Case Study: Seller Holding Business Owner Hostage?

Bizarre (and very true) dilemma.

An Engage Selling client has a sales rep who is a good performer but also causes a lot of trouble. She is very difficult to manage and causes chaos in the office daily. Today she announced to the owner of the business that she was having an intimate relationship with their biggest customer simply to protect her job. She sensed that the owner is tired of her antics and is thinking about firing her.

The customer produces $700,000 for our client. The total revenue for the Engage client is $3 million business. Roughly 1/4 of their total sales.

The sales rep figures she can't be fired because the owner can't afford to lose the business. What would you do if you were the owner?