This Agreement is enteredinto as of the 7thday of May, the “Effective Date,” by and between Duke Tobias Colter, hereinafter known as "Receiving Party," and Josephine Elizabeth Kettner, hereinafter known as "Disclosing Party.” The parties agree to enter into a confidential relationship concerning the disclosure of private, personal, and confidential information ("Confidential Information").
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION: For purposes of this Agreement, "Confidential Information" shall include all private, personal information Disclosing Party has gained of Receiving Party—verbal, non-verbal, physical, written, non-written, etc. etc.—over the course of his stay at 3849 Lincolnshire Summit BLVD by which Disclosing Party could benefit monetarily or other utility in the business in which Disclosing Party is engaged…
WHEREAS…
VISA VIE…
ET El…
Blah, blah,fuckingblah.
Only some of it makes sense to me. I wonder if any of it will make sense to her.
None of it feels right; sending this legal document from a legal team to her email after all I’d done to say farewell was stick a note to her door, but oh well. I’m an obedient little boy now and do what my agent tells me to do.
I make zero changes after Mary sends it over, cringe a few times, but otherwise make no changes.
Hit send.
Block it from my mind.
How is she going to react?
When will she see it?
What’s she going to say?
17
posey
“Is this a joke? This has to be a joke.”
“Is what a joke?”
I’m in my office, and Molly has dropped by, seated in the chair across from my desk, legs tucked beneath her and sipping on whatever kind of hot tea she’s got in her Starbucks cup.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be distracted, but I just got an email from Duke. I shouldn’t have opened it while you were here, but now that I have…”
“What does the email say?” She readjusts herself in the seat, crisscrossing her legs to get more comfortable. “I thought you said you haven’t heard from him since he left.”
“I haven’t.”
Not until now. I click open an email, subject line: Confidential.
“What does it say?” Molly repeats impatiently, always in a hurry to know things.
“It’s…” The words on the screen in front of me look like another language entirely because they are legal words. Formal words likeconfidentialand whereas and notwithstanding pepper the email like a bad rash, convoluted and wordy. “A nondisclosure agreement.”
“What?”
“He wants me to sign a nondisclosure agreement.”
“Why?” Molly is already up and out of her chair, coming around the desk to read over my shoulder. “That son of a bitch!”
She’s already on her phone. “Eli? Babe, you’re never going to believe this.” She pauses. “Duke Colter sent Posey a nondisclosure agreement—can you believe that shit? What an asshole!” She pauses again. “What?” More pausing. “Wait. Are you serious right now because if you are, it’s not funny.”
“What’s he saying?”