“Good, good.” Garvin placed his hand in a fatherly way on Sanders’s shoulder. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you too, Bob.”
Garvin said, “There’s a quiet place in the corner over there. I asked them for a couple of cappuccinos. We can talk for a minute. Is that okay?”
“That’s fine,” Sanders said. He was well acquainted with the profane, angry Garvin. This cautious, polite Garvin made him uneasy.
They sat in the corner of the bar. Garvin settled into his chair and faced him.
“Well, Tom. We go way back, you and I”
“Yes, we do.”
“Those damn trips to Seoul, eating that crappy food, and your ass hurting like hell. You remember all that.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Yeah, those were the days,” Garvin said. He was watching Sanders carefully. “Anyway, Tom, we know each other, so I’m not going to bullshit you. Let me just put all the cards on the table,” Garvin said. “We’ve got a problem here, and it’s got to be solved before it turns into a real mess for everybody. I want to appeal to your better judgment about how we proceed from here.”
“My better judgment?” Sanders said.
“Yes,” Garvin said. “I’d like to look at this thing from all sides.”
“How many sides are there?”
“There are at least two,” Garvin said, with a smile. “Look, Tom. I’m sure it’s no secret that I’ve supported Meredith inside our company. I’ve always believed that she’s got talent and the kind of executive vision that we want for the future. I’ve never seen her do anything before that would suggest otherwise. I know she’s only human, but she’s very talented and I support her.”
“Uh-huh . . .”
“Now perhaps in this case . . . perhaps it is true that she’s made a mistake. I don’t know.”
Sanders said nothing. He just waited, staring at Garvin’s face. Garvin was doing a convincing impression of an open-minded man. Sanders didn’t buy it.
“In fact, let’s say she has,” Garvin said. “Let’s say she did make a mistake.”
“She did, Bob,” Sanders said, firmly.
“All right. Let’s say she did. An error of judgment, let’s call it. An overstepping of bounds. The point is, Tom, faced with a situation like this, I still strongly support her.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s a woman.”
“What does that have to do with it?”
“Well, women in business have traditionally been excluded from executive positions, Tom.”
“Meredith hasn’t been excluded,” Sanders said.
“And after all,” Garvin said, “she’s young.”
“She’s not that young,” Sanders said.
“Sure she is. She’s practically a college kid. She just got her MBA a couple of years ago.”
“Bob,” Sanders said. “Meredith Johnson’s thirty-five. She’s not a kid at all.”
Garvin did not seem to hear that. He looked at Sanders sympathetically. “Tom, I can understand that you were disappointed about the job,” he said. “And I can understand that in your eyes, Meredith made a mistake in the way she approached you.”
“She didn’t approach me, Bob. She jumped me.”
Garvin showed a flash of irritation. “You’re no kid either, you know.”
“That’s right, I’m not,” Sanders said. “But I am her employee.”
“And I know she holds you in the highest regard,” Garvin said, settling back in his chair. “As does everybody in the company, Tom. You’re vital to our future. You know it, I know it. I want to keep our team together. And I keep coming back to the idea that we have to make allowances for women. We have to cut them a little slack.”
“But we’re not talking about women,” Sanders said. “We’re talking about one particular woman.”
“Torn-”
“And if a man had done what she did, you wouldn’t be talking about cutting him slack. You’d fire him, and throw him out on his ass.”
“Possibly so.”
“Well, that’s the problem,” Sanders said.
Garvin said, “I’m not sure I follow you there, Tom.” His tone carried a warning: Garvin didn’t like being disagreed with. Over the years, as his company grew in wealth and success, Garvin had grown accustomed to deference. Now, approaching retirement, he expected obedience and agreement. “We have an obligation to attain equality,” Garvin said.
“Fine. But equality means no special breaks,” Sanders said. “Equality means treating people the same. You’re asking for inequality toward Meredith, because you won’t do what you would do to a man-fire him.”
Garvin sighed. “If it was a clear case, Tom, I would. But I understand this particular situation isn’t so clear.”
Sanders considered telling him about the tape. Something made him hold back. He said, “I think it is.”
