“In fact,” Brownie said, “you can put me down for twenty thousand dollars. If anyone gives a bigger pledge, let me know immediately and I’ll better it. We really can’t do enough for our daughters’ school.” Of course you can’t, Christy thought, as she got her first real taste of competitive mothering.
“If you’ll turn to page eight, there’s a listing of the fifth-grade-graduation committee members. You’ll be seeing them today. If you schedule a meeting, I need to be included. Should you arrange a conference call, make sure it’s on my calendar. If you want to send a note or e-mail, clear it through me first. I need three days’ notice.”
“I can’t send e-mails on my own?” Christy wondered if this woman was for real.
“Not without my approval.” She handed Christy a thick accordion file. “Here’s the documentation from the last graduation. All the communications are filed in date order, including the e-mails the last committee chairwoman sent. They were approved by me, so I suggest you use them as models.”
“If I send e-mails you’ve already approved from this file, do I need to get your approval again?”
“Of course. When you make the changes I suggest, send me the revised communication and I’ll approve it within two days.”
She has got to be kidding. “That seems so inefficient. Can I suggest another approach?”
“No, this is how we do things at Colby.”
“Can I at least call members of the committee without first getting your approval of what I plan to say?”
“That’s a great idea. The more you include me, the better.”
Damn, why did I ask that? Christy thought.
“I suggest you read the file before your meeting this afternoon. You’ll need to be prepared if you want to win the respect of the committee. They’re going to be skeptical of you. You know, working mom, face on billboards, the way you look. That’s three strikes.”
Christy wondered what was the matter with the way she looked. “Uh, sure, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“And Christy, one more thing,” she said.
“What?”
“Don’t make a mistake. The parents at Colby have long memories.”
Boardroom Brouhaha
On the way to the office, Steven and Christy swung by the apartment to pick up Eve for her afternoon briefing. Christy wondered if this day could get any worse. But she relaxed when she saw Eve. The cavalry had arrived.
“I brought you some food,” Eve said, handing her a box lunch from Yok Wah. “Soba noodles, miso soup, hijiki. Yok Wah says you have to eat it all.” Christy had the feeling the staff had held their own powwow about her crisis and were now executing an action plan.
“That was sweet of her, but I don’t feel hungry.” She knew she would have to pour it all out and return the bowls empty or she would get one of Yok Wah’s Confucian lectures.
“Eve’s right,” Steven shouted from the front seat. “How do you expect to perform on an empty stomach?”
Christy’s cell phone rang. It was Michael, wanting to know how she was holding up. He told her to hang in there and that he loved her. There was a lump in her throat when they hung up. She was so lucky to have him. Most husbands would come unhinged after seeing the sordid accusations the Financial Journal had leveled at Christy. Not Michael. He’d read enough half truths about himself through the years to mistrust the press implicitly.
Christy took a few bites of her noodles, and then stuffed the leftovers back in the box. They turned onto Thirty-seventh, where Baby G had its offices. Eve was taking down Christy’s to-do list. “Can you pick up a gift for the Godfreys? We’re having dinner with them on Friday. Michael has an important deal heating up with Samuel, so pick something really nice. Also, I left some questions from the adoption lawyer on the kitchen table. They want proof that we exhausted every avenue for finding Renata’s next of kin. And the number for the terrace landscaper is on the fridge. You just need to set up time for us to meet. Oh my God, I just realized—Eve, you have to do me a huge favor while I’m in with the board.”
“Name it.”
“I’m supposed to meet with the graduation committee at four. I can’t be in both places. Here’s the file. Will you read through it and handle Colby for me?”
“Is that okay?”
“Not really, but we don’t have a choice. I’ll need you to assist me with the project anyway, so this’ll give you a chance to meet everyone who’ll be working with us. It should be fun. Steven’ll drive you there.”
“I can hardly wait,” Eve said. “I think I’d rather face your board.”
Oddly enough, Christy agreed.
Steven chuckled from the front seat. He pulled the car in front of the office building and opened the door.
“Wish me luck with the board.”
“Luck,” Steven and Eve yelled in unison.
“The two other CEOs who were accused of offering sexual favors for investments have already issued denials,” Christy explained to the board. “The men mentioned in association with me called the accusations ‘ridiculous.’ We’re about to do the same.”
“There’s no truth to this, is there?” Karl Lehmann asked. “If we deny it and they come back with proof, you know, like one of those Paris Hilton videos or something, we’ll look like idiots.” Karl had been one of Baby G’s first directors. Usually, he was easygoing and supportive. Today, he was a pain in the ass. Obviously, he was stressed out by this. He had stuck his neck out on their investment in the company, and with the stock down, Christy knew he was getting a lot of heat from his fellow sheep.
“No,” Christy said. “I never slept with anyone we were pitching.” Of course, our COO did, but that’s not what we were accused of, she thought. She was hoping that Katherine would
