Xyla

Abbie says, "So that's all that happened." Dr. Jon says, "Not quite," and Abbie sighs. Abbie says, "Okay, so what happened after Steffy left?" Dr. Jon says, "Bill told me to stay away from her. Then he started after her, only I didn't think that was such a good idea, so I stopped him." Before Abbie can interject, Dr. Jon assures her, "I didn't get physical with him. I didn't so much as touch him. I just kept getting in his way in order to give Steffy some time to get to her car and get on her way here. At some point, he must have lost his keys, because after he left, I found them in the sand and rather than go after him, I went to turn them in at the bar, so he'd have to come back to get them. I thought by the time he made it back from the parking lot, Steffy would be long gone. In fact, I had intended to leave too, but then Katie showed up, and, well, you've already heard the rest."




Abbie says, "So the two of you possibly offended Bill and Katie hours before Dr. Jon here supposedly attacked Katie. And if they could get Dr. Jon out of the picture, Katie would have her revenge against both of you, and Bill would have gotten rid of the competition and made sure Steffy knew just exactly how much power he can, and still will, wield to get his way. Lovely." Steffy says, "But isn't that better for Jon? I mean, if Bill and Katie have more motives to lie, then doesn't that make their story less believable?" Abbie replies, "Yes, but it also gives you more reason to lie too. If you and Jon seeing each other…" At this point, both Steffy and Jon cut her off simultaneously. Steffy says, "We're not seeing each other. We're just friends." Meanwhile, Jon says, "But we've never even been on a date. " Abbie, talking loudly over their denials, says, "Whatever. It doesn't matter. What matters is that it could appear that you were. You were seen together talking and sharing a drink at Bikini before Bill arrived, right? And it doesn't exactly help that Steffy bailed Jon out." Steffy objects, "Well, what was I supposed to do? Let him rot in jail for something he didn't do?" Abigail says, "No, but when you bail someone out, it becomes a matter of public record. That makes the news, along with the fact that you were seen together the night of the attack, and what do you think that's going to do for your credibility as a witness?" Steffy says, "Then none of what I saw or heard makes any difference?" Abbie responds, "I didn't say that. I just want you to understand this isn't going to be easy on either of you." Dr. Jon says, "So what do we do?"




Abbie says, "First, you say nothing to the press without going through me first. Once Katie decides to hold a press conference--and believe me, she eventually will--we'll counter-attack, but we can't do that until she's publicly identified as the victim and we know what angle she and Bill are taking in terms of publicity. Prior to that, Dr. Jon, you stay out of sight, and Steffy, when you're approached, you say that Dr. Jon is in seclusion and any questions about the case should be addressed to me. Period. You haven't said anything prior to this, have you?" Steffy says, "No. No one's asked." Abbie, surprised, says, "Really? Then I guess that's lucky for us." Then she continues, "Steffy, you also need to cut any ties to Bill as of right now. We can't have it look as if you might have orchestrated something to try and make Bill jealous that got out of hand." Dr. Jon says, "That's ridiculous, there's no way anyone could make it seem like Steffy is at fault here." Abbie says, "Believe me, there is, as long as Bill and Katie are willing to fight dirty, and I'm sure they are." Then she turns to Steffy and says, "Is there anything--anything at all--that still connects you to Bill in any way."




At that, Steffy looks a bit guilty and says, "Yes, but it's just a business thing." Abbie asks, "A business thing?" Steffy replies, "When I was married to Liam, Bill put me on the Board of Directors at Spencer Publications, and I haven't officially resigned yet." Stephanie exclaims, "Steffy, why in heaven's name would you have put that off?" Steffy says, "Because I wanted to do it at a meeting of the board, publicly, in front of everyone, so Bill would be forced to accept it without any debate and couldn't try to make up some fake excuse for the resignation later. Only the next meeting of the board isn't until the end of this month, so I've just been waiting until then." Abbie says, "Okay, well, you're not waiting anymore. You're resigning immediately. Today." Steffy agrees that she'll go down to Spencer Publications that afternoon and turn in her resignation. Dr. Jon says, "Can't you just send it over by messenger? I don't want you having to run into Bill." Steffy assures him that she can be in and out without seeing Bill, and Abbie tells her that if she has anything in an office or elsewhere at Spencer Publications, she should pick that up while she's at it, and Steffy says she will.




With that, Abbie says, "I guess we're done here for now, except for some paperwork I need Dr. Jon to fill out--assuming I've been officially hired." Dr. Jon says, "That depends. Do you think I'm innocent?" Abbie says, "It doesn't matter what I think. It matters what I can convince the public to think and a jury too, should we get that far." Dr. Jon says quietly, "It matters to me." There's a pause and then Abbie say, "Fair enough. No, I don't think you attacked Katie. I don't think you're a good enough liar to say that you didn't if you had." Dr. Jon isn't entirely happy with that answer, but he sees Stephanie and Steffy and how worried they are that he might turn Abbie down and says, "I guess that will have to do. Okay, you're hired, provided I can afford you." Abbie says, "You can't afford to not afford me." When Dr. Jon appears ready to object to that, she adds, "We can work out the financial stuff later. I'm not cheap, but if I take down Bill and Katie, they'll be paying the court expenses anyway, and just taking them down will raise my status in this town like you wouldn't believe. Even if I took your case for free--which I won't--it would pay off in the long run. Now, here's the paperwork, so you can get started on it. Steffy, you want to walk me to the door?" With that, Abbie hands a sheaf of paper to Dr. Jon and walks briskly to the door with Steffy close behind.




When they get out of earshot of Dr. Jon and Stephanie, Abbie says, "Steffy, as a board member, would you have access to any private contact information for the other members of the board, significant investors, that sort of thing?" Steffy confirms that she should be able to access that information on the computer in the office Bill insisted on giving her, along with the seat on the BOD, provided she can still get into it. Abbie says, "Then try, but make sure you do it before you turn in the resignation. Otherwise you won't be accessing it legally. And try to cover your search tracks as much as you possibly can." When Steffy asks her what she wants the information for, Abbie says, "If we can make a case that what Bill and Katie are doing could backfire and cast a bad light on them, and by extension, the company, they might be able to put some pressure on Bill for us. If it's a matter of his business taking a hit or getting rid of Dr.Jon, he may rethink things." Steffy agrees and says she'll do what she can. Then just as she's about to leave, Abbie says, "But be careful, Steffy. At the moment, the only reason I can come up with for why you're not just as much of a target as Dr. Jon is that Bill is protecting you, because he still cares about you, regardless of what's happened. If he stops caring, things may get much worse, for both you and Dr. Jon." And with that, Abbie leaves, and a now troubled Steffy watches her go.