I'm Every Woman

Because I'm every woman
Anytime you feel danger or fear
Then instantly I will appear
I'm every woman
It's all in me.

 

William Thornhill contemplated the silence at the breakfast table as he carefully stirred one level spoonful of sugar into his oatmeal. The atmosphere in the room was icy enough to make him wish he’d donned his new wool blazer.

Normally he arrived at the family breakfast table at the same time Mitsy was leaving for work. She made it a point to beat him in the office each day. The rest of breakfast would be spent listening to his wife of thirty years read him the sales flash reports from each division. They would discuss any abnormalities from the trend analysis, Bitsy would spend five minutes reviewing her plans for the day, and then with a peck on the lips, he would leave for the office. Bitsy attended all his monthly status meetings and the quarterly board meeting. She met him for lunch once a week. William Thornhill loved Elizabeth Anne Van Stickle Thornhill with every fiber of his body.

This morning was different.

He studied Bitsy surreptitiously as he slowly ate the first two bites of his large bowl of cooked oats. Only after a sip of fragrant coffee did he speak to her. “Didn’t we receive the sales reports?” he asked.

His comment earned him a baleful glance.

“They’re on the buffet,” Bitsy answered in a clipped tone.

He sighed. “Are you even going to tell me what I’ve done?”

“Do you mean you have a legitimate reason for firing that perfectly fine accounting manager? Mitsy told me she’s learned more from Don than she did in all three years of business school at Harvard.”

“She didn’t learn how to stick up for herself, though!” he fired back. Sighing again, he carefully placed his spoon next to his bowl and leaned forward, grasping his wife’s hand. “Listen, Bitsy. Our girl has the smarts. She notices things quicker than I ever did. She soaks up concepts like a sponge. She can do everything except speak up for herself. I had to do something.”

“And firing Don Strickland is going to teach our girl how to be assertive?” Bitsy sniffed.

“Actually, Mitsy only thinks Simon fired Don. He’s really on a six-month sabbatical in Europe.” He paused for a second. “…with his wife. He’s going to stay on another six months in the U.K., and bring the European finance team up to speed on the U.S. regulations they need to follow in case we go public with the company in the next three years.”

“Oh?”

William sensed a mild warming front moving into the room.

“This is it, Bitsy. Either Mitsy learns to make her own decisions and take a stand, or we’re going public. I’m not going to see this company brought down by an incompetent family member at the helm.”

Bitsy sniffed, and William knew she understood. The company had been a mess when William took over, but with Bitsy’s help and support, they had turned things around.

“Still,” Bitsy continued, her tone only slightly less icy than before, “you fired her newest friend, that delightful Beatrix.” She paused for a moment. “I just know she’s going to be Grace Wheeler’s future daughter-in-law. How am I ever going to face Grace at the next planning meeting for her son’s school? Not to mention, Beatrix will probably be there!” Bitsy was unsuccessfully trying to maintain the late spring frost. Her anger and embarrassment were the beginning of a thaw.

William relaxed. He knew he could convince an angry wife. When Bitsy was all ice, he knew he was in serious trouble.

He released her hand. “I did not fire her friend! That was Simon, and he was doing exactly what he should have. Don said the presentation was outstanding. That Belden girl did a first class job. Don knows it. Simon knows it. Even Mitsy knows it. Now why didn’t she stand up for Beatrix? Better yet, why didn’t she stand up for herself and her own decision to hire the girl?” He shook his head. “Bitsy, if our girl can’t stand up for something that basic, how is she going to run Control & Venture someday?”

“Why don’t you tell her that, Billy? Don’t you think the time has come to be completely honest with Mitsy?”

“She’s not giving me any choice, Bitsy. I’m not going to see everything you and I worked for in the last thirty years be ruined because our daughter doesn’t have a backbone. We both know the only thing she’s ever done without seeking my approval was go on that ski trip with Charlie a few weeks ago.” William Thornhill was unsure how to handle the current situation with his daughter. All her life, it seemed every decision she had made was to please her father. Softball, tennis, business school – she had never seemed to do anything for herself. He’d purposely arrived downstairs earlier than normal, and was disappointed to find Mitsy was already gone. “She wouldn’t even stay and face me this morning,” he added, his tone miserable.

“Not exactly,” Bitsy hedged.

“What? She’s still here?” He asked a hint of hope in his voice.

“Noooo,” she answered slowly. “She called me to let me know she wouldn’t be coming home last night. She spent the night with Charlie.”

