Maxine Ringo had everything going for her. A star in the courtroom, she got the best cases and the admiration of other attorneys at her firm. She was married with a son, Nathan. Then, going home from a party, the car she was riding in was T-boned. While the driver walked away, Max’s injuries were devastating and she soon became addicted to pain killers. When she stole from the firm to support her habit, she was let go and ended up in rehab.
But Max is a fighter. Now sober, she’s determined to move forward. Fortunately, she has a few friends left, and one hands her a case that could be her road back. Stephanie and Perry Strassburg are involved in a contentious divorce where the stakes are sky high. Stephanie’s father, Douglas Julian “Dagger” Richardson is the majority owner of a company he founded, Richardson Concepts. Perry, who always regarded his marriage as a business deal, wants Stephanie’s interest in the company. In exchange, he would sell his interest in the family partnership that owns all the real property for fair market value and pay Stephanie $10,000 a month in alimony for two years or until she remarries.
Stephanie, who has two teenage daughters, became a widow after her first husband, an airline pilot, died in a crash. Dagger had hired Perry as his number two, who doubled the company’s business after he was hired. Dagger introduced Stephanie to Perry and they soon got married. Since then, however, Dagger has seen the real Perry and regrets letting the man into his company and his family.
As Max tries to explain to Stephanie, Perry’s offer is a starting point. But Max also has a good reason to push for Stephanie to accept what she laid out. Perry has kidnapped Max’s son, Nathan. And unless Max can get Stephanie to agree to his terms by the end of the two-day mediation, Nathan will die. Showing Max the video of Nathan tied up and out cold in what looks like a barn, Perry’s threat is real. Max also knows that Nathan has been using drugs and that his death could be easily staged to look like an overdose.
Max’s largest obstacle to a settlement is Dagger. Not only is he out to protect his daughter, but he doesn’t want to lose his company. Stephanie won’t accept any offer that her father rejects. With the clock ticking, Max has just taken on her toughest case yet.
Although Perry warns Max not to tell anyone that Nathan is being held against his will, she reaches he’s out to Jason, another lawyer who is also an addict and is now her sponsor. Jason has a contact, ex-military, who has handled worse situations. Max hopes he can find where Nathan is being held.
While Perry appears to have the upper hand, there’s a reason he need his divorce to settle quickly. He and Andrew Wick have made a deal with The Syndicate that hinges on having access to Richardson Concepts, a big player in winning government contracts. Although the merger would make both men billionaires, they realize they could also be charged with treason for working this back room deal with a foreign adversary. With the mediation dragging on, The Syndicate is becoming impatient and both men know they are being followed. At one point, when Perry can’t reach his son, Tru, he worries The Syndicate may be doing to him what he’s doing to Max.
Dagger, too, is not in a good place. Richardson Concepts is about to default on some bank loans that he has kept hidden from Perry. Dagger is so desperate he meets with someone who owes him big time. He’s now ready to cash in that chip if the man can take Perry out.
What no one knows is that Stephanie’s time is running out, too. Max follows her one day to a medical facility and learns the young woman has terminal cancer. She wants the divorce to be settled, but doesn’t want to let down her father.
Robert Bailey’s The Mediator sets up a scenario where everyone involved has a lot to lose. Max may have lost her prestigious legal career, but she hasn’t lost her ability to read the competition. And she knows the people she can trust and the ones who are still her enemies. And most importantly, she loves her son and will do anything to save him.
The ending leaves open the possibility of another Max Ringo adventure. We hope so.
The Mediator
Robert Bailey
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