Page 2 of The Lawyer’s Quandary

C hapter T wo

After saying goodbye to Greg and thanking him for lunch, Mark checked the time, got in his car, and hurried over to the field, arriving just after the match started.

He got out of the car and stood on the top of the verge that surrounded lacrosse pitch.

He had a good view, and at first, everything looked to be going well.

Adams College was up by two points, and then everything changed and Dickinson tied the game.

At the end of the quarter, Mark watched the team, with assistant Coach Bates talking to them, and even from twenty yards or so, he could see the tension that rolled off of Steven. He jogged closer, and the more Coach Bates spoke, the more it looked like Steven wanted to beat him to a pulp.

“Get yourself under control,” Mark sent to Steven though the universe, and at that moment, Steven looked up and saw him.

He nodded and sent his message quietly once more, hoping that Steven would understand that the rest of the team would pick up on his stress and run with it.

Finally, the head coach took over, and the tension eased somewhat, but even from here, Mark could see that things were not going to go well.

Steven stood off to the side, getting himself under control.

Two of the other players joined him, and Mark saw the same tension in them as Steven.

Clearly, none of them had said anything to the others, but judging by similar reactions, they had the same issue with Coach Bates.

“Shit….” He checked the clock and saw they had two minutes left.

Mark made his way over to the side, not wanting to encroach.

Steven jogged over. “I know you want to kill him,” Mark said.

“But for now, either leave it off the field or pretend that every opposing player is Bates and just play your guts out. You need to lead your teammates or you’ll go down in flames. ”

Steven took a deep breath, released it, and nodded.

Then he looked over at the other team with fire in his eyes before running back to the rest of the players.

They got together, and Mark had no idea what Steven might have said, but they played the second fifteen minutes like they were unstoppable.

Dickinson, a formidable team, looked completely out of their league.

“What did you say to him?” Head Coach Littleton asked as he watched play.

“Whatever it was, Strickler is on fire.” He looked over at the rest of the team.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but they need to work it out.

I thought they were going to kill Bates, and now it looks like they’re out for Dickinson blood. ”

Adams College scored again, and all Mark could do was shrug. There was no way in hell that he was going to tell anyone what was going on in his head at the moment, because his own thoughts chilled him to the core.

“You really managed to keep it together,” Mark told Steven as they got to the car for the ride back to campus. “It would have been okay for you to ride on the bus with the other players and enjoy the victory.”

Steven dumped his gear in the trunk and got into Mark’s battered Toyota Camry.

“I don’t think I could have ridden in that bus with Coach Bates and not have wanted to throw him out of a window.

The more I think about what he did, the more I want to kill him.

” He turned in the seat as Mark closed the door.

“You know, the more I consider what he was doing to me, the angrier I get. I didn’t know that I could feel this way or that people could be this evil.

Bates began trying to give the guys a pep talk, and every time he looked at me…

.” Steven heaved for breath, and Mark waited to give him a chance to vent and let it out. “Can you take me to the lawyer?”

“Steven, he needs a chance to do his work and get you the papers before you make any decisions. Just give yourself a chance to cool down.”

“But I keep wondering what I’m going to do if he tries again,” Steven said.

“Then make sure you are not alone with him,” Mark offered. “And when you get the chance, quietly talk to Connors and Wilson.”

“Why?” Steven was still fuming, but he was coming down from his anger and hopefully beginning to think clearly.

Mark hesitated. “Because they had the same look to kill that you did, and there has to be a reason.”

“Shit!” he cried. “I should have figured that out.”

“No. What you should be doing is playing lacrosse at the top of your game and enjoying the highs that come with it. That is what you should be doing. Not worrying about Coach Bates and crap. If you need something, go to the head coach. Do not spend time with Bates and do your best to avoid him.”

“But what about Connors and Wilson? Should I ask them?” He was clearheaded now.

