Wife in the Fast Lane

by Karen Quinn

  “Special projects? Everyone knows that’s the corporate equivalent of a mercy fuck,” Christy said.

  “At least you’re in good company,” Michael said. “Look here. They’re talking about CEOs like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates who resisted stepping down.”

  “Bill Gates says you know it’s time to step down when you’re no longer having fun,” Eve added. “Are you having fun?”

  “Oh yeah, I’m having a blast. Can’t you tell?” She put her head in her hands. Christy knew this was her fault. She’d been so distracted at work. When she hadn’t been paying attention, Katherine had made her move. She didn’t know which was worse, the possibility of losing her company or discovering that her best friend was a double-crossing liar.

  “So, what are you gonna do, Christy?” Michael asked.

  Christy was silent for a few moments. “Remember when Fatuma Mongaala tripped me at the twenty-two-mile mark in Barcelona? What did I do? You were there.”

  “You got up, took her on, and then mopped the floor with her,” Michael said.

  Christy looked at Eve and Michael with determination. “And that’s exactly what I’m going to do with Katherine.”

  Galit Weighs In

  To: Michaeldrummond@aol.com

  Fr: Galit@TFJ.com

  Michael, I saw the article. Ouch. It’s bad enough when the press goes after you, but to have to endure it from two fronts—your wife as well. You need to help her. She is drowning, and you don’t want it to tarnish you. Your reputation is unblemished, and you must keep it that way. Galit

  To: Galit@TFJ.com

  Fr: Michaeldrummond@aol.com

  Galit, I can’t say there is no truth to what you are saying, but I love Christy and would endure far worse to be part of her life. As for drowning, Christy has a lot of grit under that beautiful exterior. You have a bit of that, too, don’t you? Christy’s toughness is just less visible. I would never bet against her. Michael

  To: Michaeldrummond@aol.com

  Fr: Galit@TFJ.com

  I don’t know if I was just insulted, but growing up with enemies who want to blow you away in real life tends to do that. I just hope you are able to see Christy objectively. Galit

  To: Galit@TFJ.com

  Fr: Michaeldrummond@aol.com

  I hope I never do. That’s not what soul mates are about. Maybe one day you’ll be lucky enough to find someone who can pierce that fierce exterior of yours. Michael

  To: Michaeldrummond@aol.com

  Fr: Galit@TFJ.com

  I don’t know. There aren’t many like you around. Meanwhile, my armor serves me well. Just don’t let Christy bring you down. It has happened to other CEOs too enamored of their wives or lovers. Galit

  And the Winner Is…

  When Christy walked through the open office, it seemed that everyone was pretending to be busy. She held her head high, focusing on what she had to do. Christy was dressed to kill, in her black Chloé suit, cream silk blouse, double strand of South Sea pearls, and Prada boots. Katherine had taught her well. A quick glance told her that her former friend was wearing the identical outfit, except that her suit was from Steve Tyler. To the untrained eyes of the board, it would look like they’d dressed as twins for their big showdown. Christy didn’t care. She planned to bait, trap, and exterminate Katherine, exposing her for the dirty sewer rat that she was.

  “Hello, Christy,” Katherine said sweetly across the table.

  Does she know that I know she’s a traitor? Christy wondered. Yes, she has to. Never underestimate a smiling cobra, she told herself.

  “Did everyone see that we made the cover of this week’s Wall Street Week?” Katherine asked the group, batting her eyes. She pulled a stack of magazines out of her bag and passed them around. The directors flipped through the articles as if they’d never read them, which of course they all had.

  Niles Raines slipped in the door at the last minute, waving away the magazine Katherine offered him. He whispered in Christy’s ear, “Bender, Thomas, and Lehmann are with Katherine; Maslin, Heider, and Shah haven’t decided, and I’m with you.”

