Hillary and I had an unlikely liaison. We met when she was researching and developing by-laws and committees for the women’s sports program at the country club. And she recognized that even though I was a lesser player, I had insight. I assessed problems and sought creative solutions. I was a problem solver, not a problem-maker. We respected each other. And I think she also understood that I did not have aspirations to shimmy into her social world. I had my own friends.
Hillary was well bred. She had held a high position in the business world prior to becoming a mother. Her husband worked for a premier brokerage house. He wore bow ties. And they were members of several elite private clubs.
Hillary and I both had daughters the same age. When Sam went to middle school she met Hillary’s daughter Amy. Both girls were in the seventh grade honors social studies program together. The academic course at that time was quite rigorous. Students needed to produce several team projects. And even though Sam and Amy were not social friends, they recognized that they would make good work partners. Team projects were graded on research, writing, and presentation. And Sam and Amy worked extremely well together. Both Hillary and I were pleased at our daughters’ success. She and I worked well together, and so did our daughters.
For the last social studies project of the year, the teacher placed another girl into Sam and Amy’s twosome. And the 3 girls met and divided the work amongst them. Beth—the new girl—was in charge of going to the library and getting the necessary research books. And together the girls planned to meet and do the required writing and presentation work.
Three days before the project was due—on a long weekend—on a Saturday--the girls met at Amy’s house. And Beth, the new girl told both Sam and Amy that her mother had instructed her to take all the research books and go home and write the report on her own—she was to leave the other 2 girls out of the project. And Beth picked up the books and walked out the door. Sam and Amy were aghast. They didn’t know what to do.
So Sam called me and Amy called Hillary and then Hillary called me. And I told Hillary that since I kind of knew Beth’s Mom I would call her and get things smoothed out. I could not imagine that a mother would give her child such devious instructions and I thought if I approached the mother in a reasonable way, everything could be resolved.
Wrong. I called the Mom and politely inquired about what was going on. And the mother laced into me. She told me that her daughter had every right to take the reference books with her and write her own report. And she further told me that she indeed had instructed her daughter to do so. So I simply said well if that is the message you intend on sending to your daughter then you are a poor excuse for a mother and I hung up. And the mother called me back because how dare I hang up on her-- and I hung up again. And again. And again. And then I called Hillary.
To say that Hillary was not pleased was a gross understatement. I have never heard such wrath. And despite Hillary’s well-bredness she simply said That B--- and her daughter have no idea who they are f-ing with. And I was terrified. And Hillary summoned me to her house for a team meeting. She had snapped into executive mode. And Sam and I obeyed her every command like dutiful soldiers. I was sent to the next town over with Sam to pull every book on the subject area off of the shelf.—Hillary was in charge of marketing and damage control. The girls did the all the writing and Hillary helped create the boards and slogans and pamphlets based on the girls’ research. And Hillary called in favors (on a weekend) with her husband’s art department. And even though it was tax season my husband called in a favor with a client and had t-shirts made with the project’s theme and slogan and emblem on it. And everything got done beyond perfection in 48 hours. It was insane. And the finished project was unriveled.
But Hillary wasn’t content just to create the best possible project. She was also going to eat Beth (and her mother) for breakfast. So well before school started Tuesday morning, Hillary and Amy waited at the teacher’s door. And they told the teacher what Beth (and her Mom) had done. And the teacher was not pleased--the teacher took our side. And the teacher made Beth give her presentation first to be followed by Sam and Amy—the teacher did it intentionally—just to embarrass her. And Sam and Amy’s work so outshined Beth’s that Beth ran out of the room and cried. And the teacher reprimanded Beth and severely punished her in her grade. And the teacher wore her brand new t-shirt the very next day.
And I understood what big business was all about. I understood how the big boys and big girls played their games. And it was brutal. I understood hostile takeovers and corporate revenge. And although I was a bit soft myself for the game, I thoroughly enjoyed riding the coat tails of its success—it was exhilarating. And the girls got the highest possible grade. They too learned the consequences of screwing with the wrong people. And that is a lesson everyone needs to learn at some point. On that day, education extended well beyond the classroom-- and into the future boardroom.
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