withdraw it.”
I considered that idea briefly and shuddered. We’d look foolish and inconsistent to Nicholas, and Latoya probably would stop speaking to me. “Why? And I wish you’d consulted me about this. Who is this person?”
Marty’s good humor had evaporated along with mine. “She’s the niece of Edward Perkins—and he’s agreed to make a nice contribution to the endowment for the collections management fund.”
Ah, now Marty’s enthusiasm made sense. “How did all this come about? Who is Edward Perkins? And do I assume the donation is contingent upon hiring his relative?”
“I was at a party over the weekend, and Eddie was there. If you don’t know him, you should—we’ve been trying to lure him onto the board for years. Old money, but tight with it. I’ve known him forever, but not well. Anyway, we got to talking, and it turns out he’s got a lovely niece who just graduated from college and has been having trouble findinga job, and he wondered if I knew of any openings. I should add, he doesn’t have any kids of his own, so his nieces and nephews stand to inherit. So he tells me that she was a history major at Mount Holyoke and she just loves the city. I said we had a slot that might be a good fit.”
I felt a small sense of relief. “Do you mean you haven’t actually offered her the position?”
Marty cocked her head at me. “Nell, you know how this works. I made appropriately gushy noises about young Alice and then happened to mention that we were looking for funding, since it was such an important position. Eddie and I danced around that for a while, and I finally told him something in the low to mid five figures would be nice—and mentioned a few of his friends who were chipping in.”
This was news to me. “I haven’t heard about any recent flood of contributions.”
Marty waved a hand at me. “They’ll come around. Anyway, Eddie was good with it but made it clear that Alice came with the package.”
Oh, sh…oot. This put me in a real bind. Alice might be a lovely girl with a shiny new college degree, but she couldn’t possibly match Nicholas’s depth and specificity of experience. On the other hand, brushing Alice off could well mean saying good-bye to a nice contribution and alienating a potential donor and future board member, which was never a good strategic move. At the very least I owed it to Marty to go through the motions and interview this girl.
“Who’s your pick?” Marty demanded.
“His name is Nicholas Naylor. Latoya found him, and I have to say, he’s extremely well qualified. He’s been working on his own version of software for managing collections for cultural institutions, which he would bring withhim. He’s got several years of experience, and his references check out. I told Latoya to make him an offer this morning.”
“Well then, we have a problem here,” Marty said.
We stared at each other. I owed my current position to Marty’s behind-the-scenes machinations, and the longer I held it, the better I liked it. But there was no way I intended to be her puppet. I reserved the right to make my own decisions about administrative matters, including hiring. At the same time, I didn’t want to alienate Marty, because while the Terwilliger fortune might have dwindled over the centuries, she knew everyone in the five-county area, she had a pretty good grasp of their current net worth, and she was happy to share her information and contacts with the institution she loved. So I couldn’t just blow off her proposed candidate, no matter how unqualified she sounded. “We do,” I said neutrally. “Why don’t I talk with this Alice and see how the wind blows? Seriously, Marty, if she’s an airhead, then it should be an easy decision. If she seems up to the job, we can consider our options.”
“Fair enough. Want me to call her?” When I nodded, Marty continued. “You know, I’m not saying that you
have
to take her on. Sure, Eddie’s money would
I considered that idea briefly and shuddered. We’d look foolish and inconsistent to Nicholas, and Latoya probably would stop speaking to me. “Why? And I wish you’d consulted me about this. Who is this person?”
Marty’s good humor had evaporated along with mine. “She’s the niece of Edward Perkins—and he’s agreed to make a nice contribution to the endowment for the collections management fund.”
Ah, now Marty’s enthusiasm made sense. “How did all this come about? Who is Edward Perkins? And do I assume the donation is contingent upon hiring his relative?”
“I was at a party over the weekend, and Eddie was there. If you don’t know him, you should—we’ve been trying to lure him onto the board for years. Old money, but tight with it. I’ve known him forever, but not well. Anyway, we got to talking, and it turns out he’s got a lovely niece who just graduated from college and has been having trouble findinga job, and he wondered if I knew of any openings. I should add, he doesn’t have any kids of his own, so his nieces and nephews stand to inherit. So he tells me that she was a history major at Mount Holyoke and she just loves the city. I said we had a slot that might be a good fit.”
I felt a small sense of relief. “Do you mean you haven’t actually offered her the position?”
Marty cocked her head at me. “Nell, you know how this works. I made appropriately gushy noises about young Alice and then happened to mention that we were looking for funding, since it was such an important position. Eddie and I danced around that for a while, and I finally told him something in the low to mid five figures would be nice—and mentioned a few of his friends who were chipping in.”
This was news to me. “I haven’t heard about any recent flood of contributions.”
Marty waved a hand at me. “They’ll come around. Anyway, Eddie was good with it but made it clear that Alice came with the package.”
Oh, sh…oot. This put me in a real bind. Alice might be a lovely girl with a shiny new college degree, but she couldn’t possibly match Nicholas’s depth and specificity of experience. On the other hand, brushing Alice off could well mean saying good-bye to a nice contribution and alienating a potential donor and future board member, which was never a good strategic move. At the very least I owed it to Marty to go through the motions and interview this girl.
“Who’s your pick?” Marty demanded.
“His name is Nicholas Naylor. Latoya found him, and I have to say, he’s extremely well qualified. He’s been working on his own version of software for managing collections for cultural institutions, which he would bring withhim. He’s got several years of experience, and his references check out. I told Latoya to make him an offer this morning.”
“Well then, we have a problem here,” Marty said.
We stared at each other. I owed my current position to Marty’s behind-the-scenes machinations, and the longer I held it, the better I liked it. But there was no way I intended to be her puppet. I reserved the right to make my own decisions about administrative matters, including hiring. At the same time, I didn’t want to alienate Marty, because while the Terwilliger fortune might have dwindled over the centuries, she knew everyone in the five-county area, she had a pretty good grasp of their current net worth, and she was happy to share her information and contacts with the institution she loved. So I couldn’t just blow off her proposed candidate, no matter how unqualified she sounded. “We do,” I said neutrally. “Why don’t I talk with this Alice and see how the wind blows? Seriously, Marty, if she’s an airhead, then it should be an easy decision. If she seems up to the job, we can consider our options.”
“Fair enough. Want me to call her?” When I nodded, Marty continued. “You know, I’m not saying that you
have
to take her on. Sure, Eddie’s money would
Similar Books
