-
Gretchen Lovewell - Faustian Bargain
Date: 2/11/2024, Categories: Reluctance Author: jxa2012
... of our marriage.” “And the firm will have to consider whether to renew your contract.” I looked from Bailey to St. James to my husband. If I didn’t sign the paperwork accusing Jack, I would lose my marriage, my job, everything. “If you fire Jack, what happens to the merger?” “It’s Jack’s deal. Without him, the merger is dead,” said St. James. “That will cost the Foncault Group over a billion dollars,” I said. “I’m willing to pay that price to be rid of Jack Grierson.” “What about my work on it?” “Don’t worry,” said Bailey. “We’ll find you another equally lucrative brief to work on. After all, you’re a senior associate now.” “This is blackmail,” I said. “And a payoff.” “No, Gretchen,” said St. James. “It is giving that bastard Jack Grierson what he deserves. Don’t feel any misplaced loyalty toward him. He certainly feels none for you – I hate to put it this way, but you’re just another impregnated woman in a long line. Another notch in his belt. We’ve got detailed records of his sexual peccadilloes since he’s become CEO. Let me illuminate you.” He pressed his intercom button. “Ask Ms. Hojjat to come back in, please.” Farah came back in and stood – St. James did not ask her to sit down with us. “Farah, tell Ms. Lovewell how many women we have on the books for pregnancies with Jack Grierson. And how much the company is paying in child ...
... support.” “Thirty-seven pregnancies,” said Farah, her voice emotionless. “And twenty-two with child support from the company.” “You see, Gretchen,” said St. James, spreading his hands eloquently. “Jack is costing the company a huge amount.” “He’s –” began Bailey. “Costing the company?” Farah cut Bailey off, her voice rising. “You have the gall to say Jack is costing the company money? Have you no shame, Mr. St. James?” “That’s quite enough –” began St. James. “No, it’s not nearly enough!” Farah shot back. “When Jack took over as CEO, your poor excuse for a corporate group wasn’t even close to being in the Fortune 500. It had a market cap of $80 million, mainly from timber leases your father got from his Ivy League college buddies after World War 2. Jack expanded into mining, oil and gas, then information technology, biotechnology, and most recently design – the Foncault Design Corporation is now worth over $100 million, by itself. The market cap of the group at yesterday’s close was over $20 billion. I know you can’t do the math, Mr. St. James, so I’ll do it for you – that’s a 250-fold increase in less than fifteen years.” “The market has had a good run –” “A good run? Are you joking? He’s beaten every market index over tenfold. Wall Street loves him. He’s done that by taking risks, by going head-to-head with people that you wouldn’t DARE oppose. He’s...