His long-serving executive secretary, Beth Lawson, had kept paper records when the legal department digitized its archives.
Beth was recently widowed and no longer depended on the firm for employment.
She agreed to meet with Nathaniel and Owen after they obtained appropriate permission to review old business correspondence.
I did not attend that meeting.I learned its details when Nathaniel returned to Simone’s office carrying photocopies and looking as though he had not slept.
A courier log showed my certified letter had reached the family firm’s office.
Beth remembered placing it in Nathaniel’s incoming mail tray.
Later that afternoon Malcolm’s private assistant took the tray into his office.
An internal note, written in Malcolm’s hand, instructed the legal staff to handle “Carter matter” and avoid disturbing Nathaniel before a planned acquisition.
There was also a memorandum prepared by the firm’s outside counsel.
It summarized my pregnancy claim and recommended direct communication to verify the facts.Beneath the recommendation was Malcolm’s handwritten response: No personal disruption.
