Chapter
Fourteen
Ethan arrived at the MPC building and waited in the lobby for an escort up to Royce’s office.
Given the time constraints on filing his objections to the drug list, he thought it best to meet with Royce right after the hearing was over. He didn’t have enough background on the other drugs to know what objections he should even be making. It also bothered him that Kate had one-upped him. She had played out the entire scenario and was ready with that list. He hated being caught off guard like that. It wouldn’t happen again.
And now he had to spin this latest development to Royce while at the same time getting the factual information he needed. He’d only spoken to Royce for a minute on the phone, wanting to save the details for the in-person meeting.
A tall, beautiful blond woman walked out of the elevator and straight toward him. “Mr. Black?” She flashed a perfectly white smile.
“Yes.”
“I’m Penny, Mr. Hamilton’s executive assistant. I’ll take you up to see him.”
“Thank you.” He couldn’t help but think how stereotypical it was that the CEO of a major company had an assistant who looked like a supermodel.
Penny escorted him up to Royce’s CEO suite, which was nothing less than impressive. Penny had her own large oak desk in the reception area leading to multiple other offices, including Royce’s private one, which was where he was taken.
He was greeted by Royce and Matt Canton. “Good to see you again.”
“Likewise,” Matt said.
“I’d also like you to meet my chief security officer, Bradley Cummings,” Royce said.
Bradley towered over Ethan and gave him a very strong handshake. Ethan wouldn’t want to get on Bradley’s bad side. He looked like he could break someone in half with his bare hands.
Royce shut his office door. “So tell me what happened in the hearing about the documents.”
He wondered why Royce had brought his security chief in for this discussion, but he figured Royce had his reasons. And since Bradley was an MPC employee, the attorney-client privilege would be kept intact.
“The biggest takeaway from the hearing is why I wanted to meet with you.” He opened his briefcase, pulled out some copies of the list, and handed them to Royce and Matt. “In response to our argument that the other side shouldn’t be able to request information about all other MPC products, their lawyer came prepared with this short list of drugs. She wants documents related to these drugs, and I have until five o’clock tomorrow to file our objections to this list.”
Royce frowned and passed his copy over to Bradley, who scowled as his eyes skimmed down the page.
“And you say that your friend Kate came up with this list?” Bradley asked suspiciously.
“Kate is my friend, but right now she’s my adversary. I need your help to figure out why she would be fishing around for these drugs, because I don’t know anything about these products. If there’s some skeleton in the closet or something else I need to know, now would be the time to tell me. Not on the eve of the trial.”
“Royce,” Matt said, “I think we should have a talk with Ethan. Bradley, please give us a minute, will you?”
Bradley nodded and walked out of the room.
Ethan looked at Royce and then Matt. His stomach clenched as he prepared himself for bad news.
“Ethan, we appreciate all you’ve done for us,” Royce said.
Uh-oh. He wasn’t about to get fired. He had to stop this. “You should know how hard I’m working on this case. It’s my absolute top priority. My entire life right now.”
Royce cleared his throat. “We don’t want this other lawyer snooping around into all of our drugs. That goes way beyond the scope of this case, and it puts our company at additional risk we didn’t sign up for when we decided to fight this thing in court.”
Ethan saw an opening and took it. “Why in the world wouldn’t you settle then? Take away that risk.”
“Because that also sets a precedent the company can’t afford,” Royce responded. “We have to be strong and fight these things, or the lawsuit floodgates will be opened a mile wide, and that could have huge financial implications. We can’t have every plaintiff’s lawyer in the country on the hunt for a handout from MPC.”
“Royce, of course you’re right, but that was our analysis before this turn of events,” Matt said. “If that lawyer is intent on digging into all these other drugs and using this litigation as a means to get to information they could use in future lawsuits, then we do need to consider our settlement options. Get this case out of the way and move forward with our business and building our empire.”
Finally, maybe they would listen to Ethan on this. “If we’re going to make a settlement offer, we need to do it now. As in right now. We lose leverage if we wait until the judge rules against us on these documents.”
Royce stood up. “I hadn’t planned for this, so I realize I may have to adjust my expectations here. But I do have one hundred million in settlement authority from the board.”
“You didn’t tell me that,” Matt said, his eyes wide. He seemed a little miffed.