  “Thanks, Niles,” she whispered. Christy stood up and addressed the group. “Thank you all for coming on short notice. I felt it was critical that we meet and discuss some of the press that’s come our way lately. I know you’re all concerned, as am I, that investors are losing confidence. We can’t let it continue. It’s time to take action.”

  Warren Heider interrupted. “Who is responsible for PR?”

  “That would be Rick Slotnik,” Christy said.

  “He’s not doing his job,” Warren said. “He needs to be replaced.”

  “I agree,” Christy said. “In fact, he’s being terminated as we speak.”

  “Ex-cuse me,” Katherine said. “Rick reports to me. I should have been consulted, don’t you think?”

  “Normally, I’d say yes. However, it’s also my recommendation that Katherine be relieved of her duties as COO.”

  “Why?” Katherine said.

  Because you’re a double-crossing, lying bitch who drove our stock price down by spreading vicious rumors…Christy cleared her throat. “It has come to my attention that Katherine and Rick have been planting negative stories about me in an effort to harm my image so she can steal my job. By undermining me, Katherine has damaged investor and analyst confidence, causing the stock to drop. As proof, I have in my hands telephone logs that show phone calls from Katherine and Rick’s lines to each reporter who filed a damaging story beginning weeks before each article was published. I’ve spoken with the reporters in question. They revealed that Katherine and Rick were the sources of their stories and that they continued to provide damaging details throughout their investigations.” The last part was a lie, but Christy was hoping to inspire a boardroom confession.

  “None of that is true,” Katherine said. “Rick and I have never done anything to hurt you or this company. These are paranoid accusations.”

  “Really,” Christy said, slapping a stack of telephone records in front of Katherine. “Then how do you explain these?”

  “Excuse me, but last time I checked, this wasn’t a court of law,” Dick Bender said. “It seems to me that, whatever the source, our stock is down as a result of the negative press. The Wall Street Week article says that you don’t have the education or experience to take us to the next level. Investors and analysts will be reading this. Many already have. The stock dropped a point and a half this morning.”

  “I have to agree,” Karl Lehmann said. “If we want to turn the stock around, we have to show ourselves to be an assertive board. The market is sending a message that it lacks confidence in our leadership.”

  “Not necessarily,” Niles said. “Prices are down across the board in this industry. So are profits. But Christy’s managed to increase our sales by eight percent.”

  “Exactly,” Karl said. “Logically, we should see a bump because of that, but we aren’t seeing it—because of negative perception about Christy.”

  “I think we all know the time has come for Christy to step aside,” Rami Shah declared. “I’m sorry, Christy, but we need more professional management. You could remain chairman and handle our big-picture issues.”

  “And our special projects,” Karl added enthusiastically.

  “But is Kathy capable of handling the CEO job? Maybe we should conduct an external search and make the transition over the next six months,” Niles suggested.

  “My name is Katherine, not Kathy,” Katherine said.

  Christy jumped in. “If you think it’s time for me to give up the top job, I’ll accept that. But for God’s sake, don’t give the position to Katherine. She’s shown herself to be loyal to no one but herself. That’s not who we want running the company.”

  “That’s not true,” Katherine said. “I stood behind you for twelve years while this business was built. If it wasn’t for me, Baby G would be a two-bit company that manufactured running shoes. I’m the one who pushed us to expand ou
r product lines. I’m the one who should lead us into the future.”

  “Katherine makes a point,” Rami said. “I do seem to recall that she always reported to us on expansion plans.”

  “Yes, because I gave her that part of the presentation to do. That doesn’t mean she was responsible for it,” Christy said. “And there’s one more thing I have to say, something that reflects badly on Katherine’s character. The article in the Financial Journal that accused me of trading sex—”

  “Enough,” Karl Lehman said. “We’re not here to sling mud at each other. I have a motion. I move that Christy Hayes be promoted to chairman taking responsibility for special projects and corporate vision while Katherine Kilborn be given the job of CEO responsible for all daily operations of Baby G.”

