Page 44 of The Meeting
Gerald redirected his attention to Sheila. “Ms. Cale, if you can provide us with your company’s name, we can clear this up with a simple search through the state’s database.”
Sheila looked at Drew and Diana. Drew sunk into his chair and Diana only shook her head.
Gerald cleared his throat. “Ms. Cale, the company name?”
“I don’t own a company.”
“Do you work for a company that was supplying Ms. Winters’s company with fabric?”
“No.”
“Very well.”
Diana cleared her throat. “Sir, since some new information has come to light that I wasn’t exactly aware of, I was wondering if we could take a lunch break, so I can discuss things with my client before the mediation continues?”
Gerald turned his attention to Chase. “That’s all right with me as long as it’s all right with Mr. Romano and Ms. Winters.”
Chase looked at Kailynn and she gave him a small shrug to let him know he could decide.
Chase turned back to Gerald. “That’s okay with us.”
“Okay, we will break for lunch and come back to this discussion in two hours. Mr. Jones, if you can provide us with Ms. Bench’s company name and the corroborating invoices for utilities and rent that you were paying her for, please bring them when we come back from break.”
And with that, Gerald stood, gathered his pages together, and left.
After Gerald left the room, Kailynn looked over at Chase, who was smiling at her. Drew noisily stood up and took Sheila’s hand before walking out of the room, with Diana trailing behind. Before the door swung shut behind them, Diana’s voice rang out.
“You really should have told me—”
The door closing cut off their conversation.
Chase laughed. “Would you care to do lunch?”
Kailynn smiled brightly at him. “I would love to.”
Kailynn and Chasewalked into a burger restaurant near the mediation office and were seated at a table by a few windows in the back. The hostess handed them their menus, and they thanked her before she walked off and returned shortly after with glasses of water.
Kailynn skimmed the menu before quickly deciding on a salad. Her stomach was in knots despite everything working out according to plan at that time. But at any moment, she knew it could turn on her if Drew and Diana were clever.
After Chase set his menu down, he picked up his glass of water and took a long drink.
“How are you feeling?” he asked once he set the glass down.
“Okay, I guess. I mean, it seems like things are going well. I wasn’t sure what to say when they asked if we should break.”
The waiter walked over, so they paused in conversation so he could take their orders. Once he walked away, they resumed.
Chase nodded. “I know. Sometimes it’s best to trudge on, but since the mediator isn’t there to decide for us, it’s best that we let Diana talk some sense into Drew. She knows as well as I do it won’t look good on Drew if this goes to court.”
“Do you think it will?”
“I think they would be foolish to take it that far unless he can prove he paid them for legitimate reasons, but we know based on what Sheila said that she for sure wasn’t being paid legitimately.”
Kailynn nodded. “The look on Drew’s face told us alone that he knew we had caught him.”
“Exactly.”
“What happens after this?”
