How Business Is Done

Alex and Deb stared intently at me while I described the perfect opportunity of meeting husband material.

I asked, "What is it that the three of us know that many men on campus need help to learn?" After a pregnant pause, I calmly said, "Latin."

Deb and Alex both shouted, "Of course."

I continued, "All three of us studied classical Latin for three to four years with private native Italian instructors. With a little brush up, I'm sure we could tutor anyone."

Alex asked, "Would the Latin instructors agree with us tutoring their students?"

I responded, "I'd think so. The more help they could get, the more students will pass their classes and the better their reputation as instructors will become. No instructor wants their students to fail."

Deb added, "There are many thousands of Latin terms used in the courts, written opinions and in the laws written by Congress. These are much easier to understand and use if you can derive their meaning from the classical Latin language. That's how each of us learned to do it. I think you're on to something, Jackie."

I said, "Let me check with my advisor and find out who we need to approach with this idea. Since we live in apartments and not dorms or sororities, we're free to invite whoever we want to come here for tutoring. In an informal setting like this, we can learn a lot about the men who need our help. I think we'll meet some great guys."

Deb asked, "How many students at one time could we tutor?"

I replied, "Since I have an empty bedroom, let's set that up as a classroom but with comfortable recliners, a white board and computer projector. We could get three or four in there."

"How long would each class last," asked Alex.

"At least an hour. We could offer snacks and soft drinks as everyone arrives, just to set a mood that'd encourage people to visit and get to know each other. If everyone enjoys the tutoring session, it'd encourage them to hang around and visit after the class."

Deb asked, "Would we tutor women also?"

"Sure, that'd be required by the instructor so let's volunteer it up front," I said. "The more networks we can build now with both men and women, the better we can do as lawyers down the road. We all want to make a difference in this crazy world, that begins with effectively working with others who have common interests."

Deb responded, "I think we suckered ourselves into joining a sorority. I was interested in working on charitable causes and helping people in our community. My mom warned me about the rampant sex on campus and in the Greek organizations. I ignored her cautions."

Alex added, "I agree. None of us had real experience with sex, and we still don't. Jackie, you're still a virgin, aren't you?"

I replied, "Yes. And I plan to stay one until I've found the guy I'll marry."

***

After a few calls and multiple explanations, we secured an appointment with Asst. Professor Anita Austin, a Latin instructor for many years at Yale. It was two weeks later when the three muscadets arrived at her office.

After initial greetings, the conversation became very interesting.

Anita said, "It's good to meet you ladies. I did a little background checking and pulled your applications for admission to learn more about you. Your SAT scores were exceptional. You could have attended any university, anywhere. Why Yale?"

I replied, "My parents attended law school here and have fully supported Yale for many years. I came because of their experience and the success they've had."

Alex replied, "My mom graduated from here. My dad went to Harvard, so I was torn. Mom is the glue in my family that holds everything together. Dad and I pay attention to what she thinks and here I am."

Deb said, "My dad is a partner in a large firm in Boston. There're more than fifty attorneys in their firm and they handle big cases across the country. The most impressive and successful attorneys in the firm attended here and Columbia. My dad went to Stanford. I decided to come to Yale because that's where Alex and Jackie applied."

"What makes you think you can be a tutor of my students?"

"We've had three or four years of training and use of Latin by native Italian instructors while we were in grammar and high school. Both Deb and I went to summer camps where only Latin was spoken. Alex spent a year as an exchange student in Rome. She used Latin in interacting with many who worked at the Vatican. All of them helped her with speaking a language that many consider a dead language. But many Catholic priests still use Latin in their masses. It's not dead, just not as widely used as in the Roman Empire days," I replied. "And, of course, its use in law is pervasive."

Anita changed to Latin to ask us many questions and debate some of the hot topics going on in the world. We all participated, speaking only in Latin, and had a lively discussion. We even told a couple of old jokes popular with Italians.

After twenty or so minutes of Anita using every form of every verb, pronoun, diphthong and conjugation she or we could think of, she relaxed and leaned back in the chair. She smiled and said, "You three could teach Latin to the Pope. I'm shocked. You don't have an American accent which is even more amazing. That's because you learned from native Italian instructors. Your parents were very wise."

Deb replied, "Can you let us be tutors for your struggling students?"

