Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry(27)

“Absolutely. How do we know the one who tipped off Pomerantz isn’t going to talk?”

“We don’t, but the good news is that she’s kept quiet so far. Whoever she is, a healthy deposit into her bank account should buy her continued silence.”

“And if there are others?”

“There probably are, and we treat them the same way. Instead of sitting back, dreading the day one or several of them and their attorneys call a news conference, we, I should say I, find them one by one and settle directly with them.”

“What do you mean by ‘directly’?”

“Do you really want to know all the details?”

“No, I guess I don’t.”

Carter could feel the excitement inside him building. He had succeeded in creating the interest. Now he had to close the deal.

“The only chance of our containing the situation is to keep the number of people who know about Matthews to an absolute minimum. That means no talking to REL lawyers or outside counsel.”

“Go on.”

“I’m going to start with Pomerantz, convince her to settle and sign a nondisclosure agreement.”

“You think she’ll do it?”

“For two million dollars, I think she will.”

“Two million’s a lot of money!”

“I know it is. To get her money she’s also going to tell me who else knows about Matthews. And let’s put this in perspective. How much revenue does Matthews generate for REL every year? Fifty million?”

“About that amount,” Sherman muttered, no doubt knowing that the actual number was closer to seventy million.

“In order to do the work I have to do, we can’t be seen talking, and I can’t be sitting in my office in Human Resources.” He pulled a paper from his briefcase and handed it to Sherman. “You are going to hire the consulting firm of Carter & Associates. The retainer will be an initial one million dollars and two hundred thousand dollars per month for expenses. A wire of twelve million dollars will be sent to my attorney trust account. This money and additional funds I might need will be used to compensate Matthews’s victims.”

“Why do you need that much when we only know about a few victims?” Sherman demanded.

“Do you want me to come back to you every time I learn about a new victim and say I need more money?”

Sherman saw his point. “That is a lot of money you’re expecting me to make available without explanation.”

“You’re the CEO. I leave that part to you.”

Carter reached into his briefcase and pulled out two bags containing the items he had purchased that morning. He had exercised an abundance of caution. Every 7-Eleven and Rite Aid had security cameras recording visual images of customers and their purchases. Buying six phones in one store might raise questions; buying one phone in six different stores would not.

“If something goes wrong, it will be in both of our best interest to have zero record of the contacts between us. No emails, no use of office phones, cell phones, nothing. Do you know what a burner phone is?”

“Are those the ones that got Samsung in trouble because they kept catching fire?”

Carter almost burst out laughing, but then realized the CEO might not be joking. “No, that was something different. Burner phones are completely untraceable. Each phone has a memory capacity of about thirty minutes. When we talk, we’ll keep it short and sweet. A quick update on what I’ve concluded and what I’m working on.”

“How do I get more memory when it runs out?”

“You don’t. You throw it away and move on to the next phone. I bought each of us three phones to start. I’ll get more later if necessary. I have your three numbers. The numbers of my phones are written on this paper,” he said as he handed over a sheet.

“Carter, you were pretty confident that I was going to go along with your plan, weren’t you?”

“Honestly, I didn’t know what you were going to decide. But if you were going to say yes, it made a lot more sense for us to be able to get started after one meeting instead of two.”

Sherman stared straight ahead, feeling the rage inside him build. I have no idea who this guy is, but I have to trust him, he thought.

“All right, Carter, we’re going to play ball together. Give me until Tuesday or Wednesday to get the money flowing your way.”

“I’m not quite finished,” Carter said smoothly. “There’s an outside chance someone could start listening in on our conversations. To protect ourselves, we talk in code. Each victim will be a car model, a Ford, a Chevy, a Mercedes, etc. When talking about money, each million dollars will be a bushel. This code is on the same paper with the burner phone numbers.”

“Is that it?”

“Three last things. First is a copy of the resignation letter I’ll submit on Monday. Next, as I find out the names of the victims, I’ll need access to their personnel files. Call somebody in IT and make access available to Carter & Associates. You’ll make a phone call to confirm that my exit package includes keeping my family on the company health-care plan at company expense for two years.”

If I ring this jerk’s neck and throw him in Long Island Sound, I wonder how long it will take to find his body? Sherman raged to himself. “And the last thing?”