Page 70 of Trials of a One Night Stand
“Foolish thinking. I can get my guy to get dirt on every one of them. Including Jayne Everton. Stuff that will easily shake things up.”
My heart skips a beat. I don’t want anything dug up on Jayne. I doubt there’s much, other than her sleeping with the enemy and getting pregnant with my baby. I just can’t see her involved in anything shady. Maybe that’s my heart talking and not my brain, but so be it.
Cliff, however, would position that so it would appear like she’s using me. That’s untrue, but we also haven’t declared our relationship to the court or Sugar Valley Drugs. And even though it’s not illegal, it’s ethically wrong. I hate the fact that Jayne would be fired for this. For her to have her professional reputation ruined would gut me. Why isn’t there an easy way forward with this? “Don’t do that. We have plenty of evidence, and if we stick to the facts, then maybe Judge Grierson will realize which one of us is the more believable.”
“Did you miss that they want everything, Nate? They want Zentello.”
“No, I didn’t, but I won’t stoop to their level.”
“Even if it means losing your company?” he asks. “Let’s be honest here, morals and ethics don’t pay the bills or put food on the table. All those people who work at Zentello depend upon you. What about them?”
Thick and bitter guilt coats my mouth, making it hard to swallow. Cliff is right. I can’t forget about Zentello’s employees, but I have to trust in the fact we’re the ones telling the truth. I also can’t let him throw Jayne under the bus. Even if she only wants to co-parent with no interest in a romantic relationship, I won’t change my mind. I could never be vindictive against her.
As if on cue, Jayne sits at the table across the aisle. Her eyes no longer have dark circles under them, but the expression on her face is grim. Maybe that’s her game face for today. That might explain why she’s dressed differently. She’s wearing navy pants, a white blouse, and a suit coat—sharp and professional. I wonder if her feet hurt her from the heels she wore with her skirts. Her shoes today are loafer style.
She glances my way for a nanosecond. Picosecond might be a better term. I understand, really, I do, but I don’t have to like it.
Cliff nudges me. “See something you like?”
Yes, but I don’t dare admit it. “Our opposition is dressed differently today.”
“Probably trying to throw us off guard by switching things up.” Cliff snickers. “But this is the second time I’ve caught you staring at her. You’re lucky it’s me and not the judge. Surely, you can find someone else to lust after than our opposition, or is there something you’re not telling me?”
“Nope.”
“Good. And I don’t blame you for looking. I would hit that.”
My hands ball, and I’m ready to punch my attorney for speaking about Jayne that way. I grit my teeth. “Hope the judge doesn’t catch you talking about a fellow attorney that way.”
Cliff laughs, which I also don’t appreciate. I imagine Jayne telling me to remain calm. Her voice washes over me as I take a breath and another. I flex my fingers so it doesn’t look like I’m ready to throw a left jab followed by a right hook. I’m a lover, not a fighter, but I’ll do whatever it takes to protect Jayne.
My phone buzzes. It happens again and again and again.
My stomach clenches. Has something happened to Zelda or at Zentello?
I whip my phone out to see a string of messages from Max, Bradley, Zelda, Jack, and even Sam. Something big must be happening for Sam to text me from New Zealand at this hour.
I pull up the text from Zelda first. As I read, my vision blurs, but I already have the words memorized. Zentello’s patent for Orchid is finally in the Orange Book. That means the drug’s patent has been granted. Orchid had already been approved by the FDA, but the patent office had requested one amendment after another. I can’t blame them since we changed the usage of the Happy Pill when it evolved into Orchid, a sexual enhancement drug for women.
I rub my eyes and finish reading the rest of the texts. They all say the same thing—Orchid’s patent has been approved. It’s crazy the patent office doesn’t notify companies directly about patents being granted. The information is included in publications like the Orange Book put out by the FDA. Regardless, this is what we’ve been hoping would happen.
It’s my turn to nudge Cliff, and I might dig my elbow into him a tad too strongly. He side-eyes me. “What?”
Without saying a word, I hand him my phone.
As he reads the text from Max, the last to arrive, Cliff’s eyes widen. A Cheshire cat-like grin forms on his face. I almost expect him to snicker or twirl the ends of his mustache if he had one. But I can tell he’s thinking the same thing as me—this couldn’t have happened at a better time.
Cliff quickly texts someone and opens his laptop. I have no idea what he’s doing, but I’m paying him handsomely, so I assume he’s making a new plan for his cross-examination of the lead scientist.
I tap my feet on the floor, wide awake now and eager to see what happens. My only hope is Jayne has prepared for this. I don’t want her to feel caught off guard.
As Cliff finishes whatever he’s doing, I lean close to him. “So this will help us, right?”
He nods once. “Zentello has been sued for Trade Secret Misappropriation, but now Sugar Valley Drugs will also need to file a Post-Grant Proceedings with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.”
“If they had the original formula, they should’ve applied for a patent themselves.” They should’ve done a lot of things they hadn’t done, including leaving a paper trail with the FDA when they were developing the drug.
“I plan to ask about this.” Cliff appears giddy, a way I’ve never seen him before. “But now I can drop the bombshell that Zentello holds the patent. Today is going to be so fun.”
