For an instant, all Maria could do was stare at him. Ken, she noticed, had sunk lower in his seat, and before she could respond, Barney went on.
“Of course, you don’t have to do this. In the end, whatever you choose to do is completely up to you. There is no reason whatsoever to take into account the livelihoods of anyone else in this firm. All I truly want is for you to do the right thing.”
Barney finished; by then his eyes were downcast, his body humbly positioned. Barney: a bearer of righteousness in a world he no longer understood, shouldering a burden that had to be borne by someone. No wonder he was so successful.
But Maria could think of nothing to say. As persuasive as Barney was… he was lying, and he knew it. She also knew that Barney knew that she knew he was lying, which meant all of this was a game. No doubt he wanted Ken in the room as a form of punishment: Do you understand the level to which I’ve sunk by defending you? For his part, Ken hadn’t so much as mumbled a single word.
And yet…
Was it fair for the rest of the office – all of whom were innocent – to be penalized? Because of a single idiot? And how much money did the women want? Ken had harassed her, and she’d survived. In another couple of weeks, she would likely put it behind her entirely. In time, it might even become the subject of jokes. Ken was a jerk, but it wasn’t as though he’d exposed himself or tried to grope Maria in the hallway when they’d been at the conference. He was too insecure – too pathetic – to go that far. With her, anyway. But what about the others he’d harassed?
She wasn’t sure, and feeling the need to stall, she drew a deep breath. “Let me think about it.”
“Of course,” Barney said. “I appreciate your consideration. And remember, everyone at the firm, your coworkers and friends, just want you to do the right thing.”
At her desk, Maria forced herself to stare at the claim that had been filed against the hospital, but every few minutes she found herself replaying the conversation and thinking of ways she could have responded better. She found herself wondering what Colin would have done…
“There you are.”
Lost in thought, Maria looked up and saw Jill in the doorway. “Oh, hey…”
“Where were you?” Jill asked. “I came by a little while ago, but you weren’t in your office.”
“Barney wanted to talk to me,” she said.
“Figures,” Jill said, closing the door behind her. “How did the meeting with the detective go?”
Maria proceeded to update Jill on the things Margolis had told her. Like Maria, Jill wasn’t sure quite what to think. She asked the same questions that Maria had and was left with the same sense of confusion.
“I don’t know whether it’s good news or bad news,” Jill finally said. “It’s more confusing now than it was this morning.”
That’s not my only problem, Maria thought.
“What are you thinking about now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your expression just changed.”
“Uh… just thinking back on my meeting with Barney.”
“And?”
“Ken was there.”
Jill nodded. “Because of the lawsuit?”
“Of course.”
“And let me guess. Barney did all the talking… and he poured on the Southern charm and started talking about ‘doing the right thing’?”
“You know him well.”
“Sadly, I do. So… did you learn anything?”
“They want to present ‘a united front.’ ”
“Okaaay… but what exactly does that mean?”
“They want me to sign an affidavit that would essentially say that I never saw Ken do anything wrong, that he’s always professional, and that he never harassed me.”
“Did Barney ask that you sign? Or insist that you sign?”
“He asked. In fact, he made it perfectly clear that he wanted it to be my decision.”
“That’s good.”
“I guess.”
“You guess?”
When Maria didn’t answer, Jill looked at her. “Don’t tell me there’s even more,” she prodded. “Something you didn’t tell me this morning?”
“Well…”
“Let me guess. Ken has been harassing you for a while?”
Maria looked up. “How did you know?”
“Don’t you remember our lunch? After you’d gone paddleboarding with Colin, when I kept asking whether things at work were going okay? I knew you’d gone to the conference with Ken, and I’ve been around here long enough to know exactly what he might have tried to do. Even while you were swearing that everything was fine, I had my suspicions.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
Jill offered the kind of shrug that asked, Do you really need me to answer that? “Office politics suck. That’s why Leslie and I have already outlawed them. Back then, I didn’t want to put the idea in your head if it hadn’t happened, but I remember thinking that I was correct in my suspicions. Which is terrible, of course. But I was kind of happy, too, and I know how awful that is for a friend to say.”
“What do you mean, you were kind of happy?”
“If you loved it here, you might not have been so eager to throw your lot in with us. Of course, at the time, I didn’t know about the potential lawsuits.”
“I’m glad you’re so concerned with my well-being.”
“You’re a strong woman, Maria. And frankly, I think you’re smarter than Ken. I knew you’d figure out a way to keep him at bay.”