“I didn’t think it was going to come to this,” Royce said. “But that is the max the board is willing to sacrifice to make the entire set of cases go away. Start your negotiations with that in mind, Ethan.”
“I’ll give Kate a call as soon as I leave here. But we need to think about contingencies. I’m going to fight as hard as I can to get this list of other drugs excluded, but we need a backup plan. Which drug on the list worries you the most?”
“We don’t want her to have information on any of them,” Royce said, “but Acreda is at a critical juncture right now. We’re clearing the final regulatory hurdles, so that one matters the most to us financially at the moment. The other three drugs have already been approved.”
“I agree with Royce,” Matt said. “This would be awful timing to have to produce documents about Acreda when we’re this close to taking it to market.”
“Tell me more about Acreda.” Ethan was learning that the only way to get information out of these guys was to keep pushing them.
“Acreda is one of the most promising drugs that we have,” Matt responded. “If all goes as planned, it should be on the market by early next year. It was initially developed about the same time as Celix. That might be why it’s on the list. We’ve had some additional regulatory obstacles to overcome, but we’re almost in the clear.”
“What does Acreda treat?”
“All types of tumors and other kinds of growths—both malignant and benign. It’s a groundbreaking drug, given its wide-spectrum application,” Royce said. “Which is another reason we don’t want any more delays. We stand to a make a very large profit on Acreda—even more than Celix. And we have Matt to thank for that, because he’s been pushing Acreda since day one.”
“It’s a vital drug for the company,” Matt added. “It’s been one of my top priorities, tasked to me by the board.”
Ethan started thinking about damage control. “If we lose this fight, which is possible, we’ll do a specific document search for Acreda so that anything that mentions the drug will be pulled in. Then we’ll have a team review those separately to see what we have.”
Royce’s eyes locked in on his. “I don’t want you turning over anything that could be damaging to drugs that don’t even apply to this lawsuit. Do you hear me?”
Royce was asking him to do something potentially illegal. He hesitated for a moment. “I hear you. I need some time to digest all of this, and I have to get to work on these objections.”
“Call me or Matt if you need anything, no matter the hour. We’ve gotten this far, and we can’t buckle under the pressure.”
Ethan nodded and stood, ready to exit the office.
Royce came around the desk and clamped his hand down hard on Ethan’s shoulder. “Let me know what they say to our offer, and keep us in the loop on negotiations.”
“I will.” Ethan walked out and wondered how he was going to navigate these waters.
“So what’s this about settlement?” Landon asked. He sat beside Kate on the large couch in her living room after driving her home from work.
“Ethan called me and put an eighty million dollar settlement offer on the table with a short fuse. That’s to settle the whole class of cases in the MDL. The offer expires at midnight.”
He whistled. “Eighty million? What do you do now?”
“I took it to the other members of the PSC, and everyone agreed that it’s way too low. We have the power right now. This shows they’re nervous about the direction the case is heading. I countered with five hundred million, knowing it would be a nonstarter, but other PSC members thought we should send them a signal that they’re locked in this thing unless they bring a substantially different offer.”
“That’s a lot of money, though.” He was surprised Kate didn’t seem fazed by the offer.
“There are thousands of plaintiffs. Eighty million only goes so far.”
“When is the judge going to make a decision about the documents?”
“The judge understands that we’re on a very tight schedule. I don’t think it’s going to take long. Probably a couple days, if not sooner. He might review everything this weekend and make a ruling on Monday. The matter really isn’t that complex once you boil it down. He’s either going to tell them to produce the documents related to the smaller list of drugs or not.”
“From a layman’s perspective, your request for the other drugs that Ellie worked on seems reasonable, but I know the backstory—the judge doesn’t.”
“We’ll see.” She leaned her head back against the sofa.
“Are you sleeping enough?” She was usually full of energy, but right now she seemed exhausted. He couldn’t blame her, though. It had been a crazy week.
She lifted her head and turned to him. “Probably not enough. I’m having a hard time shutting off my brain. And on top of everything else, I seriously think someone is trying to mess with me at work.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Strange things have been happening in the office. My brief got deleted from the system, and files have gone missing. Then, before the hearing, my prep binder disappeared from my desk.”
“Seriously?” He went into high-alert mode.
“Unfortunately, yes. I think it has to be someone in the firm, given all of our security measures in the building. I’d hate to think it could be Bonnie, but there’s also a junior associate who got kicked off the team. Maybe he’s trying to get payback.”
