Chapter 7: Jenny

I’d been staying at Claire’s house for a few days. She’d been good to let me use a spare computer so I could keep an eye on my email in case something popped up. I was checking my email when I saw one from Dad’s lawyer, Russell. I told Claire about it, and she told me to reply and arrange a meeting as he said he needed to talk with me urgently. Claire said it could have something to do with the papers Dad made me sign.

I’d told her everything I could about my life with my parents. She’d been the only one who wanted to help me, and I had to have her on my side. Not hide anything. Maybe I’d watched a little too much Suits. Digging into memories which seemed unimportant at the time gave me flashbacks, but in this situation, I had to draw them all together to put the pieces of my fate in the right direction.

I had no other emails, no messages from a friend or anything to find out how I was doing, then again, I didn’t really have any friends, well not anymore. Kurt and I hung out with both Darren and Dwight, who were his best friends, and their girlfriends were Rebecca and Chanel. We either did things together or if the guys wanted to hang out alone, then us girls would get together.

Our times were spent talking about the guys, things they liked and didn’t like. They were our worlds, and even if their company did bore me at times, it was the world I had accepted. The one I’d grown up in and was told to love. Now, I was free to do whatever I wanted, and I felt anxious about it.

After a few hours, we nervously waited for Russell to make an appearance, he’d been the family lawyer since I could remember. He and Dad went to college together, and that was where they struck up their friendship. Russell had a lot of girlfriends. Whenever we had a dinner or party at home, he always had a new blonde on his arm. Mom claimed that some men never grew up, whereas Dad said that Russell was never hurting anyone. There was nothing wrong with him playing the field because he wasn’t tied down. I did wonder at times if Dad was jealous whenever Russell would come to dinner with a new girlfriend. As if he wanted the freedom to do what he liked, just like Russell.

“She’s half his age,” Mom scoffed the last time.

“Twice as fun!” Dad claimed, which annoyed Mom even more. He had ended up spending the night in the guest room as a result of it.

“He’s here!” Claire smiled at me as she adjusted her shirt and headed toward the door. Her office was small and quiet, and she had enough photos of the boys and her husband to let everyone know not only was she a lawyer, but a mom and once a wife. She also still wore both her wedding and engagement ring.

I’d known Russell for years, but our conversation never extended past, “How are things going?” and thanking him for his compliment if I was dressed up.

“Claire, such a long time.” He smiled as he approached her. He strode through the office in a tailored black suit. His hair was cut short, and he appeared as sharp as always. His brown eyes darted in my direction as he greeted me with the same smile.

I stood frozen when it dawned on me that they knew each other.

“Russell.” She kissed him, but she didn’t greet him with the warmth that she’d greeted me with when she first met me. If anything, it was the opposite, as if it was stiff and false.

“Strange that we’re both acting on the same side. It’s a first, right?”

“It is indeed, Russell. Can I offer you water, coffee, or something else before we head to the boardroom?”

He shook his head. “No, I’m fine. I think it’s best if we all just get down to business. I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow.”

He said his last comment looking directly at me.

She nodded her head and then pointed for him to leave in the direction from which he came. The security guard who brought him up to the floor soon disappeared as we followed Claire. The meeting was taking place at night, because Claire didn't want her nosey associates witnessing the meeting. She didn’t explain why, and I didn't understand enough about the lawyer world to conclude why we had to meet without her colleagues being around.

She had her notebook in her hand, and Russell had his case, the same one Dad had bought him when he graduated from law school. The only sound was his shoes striding through the long, white hallway until we reached wooden doors. Claire flung them open, and I assumed we must be in the boardroom.

My eyes darted around the room, and it was as if I was Alice in Wonderland. Hung on the walls were all the partners past and present. The dates of them being partners and the history of the firm at the back. It was pretty typical for a boardroom. I’d been to Dad’s. The same oak table in the middle with chairs on either side. A counter in the corner, but this one had a mini bar and tray with fruits. I wondered how long they’d been there? She flicked on the light switch and drew the blinds; it was as if the room came to life.

“Please sit,” she said to me as I paced around the room. Russell was already seated at the head of the table, as if he’d been here so many times before.

“I just love this chair, the leather and the fact it’s bigger than all the other chairs in the room.”

It seemed to annoy Claire who winced and said, “Can we not be so formal and just sit either side of each other.”

Russell nodded and moved toward me, sitting next to me. I could smell his strong woody scent as he threw his case on the table, pulled back his chair and crossed his arms.

Claire moved to be opposite us. I felt like a piece of meat being thrown in the lion’s den as Russell’s dark eyes observed me.

“You’ve had a traumatic few days, Jenny. How are you holding up?”

Claire answered for me. “Pretty good, considering she’s been thrown out of her house, her phone line’s been cut off, she has no clothes, no money and no one to take care of her.”

He shrugged. “She’s eighteen, which means that she’s no longer a minor.”

“That may well be the case, but have you spoken to her mother?”

“Pam. No, she’s done a disappearing act, but that shouldn’t be a surprise to Jenny. She does it all the time. She’ll show up when she’s good and ready. No doubt she’s staying with her sister.”

