Free Strong Medicine by Arthur Hailey

you! I was hoping someone would say
    that." She avoided meeting the eyes of Sam Hawthorne, watching her
    intently from a few seats away.
    It was Sam who, earlier that day, had told Celia, "At the opening of a
    sales meeting everybody feels their oats. That's why the first day is
    mostly hype. We try to get all the guys worked up---tell those who are
    in from the field how great they are, what a topnotch outfit Felding-Roth
    is, and how happy we are to have them on the team. After that, for the
    next two days, we get down to more serious business."
    "Am I part of the hype?" Celia had asked, having observed from the
    program that she would be speaking during the after-noon of the first
    convention day.
    "Sure, and why not? You're the only female we have actively selling, a
    lot of the guys have heard about you, and all of them want to see and
    hear something different."
    58
     

Celia said, "I must try not to disappoint them."
    At the time, she and Sam had been walking on Park Avenue, shortly after
    breakfasting at the Waldorf with several others from the company. In an
    hour the sales convention would begin. Meanwhile they were enjoying the
    mild and sunny April morning. Clear fresh breezes were sweeping through
    Manhattan and springtime proclaimed itself in massed tulips and daffodils
    on Park Avenue's central malls. On either side, as always, were noisy,
    never ceasing streams of multilane traffic. On sidewalks a tide of
    hurrying inbound office workers swirled around Sam and Celia as they
    strolled.
    Celia, who had driven in from New Jersey early that morning and would
    stay for the next two nights at the Waldorf, had dressed carefully for
    this occasion. She had on a new tailored jacket and skirt of navy blue,
    with a white ruffled blouse. Celia knew that she looked good and that the
    combination was a happy blend of business crispness and femininity. She
    was also glad to have shed the glasses which she had always disliked;
    contact lenses, suggested by Andrew on their honeymoon, were now a
    permanent part of her life.
    Sam said suddenly, "You decided not to show me a draft of your speech."
    "Oh dear!" she acknowledged. "It seems I forgot."
    Sam raised his voice to be heard above the traffic. "It might seem that
    way to others. But not to me, because I know there's almost nothing you
    forget."
    As Celia was about to reply, he silenced her with a gesture. "You don't
    need to answer that. I know you're different from others who work for me,
    which means you do things your own way, and so far you've mostly done
    them right. But I'll offer just a word of warning, Celia-don't overreach.
    Don't leave caution too far behind. Don't spoil a damn good record by
    trying to do too much, or move too fast. That's all."
    Celia had been silent and thoughtful as they turned, crossed Park Avenue
    on a green light, and headed back toward the Waldorf. She wondered: would
    what she had in mind for this afternoon be overreaching?
    Now, with the sales convention under way, and as she faced the entire
    sales force of Felding-Roth in the Waldorf's Astor Room, she realized she
    was about to find out.
    Her audience was mostly salesmen--detail men-plus supervi-
    59
     

sors and district managers, all from outposts of the company as far apart as
    Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, California, the Dakotas, Texas New Mexico, Maine
    and places in between. For many it was their only direct contact, every
    other year, with their superiors at company headquarters. It was a time for
    camaraderie, the reviving of enthusiasm, the implantation of new ideas and
    products, and even -for some--a renewal of idealism or dedication. There
    were also some boisterous high spirits directed toward womanizing and
    drinking-ingredients found at any sales convention of any industry anywhere.
    "When I was invited to speak to you," Celia told her audience, "it was
    suggested that I describe sonie of my experiences as a detail woman, and I
    intend to do that. I was also cautioned not