“Sounds like the junior associate might have some motive. But Bonnie’s a partner. Why would she do that to you?”
“She’s disliked me from day one and still blames me for something that happened right after I started working at the firm. But I don’t know what she hopes to accomplish, unless it’s just to embarrass me. To show that she’s still top dog. But if she was so upset, she could’ve said she didn’t have time when I asked her to join the team. So I’m not sure how to handle the situation.”
He didn’t like the sound of any of this. “Maybe Bonnie’s just jealous. You’re doing so well, and she’s not used to having the competition. But that doesn’t mean she’d try to hurt a case led by one of her fellow partners. That hurts the firm too.”
“You might be underestimating her ability to hold a grudge. But I can’t let that issue consume me, because I have bigger problems. When I get in bed, my mind wanders back to the case and everything I’m working on and all the next steps. And then I can’t sleep.” She flopped back against the couch with a frustrated sigh.
“I know what you mean.” He could relate to his mind wandering off at night, and it definitely wasn’t to a good place. It was to a very dark desert, where his life was forever changed. He didn’t have any techniques or advice for her on how to turn off those thoughts.
Her hazel eyes questioned him. “I hope you aren’t losing sleep over this case too?”
“I tend to overthink all of my work.” That much was true, but his sleepless nights went much deeper than that. And even though this litigation concerned him a lot, his fears were much larger.
“So this case isn’t any different?” she asked.
“A bit more stressful because of the threats you’re facing. Most of my cases are a lot of work but haven’t had specific dangers.”
“I’m sorry. The last thing I want to do is cause strain and stress in your life.”
He couldn’t let her believe she was the cause of all of his problems. The pain in her eyes pulled the words out of his mouth. “My sleepless nights started long before meeting you and working on this case.”
“Ah.” Recognition flickered in her eyes.
They’d talked about his time in the military before and the battles he faced, but she didn’t know the extent of what he’d endured.
“Maybe it would help if you talked to someone about what’s causing you those sleepless nights. I’m here if you want to talk, but if that someone isn’t me, then that’s all right. Keeping everything bottled inside isn’t good for you on any level, though.”
He gathered his thoughts, wondering how he could convey what was in his heart and mind. “Iraq was a very difficult place during all my tours, but my last one was the roughest.” He closed his eyes. Was he really going to tell her about this? What kind of man would she think he was? Some kind of monster?
She reached out and held his hand. “You can talk to me, Landon. I’m not here to judge or act like I can know what you went through. I’m just here as a friend who wants to listen to your story. You’re helping me, so let me try to help you.”
This woman was stripping him of all his defenses just with the soft tone of her words and the caring touch of her hand. “It was war, there was no doubt about that. But then it became so much more. My first tours were more about regime change. Those were tough, but my last tours we were battling against terrorism, and that was a whole different ball game. Their complete lack of respect for human life boggles the mind.”
She squeezed his hand, signaling for him to continue.
“One night we were on a special mission. I can’t reveal all the details, but it was high stakes. We were hunting a high-value target on the top of our list of bad guys. The order was given to move into a small house outside the city. We had solid intel that the tango we were looking for was inside that house. We were also prepared for the fact that he’d be surrounded by plenty of other terrorists, but also innocents. Women and children he would try to use as human shields.”
As he spoke, the dark, awful memories of that operation came flooding back to him. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach, and his hand became clammy against her touch. “I prayed before we went in. I asked God to protect my team and me. That He would give us all wisdom and guidance in those dark places.”
“And you feel betrayed by Him?”
“Yes,” he said, as his voice cracked. “I was so amped up and focused on taking out the target that I reacted too quickly without taking into account all the circumstances—including the fact that there was a girl right there. I took the shot to take him out, but he used his teenage daughter as a shield, pulling her directly in front of him. I’d already pulled the trigger, and it was too late.” He paused, trying to find the courage to tell her the truth of the horror that night. “I killed that girl, and to make matters worse, I was in such shock that I put my other Rangers at risk because I froze. The terrorist started shooting and seriously injured one of us before another Ranger could take him out. It was undoubtedly the worst night of my life.”
“I know you’ve been told this before, but the terrorist is the one who put his daughter in harm’s way. Her death is on him, not you.”
