It's Nothing Personal (12 page)

“Mommy, what’s wrong?’

The simple question was more than Jenna
could bear.
 
She broke down.
 

Jenna had to tell her daughter the
truth.
 
She clutched Mia’s little
body and whispered into her hair, “Everything.”

CHAPTER 15

The next day, Jenna found herself downtown
amongst the skyscrapers, traffic, and business people.
 
Jostling through the crowds, she made
her way to the corner of Broadway and Market.
 
Walking into the immense lobby, Jenna
felt irrelevant and small.
 
The two-story
high ceilings, glass exterior walls, and the black, polished marble floors all
gave the impression of opulence and intimidation.
 
She glanced at the time on her phone
– 3:50 p.m.
 
Jenna was
scheduled to meet her attorneys for the first time at 4:00.
 
She entered the elevator, pressed the
button for the twelfth floor, and watched the doors close.
 
On the twelfth floor, Jenna stepped out
into the expansive lobby of Moore and Everett, LLC.
 

Behind the reception desk, an older woman
with a round frame, gray hair, wire-rimmed glasses, and soft, kind eyes greeted
Jenna.
 

“Hi there.
 
Can I help you?”

The woman’s easy-going nature helped put
Jenna at ease.
 

“Yes.
 
I’m Jenna Reiner. . . Dr. Jenna Reiner.
 
I have a four o’clock appointment with
Jim Taylor.”

“Please sign in on the registry and have a
seat.
 
I’ll let him know you’re
here.”

Jenna scribbled her name and walked over to
a group of leather chairs positioned in front of a wall of windows.
 
Once seated, Jenna took in her
surroundings.
 
The people walking
through the lobby moved with a sense of purpose and urgency.

Restless, Jenna stood and gazed out the
large window down on the little people and cars below her.
  
She wondered if any of their lives
were falling apart, or was she the only one?

Ten minutes later, a clean-cut man who
appeared to be in his late fifties approached her.
 
He wore perfectly pressed slacks, a
collared shirt with no tie, and expensive, Italian loafers with tassels on
top.
 
The man had an honest face,
brown hair with a hint of gray at the temples, was of medium height, and an
average build.
 
He was the kind of
person that Jenna would have never given a second glance if she met him on the
street.
 
However, as he came up to
her, she quickly appreciated his decency.

“Are you Dr. Reiner?”
asked the man.

“Yes.”
 
Jenna held out her hand to shake
his.
 
“Are you Jim Taylor?”

“I am.”
 
His handshake felt gentle and comforting.
 
Not the firm, bone-crushing grasp that she
expected from a lawyer.
 

Jim gestured toward a long hallway.
 
“We have a conference room set up back
here.
 
After you . . .”
 

With the manners of a gentleman, Jim let
Jenna lead the way.
 
He directed her
through a maze of offices and cubicles, until they finally reached a large
conference room.
 
In the center, ten
black leather chairs surrounded an oversized oak table.

Jim told her, “Please, have a seat wherever
you’d like.
 
Can I get you some
coffee or anything else to drink?
 
My partner, Nancy Guilding, will be working these cases with me.
 
She should be here in just a second.”

Jenna sat down in one of the center chairs
and said, “I’d love some tea, thank you.”

Jim buzzed a secretary, who quickly appeared
with a carafe of coffee and another filled with hot water.
 
The woman set an assortment of tea bags
and sugar cubes on a silver tray in front of Jenna.
 
Another assistant filed in behind the
first, carrying a tray of coffee mugs.
 
Jenna was taken aback by the luxury and formality of her surroundings.
 
Part of her found it comforting to know
she had prestigious lawyers defending her.
 
Another part of her shuddered as she grasped the seriousness of her
situation.

The assistants filed out of the room, and a
woman in her late forties entered.
 
The woman dressed conservatively, wearing a plain, gray skirt and jacket,
with a white blouse underneath.
 
Her
shoes were simple leather flats.
 
The woman’s black hair was cut in a short, conservative bob, and she
wore brightly rimmed glasses.
 
Her
smile was warm and nurturing.
 
She
advanced toward where Jenna was seated and introduced herself, “You must be Dr.
Reiner.
 
I’m Nancy Guilding, but
please, call me Nancy.”

Inexplicably, Jenna felt safe in the
presence of these strangers.

Jenna stood and shook Nancy’s hand.
 
“It’s nice to meet you.
 
And please, both of you call me Jenna.”

Jim and Nancy each took a seat across from
Jenna.
 
Jim asked for copies of both
of the letters Jenna had received regarding Michelle Hollings, which she
quickly handed over.
 
Picking up the
telephone, Jim buzzed for one of his legal assistants.
 
Within minutes, a tall, blonde woman
entered the conference room.

“Jenna, this is Melanie Johansen, one of our
paralegals.
 
She’ll be assisting us
on your case.”

Jenna smiled politely at the woman.
 
“Nice to meet you.”

Handing over the letters to Melanie, Jim
asked, “Can you make copies for the three of us and start Dr. Reiner’s case
file?”

The notion of having her own case file sent
a chill through Jenna.
 
She could
already envision the spines on three-ring binders dedicated to her, “Michelle
Hollings v. Dr. Jenna Reiner.”
 
Anyone
who saw one sitting around would know that Jenna was the accused.

Minutes later, Melanie returned with the
requested copies.
 
She handed them
to Jim and left.
 
“Just let me know
if you need anything else,” Melanie said, softly closing the door behind her.

Jim distributed the copies.
 
The three of them sat for several
minutes in silence, as Jim and Nancy read the letters.
 
Jenna felt uneasy with nothing to occupy
her time.
 
