not where his interests lie; he wants to be a human rights lawyer and he may well now get that opportunity. Lionel Vallent does not have everyone in this town in his pocket…"
"I am sure that he doesn't, but I know my brother; he has just had a son, and losing his job like this will be causing him to get totally stressed out."
"All I can say is this; if he still doesn't have a new job in three months time, then we can review this decision. I suppose that he could work for us behind the scenes, and do research work for us. Maybe in time we could open up our services to those in his own community with similar problems; after all, he is not the only gay man with children, and some of them will need a family lawyer somewhere down the line…"
Grace nodded, but knew then and there that her little brother would never be content to sit in an office all day, hidden from view, going through the files; nor for that matter would he ever want to head up a branch of the firm that was going after the gay divorce business. As the other women chatted, she tuned out for a while, and started to plan in her head how she was going to approach Miss Pittman that afternoon; how she could get her on her own, and ensure that no-one overheard the proposal that she was about to make to her…
As it happened, as she headed back to work after lunch, she ran into her in the lobby, and once she realised they were the only two people travelling in that particular elevator, she arranged for it to stick temporarily between two floors. Turning her face away from the CCTV camera, she made her offer to the older lady, and to her delight she discovered that her hunch had been correct. After two decades of loyalty to the firm, the way that Nick had been treated had been enough to convince Miss Pittman that it was time to quit. If in doing so she could go to a new position where she would feel she had got one over on Mr Vallent, then it was a case of so much the better…
The month of August felt like the longest one ever to Nick; as his sister desperately tried to get herself fired, he was equally desperately trying to get himself hired. He contacted all of the firms that he had before, asking if they had any vacancies for him now, given that he had the benefit of a year's work experience. All of them sent him a response, but all of them were in the negative. It was the tone of some of those replies that left him the most devastated. The bulk were terse, stating that they knew exactly why he was looking for a new position; and that in the light of what they saw as nothing less than insubordination, they could see no way that they would ever be in the position to offer him a job.
Two were more honest; one told him that if they had a vacancy at the moment, then they would offer it to him in a heartbeat for his brave stance, but unfortunately they were currently fully staffed, and there was no chance of a position opening up in the immediate future. The other said much the same, but added that the partners in the firm had no time for Lionel Vallent, and when they conducted their next business review, they would press for finance to open up a role for him; unfortunately, that review was not scheduled until January next year. To Nick, those letters were just another disappointment, but to Jeff the last was a reason to have some hope for the future. It wasn't as if they were short of money as a couple, and they could easily hold on until then. Nick could take on some shifts of his own at the Spotlight, just to keep him busy, along with some work at the free law clinic. In the meantime, he would also have more time to spend with his little family.
Nick knew that was true, but it would not make up for the fact that he no longer had a job. As the days turned into weeks, he began to despair of ever working again. Matters were made worse when the free law clinic declined his services after some of their other volunteers, associates of Mr Vallent, stated they would withdraw their own assistance if he was allowed on board. As the final week of August came, Nick decided that it was time to give up on the idea of the law, and began to look through online prospectuses for catering college…
Still, he hadn't given up entirely, and by the following day he was rejecting that idea once again. He said as much to Michelle as he worked the early shift with her at the Spotlight. As his shift ended, Jeff's began, and after the briefest of greetings, Nick left and headed home, little Wes strapped to him in a papoose. It saddened him to see Jeff having to work so hard, and worse was the fact that he was seeing less of him; it was like being back at college, where differing class times had kept him away from the man he loved so much. Worse still was the fact that Jeff seemed to have no time for his own art; in fact, his husband looked so tired just now, coping with childcare and work, and having no chance to break off and do what he loved. He had to fix things, and soon, before it all started to fall apart. He resolved to start calling law firms in New Jersey and Connecticut, even though the daily commute would kill him; and if he could only find a vacancy in property or family law, then so be it. He would have to swallow his pride for the sake of his family….