"Yes, but why do you want to spend your time doing it?"

I replied, "Our college years are important for building relationships, networks, social and business contacts that'll be useful as we begin our careers. My parents emphasized the power of networks and relationships and have given me many examples of how they're beneficial down the road."

Deb added, "We think that we'll meet very interesting people in a casual but focused environment as we tutor them in Jackie's apartment. She has an empty bedroom that we'll convert to a casual classroom that will hold three to five students at a time."

Alex continued, "We want to also create a warm, coffeehouse kind of atmosphere that encourages talk on many subjects, with a lot of the talk using Latin."

Anita said, "I think you're on to something big, if you can pull it off. I assume both women and men can be tutored."

All three of us said, "Of course."

"Meissner's Latin Phrasebook will be one of our tutoring guides but we'll also need to know your lesson plans so we'll be prepared when the students call," I said.

Anita said, "Finals are only three weeks away. I suggest you and I work together to review my lesson plans so we'll be ready to go beginning with the new semester."

We agreed. I said, "We also need time to acquire the classroom chairs and equipment. All the students will have their own laptops but the projector, whiteboard and video equipment we need will take a couple of weeks."

"Okay, I'm on board. I'd like you to sit for the proficiency exams for Latin one and two so the dean can see the results. Assuming you pass those, you'll get the class credits and that'll satisfy the University requirements for Latin in our curriculum. That'll put you way ahead and give you more opportunity to take electives."

We scheduled the two proficiency tests with Anita's teaching assistant. The following Wednesday afternoon, we took and passed each. Deb had a perfect score. Alex and I missed one of the forty check points. The ablative noun case was always my challenge.

Alex and I went to the local La-Z-Boy store and found a style that'd be comfortable for students to use with a laptop. We purchased five and they were delivered three days later. Deb remembered seeing a wooden board that fit across chair arms to form a desk surface. Alex found them on Etsy. We bought five which were quickly delivered. I found that they also fit nicely across a bathtub to form a shelf.

We ordered a large white board and stand from a website. The computer projector arrived from Best Buy shortly after. As the Christmas break approached, we crammed for finals and studied the teaching plans developed by Anita and her assistants.

Arriving home in Boston on December 20th, I was surprised to see both Mom and Dad home when I arrived. They were always working during the daytime, and I was expecting to let myself into the house.

After the normal hugs, kisses and warm greetings, I sense that something was wrong. It seemed that they came home together to talk with me when I arrived.

Mom said, "Sweetheart, your dad and I have some difficult news. We've decided to get divorced but want you to know that we love you." She started crying. I began crying with her.

Dad said, "We've realized that our careers are tearing us apart. There's just too many obstacles and we've decided to go our separate ways rather than continue to battle like we've been doing. Our love for you will never change, sweetheart."

As tears poured down my cheeks, I asked, "Is there a third person involved?"

They looked at each other but didn't respond. I guessed it hurt too much for them to admit it.

All the normal joy and fun of Christmas was gone. Dead. I was numb as I walked to my room to have some privacy.

Dad was staying at a local hotel.

Mom came to my room and asked if we could talk.

"Jackie, I made a big mistake and that was too much for your dad. He doesn't trust me any longer and I don't blame him. I want to tell you what happened, so you'll never let it happen to you."

I nodded. We both cried as she told me.

"I was representing a woman in a very nasty divorce case. There'd been cheating on both sides and nothing pointed to either one being clearly at fault more than the other. There was a pre-nup agreement, but it had a clause that terminated the agreement if the respondent had an affair. Since both had affairs, the divorce was contested without benefit of the pre-nup. It was a mess.

"The judge asked that both counsels meet with him after two days of rancor in court. He told us to make some sort of agreement happen no matter what it took. He believed there was no satisfactory way to decide the issues and who was at fault. Both appeared equally at fault.

"My opposing counsel suggested that we meet with our clients outside the courtroom to see what could be done to get some agreement. I invited them to come here.

"After a few minutes of loud accusations back and forth, we got them to calm down. I gave them coffee and some snacks that seemed to help. My opposing counsel was young, and still learning how to handle these situations. He let me take the lead. After a couple of hours of calm talk and looking at the options, we got agreement on sharing custody of the two children and on a split of property. After our clients left, my opposing counsel stayed to talk. I opened a bottle of wine and one thing lead to another. Your Dad caught me in bed with him.

