So I was approached initially by email by a recruiter for a position at a company close to where I live. I emailed back, saying I was interested and to make a long story short I interviewed at the place and they would love to bring me on.
I received an email from my potential employer saying that they would love to have me at the company, but they are not certain about working anymore with the recruiter that found me. I'm assuming they want to avoid the 20-30% finder's fee. So, now this puts me in an undesirable situation.
The Recruiter contacted me back and asked if I had been in contact with the employer at all. I don't want to lie to anyone. I'm not certain if I'm supposed to be emailing the employer directly, but I already have. I like the employer and want to accept the job. I also thought that the recruiter did her due diligence in getting us in contact with each other and would feel terrible if she was to not get anything from making that contact. Is there any way I can remain honest and not risk my reputation with the recruiter while maintaining a good standing with the company that wants to hire me?
And for what it's worth, the employer had multiple job postings on various sites. The recruiter had contacted them to help them find someone to fill the slot. Not the other way around. I'm not sure if that would make a difference or not.
Edit
Just so it is clear, I have not signed anything with the recruiter and from what I was told in the last interview I don't think the employer has signed any contracts with the recruiter yet. So, I will not have to face any legal consequences that I'm aware of. All the recruiter and I have so far is an email conversation where I expressed interest in the position that they presented to me.