Ethan’s jaw moved. The recovery instinct was strong—two years of investor meetings and board presentations and the particular social combat of the business world had given him the ability to regroup under pressure—and he tried to use it now. He adjusted his posture. He set his hands flat on the table. He summoned a version of his voice that was meant to convey reasonableness.
“With all due respect, sir, this is a private legal matter.”
“It stopped being private,” Alexander said, with the mild certainty of a man stating something obvious, “the moment you chose to conduct it as a performance.”
Vanessa, who had been watching this exchange with the expression of someone watching a familiar path transform unexpectedly into a cliff edge, said, “We didn’t know—I mean, Emily never mentioned—we had no idea that she was—”
“Exactly,” Alexander said. He did not raise his voice. He did not need to. “You didn’t know. You made your judgments about who she was and what she was worth without bothering to find out. That’s not a defense, Ms.—” he glanced at her with polite blankness, “—whoever you are. That’s precisely the problem.”
Vanessa closed her mouth.