Negotiation 101

Living in the Music City, I get to hear a lot of songwriters and musicians discussing the inspiration for their work. Many of the women jokingly say, “Anyone who dates me has to understand that they might one day be fodder for a song.”

Well….I have discovered the same is true with fiction. Yes, some old beaus have reared their ugly heads in my trilogy. As inspiration, of course, not as a true replica of who they were to me. And sadly for them, I take great liberty in filling in the unknown details. It’s fiction, after all.

Making them the villain, it turns out, has been its own kind of therapy. The rampant cliches are real—married men, dysfunctional men, (those who I presume to be) gay men. It’s healing to write a different ending to real life stories.

But there are good men (and women), too. Over the years, I’ve been inspired by people who have shaped me in a positive way. And they, too, make guest appearances in my books. But not as villains. As heroes. Again, they are fictionalized characters, but ones adored by all.

One such person is Pascal.

I was working at the corporate headquarters of Starbucks and was recruited by the mad, crazy startup environment of ShopNow.com to be their Director of Marketing. The company was trying to replicate Amazon’s model, and doing so at a breakneck pace. This was the dawn of the dot-com era, when everyone was so sure their company would be the next Yahoo! or eBay. We were all going to make it big, cash out, and retire in our thirties.

Or so we thought.

Employees worked crazy hours, often sleeping at the office. Every week felt like a month. Cell phones (the kind that only placed calls) were gaining popularity, so even if we did go home at a decent hour, we were often called after hours to address work issues. The environment was total chaos, but also very exciting, especially when we went public. (I was momentarily wealthy, until the company blew through its pile of cash.)

Pascal, my boss, was my Source of Sanity amidst the mayhem. Regardless of the fires that needed to be put out in a given day, Pascal remained calm. At least on the outside. I still remember ideating in his office, bantering back and forth on how to build the company’s brand and business. I am still proud of the work we did in creating the Mall Santa television spot.

Despite the workday madness, the job had its perks. Box seats at Mariners games, where I met his then young son. A kick ass marketing team filled with good skiers, especially Pascal. Smart people who sacrificed a lot to make things happen. That doesn’t happen by accident.

About six months into the job, someone on the executive team called me into their office. “Melinda, we have decided to part ways with Pascal. We’d like to offer you his job — Marketing VP.”

I was ecstatic about the promotion, but also sad for Pascal. I didn’t — still don’t — know what happened. I was concerned I’d never hear from him again.

And then…I got a call. Rather than bashing the company, or being bitter that I had taken his place, he said to me, “Melinda, my salary was much higher than yours is. Did they even mention giving you a pay raise with the promotion?” Of course not.

He then proceeded to give me a Negotiation 101 lesson to test on the CFO. It worked, by the way.

Pascal always found the balance of mentorship and friendship. He later hired me as a consultant at Microsoft. I house-sat for him and his wife when I sold my Queen Anne condo. And I can always count on him to remember my birthday.

That selfless act, though — coaching the person who’d just taken his job on how to get paid more than he knew she was earning — will never be forgotten.

That’s why Pascal makes an appearance in my first novel in the Fifty Yard Line of Life series. He’s not my boss. He’s not even in Marketing. He’s a handsome French chef, a character who everyone adores.

Not surprising.