At that moment, his phone rang with an unknown number. Nick was usually very wary of those, but he reasoned that it could be a job offer this time, and so he answered it cautiously. "Hello?"
"Oh, hello, is that Mr Nick Sterling-Duval?"
"Yes."
"Good. I would like to speak to you about a very important matter, and it is something that I prefer not to do over the phone. Could we possibly arrange to have lunch tomorrow?"
Nick was taken aback, but he found himself saying, "I guess…" Ten minutes later he found himself sitting in the kitchen with a lunch date the following day - but still no idea who it was actually with…
When Jeff returned home that night, Nick said nothing of his plans for the following day. He knew so little about what was going on himself for one thing; all he knew was that he was meeting someone for lunch, and Jeff might feel much more wary about such an assignation than he had done at the time. Then there was the simple fact that he did not want to raise his own, or indeed his husband's hopes; there was the possibility that all this was, was someone trying to get information from him. If that was the case, then it would lead to nothing, except possibly more trouble. They had said that they had a proposition for him, but that could be just an offer of some cash to spill more details of his time working with Lionel. Nick wasn't sure that divulging stuff like that was the correct way to go, even if the man in question had conspired ever since to ruin his life. He did want the whole sorry affair exposed, but through the proper channels, not in the pages of some sordid gossip magazine.
His final consideration was that he could see the moment his husband walked in that he was tired out. He had looked after little Wes from first thing, then had done a full shift at the diner on a busy afternoon when someone had called in sick. For that reason alone, Nick would not tell him that he would be going out for lunch the next day. If Jeff had been off work, of course, he would have needed to find a plausible excuse, but as luck would have it, his husband had already agreed to go in over lunch the next day to cover for the missing member of staff. Of course, the flip side of that was that Nick now had to sort out a last minute babysitter for his son. He wasn't all that worried, as it was still college vacation time, albeit only just, and someone amongst his friends would no doubt be at home over lunchtime so that he could go to his meeting…
However, as the poet said, the best laid plans of mice and men…
By 11.30 the next morning, Nick was nearly pulling his hair out. It seemed that he was the only one of the entire group of friends in the street that was actually at home, Aunt Grace was at work of course, and his final thought, Uncle Cooper, was also out at the theatre, helping to rehearse a new understudy in their part. He was due at the restaurant in just under 30 minutes; he was already dressed and ready to go, but in his arms was his son; a little boy he could not leave alone, or with strangers. It was too late now for him to take his son to the Spotlight and hand him over to his papa with apologies as he could not find a sitter; firstly because he would be late for the meeting as it was in Midtown, the opposite way, and secondly because Jeff would immediately want to know why he was only hearing about the meeting now, and had been kept out of the loop…
As Wes observed his father with his tiny eyes, Nick suddenly knew he had no other option; if the people that he was meeting for lunch at that restaurant near Grand Central didn't like it, then that was there problem, and frankly, he would probably not be able to work for them if they felt that way. He had all of the necessary bags packed in anticipation of finding a sitter, including one which held a collapsible crib, a gift from his mom. He quickly changed Wes into the little Dalton blazer cardigan so he looked smart, then strapped the papoose on over his suit, and placed his son inside it. Then he gathered up his bags, and headed out of the door, crossing his fingers and hoping that the subway would be on time for once, and get him swiftly across town to his destination.
By some miracle, the trains were punctual, the first arriving just as he got onto the platform, and then by another miracle, he made the connection to the shuttle at Times Square smoothly. He arrived at the restaurant with a literal minute to spare, and stepped in the door, laden with bags, to the slight glare of the snooty looking hostess. "I am sorry for bringing so much in with me ma'am, but I have a very important lunch meeting, and I was thwarted in my search for a sitter. The person I am meeting should be waiting for me - my name is Nick Sterling-Duval…"
The hostess no longer looked angry, instead she looked sympathetic from the moment that she heard his name. She nodded, and then taking the bag with the crib from him, she showed him over to a table where two men in their fifties and a woman in her thirties were waiting. He saw them stare at him with a little surprise when they saw what he was bringing over with him, but nonetheless they stood up as he approached to greet him.