“Partner?” Charlie echoed. “You want to offer me a partnership?” Charlie had longed to linger that morning with Mitsy. Unfortunately, the breakfast meeting with the firm’s senior partner had been on his calendar for a couple of weeks.

“Yes.” Andrea “Andie” Newman gave the young man a generous smile. “It’s long overdue. The partners met last week and voted. For what it’s worth, it was unanimous.”

Charlie fleetingly wondered what had happened to his internal network at the office that such an important vote had gone unnoticed by his secretary and the young associates who monitored the office gossip. “Thank you, Andie. I appreciate the vote of confidence.” He paused, unsure if she expected him to accept on the spot or if discussions would ensure.

“Now, I’m sure you’re anxious for the details.” Andie slid a navy blue confidential folder across the table at the upscale New York eatery. “You can read through this at your leisure and let me know if you have any questions. Its standard stuff: profit sharing, retirement contributions, salary bonus guidelines.” She leaned back, crossed her legs, and watched the young man. “We’re very happy with you, Charlie. We want you to make Connors, Ford, and Newman your home.”

Charlie hesitated. Why didn’t she say Connors, Ford, Newman, and Prescott? He had always made his career ambitions known to the partners. “What level of partnership are you offering me, Andie?” He scrutinized the only female partner of the firm, carefully gauging her reactions. She had finally given up coloring her silver-gray curls, and as a result, she exuded an air of quiet competence and wisdom.

Andie frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean, Charlie. It’s an equity partnership arrangement.”

Charlie leaned back, his face expressionless. His voice was mild. “Are you going to add my name to the firm?”

Andie laughed lightly. Then, realizing that Charlie was serious, she shook her head. Her hand reached across the immaculate white linen tablecloth to touch his hand. “Charlie,” she started speaking with a neutral tone, “we’re not interested in having a firm with six or eight names. If we add Prescott, then we’ll have to add George Rose to the name.”

“Why?” Charlie pushed. “George manages the partnership. He doesn’t bring in billable clients as I do. We both know my clients are making the firm very profitable.”

“Yes, the last two years it seems that way. Landing Beckhart was a real coup for the firm.”

“Reid’s not the only lucrative client I’ve landed,” he reminded her. “The legal work for the Torch and Triad merger is mine. So are the Mortimers, the Hiltons, and the overflow from Trump’s firm.” Charlie began to tick names off on his fingers. “Not to mention Senator Clifford and the First Third Bank of Manhattan.”

“Charlie, the reason we’re offering you this partnership is because of those accounts.” Andie sat up a little straighter. Her gaze slanted to the waiter approaching with fresh coffee, and she waited for him to refill their cups. “Charlie, you’re the youngest attorney to ever make partner in this firm. Don’t get ahead of yourself with the name. In another ten years or so, there will be plenty of time for a Prescott to be added to the firm’s name.” She picked up her coffee and took a sip, gauging his reaction with a glance. “You’ll let us know by Monday?”

Charlie nodded.

Andie sighed and looked at her diamond-encrusted watch.

Charlie couldn’t help thinking his work had generated a profitable first quarter for Connors, Ford and Newman. Now Andrea Newman was reaping the benefit of that work. And her name is on the letterhead! He started when she spoke.

“Unfortunately, I have a client meeting at nine. I’m going to dash, and I’ll see you in the office later. You’ll let me know if there are any questions?” A flawlessly arched eyebrow rose in question as Andrea Newman carefully folded her linen napkin and picked up her slim Prada briefcase. Charlie rose as she stood to leave the restaurant, and then watched as she walked purposefully out of the room.

Waiting until he was sure she was gone, he counted to ten and then slid his cell phone out of his jacket pocket. Flipping it open, he punched in a well-known number.

“Dad? I was wondering if you have a few minutes this morning.”

“You understand that I fully expect the reporting package to be on time?” A steely stare accompanied the question from her new boss.

“Yes. I understand. It won’t be late.” Mitsy replied in an even tone.

“Good.” He handed her a piece of paper. “Here’s the job opening announcement for our new vice president of accounting. Please review it for any necessary corrections and then submit it to H-R this morning. I want you to make some calls to the professional organizations and start networking for a new vice president. We can’t afford to leave the position open for long.”

Mitsy bit her tongue. She wanted to confront him for having fired Don, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“I’ll take care of it,” she managed to get out.

“Okay, in the meantime, I expect you to take over the supervision of the IT group until Al gets back. Some of the things in that briefing were ridiculous. You should have already addressed those in his absence.”

