He looks up, appearing relaxed. Friendly? He really doesn’t resemble
a lawyer.
The angry dwarf looks at me intently.
‘We can go about the consultation in one of two ways,’ the lawyer
says. ‘I can ask you a number of formal questions, or I can sit back
and let you tell me what it is all about. I wonder. Perhaps it will
be easier if I first work through my list of questions. Otherwise
I may forget.
‘It will also give us a chance to get to know each other a little
better. But please remind me to let you talk once I have finished.’
The tea lady walks in and he takes the tray. I bump my leg against
the leg of the table, and the tea spills all over the tray.
‘Don’t worry, don’t worry, it happens all the time,’ he says, and
picks up the phone to organize some more tea. Then he puts down his
pen.
The friendly dwarf is now also looking directly at me. In sympathy?
‘I would like you to know that in these matters we are not really
acting as lawyers. These are not really legal matters. They are “people
matters”. We must try to identify the real problem. Sometimes it’s
just a matter of finding the correct solution. The solution could
be to finally terminate the relationship. But there may also be other
solutions.’
The tension subsides, but does not go away.
The angry dwarf lifts his right eyebrow. Is the dwarf questioning
the lawyer? |
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