Claire tutted. “Her sister who refused to let Jenny stay with her.”

I felt as if I was watching a tennis match. They were talking about me as if I wasn’t in the room. Russell’s dark eyes were fixed on Claire, and her blue eyes on him. I realized that this was lawyer’s talk. Their way of handling things. I remember Dad said never trust a lawyer, they’re only after one thing and that was to win. I could sense that as the atmosphere in the room, which was once friendly, became tense.

Mom doing disappearing acts again. I would come home from school, and she would be gone. No note, nothing, and when I questioned Dad about it, he would be like, “Oh yeah, she’s gone for the week.” No explanation or anything, I would call her cell, and she would confirm she would be home in a week. I didn’t think anything of it, until now. It dawned on me, Russell was right. She’d leave, with no explanation and I never asked any questions. Why should I? She was my mom, not the other way around, so when she told me she’d be back, I would just naturally assume it would be the case, and she always did return.

“What do you want, Russell?” Claire asked abruptly.

“Jenny’s signature,” he said as he reached for the case. “I need her to release funds for her dad’s bail and other things.”

Claire choked. “And your fee.”

He nodded as he hesitated taking out his laptop. “Of course.”

“Why do you need me to sign? And what are the papers?” I acknowledged, not seeing him take anything for me to sign, but rather for me to log on to his computer.

“Your dad has some offshore accounts in your name. I need you to put in the code. He told me that you have it. Once done, then I’ll get paid, and you will too.”

I titled my head to the side, knowing Dad never looked out for my best interests. Why had I been so naive to think otherwise?

“So, he used his daughter to set up an offshore account in case he got caught by the FBI and she has the code,” Claire said as she took her MacBook out. Then, she opened and pushed it to the side.

Russell ignored her as he pushed his in front of me and said, “Put in the code.”

Claire stood up. “Look, what is in it for her?”

“Excuse me?” Russell asked as he raised an eyebrow.

“Jenny has nowhere to live, she has no money, even her phone line has been cut off. What does she get out of this once she releases the money?”

“There’s five million in that account. I’ll take out my fee, the bail money and…”

“How much is bail set for?”

Again, they began the war of lawyers. Their eyes fixed on each other, and it was as if the room turned cold. No more where they paying attention to me, by glancing my way or even asking me a question. No, they were focusing only on each other.

“Bail is set at four million.”

“No doubt, your fee will be the remaining one million.”

He shrugged. “No, not that much, but Roger has made it clear he needs some funds for a place to stay, etc.”

“And his daughter?”

Russell went a bright shade of red, something I’d never expected to see. There was no me in this equation. It hit me; the only person looking out for my interest was Claire, no one else. Dad had sent Russell to get the money.

“If Roger doesn’t come out, and we don’t pay his bail, then he won’t be able to organize things properly. Jenny, you do want your dad out, right? You don’t want him staying behind bars.” Russell stroked my hand, which rested on the table, as if he was my friend, my protector, something he’d never shown before and certainly didn’t today when he arrived at the office.

“She wants what’s best for her. I just don’t understand how you managed to get bail. Which judge?”

Russell ignored her question, and once again turned toward me. I remembered I told Dad the code once when he said that he’d set it all up. Later on that evening, I realized that I’d given Dad the wrong code. Not by accident, but on that particular day, I was having a hard time with Kurt. Confusion clouded my mind, and when Dad told me he was looking out for my future, he wrote down the code, and I left his office that day. It was only after, when I reached home, I acknowledged I’d told him a three instead of a two. This is why Russell was here. He’d already tried it, based on the code that Dad had given him. Now, the only money was at the touch of my fingertips, and I could sense Claire didn’t want me to give it.

As Russell drew his Mac to himself and turned to me, he demanded, “Jenny, just give me the code. I’ll do everything myself and you don’t have to worry about a thing.”

My fingers were shaking, and Russell’s stare felt as if it went right through me. The smile he’d greeted me with a few seconds ago disappeared as he repeated the question.

“I don’t remember.” My voice was shaky, and it was clear that I was lying. So, I cleared my throat to sound more convincing in my lie. “I wrote down the code in my notebook at home. I can’t remember it.”

“The code you gave your dad is the wrong one.”

“You heard her,” Claire said. “It’s in her notebook. You have to find a way for her to get into the house so she can retrieve it.”

“I can’t do that if she doesn’t remember the code!” Russell barked back. I turned to face the chair in which Claire was once sitting.

“We can’t help you.”

“Jenny?” he called, before shutting his Mac, putting it in the cover, and then grabbing his case. I’d never seen Russell angry, but I was scared and my hands started to shake once more.

“You’ll be living on the streets if you don’t try and remember it. I only have two days to get this sorted out.”

Then he stormed out of the office. I felt the door slam shut as he hit it behind him. Neither Claire nor I said a word. I couldn’t move as a tear escaped my eye.

She rubbed my shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll look after you.”

Her words made me want to cry even more. She wanted to look after me, which was a lot more than either of my parents were doing right now.