It's Nothing Personal (38 page)

Jenna barely ate anything.
 
She sat motionless at the table while
Tom tried to keep a normal conversation going with Mia.
 

Eventually, she said, “I’m going to go lay
down for a while.”
 

Grabbing another beer along the way, she
plopped down on the couch, alone in the unlit family room.
 
She was consumed by thoughts of the
article, her attorneys, and talk of personal counsel.
 

The ringing of the telephone caught her
attention.
 
Jenna heard Tom answer
it from the kitchen and was instantly overcome with anxiety.
 
What if it was a reporter?
 
Jenna and Tom had not discussed
screening calls, and she was not sure it would occur to him.
 

“She’s busy right now.
 
Could she call you back?”
 
Tom’s words were followed by a long
pause as he listened to the person on the other end.

Whatever the unknown caller said to Tom, it
must have been convincing because Jenna heard him say, “Uhm, okay.
 
Just a minute.”

Tom covered the receiver with his hand.
 
Jenna looked up at him, shaking her head
no.
 

“It’s Katharine.
 
She
really
wants to talk to you.
 
She says she
knows what you’re going through.
 
Even
if you don’t want to talk to her, she at the very least wants to hear your
voice to make sure you’re okay.
 
She
sounds really concerned.
 
Maybe you
should take her call.”

The last thing Jenna wanted was to speak
with anybody, but it did not sound as if Katharine would take “no” for an
answer.
 
Jenna grabbed her beer and
sat at one of the barstools in the kitchen.
 
Tom took Mia into the other room, giving
Jenna some privacy.

“Hi, Katharine.”

The alcohol was finally kicking in.
 
To her own ears, Jenna’s speech sounded
slurred, but she did not care.
 
After what the Tribune printed for the world to see, having the Medical
Staff President catch her drunk seemed like a non-issue to Jenna.

“Jenna, are you okay?
 
I’ve been thinking about you all
day.”
 

“At this point, I’m just numb.
 
This has been, undeniably, one of the
worst days of my life.”
 

Katharine could hear the crack of a bottle
being opened on Jenna’s end.
 
Without judgment, she asked, “What are you doing to cope with all this?”

“So far, I’ve been trying real hard to get
drunk.
 
The problem is I keep
drinking, and I don’t feel anything.
 
I was hoping I’d pass out by now, but it’s not working.”

Katharine gathered by Jenna’s garbled speech
that the alcohol was working better than her friend thought.
 

“Okay, you’ve got to listen to me.
 
I’ve been sued before.
 
First piece of advice, stop
drinking.
 
It will only cloud your
judgment and may even compromise your performance at work.
 
Second thing, if you don’t have a
primary care doctor, get one now.
 
I
have a female internist I’ve been seeing for years.
 
If you want, I’ll call her tomorrow and
get you in right away.
 
You need a
basic physical, get your labs checked, and get some meds to help you
sleep.
 
The next couple of months
are going to put a huge strain on your health.
 
You need someone qualified to help you
through it.”
 
She paused for a
moment to allow Jenna to absorb her advice.

Cautiously, Katharine asked, “Have you
thought about seeing someone?”

“You mean like a therapist?” asked Jenna.

Katharine sensed Jenna’s reluctance.
 

“Yes, Jenna, a therapist.
 
Seeing one doesn’t mean you’re
crazy.
 
The amount of stress you’re
under is something very few people face in their life.
 
I’m not a psychiatrist, but to me you
sound clinically depressed.
 
I have
this guy that I have seen off and on for years.
 
He’s used to working with doctors, and
he isn’t some lay-on-my-couch, psychobabble freak.
 
His approach is very clinical.”

“I’ll think about it,” Jenna said, hoping to
lay the subject to rest.

Katharine refused to let Jenna off the
hook.
 
“Let me ask you a few
things.
 
Have you been sleeping
well?”

“No.”

“How about your appetite?
 
Have you lost weight?”

“Just a few pounds.”

“How about sex?
 
Not to intrude.”

Katharine hit a nerve.
 
Jenna could handle the effects of stress
on herself, but she detested the impact it had on her family.
 

“I have absolutely no interest.
 
None.
 
I know it bothers Tom.”

Jenna took another long drink.
 
Answering Katharine’s questions made it
apparent that she needed help.

“Okay, I get your point.
 
I’ll call the guy tomorrow, right after
I try not to kill my two patients.”

“You’re working tomorrow?” asked Katharine,
astonished.

Sourly, Jenna replied, “Not by choice.
 
Rob Wilson called to tell me how sorry
he was and, by the way, there are still cases to do.
 
Too bad my life is going up in flames,
but the corporation needs to make money.”

Jenna noticed her hands were still
trembling, and she started to cry into the phone.

“Katharine, I can’t stop shaking.
 
Ever since this morning, my hands have
been unsteady. It’s like I can’t turn it off.
 
Has that ever happened to you?”

“Yeah,” Katharine replied honestly.
 
“It’s not going away on its own.
 
Your adrenaline is sky high.
 
Go see my shrink.
 
Get some anti-anxiety medication.
 
You’re going to need it.”

Exhausted, Jenna slurred into the phone,
“Katharine, I’m gonna go now.”
 

Then she hung up the phone, lay down on the
couch, and passed out.

CHAPTER 56

The next morning, Jenna managed to crawl out
of bed, in spite of her grief and pounding headache.
 
She stumbled into the bathroom, brushed
her teeth, combed her hair, and threw on a pair of scrubs.
 
There would be no makeup today, no
shower.
 
