The Edison Block is a 4 storey office complex located at the edge of the Financial district. Its Brushed steel and tinted glass made for a Modern design and for the middle class, it was a hub for new world startups, venture capitalists and the kind of lawyers who wrote contracts for things that must stay hidden.
Antonia stood at the Entrance looking at each car as it passed by, not knowing what car I was coming in as I didn't have one and told her Erica will be bringing us there in a not so conspicuous vehicle. She said she didn't want anyone to know it was her, even though the lawyer has been told who she was and was expecting us.
Erica driving and me holding onto my phone and prototype, I still look happy and testing optic-core to know if long term side effects can happen but nothing so far. I look up and from a distance, see Antonia
"That's the Edison Block, Antonia is in front" and then I notice the car parking in a temporary parking space. Its Erica taking a good strong look at Antonia — so I look at Antonia, she was dressed in a lab coat over dark jeans, her hair tied back in a messy, practical knot. To me there was nothing suspicious about Antonia, she just kept checking each car that stopped in front of the block that's all but deep down inside I felt there was a problem. So I turned to Erica and behold she was now looking at me and we ended eye to eye.
"Who is Antonia to you, she got us this lawyer in 2 days and there she is waiting for you" Erica questions and points at Antonia.
"Antonia is an assistant, that's all, she knows these people before now she probably has the lawyer's number on her phone" I didn't like the question but I kept my calm. "let's go and meet her, and you can ask her yourself."
Erica stares for a while before talking. "I don't want to meet her."
"Let's go meet the lawyer then, because nothing is happening here" which to me was the truth.
"Fine. But if she breathes a word of this to anyone" Erica speaks
"She won't, that's not a problem" I turn away and face the road. Erica drives towards the block.
I wave and Antonia shows us where to park, we come down and then
"Good Morning", only I responds, Antonia quickly grasp the cold reception from Erica "Office C-11, 'V. KALE – PRIVATE COUNSEL', he is already waiting for you, I will be up later. Antonia says and fakes she has to do something and she didn't like Erica look on her face.
"Let's go Erica, C means 3rd floor and Office 11. I have been here before." Erica was still looking at Antonia walking away.
They walk in and are greeted to a sweet jasmine smell and a front desk personnel, "Noah and Erica?" She asks "Yes" I replied , "He is waiting for you". Erica with no reply, is she suspicious of the front desk too.
As we work in it was obvious to see the office was unlike an expensive places Erica was used to going with her Mother. This was a room of white light, digital screens, and a desk made of a single slab of industrial concrete. Vincenzo Kale didn't look like a lawyer; he looked like a strategist. He was young, sharp, and had the eyes of a man who had seen every way a person could lie.
"Just tell him everything, no lies" I whispered.
"Sit," Kale said, not looking up from his device. "I've reviewed the preliminary notes provided by Miss Antonia. A marriage of strategic convenience with a 2-year exit clause, simple in theory, lethal in execution."
He laid the tablet down and looked at Erica, then me. "Before I bill you a single dollar, you need to understand that a Prenuptial Agreement is not a bulletproof vest. It is a structural foundation. If the foundation is flawed, the whole building falls when the wind blows. In this state, a judge will tear this paper to shreds if you fail on three specific facts."
He holds up a finger. "One: Failure to Disclose." He looked at me. "If you have a hidden debt, a secret child, or a agreement with another you haven't mentioned, and Erica finds out, the contract is void. Same for you, Miss Erica. If there is a single cent of your inheritance you haven't listed, this paper is also void."
He holds up the second finger. "Two: Lack of Understanding." He leaned forward. "You cannot claim later that you didn't know what you were signing. You will be recorded. You will be tested. I will ensure you understand every 'but,' 'and,' and 'if' in this agreement."
He holds up a third finger, his says calmly. "Three: Coercion." He looked at Erica. "If Noah can prove even a year from now that you forced him into this, that you used his financial desperation to 'buy' his hand, the marriage is annulled and he can sue you for half your estate regardless of what this paper says. Do not force anyone into this contract. It must be a meeting of two free wills."
Erica felt a chill. The cold, hard reality has come to the surface and now she has to deal with it. She turns to me, "No problem" I said.
"Which brings me to a very important point," Kale said, leaning back. "I am a high-value lawyer. I am referred here on behalf of Noah's friend and thus technically I am Noah's Lawyer. For any Prenup, both sides must seek independent counsel so Miss Erica, as much as I respect your family name, I cannot represent you. If you sign this without a lawyer of your own, I will be looking over my shoulder; a judge will call it 'imbalance of power' and throw us all in jail for fraud."
Erica nodded. "I have someone. A friend suggested a firm."
I looked surprised as I was already working out another lawyer for Erica and didn't know she knew anyone after all Erica told me to "solve it" 2 nights ago.
"You look surprised" Kale says with a cunning smile on his face.
"Good. Tell them to call me, get the number from the front desk." Kale turned back to me, his expression turning even more serious. "And Noah? It's optic-core you call it right? "Yes" I replied. You need to protect it. It might not be worth much right now but in 3 years it may be worth more than the Moon. The rules of safety don't only apply to only her. You are an inventor. If you don't lock your IP behind a separate corporate veil before the wedding, she won't just be your wife. She'll be your owner." People tend to think differently when MORE money is involved"
Erica interrupts "I don't want his money, I just want to make sure mine is safe"
"Then you should have no problem signing to the fact that Everything he makes from his invention stays with him even if he becomes the richest man in the world?" Kale states in confidence.
Erica thinks for a second before replying "Yes, I only want what is mine."
"Good, we have a good foundation. Know this, in every Prenup both sides have something no matter how small it is it has to be protected. The sooner you lawyer reaches out to me, the sooner all of this is done" Kale concludes.
The "lie" wasn't just about her inheritance anymore. Even if I was desperate I still have something to lose, this is a two-way street, and both sides have to be careful.
It's was good to know she said she only wants what's hers and that gave a bit more confidence in her and what we were doing. That was the first thing she said that made look at her differently. But who was it she had gotten as legal counsel?