I did become a great CEO (sorry for bragging but it’s true!). I carefully
studied every single document left behind by Mr. Glater’s folders, I learned everything
about AFM products and services, partner projects, domestic and international
operations, data resources, and fluctuations of global market trends. I made
sure that all projects that had been stalled since Mr. Glater’s resignation
were resumed, all lost contacts were reestablished, all data reports were
submitted on time, and all press releases continued to be published with no
interruption.
I also learned (that was probably my biggest
achievement!) how to calm the ever-furious Rich Gustavsson, how to make Claire
Starkoff skip the idle talk and get to the point, and how to keep Caesar Rey
focused on an assigned task and not let him become carried away by millions of
new ideas.
Finally, I handled the toughest of all the business
projects – I talked to Mom. Mom was so astonished by my news that her first
response consisted only of a few words: “Oh, Liza! Oh, no! Oh, my God! Oh,
Liza!” This lasted for quite a while; so I began to wonder how long I would
have to wait until Mom would actually begin to
speak.
“Okay, Liza,” Mom finally took a deep breath, “I
don’t know. On the one hand, I can’t believe you did something like that. It’s
great. It’s very mature of you. I’m proud of having such a wonderful caring
daughter! But on the other hand, this feels wrong! You are no longer at school
and you’ve lied about my job relocation - nothing good starts with a lie!”
“Mom, please!!!” I pleaded, “I don’t know what
else I can say to convince you. But I feel it – everything will be just great!
Do you hear me?! Just great!” I meant this “just great” with all my voice, and
looks, and heart, and mind. And maybe if Mom had not been so exhausted by the
never-ending job search and all the interviews she had in the past several
months, she would have refused to follow my plan. But this time, she gave in.
And the president of AFM did I remain!
Now I was completely and totally happy. Well,
maybe almost completely and totally. There was one tiny speck of discomfort
that constantly distracted me from everyday work – those strange sounds in the
server room I had heard on my first day at AFM. Despite the assurance from the
information technology director that “everything is just top-notch with their
equipment,” I heard the chilling
“Sh-sh-sh-s-s-s-d-d-d-d-s-s-s-s-d-d-d-d-r-r-r-r!” every time I would pass by
the server room. Sometimes it was just an incomprehensible mishmash of noises,
but sometimes I seemed to catch a part of a word or maybe even a piece of some mysterious
message: “Dr-r-r-r-ah-drah-drah! Br-r-r-r-ah-brah-brah!
D-d-d-dr-r-r-r-rah-ah-ah!”
It was just ridiculous – the sounds were on my mind ALL THE TIME. Once
I even caught myself thinking about them in the middle of an executive meeting
on marketing strategies. So, I made a pledge. I said to myself: “Dear Liza, next
time, when you feel like thinking about these silly sounds, just . . . just
name all the partner companies AFM ever worked with; or, all the products AFM
ever advertised, promoted, and manufactured!” Surprisingly, the pledge worked. I
managed to keep the strange “r-r-r-rahs” and “dr-r-r-rahs” off my mind for
almost a week until one morning when I walked into the lunch room for a cup of
coffee…
