Sal Gabrini: His House of Cards (7 page)

Curtis was a
hyper gay man who always spoke as if the end of the world was near.
 
Gemma ignored his hyperbole as she continued
to read the story.
 
Because it was there
in black and white.
 
Three African-Americans
and two Hispanics.
 
And the lawsuit?
 
They wouldn’t even specify how much they
wanted.
 
Because they knew it wasn’t
going to matter.
 
Any self-respecting
company with the worldwide reach of the Gabrini Corporation would settle out of
court post haste.
 
But they didn’t know
Sal, Gemma thought, as she handed Curtis back his phone.
 
Sal, she knew, wasn’t about to settle.

Gemma went
around her desk and grabbed her purse and her own phone, and began to leave.

“Where are
you going, boss?” Barbara asked.
 
“We
still have that deposition this afternoon.”

“Set it up
for tomorrow,” Gemma said.
 
“Whatever
time is good for them.
 
And clear my
schedule for the rest of the day.”

Gemma knew
what kind of man Sal was and what these kind of disgusting allegations could do
to him.
 
He needed her.
 
Everything else had to take a backseat.

Sal, as CEO of
the Gabrini Corporation, was on the phone all morning with nervous board
members when the news first broke.
 
Now
Tommy, his big brother and the chairman of the board, Sal’s boss, was calling
too.
 
He was in Europe, but wanted to
know if Sal was okay.

“I’m mad as
hell,” Sal said as he walked around his office with phone in hand.
 
“Who do they think they’re dealing with?
 
But I’ll handle it.”

“I got a
call from Reno,” Tommy said.

“Yeah, he
called me too.
 
He’s worried.”

“I’m
worried,” Tommy said.
 
“I haven’t had a
chance to see the full story.
 
But what’s
the deal?
 
They’re claiming
discrimination?”

“Yeah, like
I have time for that shit.”

“That’s not
the answer I wanted to hear, Sal.”

“I didn’t
discriminate against anybody.
 
I didn’t
let my employees hang nooses or demean people.
 
I didn’t tell racist jokes.
 
Nobody in my office has been going around doing any of that shit they
claim.
 
And they know it!”

“Have they
isolated it to our Vegas office?”

“Vegas
only,” Sal responded. “They’re targeting me.”

“But why?
 
What’s the motive?
 
Is it just money?”

“That’s the
only thing I can figure.
 
But they won’t
be shaking me down and getting away with it.”

Tommy
exhaled.
 
“This is news we certainly
don’t need.”

“Yeah, it
threw me too.”

“What about
the board?
 
Have you heard from any
members of the board of directors?”

“That’s all
I’ve had time to deal with,” Sal responded with drain in his voice.
 
“They’ve been riding my ass since the story
broke.”

“I’m sure they’re
going to want you to give a press conference and deny everything before our
stock take any more tumbles.
 
Because
it’s starting to fall.”

“I’ll meet
with the press,” Sal said.
 
“But I need
to talk to Gemma first.”

“Gemma
doesn’t know yet?
 
Damn, Sal.”

“What are
you damning me for?
 
The story just
broke.
 
I’ve been answering calls all
morning, and not just from our board either, but from jittery investors and our
lawyers too.
 
As soon as I hang up from
one, another one is calling.
 
I’ve got
three on hold right now.
 
The press has
parked outside of the building.”
 
Sal
walked over by the window and saw the herd of media in front of the Gabrini
Corporation building.
 
He quickly began
pacing again.
 
“This is getting crazy.”

Then he
stopped and ran the back of his hand across his tired eyes.
 
“I’ll call her as soon as I hang up from
you,” he said.
 
“Those nervous-ass
investors will have to wait.”

“Talk to her
before that press conference,” Tommy advised.
 
“She knows how to calm your ass down.
 
And that’s what’s needed here.
 
Calm.
 
A level head.
 
No blow ups on TV.
 
Our stock will plummet if you go that route.”

“I’m no
fool, Tommy.
 
I know what’s at stake.”

“So you’ve
got it under control then?
 
You’re going
to talk with the lawyers and get this thing settled out of court?”

“I’ve got it
under control,” Sal said.
 
But he didn’t
give a rat’s ass about talking to any lawyers.
 
Nobody was running his name through the mud and expect him to settle out
of court.
 
He was taking whoever was
responsible for this smear to court alright.
 
His
court.
 
“You handle Europe.
 
I’ve got my end covered.”

“Good
enough,” Tommy said.
 
“I’ll call you when
I’m stateside again.”

“Okay, Tom,”
Sal said.
 
He knew Tommy wanted to add
some term of endearment, like he loved him, but Tommy knew Sal was not that
kind of man.
 
Sal rarely said it, he
showed it.
 
They ended the call without
any further words.

But when Sal
walked back over to his big office window and looked out, his anger only
inflamed again.
 
The media was treating
the news as if it was the biggest story in town and were already in a feeding
frenzy for comments from anybody who would give them something to quote.
 
An employee was trying to get through even as
he watched, but it was near-impossible.
 
The press had surrounded the person.
 
Sal looked harder, to see who it was, figuring it to be one of his top
lieutenants the way the media seemed so determined.
 
But when he realized it was actually Gemma
trying to make her way through that circling pile of flesh, his heart fell
through his shoe and his anger went through the roof.
 
He took off out of his office, hurried onto
his private elevator, and made his way downstairs, across the lobby, and out of
the front door.
 

He bulldozed
his way through the gaggle of reporters to make it to Gemma’s side.
 
