“You remember that you did not say it.”
“I remember that I did not say it,” Todd repeated, mimicking her intonation.
“It has the date and the exact time.”
“So what?”
Bennie changed tacks. “You wouldn’t happen to remember where you were on October 20 of last year, would you?”
“Of course not.”
“You keep a calendar?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Is it in your phone?”
“Yes,” Todd answered with a scowl. “You want me to check it?”
“Yes, if you don’t mind.”
“Fine.” Todd leaned over, slid an iPhone from his back pocket, and started thumbing the screen.
“So, were you in the office on Wednesday, October 20 of last year?”
“Look.” Todd held up the screen, showing it to Bennie. “No appointments out of the office. I wasn’t calling on accounts that day. But that doesn’t mean I was in or that we had a conversation like this. It doesn’t prove anything.”
“Let’s move on.” Bennie reached for Exhibit B. The fact that Todd was in the office and could have made the statement went against him. “This is the second instance in which Pensiera claims that you made comments about his daughter’s medical expenses. Why don’t you take a look at that and tell me what your reaction is?”
“I can’t believe this!”
“Here we go.” Bennie passed Exhibit B across the table to him, which read:
Thursday, January 5, 9:15 a.m. Todd said: “This is the beginning of a new quarter and a new year. Do you think this is going to be as expensive as the last round?”
Todd looked up, angrier. “I’m telling you, I never said anything like that. This never happened. When does he say this happened?”
“You can see for yourself. On January 5, nine fifteen, when he turned some bills in to you after her second round of chemo.”
“I didn’t say it!”
“Okay, please check your phone for me and let me know if you were in the office that day, around nine fifteen.”
“This is so ridiculous.” Todd scrolled through his phone. “This is like a search, an illegal search. I didn’t say any of this stuff and even if I did, is it illegal? Is it illegal to ask questions? To talk?”
“No, but under the Americans with Disabilities Act, it’s illegal to fire an employee to save the company from paying the medical expenses of the employee’s family member. It’s considered discrimination. If you said these things, they are direct evidence of discriminatory animus.”
“What about my rights? Don’t I have a First Amendment right to say what I want? Not that I said it, but I am asking you.”
“No. Your First Amendment right is guaranteed as against abridgment by the government or a state actor, but that’s it. In other words, you don’t have a First Amendment right to say whatever you want, whenever you want to.”
“Lawyers!” Todd scrolled angrily through his phone, then held it up. “Okay, again, so no appointments. I was probably in the office that day at nine fifteen. They pay me good money to come here, so I do. I don’t remember meeting with Simon and I know that I did not say anything like that!”
“Okay, here’s Simon’s last note, but I want you to take a very careful look at this one because it matters most of all.”
“This is unreal.” Todd shook his head, fuming.
“Here.” Bennie passed Exhibit C to him, which contained the admission:
Thursday, March 30, 10:15 a.m. Todd said: “These expenses are going to kill us this quarter. It’s really too much. We can’t keep this up. They’re going to raise our rates.”
Todd sent the paper sliding back to her, his mouth tight. “I didn’t say anything like that. I didn’t say it. He made this whole thing up.”
“Why would he do that?”
“So he could start a lawsuit. Simon is a very smart guy. What if he had this planned? Back when Rachel got sick, like I told you, he lost interest in the job. He doesn’t want to work but he still needs money. So he makes up this story. He takes fake notes on days he knows I’m in the office.” Todd dismissed the exhibits with an angry wave. “This isn’t proof of anything. He’s trying to get the money for Rachel’s transplant. He made the whole thing up from the get-go.”
Bennie’s ears pricked up. “What transplant?”
“The bone marrow transplant.” Todd hesitated. “You said he’s suing me because I talked about the costs of her transplant.”
“No, I never used the term ‘transplant.’ Neither does he in his contemporaneous notes. I said ‘medical expenses.’” Bennie eyed him hard. “The need for the transplant was a recent development, and it hurts our case that it came so close to the termination, suggesting a causal link.”
“Okay, whatever. It’s semantics.” Todd rolled his eyes. “Stop acting like you caught me in a lie, for God’s sake. I knew she needed a transplant, we all knew. Word got around.”
“Did you discuss the transplant with him, per se?”
“No!”
“Thank you.” Bennie took the exhibits back. “Please check your calendar for me.”
“Under protest, yes.” Todd thumbed his phone, then held it up again. “Ooh, look! Guilty as charged. I was in the office at ten fifteen. Or at least I wasn’t out of the office, because there’s no appointment that morning.”
“Thank you.”
“I don’t like being called a liar. I don’t like being accused of things I didn’t do. Those notes of his are BS.” Todd stood up abruptly, pocketing his phone. “We’re done here, right?”
“Yes, we’re finished. Thank you very much.” Bennie put the exhibits back into her messenger bag, slid a business card from the inside pocket, and passed it to him. “Please take my card. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or any further thoughts.”
“I don’t need your business card.” Todd reached the door and put his hand on the knob. “And I’ll tell you one thing. Don’t settle this case. I want my day in court. I want to clear my name.”
“Understood,” Bennie said, nodding. Though it was the worst thing she could have heard in the circumstances.
*
Bennie found Nate in the manufacturing part of the facility, standing high above the factory floor on a concrete ramp that was protected from the noise below by a Plexiglas wall. The ramp thrummed with the vibration of the heavy machinery below, and the air smelled warm and dusty. Nate smiled when he saw Bennie, gesturing to the factory below.
“Want to take a factory tour? I just had mine. I like to do it from time to time. It’s educational.”
“No thanks, I don’t have time.” Bennie was in no mood. After that interview with Todd, she had a big problem on her hands, and so did Mary.
“I could show you around. It’s so awesome!”
“It’s not a toy, Nate.”
“You’re right, it’s a bottom line.” Nate chuckled, turning to the factory floor. “It looks like they’re making cubicles, but they’re making money. For me.”