He looked away from her. “But I should’ve read the situation better. I should’ve known he’d use that strategy, because we were specifically briefed about it. If I had waited one millisecond, instead of being overeager to take the shot, it would’ve been a different story. So, yes, I do feel like God turned His back on me that night.”
Kate put her arms around his neck and held him tightly. Her skin was cool against his. He hadn’t expected that show of affection from her, and he wasn’t sure if he should respond or not. He slowly lifted his arms and returned the hug.
After a minute, she pushed back, putting a little distance between them on the couch. “Landon, this life is hard, and you were in the middle of a war, fighting terrorists who want to kill innocent people. That man purposely sacrificed his daughter in a cowardly way.”
“You’re right, but I wasn’t at the top of my game.” He took another breath. “I was off. I can’t explain why, but I just was. I should’ve been better, done better, than that.”
“Tell me something, then. How did your fellow Rangers react?”
“They knew it hit me hard. They said the same things you’re saying. I just think my desire to take the shot and kill that guy was so strong that I took an unnecessary risk and got an innocent girl killed. And I have to live with that every day for the rest of my life.” He closed his eyes for a second before continuing. “So that, Kate, is why I don’t sleep. It’s not because of you. If anything, since I’ve met you, I’ve felt more at peace than I have since that night in Iraq.”
She gave him a weak smile. “I told you that I’ve been praying.”
Were her prayers having an impact? “If anyone’s prayers would make a difference, Kate, it would be yours. You actually live out your faith. I’ve seen it since the moment we met.”
She shook her head and looked down at her lap. “I’m far from perfect, Landon. I just do the best I can. Since I went through some times in my life in which I’m not proud of what I did and how I acted, I strive every day not to be that woman ever again. But don’t make me out to be something I’m not. I have plenty of daily struggles.”
“Like what?” he couldn’t help but ask.
“Believe it or not, I struggle with confidence.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Wondering if I’ll ever be good enough to do what I want to do. On the flip side, though, I struggle with a strong sense of ambition and pride. There’s a fine line between being proud of your accomplishments and having a big ego, and that’s only fueled by the type of profession I’m in.”
“I think you strike a good balance. Even if you have to work at it, it doesn’t show.”
“Thanks, but it’s something I have to constantly monitor myself on. And I’m a very independent person, so there’s no one to either check my pride or give me a boost when I need it. I don’t have my parents or any extended family that I am in contact with. I’ve devoted my time to my career, and I’ve done that by choice.” She paused. “But there’s no one special I’ve ever wanted to spend time with.”
“I understand that. After the debacle with Noah’s girlfriend, I decided I needed to focus on getting better emotionally and dealing with my issues.”
“I haven’t heard you say anything about your family.”
“I never knew my dad. He wasn’t in the picture. My mom raised me and did her best. She passed away about five years ago.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”
Another area of common ground for the two of them. He sensed that he was just beginning to understand how many levels they could connect on. “So like you, I don’t have family around. My friends and my military brothers are my family, but I’ve not done a good job of treating them that way.”
“Your real friends will understand and accept that you’ve been battling some issues.”
“I’m finally at the point where I can at least think about moving on. The fact that I was able to share with you what happened is a huge step for me.”
She smiled. “I’m so glad I was here to listen.”
There was more he wanted to say. So much more. But there was something else he had to ask first. Something that had been nagging at him. “I want to ask you a question, but I don’t want you to jump to any conclusions.”
“All right. I’ll do my best.”
“What if I wanted to explore my faith again and try to reconnect with God? What would that look like? And before you answer, this is purely hypothetical at this point.”
“Have an open heart and mind. He is right there waiting, Landon. He can break the chains that you feel trapped by. Whenever you’re ready, He’s ready.”
“What if I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready again?” Those words made him feel completely exposed.
“Why don’t you go to church with me this weekend?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure if I can handle that.”
“The fact that we’re having this conversation means you’re ready to explore this. If you want to connect with Him again, that’s the best place to start. He knows your pain and struggles, Landon. They aren’t any surprise to Him.”
“I guess you’re right.” He looked directly in her eyes. “Thanks for listening to me and trying to understand my feelings and accept them for what they are.”
“When it comes to you, Landon, I’m just speaking from the heart.”
His stomach clenched. No matter what he had told himself before, he was falling hard for Kate Sullivan.