Her only goal was to finish
her two short cases uneventfully and then begin preparing for war.

She was back home before 10 a.m. and called
Walter Morey.
 
His secretary
answered.
 
Jenna identified herself
and was immediately patched through.

“Hello, Dr. Reiner.
 
This is Walter Morey, but I insist that
you call me Walt.”
 

Jenna had not planned what she was going to
say to the attorney.
 
In fact, Jenna
expected several hours, if not days, of phone tag before they actually
spoke.
 
The fact that Walter Morey
took her first call threw Jenna off guard.

“I’ll call you Walt, only if you call me
Jenna.
 
Jim Taylor and Nancy
Guilding referred me to you.
 
I’m
being sued and . . .”

Jenna choked.
 
Hearing the words come out of her mouth confirmed
that her life was in shambles.

Walter was supportive and soothing.
 
“Yes, Jim called me last night and
filled me in.
 
Sounds like the
Tribune had a heyday with you.
 
I’m
really sorry about that.”

Jenna tried to pull herself together, but
she could not conceal the sound of her whimpers.
 
She decided to ignore it and hoped that
Walt would, too.
 

“Thanks.
 
So I guess I need personal counsel.
 
Can you help me?”

“Jim’s an old friend and a wonderful
attorney.
 
He and I go way
back.
 
When he called me last night,
he told me all about your case.
 
He
said you’re a fine lady and, coming from Jim, that’s good enough for me.
 
How soon can we meet in person?”

Once again, Jenna was surprised.
 
She had not anticipated that things
would move so expeditiously.
 
It
caused her to worry that matters were more serious than she realized.
 

“I guess I could meet you anytime this
week.”

“How’s one o’clock today?”

“Uh, fine,” replied Jenna, still
crying.
 
Not trusting her memory,
she jotted the time down on an envelope.

“Just a couple of details before we
meet.
 
First of all, are you
married?”

“Yes.”

“Well then, since my role is largely to
protect you and, by extension, your family, from any personal financial insult
related to this suit, I would strongly recommend that your husband accompany
you today.
 
Although you are my
client, attorney-client privilege extends to your spouse, so we are free to
discuss matters in his presence.
 

“Also, I will require a five thousand dollar
retainer.
 
Usually, my retainer fees
are higher, but I don’t anticipate that you will require extensive services
from my end.
 
Any portion that
remains unused when this is all done and settled will be refunded to you.”

Five thousand dollars was a lot of money and
yet another thing to worry about.
 
Jenna
was unsure if she and Tom had that kind of cash.
 
Unfortunately, she had no choice but to
come up with the money by any means possible.

“Okay,” she said, “my husband, Tom, and I
will see you at one.
 
Is there
anything else?”

“Jenna, I can tell you’re very upset.
 
I know your lawyers have told you whom
you can and cannot discuss this case with, which doesn’t leave you many
options.
 
Have you considered seeing
a psychiatrist?”

“Not really.”
 

Katharine’s lecture from the night before
echoed in her head.
 
Walter was the
second person in less than twenty-four hours who thought Jenna needed
professional help.
 
Maybe he and
Katharine were right.

“I think it would be a good idea.
 
In fact, as your attorney, I strongly
advise that you do so as soon as possible.
 
As I’m sure you are well aware, this is an enormous stress.
 
I can tell from our brief conversation
how distraught you are.
 
I have some
names of people who have helped other physicians in the midst of a
lawsuit.
 
Anything you say to a
psychiatrist is protected conversation, which is another reason why they are a
good resource.”

“Actually, I have a name from a trusted
colleague.
 
I guess you’re
right.
 
Maybe I do need some outside
help.
 
I’ll make the call, and Tom
and I will see you at one o’clock.”

CHAPTER 57

At ten minutes to one, Jenna and Tom arrived
to meet with Walter Morey.
 
A
secretary escorted them into his office, which was impressively large with a
beautiful, brick fireplace and rich oak furniture.
 
Walter’s cluttered desk sat in one
corner, and an oversized mahogany conference table lined with leather chairs
filled the remainder of the room.
 

Jenna and Tom entered, and an older man of
impressive height and build stood and walked over to greet them.
 
Walt had the swagger and mannerisms of a
cowboy.
 
After shaking each of their
hands, he asked the Reiners to take a seat at the table.
 

Once seated, Walt spoke.
 
“Look, my time is your money, so let’s
not waste it.
 
Like I told you on
the phone, Jim has brought me up to speed on your case.
 
It sounds like right now, you’ve told Jim
and Nancy to revoke your consent for settlement.
 
Is that correct?”

Jenna nodded and said assertively, “Yes,
that’s right.”

Walt stared at Jenna with a perplexed
expression.
 
It made her
uncomfortable.
 

“What I’d like to know is
why
you don’t want to settle?
 
What are your reasons?”

Tom and Walt both focused on Jenna.
 
She felt like she had a spotlight on
her, and she did not appreciate it.
  

“Well, I guess there are a lot of
reasons.
 
First, I don’t think I did
anything wrong, so why shouldn’t I get the chance to defend myself?
 
Second, why should I just roll over and
die, while Allison Anders and her client get rewarded with a huge check just
because they are aggressive and ruthless?
 
Third, we have a young daughter.
 
Mia’s eleven.
 
I want to show
her that, even if I lose, at least I stood up for what I believed was
right.
 
I would expect nothing less
from her in life.
 
Lastly, my worst
fear already came true yesterday.
 
They smeared me in the press, for all to see.
 
I know they could do that again, and
probably will, but it will never hurt the same way twice.
 
I have nothing to lose.”