  Special projects? Corporate vision? Right. Just take me behind the building and shoot me, Christy thought. That would be more humane.

  Someone seconded the motion, and there was discussion about whether or not Christy and Katherine should leave the room.

  Christy tried to pay attention, but instead she thought of the night Renata massaged her back when she felt so blue. What was it the girl had said? You’re the president of a big company. People like you don’t care if their family loves them. They only care about money and power. Christy looked around the table. I’m fighting this battle why, she tried to remember. Then she drifted into a state of tranquillity the likes of which she had never experienced. Is this what it’s like to be in a crashing plane? she wondered. You know you’re going to die, and yet you feel total peace? That must be what I’m feeling. Que será, será. Surrender, Dorothy. Let go and let God. Whatever happens happens.

  “Christy?” Niles said.

  “What? Sorry.”

  “The board’s voting. You and Katherine need to step out.”

  Christy walked into the anteroom and sat down across from Katherine, who put on lipstick.

  Neither woman spoke for several minutes. “Nice outfit you’re wearing,” Katherine finally said.

  Christy looked at Katherine. She should have wanted to rip her apart, limb by limb, then drag her lifeless body to the city dump and gnaw on her bones. But instead she felt nothing. Could this be shock? “You know, Katherine, if you wanted my job, why didn’t you talk to me about it? Maybe we could have worked something out and stayed friends.”

  “It’s not that I want your job. I’m just the obvious candidate. They’re drafting me.”

  “Right.”

  “Really, I would be just as happy to stay COO.”

  “Of course you would,” Christy said.

  “Christy, I’m as tough as they come. The board understands that no matter what happens to Baby G, I can handle it. And if it’s bad news, I can turn it around and come out smelling like a rose.”

  Dick Bender stuck his head in the doorway and asked the women to step back inside. As they walked into the boardroom, Katherine turned to Christy and whispered, “Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.”

  Christy carefully shut the door behind her, making sure it didn’t hit her on the ass. She felt that would be a bad omen. As she took her seat, she noticed that no one looked her in the eye.

  Karl Lehmann stood up and cleared his throat. “The votes are in and the resolution passes six to one. Katherine Kilborn is our new CEO. Christy Hayes has been promoted to chairman. Congratulations to both of you.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” Katherine said, fanning herself, her eyes misting. “Thank you all for the vote of confidence.”

  Christy stood up and looked at everyone. “I appreciate your offer of a promotion. But we all know what this is and what it means. So I’ll save you the trouble of easing me out in six months. As of today, I am resigning my position with Baby G. If you prefer a CEO who puts herself above the good of the company, that’s your prerogative. But it’s my prerogative not to continue to work with such a person. I wish you all the best.”

  Christy was about to walk out when Katherine spoke up. “Christy, you may want to rethink that. If you resign, your options vest immediately. The exercise price is two points higher than today’s stock price. You’ll lose just about everything.” Katherine was trying to keep a neutral expression on her face, but Christy could tell that she couldn’t contain her glee.

  Christy smiled and said the one thing that she knew would eat at her ex-partner as nothing else would. “I know that, Katherine. But unlike you, I wasn’t just dumped by my second husband. No, I’m happily married to my one and only husband who’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And what’s his…is mine.”

  Katherine flinched as though she had been slapped in the face.

  Christy knew she should say something to the rest of the board, something that she had been stopped from saying before, something that would restore a tiny shred of her dignity. “Oh, and by the way, I think you should be aware,” Christy added, “that those men the media reported I slept with to get investors? Those were men Katherine slept with. But I guess you know this already, because she promised me she’d come clean about her unprofessional behavior.”

  The board members looked at each other blankly.

  Christy moved on. “It has been a privilege to work with each of you. You’ve been terrific advisers and boosters of the company, and I know you’re doing what you believe is right.” She looked around the room one last time, making eye contact with each director. Then she stood very tall, with more conviction than she felt, and walked out.