“But there are always differences of opinion on these matters,” Garvin said, leaning across the bar. “That’s a fact, isn’t it? Always a difference of opinion. Tom. Look: what did she do that was so bad? I mean, really. She made a pass? Fine. You could have decided it was flattering. She’s a beautiful woman, after all. There are worse things that could happen. A beautiful woman puts her hand on your knee. Or you could have just said, no thank you. You could have handled it any number of ways. You’re a grown-up. But this . . . vindictiveness. Tom. I have to tell you. I’m surprised at you.”
Sanders said, “Bob, she broke the law.”
“That really remains to be seen, doesn’t it?” Garvin said. “You can throw open your personal life for a jury to inspect, if that’s what you want to do. I wouldn’t want to do it, myself. And I don’t see that it helps anybody to take this into court. It’s a no-win situation, all around.”
“What’re you saying?”
“You don’t want to go to court, Tom.” Garvin’s eyes were narrow, dangerous.
“Why not?”
“You just don’t.” Garvin took a deep breath. “Look. Let’s stay on track here. I’ve talked to Meredith. She feels as I do, that this thing has gotten out of hand.”
“Uh-huh . . .”
“And I’m talking to you now, too. Because my hope, Tom, is that we can put this to rest, and go back to the way things were now hear me out, please go back to the way things were, before this unfortunate misunderstanding happened. You stay at your job, Meredith stays at hers. You two continue to work together like civilized adults. You move forward and build the company, take it public, and everybody makes a pile of money a year down the line. What’s wrong with that?”
Sanders felt something like relief, and a sense of normalcy returning. He longed to escape from the lawyers and from the tension of the last three days. To sink back into the way things were seemed as appealing as a warm bath.
“I mean, look at it this way, Tom. Right after this thing happened on Monday night, nobody blew the whistle. You didn’t call anybody. Meredith didn’t call anybody. I think you both wanted this thing to go away. Then there was an unfortunate mix-up the next day, and an argument that needn’t have happened. If you’d been on time for the meeting, if you and Meredith had been in sync on the story, none of this would have happened. You two would still be working together, and whatever happened between you would remain your private business. Instead, we have this. It’s all a big mistake, really. So why not just forget it and go forward? And get rich. Tom? What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing,” Sanders said, finally.
“Good.”
“Except it won’t work,” Sanders said.
“Why not?”
A dozen answers flashed through his mind: Because she’s not competent. Because she’s a snake. Because she’s a corporate player, all image, and this is a technical division that has to get out the product. Because she’s a liar. Because I have no respect for her. Because she’ll do it again. Because she has no respect for me. Because you’re not treating me fairly. Because she’s your pet. Because you chose her over me. Because . . .
“Things have gone too far,” he said.
Garvin stared at him. “Things can go back.”
“No, Bob. They can’t.”
Garvin leaned forward. His voice dropped. “Listen you little feringi pissant. I know exactly what’s going on here. I took you in when you didn’t know bulkogi from bullshit. I gave you your start, I gave you help, I gave you opportunities, all along the line. Now you want to play rough? Fine. You want to see the shit come down? Just fucking wait, Tom.” He stood up.
Sanders said, “Bob, you’ve never been willing to listen to reason on the subject of Meredith Johnson.”
“Oh, you think 1 have a problem with Meredith?” Garvin laughed harshly. “Listen, Tom: she was your girlfriend, but she was smart and independent, and you couldn’t handle her. You were pissed when she dropped you. And now, all these years later, you’re going to pay her back. That’s what this is about. It has nothing to do with business ethics or breaking the law or sexual harassment or any other damned thing. It’s personal, and it’s petty. And you’re so full of shit your eyes are brown.”
And he stalked out of the restaurant, pushing angrily past Blackburn. Blackburn remained behind for a moment, staring at Sanders, and then hurried after his boss.
As Sanders walked back to his table, he passed a booth with several guys from Microsoft, including two major assholes from systems programming. Someone made a snorting pig sound. “Hey Mr. Piggy,” said a low voice. “Suwee! Suwee!” “Couldn’t get it up, huh?” Sanders walked on a few paces, then turned back. “Hey, guys,” he said. “At least I’m not bending over and grabbing my ankles in latenight meetings with-” and he named a Programming head at Microsoft. They all roared with laughter. “Whoa ho!” “Mr. Piggy speaks!” “Oink oink.” Sanders said, “What’re you guys doing in town, anyway? They run short on K-Y jelly in Redmond?” “Whoa!” “The Piggy is pissed!” They were doubled over, laughing like college kids. They had a big pitcher of beer on the table. One of them said, “If Meredith Johnson pulled off her pants for me, I sure wouldn’t call the police about it.” “No way, Jose!” “Service with a smile!” “Hard charger!” “Ladies first!” “Ka-jung! Ka-jung!” They pounded the table, laughing. Sanders walked away.
