Diary of a Young Professional (Volume 1)

7.16.2017

Dear Diary,

This weekend, I finished Step 1 of my five-step plan; Holly Clark is irrevocably, undeniably my friend.

Before the holiday weekend, Holly and I sat down to talk about any questions I had about my new job. Of course, my intention was purely to use the meeting as a fact-finding mission. At the start of our discussion, I laid out a few technical questions – easy ones that I honestly already knew.  But I thought that Holly might be more eager to help me if she felt like I was fawning over her advice.

And it worked. Like a charm.

By the time we walked out of our meeting of the minds, Holly had already offered me an invitation to a strategy meeting for one of the larger production lines.  I couldn't have dreamed up a better outcome if I tried!

The meeting usually involves one key customer, the production manager, and our boss.  This opportunity should allow me enough insight to determine just how much work I need to do to overcome Holly Clark.

And the biggest win of all: I now know that Holly and I share a love of musical theatre. David never wants to go see a play with me – and Sierra lives on a teacher's salary and can't afford tickets right now. But Holly happens to be a member at the local theatre, which hosts traveling Broadway musicals several times a year. This friendship could prove to be beneficial to me in more ways than one!

I was tempted to share this amazing news with Kyle, but he's been acting strange since the fireworks show. We've eaten lunch together every day still, but I haven't found the right way to ask about the sudden social media blackout.  No matter what I try, Kyle won't respond: no Snapchat, no Instagram...not even Facebook!  He hasn't stood me up for lunch or anything, so I figure that he's busy with Sierra.

Yet, I haven't felt like I could let him in on my big five-step plan – not yet.

Sierra gushes endlessly about Kyle now, especially with her giddy anticipation over their upcoming first date. They text and call daily – even if Sierra and I are having a girls' night – but I can't be frustrated with her. Sierra doesn't date often; when she does, she never gets serious about any of her boyfriends. Once the honeymoon phase is over, so is her relationship.

The skater boy from the summer of 2015 was probably the longest relationship she's had in our entire friendship....

Kyle is attractive – nobody can deny that. But I know that eventually, Sierra will burn herself out on the relationship grind and go back to her elusive Parisienne artist lifestyle.  Who needs to worry about boys anyway? With David working night shift and my newfound free time, I can focus on friends and work. The ultimate intersection of those two aims is my target frenemy: Holly Clark.

The day after everyone returned to work from the holiday weekend, I sat in the strategy meeting with Holly and one of her key customers. Unsurprisingly, we were the only women in the room; manufacturing has been plagued by a disproportionate male advancement stigma for decades. Every case study from college confirmed that, so why was I surprised?

Normally, Holly must be the only woman in the room for these meetings.

Clearly, nothing about Holly's status as the token woman phased her. During the strategy meeting, Holly proved that she was everything that I needed to become: confident, prepared, and bubbly. The customer sales representative joked with her and they seemed to have a longstanding friendship, but Holly had managed scheduling for this account for the last eighteen months.

Investing that much time in growing my reputation just isn't an option. My strategy is a five-step plan, not a five-year plan!

I couldn't help but notice how Holly batted her eyes at the customer and flashed one of her killer smiles. Was she flirting with the customer? Surely she wouldn't do that with our boss in the room and her husband working at the same company. Holly just knew how to deal with salespeople: service with a smile.

After the meeting, I made sure to linger and observe Holly's post-business interactions with the customer. The entire time, I'd taken notes on true business meeting etiquette: how to behave, how to dress, how to speak. In the margins, I still had the word 'Flirt' circled with a giant question mark. Did my meteoric rise to the top include that type of borderline social suicide?

As hard as I tried to envision it, I couldn't remember my montage to success including anything about using my womanhood to my advantage.

Holly's laughter, an angelic voice reaching tones that captured everyone's attention, brought me crashing back to the conference room from my reverie. She called me over and introduced me to the customer as her protégé, which confirmed that my plan was working. I managed to make a positive first impression with the customer with a witty joke; he gave me his business card by the end of our brief meeting.

After the meeting, Holly congratulated me and offered me a ticket to join her to see Hamilton with her in the following week. Apparently, her husband had a major repair job crop up unexpectedly and couldn't accompany her anymore. This was it: my chance to see Holly in her natural habitat and secure our friendship!

Well, you didn't expect me to say no did you?

Last night night, Holly picked me up in an Uber for pre-show wine and heavy appetizers at a trendy wine bar in downtown. We started off splitting a bottle of a sweet starter wine and laughing about some of Brian's more obnoxious isms (like how he always announced his bathroom runs).  Even the golden child rebelled against the boss behind closed doors.

By the second bottle of wine, Holly was spilling her childhood secrets and her teenage addiction to denim jackets and stuffing her bra to get into bars.  I offered my underage secret to clubbing success (the infamous smoky eye) before we turned out attention to more sophisticated subjects.  Realizing that we both loved Europe, we bonded over our favorite classical playwrights and European travel locales.  I came out victorious in the London vs. Paris debate, allowing me to take the last half glass of wine for myself.  

For a moment as we were leaving to walk down to the theatre, I felt bad that my five-step plan would result in her ruin.

Lucky for me, my college party days prepared me well to hold my wine.  Despite my master plan to align myself with Holly, I was really excited about seeing Hamilton.  Lin Manuel-Miranda was probably my favorite composer of all-time (no offense, Mancina) and getting to see his new work live was like a dream come true.  I didn't want to be too tipsy to remember this night!

By intermission, Holly was ready for more wine. We took photos for her social media (and mine) and enjoyed the atmosphere of being in high society, if only for an evening. Holly seemed to know everybody in the lobby; I must have been introduced to half a dozen business owners and politicians in the span of just thirty minutes. This powerful persona - the popular and connected professional woman - felt like a daydream.

For just a moment, I felt like I was living out a moment in my montage to ultimate success.

By the end of the evening, Holly and I were sufficiently intoxicated. We grabbed a taxi back to our homes and the entire drive, Holly gushed about how she missed having a close girlfriend. She made me promise to call her for brunch next weekend, a commitment which I intended to keep.

Step 1: complete. Next up: become Holly Clark's mentee.

~Kelsey