My Wife's Boss Told Me To Get A Real Job At Our BBQ The Next Day He Applied For A Job At My Company

The deposition was scheduled for six weeks later. In the meantime, Richard's lawyer filed a motion to compel Claire's testimony. She found out about the lawsuit from a process server who showed up at her office in Atlanta.

She called me, furious. "You didn't tell me? Dan, I had a process server walk into my office in front of my entire team. I looked like a fool. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was going to. I didn't want to —"

"Don't. Don't protect me. I'm your wife, not your child. From now on, you tell me everything. Do you understand?"

"I understand. I'm sorry."

She was quiet. Then she said, "I'm going to testify. And I'm going to tell the truth. About the work I did. About the credit he took. About how he treated me. Dan, if he's going to sue you, he's going to have to go through me first."

I felt something loosen in my chest. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Just — don't keep things from me again."

The deposition happened on a rainy Tuesday in a conference room downtown. Richard was there. He'd lost weight. His suit was too big. He didn't look at me.

His lawyer, Grisham, went first. He asked me about the BBQ. About the night Richard told me to get a real job. About whether I'd held a grudge. About why I'd hired Richard if I disliked him so much.

I answered honestly. I told him I'd hired Richard because he was qualified, because Claire had asked me to be fair, because I believed in second chances. I told him I'd fired Richard because he'd lied about the forty thousand dollars — about why he'd borrowed it, about where it went.

Then Claire testified. She sat across from Richard, and she looked him in the eye, and she listed every deal. Every campaign. Every pitch deck she'd written that he'd presented as his own. She named dates. She named clients. She named the awards that had her name on the certificate but his name on the press release.

Richard stared at the table. He didn't look up.

When she was done, Grisham had no questions. He knew — we all knew — that Claire's testimony had destroyed Richard's case. You can't claim you were fired without cause when your own former employee, the CEO's wife, has just testified that you built your career on stolen work.

After the deposition, Richard came up to me in the hallway. His lawyer was on the phone. We were alone.

"Dan," he said. His voice was small. "I want to settle."

I looked at him. "How much?"

"Fifty thousand. That's it. I'll sign a full release. I'll never work in commercial real estate in Charlotte again. I'll move. I just — I need this to be over. Karen is taking everything. I've got a two-year-old I've never met. I can't — I can't fight anymore."

I thought about it. Fifty thousand dollars. Less than the legal fees would cost to keep fighting. Less than the settlement the lawyers had predicted.

"Richard," I said. "I'll give you fifty thousand. But you're going to do something for me."

"Anything."

"You're going to meet your son. His name is Ethan. He's two years old. He doesn't know who you are. That's on you. But it's not too late. You take that fifty thousand, and you set up a trust for him. And you be a father to him. Not a check in the mail — a father. Can you do that?"

He stared at me. Tears came to his eyes. He nodded. He couldn't speak.

"Then we have a deal," I said.

I walked away. I didn't look back. Behind me, I heard him say, very quietly, "Thank you."