Mark Hurd telling his side

Well, the former HP CEO is telling "acquaintances," who are getting word to the WSJ that he didn't pressure onetime actress/reality show contestant/Congressional staffer/marketing consultant/real estate executive Jodie Fisher into having sex with him. Fisher alleged in a letter to Hurd that she wasn't receiving any additional work from HP because she rebuffed his advances. Hurd said her work was cut because of the worsening global economy. So this is turning into a classic he said, she said dual - and good luck sorting it out.

Mr. Hurd told people this week he settled with Ms. Fisher because the amount to settle was "de minimis," or such a small amount compared with the legal cost of fighting the claim. "You get deposed and you've got to go do the whole process," he told them. "Which is a mess." In the conversation this week, Mr. Hurd described the relationship with Ms. Fisher as one centered around H-P customer events where she worked as a greeter. After the events, Mr. Hurd and Ms. Fisher would have dinner, sometimes alone, sometimes with others present, according to people familiar with the situation. They met around 12 times over the course of two years, according to one person familiar with the situation.