“Not outright. But for now, keep your ears open to anything. I know what I said earlier, but let’s wait to see what Greg comes back with. The guy is smart, and he’s going to have a plan, and we don’t want to do anything to mess that up. But I’ll tell him what I suspect.”

“Cool,” Steven said, and finally seemed to settle in the seat. “I can’t do this all on my own. If I had to, I’d quit the team and figure shit out from there. I don’t think I’d make it. No fucking way.”

“Then it’s a good thing you don’t have to,” Mark said as he turned south onto the main street of Carlisle, and they fell right into traffic behind the bus with the other players.

Steven sat quietly on his phone for much of the trip back. “I got the stuff from the lawyer,” he said and made a call.

“Do you want me to listen in?” Mark asked, and Steven put it on speaker.

“I got the file, and I’ll sign and send back the agreement. Do you really think we can do this for ten grand?” Steven asked. “I know these things can drag on.”

“I have a way forward that’s quicker and could possibly get us what we want. If we need to go to court, then we will, and at that time, we will alter our arrangement based on damages recovered.”

“Okay. So what is our plan? You are on speaker here in the car with Mark,” Steven said.

“If you wish for him to hear this, then that is up to you. But I think we should put together our case and present it to the board of trustees directly. Give them the chance to do what is right before this goes too far. If they cover it up or simply ignore us, then we sue them for everything they have.”

“Okay. So how do we do this?” Steven asked.

“There are two ways we can approach it. First is to find out if there are others,” Greg said.

“I believe there are,” Mark spoke up. “There was some tension at the game, and I saw Steven’s mirrored in at least two other players. But I’m not sure how to get them to come forward.”

“Steven, are you friends with these other players? If so, take the two of them out for a drink or invite them to your room, something. Get them loosened up a little and see what happens if you mention Coach Bates. Don’t force the issue.

But here is the hard part—make sure you stay sober.

You have to be clear- minded enough to be able to recall what they say.

From there, if they have had a similar experience, you let me know, and I can meet with them. It’s likely they think they are alone.”

“Both guys are as straight as an arrow, so this sort of thing is going to be hard for them to deal with,” Steven said. “I think it will be harder for them than it is for me. They’ll want to bury it.”

“True. But I think if they know they have support and aren’t alone, then maybe they will have the same goals you do. That’s the key, aligning their goals and yours. Once that happens, then we have a place to start.”

Steven grew quiet. “Shit. I guess I knew I was going to have to talk about all this… but….”

Mark had to hand it to Greg—he was a straight shooter for a lawyer.

“You can still back out. But if we do this, you need to know that you will be telling your story multiple times. So make sure that you are consistent and clear. I know you’re estranged from your father, but what about your mom?

Tell her. Get her on your side if you can.

Fathers are one thing, but mother are lionesses, and if someone hurts their cubs, then they want to go after them with everything they have. ”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“If you want, I’ll be there with you when you tell her.” Damn, this guy really understood the situation. It got Mark wondering, but the conversation continued, and Mark didn’t have time to ponder the sleek lawyer with a great smile and beautiful brown eyes flecked with gold.

“We both will,” Mark said.

“I don’t know. I have to think about all of this,” Steven said.

“That’s fine. Give yourself a few days to decide what you want to do and then send me the forms back if you want to go forward, and we can put things in motion,” Greg said.

“No. I’m going to go forward, because I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t.

It’s talking to my mother that has me worried.

My father has gotten more extreme over the past few years, and Mom always went along with what he said.

So I don’t really know how she feels.” He sighed. “But I guess I should find out.”

Greg reiterated what he needed Steven to do and then ended the call.

“Who knew hiring a lawyer would result in having so much to do?” Mark said.

“Yeah, well, it isn’t like he can do all this stuff for me. It’s not like the guys are going to talk to him, and they certainly aren’t going to come out and say that Bates touched their junk.” He shoved his phone in his pocket. “But at least there’s a plan.”

“Yes, and someone to lead the charge. Have you decided what you want to do?”