Disclosure_ A Novel - Michael Crichton [96]
It was a spectacular performance, and in Sanders it produced a quite unexpected effect: he felt guilty. He felt as if he had done the things that she said he had done. He felt sudden shame, and looked down at the table, hanging his head.
Fernandez kicked him in the ankle, hard. He jerked his head up, wincing. She was frowning at him. He sat up.
Judge Murphy cleared her throat. “Evidently,” she said, “we are presented with two entirely incompatible reports. Ms. Johnson, I have only a few questions before we go on.”
“Yes, Your Honor?”
“You’re an attractive woman. I’m sure you’ve had to fend off your share of unwanted approaches in the course of your business career.”
Meredith smiled. “Yes, Your Honor.”
“And I’m sure you have developed some skill at it.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“You’ve said you were aware of tensions from your past relationship with Mr. Sanders. Considering those tensions, I would have thought that a meeting held in the middle of the day, without wine, would have been more professional—would have set a better tone.”
“I’m sure that’s correct in hindsight,” Meredith said. “But at the time, this was all in the context of the acquisition meetings. Everybody was busy. I was just trying to fit the meeting with Mr. Sanders in before the Conley-White sessions the next day. That’s all I was thinking about. Schedules.”
“I see. And after Mr. Sanders left your office, why didn’t you call Mr. Blackburn, or someone else in the company, to report what had happened?”
“As I said, I was hoping it could all be overlooked.”
“Yet the episode you describe,” Murphy said, “is a serious breach of normal business behavior. As an experienced manager, you must have known the chance of a good working relationship with Mr. Sanders was nil. I would have thought you’d feel obliged to report what happened to a superior at once. And from a practical standpoint, I would have thought you’d want to go on record as soon as possible.”
“As I said, I was still hoping.” She frowned, thinking. “You know, I guess . . . I felt responsible for Tom. As an old friend, I didn’t want to be the reason why he lost his job.”
“On the other hand, you are the reason why he lost his job.”
“Yes. Again, in hindsight.”
“I see. All right. Ms. Fernandez?”
“Thank you, Your Honor.” Fernandez turned in her chair to face Johnson. “Ms. Johnson, in a situation like this, when private behavior occurs behind closed doors, we need to look at surrounding events where we can. So I’ll ask you a few questions about surrounding events.”
“Fine.”
“You’ve said that when you made the appointment with Mr. Sanders, he requested wine.”
“Yes.”
“Where did the wine come from, that you drank that night?”
“I asked my assistant to get it.”
“This is Ms. Ross?”
“Yes.”
“She’s been with you a long time?”
“Yes.”
“She came up with you from Cupertino?”
“Yes.”
“She is a trusted employee?”
“Yes.”
“How many bottles did you ask Ms. Ross to buy?”
“I don’t remember if I specified a particular number.”
“All right. How many bottles did she get?”
“Three, I think.”
“Three. And did you ask your assistant to buy anything else?”
“Like what?”
“Did you ask her to buy condoms?”
“No.”
“Do you know if she bought condoms?”
“No, I don’t.”
“In fact, she did. She bought condoms from the Second Avenue Drugstore.”
“Well, if she bought condoms,” Johnson said, “it must have been for herself.”
“Do you know of any reason why your assistant would say she bought condoms for you?”
“No,” Johnson said, speaking slowly. She was thinking it over. “I can’t imagine she would do that.”
“Just a moment,” Murphy said, interrupting. “Ms. Fernandez, are you alleging that the assistant did say that she bought the condoms for Ms. Johnson?”
“Yes, Your Honor. We are.”
“You have a witness to that effect?”
“Yes, we do.”
Sitting beside Johnson, Heller rubbed the bottom of his lip with one finger. Johnson showed no reaction at all. She didn’t even blink. She just continued to gaze calmly at Fernandez, waiting for the next question.
“Ms. Johnson, did you instruct your assistant to