"Mr Sterling-Duval? It was good of you to come at short notice…"
"It was not a problem, but first off, can I just make an apology. I tried and failed to find a sitter at short notice, and as my boy here is just a few weeks old, I had no option other than to bring him with me. I hope that will not be an issue…"
"Far from it," said the woman with a smile. "We had been told that you and your husband had recently been so blessed…"
The hostess had whilst this was going on set up the crib for Nick, and with that in place, Nick began to undo the straps on the papoose so that he could take his son out. With gentle care he placed little Wes in his crib, where he lay peacefully; he had fallen asleep during the journey, and remained so now, with a smile on his face…
"He is just perfect," the woman continued, as she glanced down at him from where she was standing at Nick's side. "And so well behaved too. Now if he needs you at any point during our discussions, do not hesitate to attend to him. Now, time for introductions; my name is Claire Worthington, and these are my two immediate seniors, Dr Hugo Schultz, and Dr Ernest Hansen. We have been told quite a lot about you in the last few weeks, and we wanted to meet you informally face to face…"
Nick immediately wondered who it was that had told the three strangers all about him, and could only hope that whoever it was, was on his side, and not in league with his erstwhile boss. The last thing that he needed was to be made to feel stupid all over again, or that would criticise him for not supporting his boss in a case that should be, in his opinion, unwinnable.
As if they were reading his mind, Dr Schultz spoke at that point. "Let us set your mind at rest, Mr Sterling-Duval. All that we have been told about you is positive, and that includes, at least in our collective opinion, the circumstances in which you were recently dismissed from your job. In fact, we believe that there is a clear case for a wrongful dismissal lawsuit there. If the system was more equitable, then we would strongly argue for you to launch a suit against Mr Vallent and the firm as a whole. We do however know that as things currently stand, you would probably be unsuccessful, and that is one of the many things that we would like to see alter in this country."
"What are your personal opinions on workplace rights, Mr Sterling-Duval?" asked Miss Worthington.
"I believe that in general, as long as they have followed the policies and guidelines set out by their employer, workers have a basic right to a degree of job security. No-one should ever lose their livelihood on the grounds of sex, religion, race, or sexuality. No employer should be allowed to bully or intimidate staff to the point that they are scared to dissent when requested to do something; where they are afraid to go against their employer even when they can see that something is clearly wrong. Unions should be recognised and family friendly policies should be the norm; at the same time, nobody should be forced to join a union if they do not wish to do so. People will no doubt say that such policies will cost a lot of money to implement, but happier staff work harder and more productively, and the drop in absenteeism alone would be a gain to the employer." Nick stopped at that point, aware that three pairs of eyes were focussed on him; three people were nodding in agreement and smiling at him as he spoke…
Over the course of the lunch, Nick found himself answering many more such questions on rights related issues, but increasingly on a much more global scale. He answered all of them from his heart, but nor before carefully thinking about what he would say, thus avoiding any potential traps he might stumble into; he did not want to blow any chance of a job in the future from the get go. Human rights were a subject that he was passionate about after all, and since leaving college he had not had much of an opportunity to express his views. He relished this chance to expound his views and theories to what appeared to be a very receptive audience. He hoped that he was reading the signs correctly and that they were indeed with him on the issue.