Mitsy managed to keep her jaw from dropping -- but only just. She couldn’t believe the sheer audacity of Simon in thinking she should manage an IT group as well as her own department of accountants and analysts. She already personally handled the project reporting for the research and patents group.

Simon clicked his pen and closed his portfolio. “Any questions?”

“No, um, I mean yes,” Mitsy stammered. She picked up the job announcement. “This opening for Don’s position… are you going to consider me when you fill it?”

Simon frowned. “If you’d like to interview the candidates when they come in, that’s fine with me, but I’m not going to defer to your recommendations. The final hiring decision will be mine, but I’m willing to listen to your inputs.” He paused. “Yes, it would probably be good experience for you to interview some of the candidates. After all, you’ll have to work for whoever is hired.”

Simon’s callous attitude produced results. Mitsy asked a question without thinking what her father would want.

“Do you mean to tell me you’re not interviewing me for the job? Don’t you think I’m ready?”

Simon gave her a hard stare. He put his pen back down and sighed. “Why do you work, Mitsy?”

“Because, because…” her hands fluttered a moment. No one had ever asked her that question before. “It’s the family business. I have to do my part.”

“If your family didn’t own a business, or just this business, what would you do? If your father ran the dry-cleaners down on Second Avenue, would you work in his store or would you still be an accountant?”

Mitsy frowned. “I’d be an accountant. I might do the books for his store at night if he asked me to, but I’d still have gone to college and majored in business.”

“Really? Are you sure about that?”

“Yes, of course, I’m sure. I love accounting and business. The numbers, making things balance, forecasts, even the problems that come up with accounts each day. It’s fun to figure things out and make them come out properly.”

“So your Dad’s running the dry-cleaners, and you’re sure you’re an accountant? Maybe you’re just a bookkeeper for a small company somewhere?” he probed.

“Of course not!” Mitsy answered haughtily. “I graduated in the top of my class. I would have my pick of accounting jobs.”

“Who would you pick? One of the big four or someone else?”

“No, I’d rather work in the business environment than for an accounting firm,” Mitsy answered. “Unless it was a smaller firm, where I could eventually be a partner and make decisions on the direction the business could go.”

Simone leaned forward, his eyes narrowed. “Then why don’t you?”

Mitsy’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I don’t understand what you’re asking me. Why don’t I what?”

“Why don’t you make a decision? What don’t you stand up for yourself and your decisions? Why did you let me run roughshod over your meeting yesterday when it was clear you were right and I was wrong?”

Stunned, Mitsy stammered. “I don’t know… I mean you just don’t question your boss, you’re supposed to support him in meetings and…” She stopped when she saw Simon shaking his head.

“That’s why I’m not interviewing you for the position. The last thing I need is a yes-man. I need someone who’s willing to take command, someone who not only has good ideas, but has the courage to express them vigorously.” He paused as if to gauge her reaction. “Mitsy, you’re a great accountant. You have good ideas, but you always want to wait and see what Daddy will think. That makes you a solid employee and an excellent follower. To take this division to the top, I need to hire someone who has the courage to be wrong. I need a leader.”

Trixie looked around the diner curiously. She hadn’t expected Maggie King to suggest a breakfast meeting at such an ordinary location or so early in the morning. However, knowing she’d need a clear head for this meeting, she had made excuses to Jim the previous evening about being busy. Now, she knew she had been right.

Deciding she was the first to arrive, Trixie slid into a booth in the back where she had a clear view of the door. Within two minutes, a tall, medium framed, brown-haired woman walked into the diner and looked around. She headed straight for Trixie.

“Beatrix Belden?” She asked stopping at the booth.

“Yes. You must be Maggie King,” Trixie held out her hand as the woman slid into the booth.

“Thanks for agreeing to meet me.”

Once the server took coffee and orders, Trixie prompted Maggie King to tell her story.

“When Richard and I divorced a few years ago, we couldn’t agree on how to divide the company. Even though it started in my family, Richard is responsible for the incredible growth we’ve experienced,” Maggie explained. “He really made Fireking a player in the alarm business.” Maggie shifted in the booth. “Look, this is confidential, right? Richard might enjoy the limelight of the press, but I need to know you’re not going to spill this to the highest bidder.”

“Absolutely not!” Trixie quickly assured her. “Our agency has no love of the press either. We treat all discussions and disclosures as confidential and handle any inquiries with the utmost discretion and confidence. It would only be disclosed if I’m subpoenaed to testify in a court case.” Trixie gave an understanding smile. “If it makes you feel better, our agency is always willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement.”