Nervously, she took a
gulp of tea, burning the roof of her mouth on the piping hot drink.
 
Feeling foolish, she tried to ignore the
pain.

Finally, Jim looked up at Jenna and asked,
“The first thing I want to know is how are you holding up through all this?”

Jenna plastered on a tight smile.
 
However, her bravado soon vanished.
 
Stunned by Jim’s compassion, she felt
her defenses dissolve.
 
Gazing down
at the table, tracing a grain of the wood with her finger, Jenna said quietly,
“Not so good.”

Jim continued gently, “Can you tell me what
‘not so good’ means?”

“Well,” Jenna sighed, “to begin with, never
having been sued before, I have absolutely no idea what to expect.
 
Beyond that, I feel like a failure.
 
I’m scared to death.
 
I can’t sleep.
 
I can’t concentrate.
 
I’m falling apart.”

A tear traced a line down Jenna’s cheek.
 
She was too embarrassed to meet her
lawyers’ gaze.
 
They could hear the
disgrace in her voice, but they did not need to see it in her face.
 
“I’m filled with such incredible
guilt.
 
The thought that I may have
filled my patient’s blood with a deadly disease, even if I didn’t know it
– it’s killing me.
 
It’s like
waking up in the hospital and finding out the red light you ran resulted in
killing the other driver.”

Jenna’s voice became shaky, and mascara
collected in dark pools below her eyes.
 
Nancy passed her a tissue box.
 
Jenna accepted it gratefully and wiped away the black smudges.

Jim paused for a moment, making sure Jenna
was finished before he spoke.
 
“Jenna, all these things that you’re feeling are completely normal.
 
Being sued is one of the most traumatic
things that can happen to a physician.
 
Our job is to get you through it and to help you make the best decisions
along the way.

“As of right now, for the record, you are
not formally being sued.
 
However,
we expect those papers to be filed by the patient’s attorneys with the court
any time now.
 
This is not going to
go away.
 
I think our job today
should be to get to know each other.
 
Does that sound okay?”

Something about the calm manner in which Jim
conducted himself helped Jenna regain her composure.
 
She raised her head and nodded.

Nancy spoke for the first time since her
introduction to Jenna.
 
“I know our
world is completely foreign to you, so I want to make sure that you understand
some important fundamentals.
 
First
of all, anything you say to either of us is confidential.
 
Secondly, even if we ask you a question
where you think we may not like the answer, please be honest with us.
 
When defendants lie, they get in trouble.
 
They tell so many lies, they can’t keep
them straight, and then they get caught.
 
The truth is easy to remember, so don’t forget that.

“Another really important thing for you to
understand is that this is all about money.
 
It’s not about justice or the
truth.
 
The law firm that the
patient has retained is notoriously merciless. They don’t play nice, and they
don’t play fair.
 
You need to
mentally and emotionally prepare yourself for that right now.
 
If you don’t, I guarantee it will
destroy you.
 
They are going to say
terrible things about you.
 
Just
remember, it’s nothing personal.”

Nancy’s warning startled Jenna, sending a
jolt through her.
 
She had not known
what to expect, but she certainly did not expect this.

Although Jenna feared the answer, she asked,
“So, what should I anticipate from here on out?”

Jim spoke, “I wish I could give you a
detailed schedule or timeline, but it usually doesn’t work like that.
 
I can tell you that lawsuits are best
characterized by peaks and valleys.
 
There will be months where very little seems to happen.
 
Then, out of the blue, we’ll inundate
you with requests for documents, affidavits, and meetings.
 
I would expect things to be pretty
low-key for a while.
 
If you ever
have any questions or just need to talk, call us.
 
We will email you all of our contact
information, including our cell phone numbers.
 
Never be afraid to use them.
 
Deal?”

“Deal.”
 
Although Jenna appreciated her
attorneys’ offer, their twenty-four-hour availability brought her little
comfort.

The meeting ended, and Jenna somberly exited
the mammoth building.
 
Instead of
returning to her car, she tried to clear her head by walking around the busy
downtown streets.
 
Jenna’s mind was
a million miles away as she blended with the crowds of workers, shoppers, and
city-dwellers.
 
Aimlessly stepping
off the curb to cross the street, Jenna walked directly into the path of an
oncoming taxi.
 
The driver slammed
on his brakes to avoid hitting her.
 
Tires screeched, and the rusted bumper of the yellow cab stopped only
inches short of striking Jenna.
 
The
angry cabby honked and raised his arms.
 
Jenna looked right through him.
 
She was not sure whether she should be grateful that he avoided killing
her or angry that she was spared.

CHAPTER 16

After Jim and Nancy escorted Jenna to the
elevator, they returned to their conference room.
 
Once inside, Jim refilled each of their
mugs with hot coffee.
 
Nancy dropped
a cube of sugar into hers, while Jim flopped into one of the leather chairs.

“So, what do you think?” he asked, leaning
back with his hands clasped behind his head.
  

Nancy dissolved the sugar with a stirring
straw, watching the rich black fluid swirl in her cup like a miniature
tornado.
 

Carefully slurping her hot coffee, she
replied, “My first impression is that I like her.”

“Me too,” Jim said.
 
He and Nancy had been friends for years,
but it never ceased to amaze him how similarly their minds worked.
 
It was part of what made them such a
good team.

Nancy kicked her shoes off underneath the
table.
 
It had been an exhausting
day.
 
She enjoyed this small
reprieve.
 
Taking a moment to
collect her thoughts, Nancy pictured Jenna sitting at the conference
table.
 
She had the appearance of a
little girl in a fancy restaurant who was trying valiantly to mind her manners.