Chapter 22 - The Lawsuit Delivered During Dinner
Nolan sued me for defamation.
Interference with business relationships.
Misappropriation of confidential information.
And something called civil conspiracy that made me laugh when Maya first read it because the alternative was throwing my phone.
According to Nolan’s complaint, I had orchestrated a campaign to destroy him and Crossway after realizing my company could not compete.
He claimed Kara acted independently.
He claimed Mark Bell fabricated Nolan’s involvement to reduce his own criminal exposure.
He claimed my statements to Sunridge caused Crossway to lose the contract.
There was one major problem.
I had barely made any public statements.
Most of my communication had gone through attorneys and compliance investigators.
“Can he win?” I asked.
“Anybody can file.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Maya sighed.
“The claims are weak.”
“Weak and impossible are different.”
“Yes.”
I looked around our new kitchen.
Half the boxes were still unopened.
Adrian was making pasta while the children argued upstairs.
“How expensive?”
“Potentially expensive.”
There it was again.
The great American justice system.
You could be right and still need a budget.
Nolan’s goal became obvious within forty-eight hours.
His attorney offered settlement.
I would pay nothing.
He would dismiss everything.
In exchange, I would sign a broad confidentiality agreement preventing me from discussing Crossway, Nolan, Kara, or the Sunridge investigation.
I read the proposal.
Then looked at Maya.
“So he wants silence again.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“You should think about the cost.”
“I am.”
“Lauren.”
“I said no.”
Maya watched me carefully.
“You’re allowed to choose peace.”
“I know.”
“Fighting is not automatically brave.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
I tapped the confidentiality clause.
“Because Kara’s criminal case is still pending. Because Mark’s case is pending. Because Sunridge may need testimony.”
I looked at her.
“And because Nolan keeps acting like truth belongs to whoever can afford the longest contract.”
Maya nodded.
“That is a better reason.”
At home, Adrian asked the same question.
Not whether I should fight.
Whether I wanted to.
“I don’t know.”
“That sounds different from what you told Maya.”
“I know what I’m supposed to do.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
I hated when he did that.
“What do I want?”
“Yes.”
I sat down.
“I want him to disappear.”
“Reasonable.”
“I want to never hear his name again.”
“Also reasonable.”
“I want somebody else to pay the legal bills.”
“Very reasonable.”
He smiled.
I did not.
“But if I sign, he gets to tell everyone the investigation was a misunderstanding.”
“Probably.”
“And Kara becomes the convenient criminal employee.”
“Possibly.”
“And what happened to my company becomes something we’re legally not allowed to explain.”
Adrian nodded.
“So you want a record.”
“Yes.”
“Then fight for a record.”
The next morning, Maya filed our response.
Then she filed something else.
A counterclaim.
Unauthorized access.
Misappropriation.
Business interference.
She also requested expedited discovery related to Nolan’s communications with Kara and Mark.
Nolan’s lawyers objected.
The judge granted part of the request.
That was when the case changed.
Crossway had preserved Nolan’s company phone after placing him on leave.
The phone contained deleted messages recovered by forensic specialists.
One exchange involved Kara.
Nolan: Need original pricing assumptions.
Kara: That’s outside what you told me.
Nolan: Then consider this the expanded assignment.
Another involved Mark.
Mark: I can get the old machine.
Nolan: No direct contact after this.
Mark: 20?
Nolan: If it contains the archive we discussed.
I read the message three times.
“Twenty means twenty thousand?”
“That is what Mark alleges,” Maya said.
The lawsuit suddenly looked less like Nolan attacking me and more like Nolan volunteering for discovery.
His attorneys requested an emergency settlement conference.
I declined.
Two days later, Nolan withdrew three claims.
We continued.
Then the district attorney handling Mark’s burglary case subpoenaed Nolan’s messages.
His former employer received another subpoena.
The business press noticed.
This time, the headline was different.
FORMER CROSSWAY EXECUTIVE’S OWN LAWSUIT EXPOSES NEW MESSAGES IN COMPETITOR SABOTAGE CASE
Dennis taped the article to the office refrigerator.
I removed it.
“We’re not becoming people who decorate with enemies.”
He looked offended.
“It was motivational.”
“It was ugly.”
“Both can be true.”
At home, Caleb found me reading legal documents.
“Is the bad business man still bothering you?”
I looked up.
I had never called Nolan bad around the children.
Grant probably had.
Or Diane.
Or the entire Internet.
“He’s involved in a disagreement.”
Caleb frowned.
“Did he break into your office?”
“No.”
“Did he pay somebody?”
“We don’t know what a court will decide.”
Oliver wandered in.
“Mom always says evidence first.”
Caleb sighed.
“That takes forever.”
“Yes.”
I smiled.
“It does.”
The court eventually scheduled a hearing on whether Nolan could continue certain claims after the recovered messages.
The night before, I could not sleep.
At two in the morning, I went downstairs.
Adrian found me making tea.
“Scared?”
“Yes.”
He sat beside me.
“What if the judge believes him?”
“Then we continue.”
“What if this takes another year?”
“Then it takes another year.”
“What if I’m tired?”
“Then be tired.”
I looked at him.
“You don’t always have to turn everything into courage.”
His hand covered mine.
“Sometimes you’re allowed to be exhausted and continue anyway.”
May you like
That was better.
So I did.
