The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress

Grayson POV

"Mr Jacobs let me spell this out for you."

My tone was arctic, my posture stiff, my eyes flashing "My client Mr. Rinardo here, has an ironclad case against you for wrongful termination. You see, we dug a little deeper into your background" I added as the company's lawyer opposite began to stiffen in alarm "and since you became the manager of the store, you have terminated the employment of four other employees besides Mr Rinardo here in the last six months alone."

"They all deserved it" Mr Jacobs interjected, his mouth twisted, his pallor pale as the company lawyer tried to shush him "every one of those bastards."

I smiled coldly at him "Do you know what each and every one of those employees had in common with each other?" I asked with deliberate emphasis, as the company lawyer began to look as though he was sweating profusely, Timothy frantically typing away "All the employees that you found an excuse to terminate were black Mr Jacobs. Not a single one of them was of a white background. Now I don't know about anybody else" I paused and looked around at the table, the owner and HR manager also present "but that screams pure racism to me."

Mr Richards, the Owner of the store swallowed hard. "I agree that Mr Jacobs has made some rather indelicate decisions, but I hardly think I would call it racism" he tried to protest.

I blinked at him "Mr Richards are you aware that prior to your store, Mr Jacobs worked at Office Wholesale Supply and Demand as a manager?" I asked calmly.

This time the HR manager spoke up "Naturally, we checked his credentials."

I c****d my head "Were you aware that while he was working for that company, he terminated no less than twelve employees in one year, all of them black, before coming to work for you?" I deadpanned.

Stunned silence. The HR manager shot an uneasy look at the owner who was glaring fiercely at him. Mr Jacobs was defiant "So what if I did? They weren't doing their jobs, so they lost them. Just like them to play the race card," he said mutinously.

"The race card" I repeated as my client remained tight-lipped and silent "Is that what you consider this complaint to be? Mr Rinardo playing the race card?"

Mr Jacob opened his mouth and the company lawyer rushed to shut it. "What Mr Jacobs means is that it's unfortunate that the men lost their positions but it had nothing to do with race," he said lamely.

I gave a vicious grin. "Given Mr Jacobs's history of termination with black employees both at his previous job and now his current one, I can guarantee that the jury will no doubt vote in my client's favor. Just for reference" I said looking at the HR manager "how many white people were terminated by Mr Jacobs in the last six months?"

The owner looked at HR questioningly. HR swallowed hard "None" he admitted in a low tone. The other lawyer looked ready to faint. We had them by the balls and they knew it. My client looked satisfied as Mr Jacobs began to look quite ill. "What exactly is it that your client is after?" the owner spoke, his eyes resting on me.

By all accounts, I had been told by my client that Mr Richards was a fair man, albeit a bit naive when it came to conducting his business and his employees.

"First off, all of the men who have been terminated are to be given their positions back to them, with a sizeable raise to compensate them for the unfair loss in wages and the emotional distress they have been put through" I countered.

The owner closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and then nodded in agreement. "Done, what else."NôvelDrama.Org: text © owner.

"Mr Rinardo will be given back his position, along with a raise. He will be given a full-time permanent contract that provides job security and a sizeable contribution to his superannuation."

The owner merely nodded tiredly. The company lawyer looked on miserably while HR remained silent. Mr. Jacobs pouted. "As for Mr Jacobs's future with your store," I said, causing Mr. Jacobs to sit upright and stiffen "it is not a good look for the future of your store to have somebody so blatantly discriminative towards a certain race of people being in a position of power. We require Mr Jacob's instant dismissal from his position today and a new manager, put in his place. One that is black" I said causing the HR to look incensed and the owner to merely nod in resignation.

"You can't do that" Mr Jacobs yelled "I earned that position. I'll sue" he threatened.

I laughed as my client grinned and sat back in his chair "Mr Jacobs unlike your terminations, this one will stick. Juries don't look at discrimination and racism lightly. Besides" I pointed out, staring hard at him "with the employees that you terminated coming back, what kind of environment do you think you would be walking back into?"