Outside the restaurant, Garvin paced back and forth angrily on the pavement. Blackburn stood with the phone at his ear.
“Where is that fucking car?” Garvin said.
“I don’t know, Bob.”
“I told him to wait.”
“I know, Bob. I’m trying to get him.”
“Christ Almighty, the simplest things. Can’t even get the fucking cars to work right.”
“Maybe he had to go to the bathroom.”
“So? How long does that take? Goddamn Sanders. Could you believe him?”
“No, I couldn’t, Bob.”
“I just don’t understand. He won’t deal with me on this. And I’m bending over backward here. I offer him his job back, I offer him his stock back, I offer him everything. And what does he do? Jesus.”
“He’s not a team player, Bob.”
“You got that right. And he’s not willing to meet us. We’ve got to get him to come to the table.”
“Yes we do, Bob.”
“He’s not feeling it,” Garvin said. “That’s the problem.”
“The story ran this morning. It can’t have made him happy.”
“Well, he’s not feeling it.”
Garvin paced again.
“There’s the car,” Blackburn said, pointing down the street. The Lincoln sedan was driving toward them.
“Finally,” Garvin said. “Now look, Phil. I’m tired of wasting time on Sanders. We tried being nice, and it didn’t work. That’s the long and the short of it. So what are we going to do, to make him feel it?”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Phil said. “What’s Sanders doing? I mean really doing? He’s smearing Meredith, right?”
“Goddamn right.”
“He didn’t hesitate to smear her.”
“He sure as hell didn’t.”
“And it’s not true, what he’s saying about her. But the thing about a smear is that it doesn’t have to be true. It just has to be something people are willing to believe is true.”
“So?”
“So maybe Sanders needs to see what that feels like.”
“Like what feels like? What’re you talking about?”
Blackburn stared thoughtfully at the approaching car. “I think that Tom’s a violent man.”
“Oh hell,” Garvin said, “he’s not. I’ve known him for years. He’s a pussycat.”
“No,” Blackburn said, rubbing his nose. “I disagree. I think he’s violent. He was a football player in college, he’s a rough-and-tumble sort of guy. Plays football on the company team, knocks people around. He has a violent streak. Most men do, after all. Men are violent.”
“What kind of shit is this?”
“And you have to admit, he was violent to Meredith,” Blackburn continued. “Shouting. Yelling. Pushing her. Knocking her over. Sex and violence. A man out of control. He’s much bigger than she is. Just stand them side by side, anybody can see the difference. He’s much bigger. Much stronger. All you have to do is look, and you see he is a violent abusive man. That nice exterior is just a cover. Sanders is one of those men who take out their hostility by beating up defenseless women.”
Garvin was silent. He squinted at Blackburn. “You’ll never make this fly._
“I think I can.”
“Nobody in their right mind’ll buy it.”
Blackburn said, “I think somebody will.”
“Yeah? Who?”
“Somebody,” Blackburn said.
The car pulled up to the curb. Garvin opened the door. “Well, all I know,” he said, “is that we need to get him to negotiate. We need to apply pressure to bring him to the table.”
Blackburn said, “I think that can be arranged.”
Garvin nodded. “It’s in your hands, Phil. Just make sure it happens.” He got in the car. Blackburn got in the car after Garvin. Garvin said to the driver, “Where the fuck have you been?”
The door slammed shut. The car drove off.
Sanders drove with Fernandez in Alan’s car back to the mediation center. Fernandez listened to Sanders’s report of the conversation with Garvin, shaking her head. “You never should have seen him alone. He couldn’t have behaved that way if I was there. Did he really say you have to make allowances for women?”
“Yes.”
“That’s noble of him. He’s found a virtuous reason why we should protect a harasser. It’s a nice touch. Everyone should sit back and allow her to break the law because she’s a woman. Very nice.”
Sanders felt stronger hearing her words. The conversation with Garvin had rattled him. He knew that Fernandez was working on him, building him back up, but it worked anyway.
“The whole conversation is ridiculous,” Fernandez said. “And then he threatened you?”
