The Legal Strategy
Martha was practically glowing as she organized Miguel’s evidence into a neat folder. ‘This is EXACTLY what we needed, Cathy,’ she said, her voice vibrating with excitement. ‘We’re not going back to HR with this. We’re taking it straight to Legal.
‘ She explained that HR was just a puppet in this scenario – Legal was where the real power lived.
‘Trust me, when they see these screenshots, they’ll want to settle faster than you can say “public relations nightmare.”‘
She outlined our strategy over coffee that had long gone cold. The company’s legal team would immediately recognize the potential damage – not just a lawsuit they’d likely lose, but the scandal that would follow.
A CEO having an affair with a 26-year-old employee? Blackmail? Retaliation against a 15-year veteran? The stock price would plummet. Shareholders would revolt. ‘They’ll want this buried, and fast,’ Martha said, tapping her pen against the table.
‘And that gives us leverage.’
I felt a flutter of hope for the first time in weeks. ‘So what do we ask for?’ I whispered, almost afraid to say it out loud. Martha’s smile was wolf-like as she slid a yellow legal pad toward me with a number written on it that made my eyes widen.
‘This is just our opening position,’ she said with a wink. ‘But I have a feeling they’ll be surprisingly accommodating once they see what Miguel found.
‘ What I didn’t realize then was that Martha’s strategy would work even better than either of us could have imagined.