Power Play: A Novel by Danielle Steel

expressionlessly, and then handed them to Marshall for him to read as well. The letters were written on a computer, and none of the missives were personally signed.
    “How do we know Ms. Wheeler didn’t write these herself, to falsely incriminate Mr. Weston?” The letters were full of sexual references to nights they had spent together, and the sexual acts they had engaged in. They were painfully explicit. And then her attorney handed Simon the pièce de résistance, a smaller envelope that contained two photographs of Marshall’s accuser stark naked in suggestive positions, taken by a man you could see clearly in a mirror. It appeared to be Marshall, equally naked, and another one of him alone, also naked, and apparently asleep on a bed. It was undeniable evidence that they had been together in a sexual way. Simon handed the photographs to Marshall without a word. And nothing about the photographs appeared to have been doctored. They were taken with a proper camera, not her cell phone, and the man in the photographs was Marshall.
    Marshall’s face was pale as he sat across the table from her with no sign of acknowledgment or recognition. And she met his eyes without flinching. This was business to her and nothing else. There was no talk of broken promises, broken hearts, or unrequited love. This was blackmail, pure and simple. They had had sex with each other, he had hired and then fired her, and she was seeking revenge. Her anger had a price, a big one.
    Simon reacted immediately, as he put the photographs back in the envelope. They were only copies, and it was obvious that she had kept the negatives. They were the best bargaining chip she had.
    “We are prepared to offer Ms. Wheeler a million dollars for her time and trouble, in exchange for complete confidentiality about this affair and a retraction of her accusations against Mr. Weston,” Simon said to her attorney. The board had given their permission to go as high as two million. Marshall was worth it to them, as the most competent CEO they’d ever had. He was the best thing that had ever happened to UPI. They didn’t care if he was innocent or guilty, all they wanted was for Megan Wheeler to disappear, preferably before she went to the press. She had waited just over a year to come forward after the affair ended and she’d been fired. And the attorney she had consulted had convinced her to threaten a suit, and shoot for a handsome settlement. Her attorney looked unimpressed by Simon’s offer, and then gave them another piece of stunning news.
    “I think we should tell you that we issued a statement to the press this morning, that Mr. Weston had an affair with my client and caused her to be fired from UPI after she ended it, and we are suing for sexual harassment and damages.” It was a simple factual statement of their intentions, devoid of emotion. The attorney looked sleazy but was smart, and so was Megan Wheeler.
    Marshall looked instantly ill, and Simon tried not to react and didn’t glance at his client.
    “That seems like an extremely unwise thing to have done, and premature, while we are trying to negotiate with you in good faith.”
    “There is no good faith here,” her attorney said bluntly. “Your client had sex with mine, as CEO of this company. He used hisinfluence and power to get her hired, possibly to induce her to have sex with him, and then to get her fired when she stopped. And she had had chemotherapy and radiation for breast cancer six months before, which she told him. It seems pretty clear cut to me. She is a cancer survivor, and he took gross advantage of her.”
    “What seems clear cut to me is that Ms. Wheeler wants to be paid a great deal of money for having had sex with my client. There’s a name for that. Extortion, or worse,” Simon said with a steely look at the opposing attorney. “And giving a statement to the press about it is only going to make this harder. You’ve already damaged my client’s reputation. Why