Page 149 of Fifty-Fifty

I’d hoped you’d be bringing more than cheap junk food to the table.’

‘Oh, I’m not the attorney for Kate,’ I said.

‘What?’

‘Nah, she’s doing just fine on her own. She doesn’t need me,’ I said and I took a bite from the hotdog. It was hot, and delicious.

‘Then why are you here, Mr. Flynn?’ asked Bernard. He had a voice that sounded like it was coming from the back of a deep, oak wardrobe.

‘I’m just here to watch. I wouldn’t miss this for the world,’ I said.

‘Alright, for the record we can ignore Mr. Flynn. Miss Brooks, I’ve spoken to my partners, and we have arrived at the figure of two-point-three million dollars.

That’s our bottom line. You stole our client. That means you stole our fees. We want that money, and your law license. Final offer.’

Kate produced the black plastic card I’d taken out of Levy’s wallet, and placed it on the table.

‘I have a counter offer,’ she said.

Levy’s face took on a strange look. It was like he’d seen a ghost pull down its pants and shit on his lawn.

Kate picked up the card and pressed one side of it. A small, metallic connection point flipped out of the side. It looked like a micro-USB.

‘This card belongs to Mr. Levy,’ she said as she slotted it into her laptop.

‘No,’ said Levy. It didn’t sound like a denial. It was a plea. A cry for mercy.

‘The card acts as a kind of digital portal to a site on the dark web,’ she said.

As she turned the laptop screen around, I caught a glimpse of the site. I didn’t read the name, but I saw the bank of pictures. One of them looked a little like Kate. And she was bending over. The photo was taken from behind, probably on

a camera phone. There were other pictures, even worse. Some were photographs

taken under tables, with the camera angled up a woman’s skirt. There were more

graphic photographs of Kate changing, or on the john. Levy must’ve had cameras hidden all over the office, beneath desks, in the female bathroom, and God knows where else. Suddenly I’d lost my appetite.

‘These are photographs of me, which Mr. Levy took, surreptitiously, and uploaded onto this site – Co-workers I’d Like To Rape.’

‘Jesus, Theo!’ said Bernard.

Theo Levy put his head down as it started to turn bright red.

‘For what I’m sure is a substantial annual fee, Mr. Levy can look at other pictures taken by powerful men of their female employees, some are even naked,

and engaged in what looks like non-consensual sex. The users can even rate the

women, and the pictures. I see that my home address was also put on the site. I will withdraw my counter-suit for sexual harassment, you will withdraw your suit for breach of contract and—’

‘Kate,’ said Bernard, interrupting her. ‘You don’t need to say any more. We’ll withdraw our lawsuit. You do likewise and sign a non-disclosure agreement.

We’ll pay one million dollars in compensation and that will be an end to it.

Okay? Can you turn that computer off now?’

‘I’m sorry, Mr. Bernard, I hadn’t finished. There will be no non-disclosure agreements. This is a one-time offer. We withdraw our respective lawsuits, Mr.

Levy resigns from the firm and you put out a press statement to say that sexual harassment has been a problem at Levy, Bernard and Groff, but that you’re calling in expert human resources teams to address the issue. That’s it.’