Page 48 of The Proving Ground

I checked my watch. It was time for court.

“Okay, we’re going to go into the courtroom now,” I said. “The first hour will be about motions and witness lists, and then voir dire begins.”

“That’s jury selection?” Brenda asked.

“Right,” I said. “They bring in a panel of potential jurors, and the judge will ask questions the lawyers have submitted, along with her own questions, and we should have a jury by the end of the day tomorrow.”

I stood up to leave the room. When I opened the door, I saw Marcus Mason standing in the hallway waiting for me. I was not surprised.

“You guys go on to the courtroom,” I said to my clients. “Sit in the places I told you and I’ll be along after I talk to Mr. Mason.”

My clients stepped into the hallway and headed down to the courtroom. I waited for them to be out of earshot before I turned to Mason.

“What’s up, Marcus?”

“What’s up is I got your witness amendment and there is no wayNaomi Kitchens is testifying. But that’s not why I’m here. Can we step out of the hallway for a minute?”

He gestured toward the open door of the meeting room I had just left.

“Sure,” I said. “But let’s not keep the judge waiting.”

“We won’t,” Mason said. “I told the clerk to keep her in chambers until we come in.”

We stepped into the room and Mason closed the door. I stayed standing. I knew what was coming and that I wouldn’t have to sit down.

“Okay, final offer,” Mason said. “To avoid this unnecessary trial, twenty-five to Randolph and ten to the Coltons, though they don’t deserve a penny if you ask me.”

“Is that millions or billions?” I asked.

“Don’t be an ass, Haller. Tell them to take it. I have the checks in my briefcase. It’s more money than they’ll ever get from a jury. And you can probably retire on your cut.”

“Is that it? That’s the full offer?”

“That’s it. And both parties must take it or no deal.”

“Do you have a script for a public apology from Tidalwaiv in your briefcase too? One that accepts responsibility for the death of Rebecca Randolph and the actions of Aaron Colton, and says that new guardrails will be installed in your AI products that will prevent this from happening again in the future?”

“No, I have NDAs that all parties will sign, and then they get rich and this goes away quietly.”

“Well, I’ll take it to them. But don’t get your hopes up.”

“The offer’s good till five o’clock today. Maybe after your clients see you lose half your witness list they’ll be amenable to a settlement. They could wake up with millions in their bank accounts tomorrow if they play this right.”

“Play, Marcus? This isn’t a game.”

“Sure it is. Don’t kid yourself, Haller.”

With that, he opened the door and left the room. I heard his heels clicking on the marble floor as he headed down the hall to the courtroom.

A few minutes later I huddled and whispered with my clients in the courtroom. I told Bruce Colton to come through the gate to the plaintiffs’ table and pulled a chair over for him. I delivered the settlement offer and told them it came with no apology or admission of culpability from Tidalwaiv.

“It’s a lot of money,” I said. “And I always have to say, anything can happen at trial. But it’s just money. It’s not enough to hurt Tidalwaiv in the long run and there is no admission of guilt with it.” Brenda Randolph seemed incensed.

“They think they can just buy their way out of this,” she said. “Out of what they did to my daughter. Fuck them.” The language was uncharacteristic of her.

I nodded—it was the response I had expected from Brenda—and looked at the Coltons, noting that they did not look at each other, a sign that they weren’t on the same page.

“How long would it be before they paid us?” Bruce said.