Mental

"Thought you'd never ask. You disappoint me as a Certified Judge, Rayfus." She drawled, causing him to offer a small bow in apology, though it wasn't needed.

"I just thought you needed this Case off as swift as possible. Please, carry on." 

Jasmine let her eyes trail to Jacquelyn as she started, "Laura Lorins had a bit of a mental issue - anger issues - I suppose?" 

Jacquelyn nodded. "That's right."

Laura's eyes narrowed.

That was a long time back.

Just where was this leading to?

"Rayfus, I sent you a video, and in it, you see Lorins at a side, glaring at Danielle, for no reason," she said in amusement, her face still stoic, "take that to a High-tech Forensic Lab or put it on a loud speaker editor, you'll get why I decided to pull her off the Cast. It was all for your good, Lorins, it's obvious you haven't learned how to… Handle yourself mentally, yet-"

"That's not true!"

"-So, I just guessed you need to spend some more time in Rehab. Longer than you did the last time. Relax, away from people. Mr, Rayfus," she turned, looking him in the eye, "I hold the health of my Workers in high-might, I was doing it all for her own 'good'."

Laura sucked in a sharp breath as she straightened in her seat.

So, she was trying to imply that, she was mentally unstable?!

Her anger issues, that was years ago and she was completely over it now…

"You're just making up a selfish excuse!"

There it is again, Rayfus sighed in exasperation, the screaming.

Was the girl dumb?

"Laura Lorins, you heard her. All she wanted was to do you right…"

"And you believe her when she says that?" She asked incredulously, scoffing. "What kind of a stupid Lawyer are you?! I thought Lawyers look beyond the surface, but you're just so shallow-minded!" 

Jacquelyn rolled her eyes.

Look who was calling a Judge 'stupid'. She had a Lawyer who had managed to obtain a class that wasn't even the first.

But, Rayfus Peyton refused to get angry at her childish rants. If anything, her attitude only proved how right Jasmine really was and he still wanted to hear Dylan's thoughts, just for formality sake.

"Mr. Smith," he called, inching close to be heard clearly, "what do you think?"

Dylan weighed Jasmine's words.

For one thing, Laura was his Employee.

For another, Jasmine never did care about anybody. Her words were just strategies to pull her out of this mess quickly, and he knew it.

"Based on Laura Lorins being signed under my Company, I would want the best for her. And the best obviously wouldn't be to get kicked out so abruptly." 

Rayfus drew closer. Laura's lips quirked up even though the rage still burned in her heart. How couldn't they see through Jasmine's mask? 

No, literally, she was wearing a mask.

"So, you don't agree with the Ma'am, Mr. Smith?" Jacquelyn spoke up at last, drawing forward.

He clicked his tongue as he recognized her voice at once. "Not really."

Jasmine's lips curved up in her mask.

She hadn't expected much. 

Dylan would surely choose Laura Lorins, his Signed Worker, over her, his competition in Business.

"Not really?" Jacquelyn questioned, catching on to the key-word. "What is the other part, if your agreement with my Madam is not complete? The other part of the 'really'."

"You don't get people signed out without informing them…"

"Your Employee has a mental issue, Mr. Smith. She would have erupted. It isn't any better on here, I tell you."

Laura glared, but kept her lips in a thin smile.

Why was this questioning still going on when it was obvious he was siding her?

How many stupid people did she have to deal with, all at the same time?

"She has every Right to be informed about her status in a Contracted Work…"

"She would have been informed, if she had a good starting. Who would like to break such a news to someone who curses everybody on Stage?"

"'Curses everybody on Stage' is a bit of an exaggeration. Lorins has a…"

"Then that is probably the first time an exaggeration turns out true, Mr Smith." She cut him off once more, leaning closer still to the screen to ensure he heard her. "Your Employee was signed on assurance of sound mental health among a variety of other things. It turns out to be highly unprofessional a Company held in high-esteem hires mentally retarded people, such as Laura, and add them in the list of 'prestige' in the Company name. This isn't a discrimination between people who are sound and those who are not, mentally, no. It's a call for help. Mr. Smith, you think Sueing someone is something you do irrationally?"

Jasmine stared back squarely at her Lawyer, counting the times she saw a muscle work in her jaw as Dylan took his own time carefully.

"Sueing someone has to have concrete reason behind it. No one should know that more than a Lawyer, so it's a 'no' to your question." Jacquelyn glanced at Jasmine. She remained still. "You should let me utter complete sentences. Perhaps, we can get this over with faster." He said, causing her to raise her hands in surrender and back away, though he couldn't see.

"Go on ahead."

"Good." He crossed a leg over the other, letting the paper slip from his fingers. "Ms. Reign sure did pull her off with no warning at all," he said, though he had heard Jasmine's style of hiring and firing, "that's something to object on. Everybody deserves a fair explanation, retarded or not… But, don't get me wrong, I do want the very best for all my Workers. And I've figured Sueing someone with those sentimental reasons," Laura rolled her eyes. He was on her side, why not end the long talk already? She had a Tyler Rylan to find. "Only show my Employee needs to take a break-"

"Simple!" 

"- I would suggest she stays off the next Season, too, until we're sure she really is alright." He waited a while. "We're done here?"

"We're done here." Jacquelyn declared happily, smirking at the dumb-founded Laura Lorins.

She still had not said anything by the time Jasmine went. She couldn't help but sport a smile.

Dylan Smith was so complicated.

Why raise Laura's hopes in the first place? Now look how he shattered it.

She had initially thought he was already gone on Lorins' side, but things just changed to another side.

Poor Laura.

She was looking so pale, when her shattering hadn't even begun yet.