At noon Amanda was still waiting for a call from the studio lawyer. She was about to go out for lunch when the phone rang. It was Jan’s mother.

“Some lawyer from the studio is here. He wants Jan and Judd to sign some paper. He says that unless they sign the studio will not pay the hospital bill, it is tens of thousands of dollars a day and if they don’t start paying it soon they will be moved out of the burn unit and get less than the best care. I called her lawyer, Garrow, and he said he was pretty sure they shouldn’t sign and told them don’t sign it unless you see it and say they should. The kids are really worried.”

“Is the lawyer still there?”

“Yes.”

“Can you put him on the phone?”

“I can ask.”

“Fine, but tell the kids I said they sign nothing till I get there. I will be over as soon as I get done with the call to him. Keep my number in case you need it.”

“Thanks. I’ll give him the phone.”

“Hello. This is Attorney Blakely. What can I do for you?” He was so polite she wanted to scream.

“Mr. Blakely, this is Amanda Blair. Who do you represent?” She knew but wanted to throw him off his routine.

“I represent the Goldlight Studios.”

“Fine. I have been trying to contact you and was in fact sitting here waiting for you to return a call.” She wanted to say, “You ignored my message and hurried out there to try to get them to sign.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t check in with my office this morning for messages. It was important to get here and make sure the hospital is able to continue to give these kids the proper care.”

She thought, what you really want is to get those kids to sign something that will harm them, but she said, “I have been retained by those kids your company harmed by their disdain for their safety. I will be there in fifteen minutes to inspect those papers you are carrying and have them sign them if they are in their best interests.” She wanted to say, “You knew I was representing them so you didn’t call me. You figured you would get a cheap settlement if you went there and had them sign without representation.”

He wanted to say, “You are just trying to get an inflated settlement so you make big bucks. If this is a big settlement you hit the lottery.” But he said, “Ms. Blair. My company is very concerned about their safety, their condition and their care. We want the best for them. We have here a generous offer to pay all of their medical bills now and provide them a settlement that has money for future care. The hospital is pressing for payment and my clients feel they do not have responsibility and want assurance these payments will not be construed as an admission of negligence.”