He got home after midnight, completely exhausted. But he couldn’t sleep; the events of the last two days kept replaying in his head. A little girl in the corridor, who accidentally overheard someone else’s conversation… It’s strange how sometimes the fate of a company is decided by trifles.
The next morning, Pavel arrived at the office at eight. The first thing he did was summon Gennady Rudnitsky and Vera Yazvinskaya.
— Gennady Lvovich, start preparing the civil lawsuit against ‘Status-Tech,’ — he instructed. — We demand full compensation for damages: 13 million plus legal costs. Vera, prepare all the legal documentation.
— It will be done, — Gennady nodded.
— And what about Svetlana? — Vera asked. — We formally promised not to sue her.
— And we won’t, — Pavel confirmed. — She fulfilled her part of the agreement, assisted in documenting the transfer. A dismissal for cause will suffice. That’s enough.
— When should we process the dismissal?
— Today, — Pavel said. — Have her come in around noon to pick up her work record book and personal belongings. The sooner we close this chapter, the better.
Vera left to prepare the documents, and Pavel remained with Gennady.
— What do you think is the probability of winning the case? — he asked the CFO.
Gennady shrugged.
— About eighty percent, — he replied. — Our evidence is ironclad: the conversation recording, the correspondence, Svetlana’s testimony, the flash drive itself with the documents. ‘Status-Tech’ might try to negotiate a settlement to avoid publicity. It’s more beneficial for them than losing in court.
— We’ll see, — Pavel said. — The main thing is that everyone understands: you don’t play dirty games with our company.
At half-past eleven, Svetlana arrived at the office. Pavel saw her from his office window. She walked slowly from the parking lot, as if every step was an effort. Yesterday’s well-groomed business lady had turned into a tired, worn-out woman. Twenty minutes later, Vera called to report that everything was finalized. Svetlana received her work record book with the entry “Dismissal for Disclosure of a Trade Secret,” collected her personal belongings from her office, and left.
— How was she? — Pavel asked.
— She was crying, — Vera said quietly. — She asked me to tell you that she is very sorry. Said you were right: she betrayed those who trusted her.
Pavel said nothing. Regrets changed nothing. The documents had been transferred, the damage was done, her reputation was ruined.
After lunch, Kirill Kravtsov came to see him.
— Pavel Igorevich, there’s news, — he said. — ‘Status-Tech’ called. Their CEO is requesting a meeting. He wants to discuss the situation.
— How quickly they’ve reacted, — Pavel smirked. — Alright. Schedule a meeting for the day after tomorrow. At our office. Let them come with their lawyer. Vera will be with us.
The meeting took place on Thursday morning. The CEO of ‘Status-Tech,’ Mikhail Zavyalov, turned out to be a man in his sixties, respectable, with a weary look on his face. With him was their corporate lawyer—a young man in an expensive suit, clearly nervous. Pavel met them in the conference room. The atmosphere was tense.
— Pavel Igorevich, — Zavyalov began. — I came to try to resolve our problem peacefully. What happened was a misunderstanding. Kasatkin acted without my knowledge. I only found out about everything yesterday evening when he reported the incident.
— A misunderstanding? — Pavel raised an eyebrow. — Mikhail Sergeyevich, your director of development knowingly accepted stolen information. This has been documented, recorded, and confirmed by a police report. What kind of misunderstanding is that?
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