"I'm sorry, Jackie. I lost control of my passions. I've no excuses. Please don't ever do what I did. Sex is a blessing between two lovers. It's a curse between two strangers. Nothing good ever comes from casual sex used for recreation."

I asked, "What comes next?"

"Your dad and I've agreed that we'll seek marriage counseling. He's looking for a good one now. If that isn't successful, we'll move ahead with divorce proceedings. It'll take a year to get it settled. In the meantime, I'll continue to live here, and your dad will final a rental somewhere. He's moved some of his clothes and business papers already."

I was devastated. Mom and Dad were my anchor even when I was away in boarding school. I could always find comfort and wise counsel when I needed it. Never for one moment in my life did I think a time like this would come. This happened to other families, not mine.

As I tried to sleep that night, memories of good times battled the grim outlook for the future. When problems happened, I'd normally call Deb or Alex and get their sympathy and the occasional help. I was ashamed and embarrassed to call them. I knew I needed to talk to Dad to see if there was any way he could forgive Mom. They'd been married for 24 years. Surely there was a chance for forgiveness.

I called him at 9:30 that night. We agreed to have dinner the following night and then go to his hotel to talk. I could tell he was choked up and fighting tears as we talked. I hadn't prayed in a long time. I did that night. God was the only anchor I had left. Surely, He cared.

The next day seemed like two days. As the hours dragged on, I was sick with worry. Mom had gone to work for a few hours. The house was quiet as I thought about my meeting with Dad. What could I say?

Dad picked me up at home. He and Mom were congenial, at least. We drove to a nearby family restaurant. Dad and I tried to be happy to see each other but the gloom of reality prevailed.

After picking at my salad for an hour while struggling to find something good to talk about, we left for his hotel.

In his room, I asked him to tell me what happened. I wanted his version in case Mom wasn't forthcoming.

"Jackie, I had a last-minute cancellation of a trip to North Carolina to settle a civil suit. I saw a strange car in the driveway at home and found her in bed with a young man I didn't know. I was both pissed and hurt. She'd admitted to using her sex to win a case years earlier but now I was looking at her doing it again. I grabbed a few clothes and some papers I needed and left. She tried to talk and apologize but I'd couldn't listen to it. I was devastated."

"Mom told me about letting the judge assault her. She admitted to using sex as a tool if the objective was big enough. She told me that you'd also done it with a lawyer in your firm."

Dad looked down and stared at his hands. "She was telling the truth, sweetheart. I'll never live that down, but the stake was millions in client fees."

I said, "Is this common in business? Sex is a lubricant for getting results?

Dad again looked down and sat biting his lip and trying to formulate a response in his mind.

"Jackie, this is something that does happen. Our firm hired three attorneys who were in sororities at Yale at one time. We send them to settle difficult cases when we think they're needed. They're good at it and usually return with a good settlement. We don't ask any questions and they don't volunteer any answers. We can both guess how they do it."

"Dad, I saw it at KKG many times. Girls will gladly spread their legs for a cause. Their use of sex is impersonal, just a way to get what they want. No doubt, they enjoy it also.

"We've never talked about sex, Dad, but I've talked to Mom many times. I think I know how she thinks, and it probably goes back to her days at KKG. She learned to use sex as a tool, just like you did. Mom is a good woman; after 24 years, she's earned a second chance and I'm begging you to give her one. She knows she screwed up big time and she's devastated at losing you."

"I've been thinking constantly about a path forward, sweetheart. I hated to admit to myself that I'd done the same thing and even facilitated my firm's attorneys doing it. Do you think there's still love in her heart for me? Have I burned that bridge?"

"I think there is. Dad, please give her a chance. Would you come tomorrow night and let the three of us talk through it. This has a bigger impact than just on the two of you." He agreed.

Mom was in bed when I arrived home. It was almost 11:00 and the house was quiet. I lay in bed for a long time thinking about Dad and what he said. It was a shock to hear about the three women his firm used to settle cases. The girls at DDG were at least partially right. Sex was a door-opener and a bankable activity with the right men.

The End of Part 10

Author's note: There will be a Part 11 which will be the conclusion. I've thought of a better ending than I wrote several weeks ago. Thanks for staying with this story.