“I’d like you to throw me a small going-away party here at the office. Nothing fancy – just a cake at lunch or whatever – but I’d like the chance to say good-bye to everyone in one fell swoop. Obviously, until then, I think we all know it would be best to keep our departure as quiet as possible. The other partners have to know, but I don’t want to start a stampede of employees racing for the exits. Believe it or not, I hope you get this settled and are able to put it behind you as quickly and quietly as possible. There are a lot of good people here.”
While Barney may have appreciated Jill’s sentiment, Maria saw him twitch as he brought a hand to his chin. “Five months paid for Maria is a bit high. I’m sure the partners will balk at that. Now, three months I could probably swing…”
“Don’t misinterpret my high hopes for others here as a chance to negotiate, because we aren’t negotiating. This is a one-time, take-it-or-leave-it offer. Which ends the moment that Maria and I walk out the door and she starts on the EEOC paperwork. Frankly, she’s asking for far less than what you’re going to have to shell out to the others. So right now, you should be thanking her, not trying to lowball.”
Barney took his time before answering. “I’d still have to talk to the other partners,” he finally said. “I can’t make this kind of decision on my own.”
“Sure you can. We both know the partners will follow your lead, so let’s stop playing games, all right? Are you in or out?”
“Five months’ salary?” Maria exclaimed. They were standing in the parking lot near Maria’s car. A few minutes earlier, Maria had stashed the few personal items she’d had in the office – primarily photographs of her family and a few she’d taken while paddleboarding – into a small box and had carried it outside, placing it in the trunk. At Barney’s request, she hadn’t said good-bye to anyone, nor had anyone seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary regarding her departure. Jill had been waiting for her.
Jill smiled. “Pretty good, huh?”
Truthfully, she was reeling. No more Ken; no more weekends trying to keep up with Barney’s demands, and five months’ salary, straight into her savings account. She’d never, ever had anything close to that; what had just happened was akin to buying a winning scratch-off lottery ticket. “I’m still in shock.”
“I probably could have gotten you more.”
“That’s more than enough. I feel guilty for getting that much.”
“Don’t feel bad. Because, believe it or not, you were sexually harassed. It may not have been as obvious to you as it was to others, but you were. You deserve this. And believe me when I say that Barney is breathing a massive sigh of relief right now, or we wouldn’t be standing here doing a mini-celebration.”
“Thank you so much.”
“You don’t have to thank me. If our positions were reversed, you would have done it for me.”
“I’m nowhere near as good as you are. You took on Barney. And you won.”
Jill offered a sheepish grin. “And you want to know the crazy thing?”
“What’s that?”
“Leslie is way, way better than me.”
The thought made Maria’s head spin. “Thank you again for taking a chance on me.”
“You’re welcome. But I know exactly what I’m getting.”
Maria motioned toward the building. “It’s strange to think that I’m not going to work tomorrow. And most likely, I will never walk through those doors again. It happened so… fast.”
“Like what they say about bankruptcy? It happened slow at first and then all at once?”
Maria nodded. “I guess. As much as I dislike what Barney was trying to do just now, I still hope he’ll be okay.”
“Barney’s the one attorney you never have to worry about. He’ll be fine, no matter what. And between you and me? It wouldn’t surprise me if he leaves the firm, too.”
“Why would he leave?”
“Because he can. And would you want to keep working with Ken?”
Maria didn’t answer, but then again she didn’t have to. Jill was right, and while Maria was still trying to process her day, she suddenly found herself thinking about Lester Manning and the things Margolis had told her. She crossed her arms.
“What would you do if you were me? About Lester, I mean?” Maria asked.
“I don’t think you know enough yet to reach any conclusions. I know that probably doesn’t help you, but…”
She trailed off, and Maria couldn’t blame her, since even to her, the pieces simply didn’t fit.