Susannah Centlivre, 1724
With the sales meetings he called frequently, an ex-football player, he was now a super-aggressive sales manager. Brock was new to the team. He and Jill were working the phones when a rival salesman came in to talk to Lyle about a job.
"Hey, man, good to see you," Lyle welcomed him effusively. "Let's do this over lunch. Leave your briefcase in the closet. Brock and Jill are here, they'll watch it."
The two had no sooner left than Jill had the briefcase on her desk. "What're you doing?" Brock asked.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" she replied. "I'm gathering competitive marketing information." She gave him a withering look and returned to the case. "He didn't even lock it," she noted. "The fool!" She carefully removed and photocopied every item in the bag - price lists, product specs, customer list, order forms, even his personal address book, checkbook and bank statement.
Everything was carefully replaced and the briefcase back in the closet when the two men returned. The salesman picked it up and left without the slightest clue what had been done.
Brock was appalled. He told the story to Lyle, who grinned admiringly at Jill and exclaimed, "Good thinking babe. Let's see what you got." To Brock, he sneered, "Man, you've got a lot to learn. We're playing hard ball with the big boys. It's pretty sad a woman has to teach you. If you haven't got what it takes to contribute to the team, then maybe you won't be on it very long."
Brock considered his options for a few days, and then quit. He decided he didn't like the kind of person he'd have to become to be part of that team.
