Chapter 13: Felicia Marsh Makes an Offer
Felicia Marsh called me the afternoon my application to a hotel restaurant was rejected.
Her voice was smooth and professional, and she introduced herself as regional operations director for the Meridian group.
She said she hoped we could resolve the unpleasant events surrounding my departure.
I asked whether she was calling as a manager, a witness, or someone authorized to make a settlement offer.
She laughed softly and said I was learning the language of lawyers.
I told her I was learning to ask which person was speaking before answering a question.
Felicia offered me three months of pay and a neutral reference if I agreed not to discuss the breakfast incident publicly.
The offer also required me to return all documents I had received from employees.
I said I could not surrender materials belonging to other people without their consent.
She suggested that I was confused about what belonged to the company.
I said I was willing to consider fair compensation for unpaid wages but not silence about an event I witnessed.
Felicia reminded me that the employment market could be difficult for a young waitress with a reputation for making trouble.
The line went quiet while I considered whether she intended the warning as advice or a threat.
I asked her to send the proposed agreement to Naomi.
She said attorneys would complicate a simple resolution.
I replied that simple resolutions usually did not require broad confidentiality clauses.
She ended the call by saying that I should think carefully about my future.
I sat in a chair for several minutes after hanging up.
The room was quiet except for a neighbor’s television through the wall.
I had never been offered that much money for anything.
Three months of pay would cover rent, utilities, and some of my mother’s old medical debt.
The thought of accepting it made me feel relieved before it made me feel uneasy.
I called Celia and told her the amount.
She did not tell me what to do.
She asked what I would be giving up.
I listed the restrictions Felicia described and realized I still had not seen the actual language.
Naomi reviewed the proposal that evening.
She highlighted a section requiring me to state that no wrongdoing had occurred.
Another section would prevent me from assisting former workers with their trust claims.
A third would allow the company to recover the payment if it believed I had harmed its reputation.