  Closing the door quietly behind her, Christy paused to take a breath. She shook herself. What had just taken place? Why hadn’t she looked into what would happen to her options if she resigned? She had simply assumed that she would win today’s battle. It never occurred to her to plan for defeat. She’d committed one of the cardinal sins of business that was expressed in the childish aphorism: Never assume—it makes an “ass” out of “u” and “me.” How many times had she irritated Katherine by chanting that line? Could she have been this careless? Had she made an unconscious choice?

  No. Never. Ridiculous.

  And yet, in moments, she had transformed herself from a wealthy, independent, and powerful woman into a dependent with no identity outside her own home. After all she’d been through to build the company, it was pathetic to have to rely on Michael’s money when the time came to hit the road. Oh well, she told herself. It is what it is. There’s no way I could have stayed with Katherine running the show. And anyway, maybe there are more important things in life than running a company. Love, career, children. Pick two.

  After the Fat Lady Sings

  Carrying herself with the dignity of Mary, Queen of Scots on the way to her beheading, Christy walked through the open offices of Baby G for the last time. Some people stared; others pretended to be hard at work at their computers. Her oldest employees looked at her with such grave concern that she thought a few of them might cry. I can’t walk out without saying anything, she thought. At the front door, she turned and faced everyone.

  Her voice shook as she spoke. “As of today, I’m leaving the company, but I…I know you’ll all be fine. You are the most talented individuals. I have such faith in…in all of you,” Christy stammered. Her mind went blank. She became silent and looked the crowd over, the people she had cared so much about that she would probably never see again. “It has been a privilege to be your president. I…I wish you all success.” Blinking back tears, she turned and walked out the door.

  Steven, who had been reading the Wall Street Week article in the front seat, was waiting in the car. With great relief, Christy stepped inside. It was one-thirty.

  Niles Raines ran out of the building and rapped on Christy’s window. Steven lowered it. “Christy, are you okay?” he asked.

  “Of course, I’m fine,” she said, sounding shaky at best.

  “I just…I can’t believe those idiots would pick Katherine over you. It makes no sense.” Niles shook his head. “Really, what are you going to do?�
�

  Christy smiled. “Don’t worry about me, Niles. I’m going to leave all this behind and focus on being a great wife and mother.”

  Niles gave Christy a skeptical look, then kissed her and said to call him anytime. “When you’re ready, let’s talk about your next chapter.”

  Christy raised the window and sunk into the seat.

  Steven turned around. “Is it true? Did Katherine beat you?”

  Christy nodded her head weakly, ashamed. She wished Steven wasn’t there to watch the aftermath of her crushing defeat.

  “That bitch,” he said.

  “Steven, really, she’s not that bad a person—”

  “What do you mean? She stole the company right out from under you. I never trusted her.” Steven pulled out into traffic and drove north, mumbling under his breath.

  Steven’s right, Christy thought. Katherine is a bitch. Why am I defending her? I’m definitely in shock.

  “Listen, Christy, I’ve known you a long time. You’re a survivor. You’re going to be okay,” Steven said kindly.

  Christy didn’t respond.

  Steven kept driving. Finally, he asked, “Do you want me to take you to Michael’s office?”

  “No!” she said. “Not Michael’s. Please just…just drive.” Christy immediately regretted losing her temper. But she couldn’t apologize. She couldn’t talk to Steven. She couldn’t talk to anyone.

  “Where to?” Steven said.

  “I don’t know. Wherever.”

  Steven drove north until they reached 125th Street. Then he cut over to the FDR Drive and cruised all the way downtown, looping around the tip of Manhattan, then going north again on the West Side Highway. He checked the rearview mirror on and off, but Christy kept a stoic expression. She was silent. As they exited the highway at Twenty-third Street, Christy glanced toward the river and caught a picture of herself on one of the few billboards that hadn’t yet been replaced with one of the new ads. There she was, the face of Baby G.