Sanders nodded.
“Forget it. It’s just bluster.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely,” she said. `Just talk. But at least now you know why they say men just don’t get it. Garvin gave you the same lines that every corporate guy has been giving for years: Look at it from the harasser’s point of view. What did they do that was so wrong. Let bygones be bygones. Everybody just go back to work. We’ll be one big happy family again.”
“Incredible,” Alan said, driving the car.
“It is, in this day and age,” Fernandez said. “You can’t pull that stuff anymore. How old is Garvin, anyway?”
“Almost sixty.”
“That helps explain it. But Blackburn should have told him it’s completely unacceptable. According to the law, Garvin really _ doesn’t have any choice. At a minimum, he has to transfer Johnson, not you. And almost certainly, he should fire her.”
“I don’t think he will,” Sanders said.
“No, of course he won’t.”
“She’s his favorite,” Sanders said.
“More to the point, she’s his vice president,” Fernandez said. She stared out the window as they went up the hill toward the mediation center. “You have to realize, all these decisions are about power. Sexual harassment is about power, and so is the company’s resistance to dealing with it. Power protects power. And once a woman gets up in the power structure, she’ll be protected by the structure, the same as a man. It’s like the way doctors won’t testify against other doctors. It doesn’t matter if the doctor is a man or a woman. Doctors just don’t want to testify against other doctors. Period. And corporate executives don’t want to investigate claims against other executives, male or female.”
“So it’s just that women haven’t had these jobs?”
“Yes. But they’re starting to get them now. And now they can be as unfair as any man ever was.”
“Female chauvinist sows,” Alan said.
“Don’t you start,” Fernandez said.
“Tell him the figures,” Alan said.
“What figures?” Sanders said.
“About five percent of sexual harassment claims are brought by men against women. It’s a relatively small figure. But then, only five percent of corporate supervisors are women. So the figures suggest that women executives harass men in the same proportion as men harass women. And as more women get corporate jobs, the percentage of claims by men is going up. Because the fact is, harassment is a power issue. And power is neither male nor female. Whoever is behind the desk has the opportunity to abuse power. And women will take advantage as often as men. A case in point being the delightful Ms. Johnson. And her boss isn’t firing her.”
“Garvin says it’s because the situation isn’t clear.”
“I’d say that tape is pretty damn clear,” Fernandez said. She frowned. “Did you tell him about the tape?”
“No.”
“Good. Then I think we can wrap this case up in the next two hours.”
Alan pulled into the parking lot and parked the car. They all got out.
“All right,” Fernandez said. “Let’s see where we are with her significant others. Alan. We’ve still got her previous employer-”
“Conrad Computer. Right. We’re on it.
“And also the one before that.”
“Symantec.”
“Yes. And we have her husband-”
“I’ve got a call into CoStar for him.”
“And the Internet business? `Afriend’?”
“Working on it.”
“And we have her B-school, and Vassar.”
“Right.”
“Recent history is the most important. Focus on Conrad and the husband.”
“Okay,” Alan said. “Conrad’s a problem, because they supply systems to the government and the CIA. They gave me some song and dance about neutral reference policy and nondisclosure of prior employees.”
“Then get Harry to call them. He’s good on negligent referral. He can shake them up if they continue to stonewall.”
“Okay. He may have to.”
Alan got back in the car. Fernandez and Sanders started walking up to the mediation center. Sanders said, “You’re checking her past companies?”
“Yes. Other companies don’t like to give damaging information on prior employees. For years, they would never give anything at all except the dates of employment. But now there’s something called compelled self-publication, and something called negligent referral. A company can be liable now for failing to reveal a problem with a past employee. So we can try to scare them. But in the end, they may not give us the damaging information we want.”
“How do you know they have damaging information to give?”
Fernandez smiled. “Because Johnson is a harasser. And with harassers, there’s always a pattern. It’s never the first time.”
“You think she’s done this before?”
“Don’t sound so disappointed,” Fernandez said. “What did you think? That she did all this because she thought you were so cute? I guarantee you she has done it before.” They walked past the fountains in the courtyard toward the door to the center building. “And now,” Fernandez said, “let’s go cut Ms. Johnson to shreds.”
Precisely at one-thirty, judge Murphy entered the mediation room. She looked at the seven silent people sitting around the table and frowned. “Has opposing counsel met?”