Gemma felt a flood of relief when she saw Sal
reach for and grab her hand, and then hurried her through what she thought was
an immovable press of people.
  
And they
were hurling questions at Sal left and right.
 
Was he a racist?
 
Why did he
mistreat his minority staffers?
 
How
could a self-respecting black woman be married to a man like him?

But for
Gemma’s sake, Sal ignored them.
 
He
wanted to cuss all their asses out, but he wasn’t going to put her through any
more drama than the press was already putting her through.
 
He pulled her against his muscular frame,
held her hand tightly, and used his other hand to push his way, bully his way,
through the crowd.

They didn’t
speak to each other, for fear of being overheard.
 
They made their way through the lobby, with
Sal ordering his lobby manager to get more security out front, and onto his
private elevator.
 
And even then, it was
a general conversation.

“Are you
okay?” he asked her, as he pulled her closer against him.

Gemma
nodded.
 
“I’m okay.”
 
She looked into his eyes.
 
“It’s you I’m worried about.”

Sal
attempted to smile.
 
“Ah, you know
me.
 
These fuckers won’t get the best of
me.”

But Gemma
could see the pain in his eyes.
 
He
didn’t like this at all.
 
She placed her
arm around him.
 
That was when he looked
at her with that sincere,
I-will-never-lie-to-you
emotional look in his eyes.
 
“None of
that shit is true, Gemma,” he made clear.
 
“None of it.”

Gemma
studied him.
 
And then nodded.
 
“Okay,” she said.

“You believe
me?” Sal asked, as if he were a child waiting for his mother’s approval.

“Of course I
do,” Gemma said with no equivocation.
 
“I
believe you.”

Sal felt
reassured, although he didn’t expect anything less from Gemma.
 
But they didn’t discuss details until they
were in his office, sitting side by side on his couch.
 
Sal, in his business suit, was slouched down,
with his legs outstretched and crossed at the ankle.
 
Gemma, in her business suit, was slouched
down too, with her legs crossed, beside him.
 
But because she was worried about him, she didn’t view her role as his
wife right now.
 
But as his lawyer.

“Do you
personally know any of the accusers?” she asked him.

“I know
them.
 
Some I know better than others,
but I know’em.”

“Are they
good workers, or terrible ones?”

“No, they’re
good.
 
I checked their personnel
files.
 
They’re excellent workers.”

“And you’ve
had no problems with any of them?”

“None,” Sal
admitted.
 
“I tried to find shit, but
nothing’s there.
 
All of them have been
exemplary employees.”

“Then what
we need to find out is why would exemplary employees make such terrible
accusations against you?”
 

“Money,” Sal
said.
 
“What else?
 
The almighty dollar.
 
I have it, and their asses want it.”

Gemma didn’t
respond to that.
 
It was never that simple
to her.

Sal noticed
her non-responsiveness.
 
He looked at
her.
 
They were mere inches apart.
 
He could smell her sweet perfume.
 
“What is it?” he asked her.
 
He respected her opinion above all others.

“I saw the
video of their press conference,” she said.
 
“Those employees weren’t just angry, they were hurt.
 
They had a lot of hurt and pain in their
eyes.
 
Money may play a part in this, and
a very big part, but I don’t think it’s just about money.”

“Then what
is it about?
 
I never did any of that
shit they’re accusing me of doing.”

Gemma hated
to ask it, but she knew the public would.
 
“What about your staff?” she asked.
 
“Their bosses?
 
Could they be the
problem?”

“No.”

“Are you
sure, Sal?”

“Think about
it, Gem.
 
If all of that was going on,
why didn’t anybody come to me?
 
I have an
open door policy.
 
Why didn’t they let me
know what was going on?”

“It could
have been because they didn’t want to lose their jobs,” Gemma said firmly.
 
“I’ve handled discrimination lawsuits in the
past, Sal.
 
It’s never cut and dry.
 
If there was a hostile work environment, they
may not have felt empowered to come to you.”

“So they sue
me instead?
 
And claim I’m the one who
did all that stupid shit?”

“To get the
attention and exposure their lawsuit needed, they had to loop you in.
 
They had to show that you knew what was going
on and turned a blind eye.
 
They needed a
perp.
 
They needed to put a human face on
their allegations.
 
So why not get the
top guy?
 
That’s how they might have been
thinking.
 
They’ve decided to take you down.”

“Hell if
that’s going to happen.”

“But that’s
what they’re trying to do,” Gemma warned him.
 
“And there may be some validity to their accusations.
 
They’re just using you instead of individual
managers.”

Sal ran his
hands through his hair.
 
“So what do you
suggest we do?”

“Have you
scheduled a press conference yet?”

“Not yet,
but I know I have to.”

“Let me go
in with you.”

But Sal, as
she expected, immediately began shaking his head.
 
“No way.”

“We need to
show a united front, Sal.”

“We are
united!
 
This has nothing to do with
us!
 
I’m not parading you in front of
those vultures as if you did something wrong.
 
No way, Gemma.”

“I need to
be by your side.
 
I also need to do the
talking.”

Sal
frowned.
 
“Get out of here!
 
I’m not putting you in that position.
 
They’re lying on me, that’s bad enough.
 
I’m not letting them put any of this shit on
you!”

But Gemma
was not backing down.
 
“I need to do the
talking, Sal.”

Sal looked
at her.
 
She knew him better than
that.
 
“Why do you keep harping on
that?
 
I said no.”