Executive Sweet (A Sample)

Kay dropped her head and put her hand up to it. "Don't you see what an empty promise that is? If I'm good at this game, I won't be able to show my face anymore. I could never be one of your vice-presidents. I'll probably have to leave town when it's over."

"Fine, I'll let you run one of our satellite offices. How would you like to be the manager of the St. Louis office, hang out with your business school friends?" Dan opened a drawer and started leafing through it. "I have a brochure here showing all the offices we have around the world. You can take your pick. Let's face it . . ." Dan looked up at Kay with a coy smile. "Yorick is a company of infinite possibilities."

Kay smiled back. That line was so familiar, but not quite the way Shakespeare wrote it. "No, Dan. I believe Yorick is a company of . . ." She ran the lines in her head. Alas, poor Yorick. Yes, everyone knew that part. But what was the next line? Right! He was a man of . . . ". . . Infinite jest."

Dan snapped to attention and looked at Kay, his mouth hanging open. "That's right," he whispered. He stared at her for a few seconds, then leaned back in his chair, his mouth still open and his eyes never leaving her.

"Please Kay, play this game with me." His voice was soft, entreating, intoxicating. "We'll have so much fun, I can't even begin to tell you."

"Like I said, it could be fun, but it will destroy my career. And no, I don't want to run your St. Louis office. I just spent the last two years there, and I'm ready to move on. Besides, I want a real job, doing what I've been trained to do."

Dan gave her a tender look. "Look, you're fresh out of school and you think that these years of training have prepared you for that job in the negotiations group. But there are many other jobs that you're qualified to do. Today, I'm offering you one of them, a job you never planned on, a job you didn't even know existed, but a job that you prepared for, all the same.

"And as far as your career goes, I think this is a great opportunity. Work with me and you'll learn all sorts of things about the business world-many of which are not taught in school and would take you decades to learn on the job." He leaned forward. "Work with me and you will meet the captains of industry and watch how deals get made." He sat up straight and waited a beat before continuing, obviously working up to a big finale. "Work with me and you will make so much money that you'll be able to retire in a few years." He sat back and grinned. She had to admit he had some good points there.