Maggie shook her head. “I trust you. Matthew vouches for you.” She took a deep breath. “Where was I? Oh, the company. After over ten years of marriage and at least ten times that in revenue increases, I agreed to split the company with him. Daddy would have been furious with me if he was still alive, but it was only fair. We both own forty percent of the company, and our daughter has twenty percent.”

“Your daughter?” Trixie asked with a frown. Her background notes had not indicated Richard Hoffman’s daughter or his ex-wife.

“Yes, she’s nine. If necessary, her shares are voted by an independent trustee.” Maggie explained. “To be honest, I don’t get involved much in the day-to-day running of Fireking. Richard and I agreed on several things over the years. When Olivia was born, we agreed she would be my primary job. That’s when I stepped back from the business to just a few hours a week, and became a full-time mother. When Richard and I divorced a few years ago, we both agreed that Olivia would always come first. Today my involvement with Fireking is still very limited; to be honest, it’s mostly just cashing my quarterly dividend checks.” Maggie gave a small shrug. “But taking care of school, homework, and ballet lessons isn’t exactly a part-time job either.” Maggie paused to sip her coffee and straighten the wrapped fork and knife on the table. “In the last six months, the dividend checks have been a lot less. The last one was barely half what it was last year at this time. Richard was quite defensive when I asked about it, so I started paying more attention to the business.” She leaned forward. “You see, the thing is, I’m pretty sure we’re being sabotaged. Electronically -- you know, through our computer systems.”

Maggie King had Trixie’s full attention.

“Why?” Trixie asked. “Why would anyone sabotage Fireking? Why couldn’t it just be an ordinary downturn in the business?”

“We own the latest and greatest fire alarm technology of any company in the world!” Maggie declared. She stopped and grinned at Trixie’s dubious expression. “I promise that’s not a marketing spiel. Richard is brilliant about the business. A few years ago, we acquired a small company called Firelight. They had developed a special fire alarm designed to sell in conjunction with gas fireplaces. Richard immediately recognized the innovation represented by the technology and made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. They accepted, came to work with us at Fireking, and the business exploded.” Maggie waited while the server delivered the hot breakfast plates. Picking up the saltshaker, she continued her story. “No one can touch our alarms. Richard not only understands the technology behind the alarms, but he also understands the science of fires. He has a former fire chief working with his scientists in the lab. It’s good enough that we’re going to be bidding on our first government contract.”

Trixie nodded. She could imagine many ways, with the perpetual war on terrorism in the country and the fragile political peace that currently existed, the government would need Hoffman’s technology.

“Over the last six months – our orders have fallen dramatically. We have a web portal for ordering, and at least half our customers are distributors who order through the portal. The distributor channel is almost non-existent this quarter.”

“You don’t think they could just be getting alarms somewhere else?” Trixie asked after swallowing a bite of toast.

“No.” Maggie was emphatic. She put her fork down and sighed. “Will you investigate the situation? I have the right to bring in my own auditor at any time to look at the company books.”

“I’m not an accountant,” Trixie advised. “That’s not my forte, and while I could find you a forensic auditor, why don’t you just ask Richard about the orders?”

“I have, and he told me not to worry, that business can get cyclical from time to time.”

“Is he right?” Trixie asked.

“Yes and no,” Maggie answered. “Look, he’s focused on this government contract. It’s all he can think about because it’ll be huge for the business. He’s forgotten about the bread and butter sales. He thinks my reasoning is silly because he doesn’t think you can trust sales reps.”

“What reason?” Trixie probed.

“One of our distributors has a sales rep whose daughter takes ballet with Olivia. She asked me why our production and stock had fallen to such low levels. According to her, we’ve been out of stock on our top alarms for months.” Maggie paused. “We have stock. We’ve never been out of stock. When I went home and checked the distributor portal, she’s right. It shows our top three models as unavailable and the lead-time is six-months. That’s a lifetime in our business. Then I noticed the web address looked funny.” Maggie reached in her purse, pulled out a piece of paper, and slid it across the table. “See. Here’s the stock in the warehouse. We have thousands of units.”

Trixie studied the sheet for a moment. “Okay,” she said quietly. “I’ll investigate.” She looked up at Maggie. “Who’s your best customer?”

“Torch Systems was probably the biggest.” Maggie paused and frowned. “Although it’s possible Wheeler International has passed them by now. If not, they’re a close second.”

Trixie managed to keep her face impassive. “Who’s your biggest competitor?” she inquired.

“Oh, that’s easy enough. Our biggest competitor is Control & Venture.”