EDWARD REESE, 62 AND A TAD TOO WELL-FED, wrinkled his nose at the smell of the badly cleaned kitchenette in the motel room he'd just checked into. He didn't even want to think about what might be living in the mattresses. "Well, he grumbled, "at least I won't have to sleep in this dump.
He glanced at the ancient clock-radio on the night stand. Five-thirteen. About right for a five o'clock meeting, except that there had been nobody to walk in on. Re-aiming the bulky remote laying on the room's small table, he switched on the TV news, and sat down to wait. He hated waiting for anyone, especially people he considered beneath his station.
"...in the pending grand theft case against lodging and food-services conglomerate, Fremont-Wayfarer. The Honorable Wilfred Clary, who had presided over the murder trial of the now-defunct Consolidated Communications Corporation, has been assigned to the case. According to our legal analyst, the precedent set in the Supreme Court's SandHill Realty decision, which granted...
There was a knock at the door. Reese turned off the news.
"Sorry I'm late, the rumpled 30-something said as the door swung open. "Small-town traffic jam.
Randolph Starling. Reese sized him up. The man's face was familiar enough, what with the TV news flashing his picture every time they mentioned the SandHill decision. Since taking Consolidated down, the whistle-blower had become something of a figurehead for the annoying grassroots groups clamoring for corporate blood. The dig, he guessed, was to remind him of the differences between them. He'd heard that Starling was more than he let on, and this was his first clue. Well, if there were going to be two levels to this exchange, so be it.
"We don't have a lot of time, he said after latching the door. "If I don't get back to this town's Podunk airport for my connecting flight, we'll have the press breathing down both our necks.
"Afraid of what they'll find?
"No. What they'll say. If we lose control of the message, it will take time and money to work through the damage control.
"It's all about PR for you fat-cats, isn't it?
Reese glared sternly at his guest, certain that the man's unassuming looks, campus agitator casual, were calculated to deflect suspicion that he held degrees in both business law and history. "Back off, ˜professor', he said dismissively. "Staying in business means protecting your image.
Starling glanced around the room and chuckled. "Image? You're worried about your corporate image? How about the image that these flea-traps of yours present to the world? Fremont-Wayfarer's corporate palace doesn't exactly have a sterling reputation when it comes to working conditions. Of course, that may explain your hiring practices.
Another veiled reference. "Let's not go there, shall we?
"Go where?
"You know perfectly well why we don't allow unions. So don't try baiting me into an argument about the value of collective bargaining.
"Hey, you mentioned it, not me. But now that you have, why do you think you're having so much trouble hooking people with your employment ads? Word does get around, especially these days. And having a vocal contingent of former employees from the farms at the bottom of that vertical restaurant business you saddle these dives with doesn't hurt, either. It's common knowledge that your line managers don't concern themselves with details like the safety of their staff. Do you have any idea how much your employees have to shell out to cover the real cost of their health care, fixing the damage done to them by the toxics they're forced to work with?
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
