Power Play: A Novel Read Free

will be laid off. It’s an announcement that will need to be made with extreme caution. How we deliver that message, and how we handle it thereafter, if managed badly, could have a very serious negative effect on our stock, and could even cause panic in the market. And there’s no question, even though we voted on it in our last meeting, that announcing it to the public, our stockholders, or our employees is still premature. Now we need time to put damage control measures in place, and I’ve been working on that full time since we last met. I think we have some very good plans to take at least some of the sting out of it. We
have
to close that plant, for the health of the company, but the last thing any of us wanted was for that to be leaked to the press before we had the details settled. And as you all know, it came out two weeks ago in
The Wall Street Journal
and then
The New York Times
. I’ve been doing nothing but clean-up ever since. And I think we’re all in agreement that the most disturbing thing about this is not just the timing, but that clearly, it was leaked by someone on the board. The information that appeared in the press is only known by us, in this room. Some of it has never been in writing, and there is just no way for the press to know any of it, unless someone in this room talked.”
    There was a heavy silence, as Fiona looked from one to the other with an intense and serious gaze. Her expression let no one off the hook. “It’s unthinkable that that should happen here. It’s the first time in my six years at NTA, and I have never had a leak from the boardroom in my entire career. I know it happens, but this is a first for me, and probably for some of you too.” She looked at each of them again, and they all nodded. None of them looked guilty to her, and Harding looked seriously annoyed, as though she were wastingtheir time, which they all knew she wasn’t. Clearly someone on the board was leaking information, and Fiona intended to find out who it was. She wanted to know as soon as possible, and to get the errant member off the board. It was far too serious an offense to take lightly or ignore.
    “I think we all deserve to know who violated the confidentiality of the board, and so far you all deny responsibility for it. That’s not good enough,” she said severely with fire flashing in her green eyes. “There’s too much at stake here, the health of our company, the stability of our stock. We have a responsibility to our stockholders, and our employees. I want to know who talked to the press, and so should you.” Everyone nodded, and Harding looked bored.
    “Get to the point, Fiona,” Harding Williams cut in rudely. “What are you suggesting? Lie detector tests for the board? Fine, you can start with me. Let’s get this over with, without a ridiculous amount of fuss. There was a leak, we seem to have survived it, and maybe it gives the employees we’re laying off and the public a little warning. I’m not excusing what happened, but maybe it was not an entirely bad thing.”
    “I don’t agree with you. And I think it’s important that we know who did it, and see to it that it doesn’t happen again.”
    “Fine. You can have your witch hunt, but I’m warning you that I won’t agree to any illegal methods to determine that. We all know what happened at Hewlett-Packard a few years ago, over the same kind of issue. It nearly tore the company apart, made a spectacle of the board in the press, and its members had no idea illegal methods were being used to investigate them, and the chairman nearly wound up in prison when it was discovered. I’m warning you, Fiona. I don’t intend to go to prison for you or your witch hunt. You can conductsome kind of investigation, but every single procedure had better be legal and aboveboard.”
    “I can assure you it will be,” she said coolly. “I share your concerns. I don’t want a replay of the HP problems either. I contacted several