Disclosure

"Phil," Garvin said. "Cut the crap."

Kaplan said, "Mies."

Blackburn said, "What?"

"Mies van der Rohe said, `God is in the details.’ "

"Who gives a shit?" Garvin said, pounding the table. "The point is, Sanders has no case he just has us by the balls. And he knows it."

Blackburn winced. "I wouldn’t phrase it exactly that way, but-" "But that’s the fucking situation."

"Yes."

Kaplan said, "Tom’s smart, you know. A little naive, but smart."

"Very smart," Garvin said. "Remember, I trained him. Taught him all he knows. He’s going to be a big problem." He turned to Blackburn. "Get to the bottom line. What’re we dealing with? Impartiality, right?"

"Yes . . ."

"And we want to move him out."

"Right."

"Okay. Will he accept mediation?"

"I don’t know. I doubt it."

"Why not?"

"Ordinarily, we only use mediation to resolve settlement packages for employees who are leaving."

"So?"

"I think that’s how he’ll view it."

"Let’s try, anyway. Tell him it’s nonbinding, and see if we can get him to accept it on that basis. Give him three names and let him pick one. Mediate it tomorrow. Do I need to talk to him?"

"Probably. Let me try first, and you back up."

"Okay."

Kaplan said, "Of course, if we go to an outside mediator, we introduce an unpredictable element."

"You mean the mediator could find against us? I’ll take the risk," Garvin said. "The important thing is to get the thing resolved. Quietly-and fast. I don’t want Ed Nichols backpedaling on me. We have a press conference scheduled for Friday noon. I want this issue dead and buried by then, and I want Meredith Johnson announced as the new head of the division on Friday. Everybody clear on what’s going to happen?"

They said they were.

"Then do it," Garvin said, and walked out of the room. Blackburn hurried after him.

In the hallway outside, Garvin said to Blackburn, "Christ, what a mess. Let me tell you. I’m very unhappy."

"I know," Blackburn said mournfully. He was shaking his head sadly.

"You really screwed the pooch on this one, Phil. Christ. You could have handled this one better. A lot better."

"How? What could I have done? He says that she hustled him, Bob. It’s a serious matter."

"Meredith Johnson is vital to the success of this merger," Garvin said flatly.

"Yes, Bob. Of course."

"We must keep her."

"Yes, Bob. But we both know that in the past she has-"

"She has proven herself an outstanding piece of executive talent," Garvin said, interrupting him. "I won’t allow these ridiculous allegations to jeopardize her career."

Blackburn was aware of Garvin’s unswerving support of Meredith. For years, Garvin had had a blind spot for Johnson. Whenever criticisms ofJohnson arose, Garvin would somehow change the subject, shift to something else. There was no reasoning with him. But now Blackburn felt he had to try. "Bob," he said. "Meredith’s only human. We know she has her limitations."

"Yes," Garvin said. "She has youth. Enthusiasm. Honesty. Unwillingness to play corporate games. And of course, she’s a woman. That’s a real limitation, being a woman."

"But Bob–"

"I tell you, I can’t stomach the excuses anymore," Garvin said. "We don’t have women in high corporate positions here. Nobody does. Corporate America is rooms full of men. And whenever I talk about putting a woman in, there’s always a `But Bob’ that comes up. The hell with it, Phil. We’ve got to break the glass ceiling sometime."

Blackburn sighed. Garvin was shifting the subject again. He said, "Bob, nobody’s disagreeing with-"

"Yes, they are. You’re disagreeing, Phil. You’re giving me excuses why Meredith isn’t suitable. And I’m telling you that if I had named some other woman, there’d be other excuses why that other woman isn’t suitable. And I tell you, I’m tired of it."

Blackburn said, "We’ve got Stephanie. We’ve got Mary Anne."

"Tokens," Garvin said, with a dismissing wave. "Sure, let the CFO be a woman. Let a couple of the midrange execs be women. Throw the broads a bone. The fact remains. You can’t tell me that a bright, able young woman starting out in business isn’t held back by a hundred little reasons, oh such good reasons, why she shouldn’t be advanced, why she shouldn’t attain a major position of power. But in the end, it’s just prejudice. And it has to stop. We have to give these bright young women a decent opportunity."

Blackburn said, "Well, Bob. I just think it would be prudent for you to get Meredith’s view of this situation."

"I will. I’ll find out what the hell happened. I know she’ll tell me. But this thing still has to be resolved."

"Yes, it does, Bob."

"And I want you to be clear. I expect you to do whatever is necessary to get it resolved."

"Okay, Bob."

"Whatever is necessary," Garvin said. "Put the pressure on Sanders. Make sure he feels it. Rattle his cage, Phil."

"Okay, Bob."

"I’ll deal with Meredith. You just take care of Sanders. I want you to rattle his fucking cage until he’s black and blue."

Bob." Meredith Johnson stood at one of the center tables in the Design Group laboratory, going over the torn-apart Twinkle drives with Mark Lewyn. She came over when she saw Garvin standing to one side. "I can’t tell you how sorry I am about all this business with Sanders."