An American Dream Gone Wrong - Part II

From a reader:

Since I had signed a non-complete agreement, I went back to work for BAD. He continued to ask me to buy him out and even suggested selling the business to someone else. I felt if others knew the situation, our business would be worth nothing.

Then a member of the church I attended told me that he knew BAD was planning on closing the shop in two days and not allowing me to return. I had jobs to complete since I had already taken deposits on the work. Monday morning I began to return deposits since I knew BAD could not possibly do the work. When Tuesday came, my partner did in fact lock me out of the business. I now had a wife and children to support and a trade I would not be allowed to practice.

It was then that I received a call from MP. He was an employee of a Florence builder, and I had previously worked with him. He wanted to purchase counter tops; I told him I was planning to start a new shop if our old one didn't reopen. Then I received a letter that BAD was taking me to court over a violation of the non-complete agreement. BAD's attorney had a recording of the conversation between MP and me, something that I thought was illegal, but one he nonetheless played in court.

Judge Jackie Hatcher ruled against me starting a new shop, and my wife decided to open her own, since she was not part of the non-complete agreement. I went back to work in BAD's shop on the advice of my attorney. BAD then terminated me, stating that I hadn't properly itemized company expenses. What I didn't know at the time was that BAD had just completed a deal to sell the shop to MP on the condition that I didn't compete against him.

I then began to sell plumbing supplies, which I thought could not possibly be part of a non-complete agreement related to a counter top business. Now things began to get weird.

I would see BAD following me around Muscle Shoals; sometimes I would see other cars that I believed to be following me. Was BAD attempting to catch me violating the non-complete agreement? My wife saw BAD videoing her business. We even heard that BAD was offering a reward to anyone who would testify I was working for my wife or in some similar counter top business.

Could things get worse?

We'll have the final installment of our American Dream story tomorrow. In the mean time, are you ready for some fotball?

Thanks to a reader for sending us this. (And on behalf of Hercule Poirot, why isn't the bottom line centered?)