Page 17 of The Lawyer’s Quandary
Classes hadn’t started yet, but Mark was already busy. Not that Greg wasn’t busy all the time, but thanks to Angie and her calendar magic, they had been able to take a week’s vacation up to New England in early August. It had been one of the first trips that Greg had taken in years.
When are you done for the day? Greg texted Mark. Because classes weren’t yet in session, his schedule was more fluid than it would be in a week or so.
I’m done in two hours. Steven told me you were coming down to meet with everyone, and he asked me to be there. Is that okay?
Greg smiled. Of course. We can have dinner and maybe talk future plans. He had some ideas, and he wanted to see what Mark thought of them. They had both been driving between New Berlin and Carlisle quite a bit.
Sounds good. I’ll see you then. I have a session in the pool in ten. He sent a smiley face, and Greg in turn sent an eggplant, because Mark in the pool was sexy as all hell.
He returned to work, and Angie shooed him out the door in time for him to make his meeting. He drove through the countryside, which was filled with green trees dotted with red and yellow fruit, before pulling into campus and heading to where he had agreed to meet all of the guys.
“I reserved one of the student union multipurpose rooms,” Steven said when he met him. Steven led him through the noisy building and into a room, where he closed the door after them. As Greg had expected, the number of people Bates had taken advantage of had grown to over twenty, and every single one of them who still lived locally had shown up. A few no longer lived in the area, but Greg had already reviewed what he had with them over the phone and had gotten their responses.
Greg shook hands with each person present, calling them by name. Then he took a seat at the end of the table, and everyone else sat as well. Mark came in once it was quiet and took a chair against the wall near Steven.
“I’ll get right to the point. We filed suit months ago, and the college complied with our discovery requests. And while there were concerns voiced about Bates, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that the college was aware of his behavior or tried to cover it up. However, they did harbor him and should have been monitoring his behavior and providing a safe environment for all their students and athletes. To that end, and after much back and forth, they have put forth a settlement agreement.” Greg lifted his gaze before he continued just to make sure there were no questions. “Okay. First, they are not admitting any wrongdoing, but they have agreed to a settlement that amounts to a hundred thousand dollars for each athlete who was treated inappropriately. In addition, they agreed to develop and implement a sexual abuse education program for all faculty and staff, as well as one to help students understand what to do if they are mistreated or believe that they may have been.”
“What about Bates?” someone asked.
“His employment ended in early June, and he is awaiting trial. With the number of people affected, and the fact that he has threatened to flee, he is currently in the county jail in Gettysburg as he awaits trial. Bail that had been grated was revoked a month ago.”
“What about anyone else who might come forward?” Connors asked.
“The college has set up an abuse assistance fund. That is what the payments will come out of, and additional money will be set aside in case of future claims.”
Steven stood. “When I first came forward, I told Greg that I wasn’t interested in money. That what I wanted was for Bates to be removed so others wouldn’t go through what I did. And that’s happened. I know that in light of other awards in other situations, the amounts may seem small, but Adams is stepping up to try to make this right and to give each of us the resources we need so we can get help if warranted and so we can move on with our lives, and that is what I plan to do.” He sat down.
“What about if the college did try to cover it up and we haven’t found it?” a person asked from the back.
Greg nodded. “I made that a condition of the settlement. If evidence is found or comes to light that Adams did know or covered up what Bates was doing, then the college is once again open to litigation. Also included in the agreement are protections for any of the athletes who are still enrolled at Adams.” Greg had made sure the penalties for any sort of retaliation were severe. He looked through the room, with most of the men nodding slowly. “If you wish to accept this settlement, then I have copies for each of you to sign.” He passed them out and waited as, one by one, the athletes signed the agreements and brought them to Greg before leaving the room.
He sighed as Steven, Wilson, and Connors were the last to bring up the agreements and hand them to him. “You did good,” Wilson said.
“It was never about the money,” Connors told him, and then left the room.
Steven and Wilson followed him, and Greg gathered the agreements and put them all into his bag.
“Did anyone hold out?” Mark asked.
“No. For all of them, this was about making the college better and safer. And we’ve done that.” He closed the briefcase and left the room with Mark.
“You did,” Mark said as they walked thought the building and out into the late summer afternoon.
“We all did. It wasn’t just me,” Greg told him with a smile. “So, what’s next?” he asked. “You and I have been driving between here and Carlisle a lot.”
“Yes, we have. But I got a call from a friend at Dickinson. They have been looking for a swimming coach, and I applied for the position.” Mark swallowed, and Greg grinned.
“So you’ll be moving? When did this come up, and why didn’t you say anything?”
Mark smiled. “Well, these things are so up in the air until they aren’t, and, well, the athletic director called, and they need the position filled right away. They offered me a nice raise and are putting me in charge of their aquatics programs.” He was clearly walking on air.
“So you’re going to take the job?” Greg asked.
“Hell, yes. There’s only one issue. I’m going to have to find a place to live, and I have to figure out what I want to do with my place.”
Greg drew closer. “You could always move in with me. You and I have been spending most of our nights at either your place or mine. As for your place, you could sell it if you wanted, and in a year or so, we could buy a place together and build a life for the two of us.” He looked around. “Aw, hell.” He tugged Mark to him and kissed him hard. “I always pictured a more romantic place to tell you that I loved you.”
Mark snickered. “Anywhere you tell someone that you love them is romantic. And I love you too. But I have a question—if we move in together, can we get a dog?”
Greg closed the distance between them. “We can get a whole menagerie if it will make you happy.”
Mark’s eyes darked. “You make me happy.”
And Greg, the lawyer, found himself at a loss for words. Which was great, because his lips were otherwise occupied.