“She’s my employee. I believe I have the right to terminate the employment any time I wish, Mrs. Cool.”
Bertha said angrily, “Don’t be so damned formal. You must be trying to live up to that new secretary. I don’t care when you fire her, or how you fire her, just so you leave me out of it. But she’s sued me for a hundred thousand bucks, claiming that I defamed her character and you fired her on account of that.”
Belder sat forward in his chair, putting his feet down on the floor with a thud. “What do you say she did, Mrs. Cool?”
“Sued me for a hundred thousand.”
“I can’t believe it.”
“Well, she did. Papers were served on me this morning.”
“Exactly what does she claim?”
“That I called her a twerp, said she was in love with you, and that she sent those letters. She claims you fired her on the strength of it.”
“Why, the damned little liar! She knows better than that.”
Bertha settled back comfortably in her chair. For the first time the tense lines about her eyes relaxed. “That,” she said, “is what I came over here to find out. Why did you fire her?”