Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry(31)
“I’m not talking about that. Why are we here, and not at the REL News building?”
“Frankly, Lauren, I wanted to make things as easy as I could for you. The last thing I wanted was for you to bump into the person who caused you so much anguish.”
Lauren was silent. She looked around the room without making eye contact. Carter opened the file he had brought from his desk and pretended to read it. Nature abhors a vacuum. He wanted her to be the one to break the stalemate.
“No matter what happens, Mr. Carter, I’m not signing anything today.”
“I respect that, Lauren. You told me that on the phone. We’re here to discuss the terms of a possible settlement. May I begin?”
“Go ahead.”
“The goal of the settlement, first and foremost, is to protect your privacy. It will include a substantial onetime payment to you and the guarantee that you will find a comparable job in the news business. I remember the concern you expressed in my office. You will not be the next Monica Lewinsky.”
“And what will be expected of me?”
“Nothing more than your silence. Are you familiar with the term NDA? Nondisclosure agreement?”
She nodded.
“Good. The NDA in the agreement will be ironclad. If you breathe a word of the settlement to anyone, you will immediately return the money that was paid to you. Now, I know this will never happen. But if litigation results, you will be responsible for paying the legal fees on both sides.”
“I assume at some point you’re going to tell me how much.”
“Yes, I am. Upon your signing of the agreement I am authorized to wire you two million dollars. A wire typically takes twenty-four hours to complete. If you sign today, the money will be in your account tomorrow.”
“I said I wasn’t signing anything today.”
“I heard you. I was only explaining how quickly wire transfers work.”
Carter opened his folder, removed a document, and slid it in front of her. “I’m not your typical lawyer. I try to avoid the legal mumbo jumbo whenever I can. The agreement is only three pages.” He glanced at his watch. “I have something I have to respond to. It will take a few minutes. Why not give it a quick read?”
Without waiting for her to answer, Carter went over to his desk, opened his laptop, and began typing. He pretended to read what was on his screen while eyeing Pomerantz. It was working. After an initial reluctance to acknowledge what was in front of her, she was now carefully studying it.
He had labored painstakingly to avoid any word or phrase that might not be easily understood. A full five minutes passed before she finished and looked up. Carter hit a few more keystrokes, then returned to the table.
“Sorry about that. I appreciate your patience.”
“Will this be treated as income? Will I owe taxes on the two million dollars?”
Carter was impressed. Clearly, Pomerantz was sharp and not to be underestimated. Her employment file indicated that she had been a double major at SMU, Communications and Economics. “At this time, no. The money you receive will not be subject to tax.”
“What’s that supposed to mean, ‘at this time’?”
“The New York State Legislature is currently considering a bill that would change the way settlements are treated. If it passes, settlements that include NDAs will be treated as income to the recipient. A similar bill is under review in Congress. They obviously care very little about the privacy of victims. Anyone who might be in line for a settlement that includes an NDA would be wise to act sooner versus later.”
Carter let his comment hang in the air. He did not mention that the intent of the proposed bills was to make it harder, or at least more expensive, for companies to protect serial abusers in their ranks. If the bills passed, settlements that include NDAs would no longer be deductible to corporations.
“Mr. Carter, I appreciate what you’ve done. What I read appears pretty straightforward. But this isn’t a fair fight. Matthews and REL News have you, a lawyer, representing them. You obviously have experience,” she pointed to the papers in front of her, “with these situations.”
“Believe me, being a lawyer doesn’t make you any smarter.”
She ignored his attempt at humor. “Here’s what I want to do. I’m not going to hire a lawyer. I just want to bring it to a friend who’s an attorney, ask her to read it and make sure that I understand it and am comfortable with it.”
Carter shook his head. “I’m sorry, Lauren, that’s not possible.”
“What do you mean? Why not?”
“My marching orders are very clear. My client wants to keep the number of people who know about the incident to an absolute minimum. I believe that’s what you want as well. If you bring in a third party, the settlement offer is reduced to one million dollars.”
“I just want my friend to read this and spend ten minutes answering my questions—”
“Take it from a lawyer, Lauren, that’s not what’s going to happen. A lawyer is going to persuade you to retain him or her. In cases such as these, the attorney will get about one-third of the award. Instead of the original two million dollars, the offer will be one million. After the lawyer’s fee, what could have been two million dollars will be down to six hundred and sixty-six thousand. Even when they’re on a contingency, lawyers enjoy dragging things out. Instead of possibly getting it tomorrow, you’ll receive the money in a year or two if you’re lucky. Your attorney’s delaying actions might also give New York or Congress time to pass the bill I spoke about earlier. When that happens, you will owe an additional one-third in taxes, leaving you with a little over four hundred thousand dollars. I don’t like saying this, Lauren, but I have to. It will be tempting to quietly show this to a lawyer and hope I never find out. But here’s the catch. If you choose to sign the agreement in front of you, you will be swearing that you did not discuss the incident with anyone after you came to my office last week. The penalties for perjury in New York State are severe.”