“Okay.” Inwardly, she smiled to herself.
Again, it wasn’t what he expected her to say, but Barney was a master of recovery. He cleared his throat. “I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors in the office concerning potential allegations by various employees against Ken Martenson. Allegations, by the way, that have no factual basis.”
He waited, but this time she said nothing at all.
“Am I correct?” he finally asked.
She glanced over at Ken, then back to Barney. “I’m not sure.”
“You’re not sure if you’ve heard the rumors?”
“Oh, I’ve heard the rumors,” she said.
“Then what aren’t you sure about?”
“I’m not sure whether the allegations have a factual basis or not.”
“I can assure you, Maria, that they do not.”
She waited a couple of beats. “Okay.” Colin, she thought, would be proud of her right now. More than that, she began to understand how the use of the word okay shifted the power dynamic in the room. Or at the very least, set the tone she wanted, even if Barney didn’t like it. He didn’t, but he was professional enough to hide it, the drawl and slower cadence continuing in his courtroom rhythm.
“Because Mr. Martenson is our managing director, the firm intends to vigorously contest these allegations in whatever manner the firm deems best. That includes litigation. Of course, as you know well, when reputations are at stake, cases like this are usually settled to avoid lengthy, expensive, and distracting legal proceedings. In this particular instance, any potential settlement would not reflect on the veracity of the claims, but rather the time, money, and inconvenience that contesting the charges would bring. Obviously, any settlement – if there is a settlement – would be sealed and confidential.”
Maria nodded, thinking, Just get to the point. Why did you ask me here?
“I’m sure I don’t need to review Mr. Martenson’s stellar reputation with you. Those who know him best – people like you and me – know that he has always kept the best interest of the firm at the forefront of his thoughts and actions. He has made tremendous sacrifices, and it’s simply not possible that he would have done anything to put either the firm or his own personal reputation at risk. The allegations, I might add, are preposterous. In his nearly three-decade career as an attorney in our community, no claims of sexual harassment have ever so much as seen the light of day in any courtroom. Three decades of hard work, now at risk because there are people in the world who are simply greedy.”
Claims that never reached the light of day because they were settled, Maria thought.