"I don't believe it."
Cindy shrugged. "That's what they say," she said.
He went back to his office and stared out the window. He told himself it was just a rumor. After a while, the intercom buzzed. "Tom? Meredith Johnson just called. She wants to see you in her office right away."
Bright sunlight streamed in through the big windows on the fifth floor. The assistant outside Meredith's office was away from her desk. The door was ajar.
He knocked.
"Come in," Meredith Johnson said.
She was standing, leaning back against the edge of her desk, her arms folded across her chest. Waiting.
"Hello, Tom," she said.
"Meredith."
"Come in. I won't bite."
He came in, leaving the door open.
"I must say that you outdid yourself this morning, Tom. I was surprised at how much you were able to learn in a short time. And it was really quite resourceful, the approach you took in the meeting."
He said nothing.
"Yes, it was a really excellent effort. You feeling proud of yourself?" she said, staring hard at him.
"Meredith . . ."
"You think you've finally paid me back? Well, I have news for you, Tom. You don't know anything about what's really going on."
She pushed away from the desk, and as she moved away, he saw a cardboard packing box on the desktop beside the telephone. She walked around behind the desk, and began putting pictures and papers and a pen set into the box.
"This whole thing was Garvin's idea. For three years, Garvin's been looking for a buyer. He couldn't find one. Finally he sent me out, and I found him one. I went through twenty-seven different companies until I got to Conley-White. They were interested, and I sold them hard. I put in the hours. I did whatever I had to do to keep the deal moving forward. Whatever I had to do." She pushed more papers into the box angrily.
Sanders watched her.
"Garvin was happy as long as I was delivering Nichols to him on a platter," Johnson said. "He wasn't fussy about how I was doing it. He wasn't even interested. He just wanted it done. I busted my ass for him. Because the chance to get this job was a big break for me, a real career opportunity. Why shouldn't I have it? I did the work. I put the deal together. I earned this job. I beat you fairly."
Sanders said nothing.
"But that's not how it turns out, is it? Garvin won't support me when the going gets tough. Everybody said he was like a father to me. But he was just using me. He was just making a deal, any way he could. And that's all he's doing now. Just another fucking deal, and who cares who gets hurt. Everybody moves on. Now I've got to find an attorney to negotiate my severance package. Nobody gives a damn."
She closed the box and leaned on it. "But I beat you, fair and square, Tom. I don't deserve this. I've been screwed by the damned system."
"No you haven't," Sanders said, staring her straight in the eye. "You've been fucking your assistants for years. You've been taking every advantage of your position that you could. You've been cutting corners. You've been lazy. You've been living on image and every third word out of your mouth is a lie. Now you're feeling sorry for yourself. You think the system is what's wrong. But you know what, Meredith? The system didn't screw you. The system revealed you, and dumped you out. Because when you get right down to it, you're completely full of shit." He turned on his heel. "Have a nice trip. Wherever you're going."
He left the room, and slammed the door behind him.
He was back in his office five minutes later, still angry, pacing back and forth behind his desk.
Mary Anne Hunter came in, wearing a sweatshirt and exercise tights. She sat down, and put her running shoes up on Sanders's desk. "What're you all worked up about? The press conference?"
"What press conference?"
"They've scheduled a press conference for four o'clock."
"Who says?"
"Marian in PR. Swears it came from Garvin himself. And Marian's assistant has been calling the press and the stations."
Sanders shook his head. "It's too soon." Considering all that had happened, the press conference should not be held until the following day.
"I think so," Hunter said, nodding. "They must be going to announce that the merger has fallen through. You heard what they're saying about Blackburn?"
"No, what?"
"That Garvin made him a million-dollar settlement."
"I don't believe it."
"That's what they say."
"Ask Stephanie."
"Nobody's seen her. Supposedly she went back to Cupertino, to deal with finances now that the merger is off." Hunter got up and walked to the window. "At least it's a nice day."
"Yeah. Finally."
"I think I'll go for a run. I can't stand this waiting."
"I wouldn't leave the building."
She smiled. "Yeah, I guess not." She stood at the window for a while. Finally she said, "Well, what do you know . . ."
Sanders looked up. "What?"
Hunter pointed down toward the street. "Minivans. With antennas on the top. I guess there is going to be a press conference, after all."
They held the press conference at four, in the main downstairs conference room. Strobes flashed as Garvin stood before the microphone, at the end of the table.
"I have always believed," he said, "that women must be better represented in high corporate office. The women of America represent our nation's most important underutilized resource as we go into the twenty-first century. And this is true in high technology no less than in other industries. It is therefore with great pleasure that I announce, as part of our merger with Conley-White Communications, that the new Vice President at Digital Communications Seattle is a woman of great talent, drawn from within the ranks in our Cupertino headquarters. She has been a resourceful and dedicated member of the DigiCom team for many years, and I am sure she will be even more resourceful in the future. I am pleased to introduce now the new Vice President for Advanced Planning, Ms. Stephanie Kaplan."