His next big surprise came just after dessert arrived; Mr Hansen asked him about his research into the female victims of the Montgomery scandal. He immediately wondered who at Columbia might have had a hand in setting this meeting up; after all, the school pledged to take care of its alumni. He relished the opportunity to talk about his work, having been scared that the paper he had prepared on the subject would have been consigned to lie in a dusty filing cabinet. Then as they finished dessert, little Wes woke up and began to cry. Nick excused himself at once, knowing at once why he was crying, and he headed off in the direction of the restroom. He was delighted to discover that there was a baby changing station in the men's room, which was so unusual even these days. He made a mental note that once he a job again, he would bring Jeff here for dinner, safe in the knowledge that they catered for the needs of fathers with babies…
When he returned to the table, Miss Worthington was the first to speak. "We are glad that we have had this opportunity to meet you face to face, Nick. It has served to confirm everything that we were told about you; that you are passionate about human rights issues, and about ensuring that justice is for everyone, not just the wealthy few; that you are an erudite young man, with a kind, loving heart. The way that you care for your son just proves the latter."
"Thank you for saying so, ma'am. It is just a pity that there aren't more people that appreciate those qualities in a lawyer in New York," Nick replied with a wry smile.
"Well, we do," said Dr Schultz. "Whilst you were away, we had a little conversation amongst ourselves; we all agree that you are the ideal candidate, and as such we would like to offer you a position here and now."
Nick blinked, and almost pinched himself as he heard those words. Had he just been offered… "What position is that, sir? With all due respect, I don't actually know who you work for, or indeed where you are based…"
The three others looked at each other, and then started to laugh. "You are of course quite correct in that statement, Mr Sterling-Duval. We decided that it was best to say nothing to you at the start, so that you would talk naturally, and not let who we were and where we work influence your words," responded Dr Hansen. "Quite simply, we work on the East River. We want you to come and join us in our work at the Human Rights department at the United Nations."
Nick found himself blinking his eyes rapidly, unable to believe what he had just heard. Had he just been offered his dream job? To work for any firm that always put the rights of people first had always been his ambition, but now he was being given the chance to take on a role that was much better. In such a role his job would not be about securing the rights of one or two people; it would potentially be about securing those basics for the entire world, and that was something to be savoured… However, he wondered if this might all just be an elaborate hoax or a waking dream; or maybe he had just misheard what had just been said to him… After all, an organisation like the United Nations had to be able to make their pick from far better qualified people than him, and they had to have a very strict and proper recruitment process; they would not just take someone into their employ after a chat over lunch at a restaurant…
"Mr Sterling-Duval? Are you okay?" came the voice of Miss Worthington, invading his thoughts. "You seemed to have zoned out for a moment there, though admittedly that is quite understandable given the circumstances."
"I'm sorry, it's all just a bit of a shock is all, to be honest. I wasn't expecting this meeting to be an interview…"
"Particularly given the setting, I suspect? Normally, we would indeed hold our interviews for positions within an office environment, but this felt more appropriate in your case," replied Miss Worthington. "We have actually had your information on our files for some time; you came to our attention when we conducted our annual review of student works in the field of Human Rights. Your paper on the Montgomery case was sent to us by your professors at Columbia. You probably do not recall that our name is one on the list of places that your CV would also be sent by the college careers service. You came out top of our selection, but this time last year we had no forthcoming vacancies. When a place did become available in July, we noted with regret that you were in employment, and we do not poach from other firms. We searched this years graduates, and all agreed that none were equal to you. Then at the start of this month, a conference and series of meetings saw all three of us out of the office, and it was only when we returned mid month that we finally became aware of your change of circumstances."
"That is a very polite way of saying that I was dismissed from my position for disobeying my senior's instructions and jeopardising the case as a consequence," said Nick in reply.
"From what I have been told, you refused to go along with a conspiracy to deny justice from people that deserved it," said Dr Hansen. "That is certainly the opinion of the judge that was then trying that case. I believe that she also had you as a witness in the case of Hunter Clarington?" Nick nodded, blushing slightly as he recalled what he had done in that courtroom. "She is a well regarded judge, and she happened to attend college with my wife. She knew that we had a vacancy, and she wrote to my wife about you…"
"I can't believe that she took the time to write to you about me," Nick said quietly.
"She did, because she recognised the same thing that we did; that you have a passion for justice and the law. That is the reason why we want you working for us on a permanent basis…"
