Chapter 21 - THE STORY THE PRESS WANTED
News outlets wanted a simple story.
Poor-looking mother of billionaire owner humiliated by arrogant manager.
Instant revenge.
Public downfall.
Martha rejected most interview requests.
“The point is not that he chose the wrong old woman,” she told one reporter. “The point is that he believed there was a right old woman to kick.”
That sentence spread farther than the footage.
Alexander’s communications team wanted to feature her in a campaign.
She refused.
“Do not turn basic decency into branding.”
Instead, the bank published the investigation findings.
Including failures by senior leadership.
Including Alexander’s failure to detect the pattern.
The transparency damaged the stock price temporarily.
Then trust began to recover.
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Martha considered the loss appropriate.
Accountability that protected value at all costs was only advertising.