He looked horrified. That notion had not occurred to him. The other employees would be looking for blood. His blood. He no longer looked so cocky now.

"You're getting off lightly Mr Jacobs," I said callously "if it were up to me I would sue you for emotional damages and whatever else I could come up with, but my client is generous and willing to forego all of that in order to have his job back."

Mr. Richards glanced at Mr. Jacobs "You are officially fired as of now" he told the man without sympathy "Clear your things out and leave. Alex" he turned to the HR manager "escort him back to the store. Once he's gone, you and I are going to have a little chat about employing people in future, including this new manager" he spat out.

Alex looked nervous. Mr. Jacobs and he both got up and as Mr. Jacobs stomped from the room, his face a bright puce, Alex followed behind, at a more sedate pace, knowing he might also be fired if he failed to plead his case to the owner later.

Mr Richards turned to my client "Mr Rinardo" he said gravely, my client leaning forward now, a solemn expression on his face "I cannot begin to express into words how sorry I am for all that has occurred within my store, under my very nose. What has happened to you is beyond despicable and I hope that in time, changes can be made so that this type of thing cannot occur again. Your position is available back to you immediately and as soon as you want to start working please contact me. I will ensure your contract is ready and waiting."

He stood and shook my client's hand "Please accept my heartfelt apologies" he said again and my client nodded, watching as his boss walked out of the room.

"I can't believe it" my client exhaled "you made it look so easy. I have my job back" he added gleefully.

Timothy shut his laptop down. "You had a good case against them. They knew that your terms were a lot cheaper than going to court and having to compensate you with a larger sum of money. Besides, you were very reasonable in what you were asking" he said to Mr Rinardo "you could have asked for a lot more."

"I know," my client said "but I just want to be able to put food on the table and pay the bills so I can take care of my family. Thank you, Grayson," he said turning to me and standing up, giving me a massive bear hug that almost lifted me off my feet "I can't thank you enough for taking this on pro-Bono."

"Something as inhumane as this deserved my attention," I said sincerely "and I didn't become a lawyer just for the money!" I did a lot of pro bono work. It was a reminder to keep myself humble and to help those who otherwise could not afford a lawyer. I encouraged my employees to do it as well.

"Well thank you," Mr Rinardo said, putting me down and then turning and walking away "I can't wait to start work. If I know anyone that needs a lawyer, I'll send them to you" he called over his shoulder and then he was gone.

I sighed and began to gather up my papers, the throbbing intensity behind my eyes beginning to feel worse. "Well, that's finished. Timothy, can you keep me updated on Mr Rinardo and ensure he's started back at the store in the next few days?" I mumbled, "as well as checking on the status of the other employees that were let go by Mr Jacobs."

"No problem. I'll ensure that they sign the appropriate documents" Timothy said easily before peering at me with concern "Grayson you don't look so good. You're kind of pale and you look like you're about to fall over" he added, taking over gathering the papers as I rubbed my eyes "maybe you should go home?" he asked softly.

I hesitated. "Do I have any other clients today?"

It was already late afternoon. Timothy grabbed his trusted blackberry and started to search through it. "No, you just wanted to prep and finish off paperwork," he said calmly "all of which can be changed to tomorrow morning. You said you had a headache" he scolded "but I bet it's a migraine," he said with a glower and a knowing look in his eyes.

"It is a migraine" I mumbled, as I winced from the various sounds that were piercing my ear drums "but I couldn't just let Mr Rinardo down."

"I could have rescheduled" Timothy objected but I shook my head.

"No, he's been waiting for this day. I wasn't about to make him wait any longer."

"Go home, Grayson. I'll have the limo brought around" Timothy repeated as I winced again "Rest. Otherwise you'll be unable to function for days" he said firmly as I went to protest.

Fine, I thought glumly and then brightened. At least I'd get to see my wife when I got home. That was a silver lining. Maybe she would help look after me, I thought feeling a little sorry for myself.

"Fine" I growled "bring the limo around" I would go home, but only because I felt like it, not because I'd been told to.