In the year 2004, Marjorie Etienne was twenty years old and living in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The daughter of deceased Haitian immigrants, Marjorie got pregnant by a white dude and ended up giving up the offspring for adoption. Twenty-one years later, this lady has turned her life around. Marjorie went back to school, earning an MBA from Suffolk University in Boston and working as an account executive for Gatra Auto, one of New England's top car dealers. What does life have in store for this lady?
"Another one done," Marjorie said to herself as she read the message from Anthony Pirelli, staff attorney for MacShane Limited. The silver-tongued Italian American lawyer just notified Marjorie that his client accepted the deal. MacShane Limited tentatively agreed to a two-year contract during which they would use trucks from Gatra Auto for their transportation business. As the woman who spearheaded the deal, Marjorie would be feted by Gatra, she was sure of it.
"Outstanding work," said Marjorie's boss, Luther MacKean, replying swiftly after she forwarded him the message from Pirelli. Slack does come in handy for all employees of Gatra, many of whom were either glued to their laptops or busy interacting with clients. Marjorie got up and went to the window, looking at the sprawling landscape of Boston. The state of Massachusetts is simply glorious, and Boston on a winter's morning is something else.
"I've done it," Marjorie whispered to herself. The tall, curvy and dark-skinned black woman in the stylish pantsuit looked confident, strong and smart. Marjorie has come a long way from her humble beginnings. She remembered her parents, Natalie and Rameau Etienne, formerly of Cap-Haitien, Haiti, and how they struggled in Dorchester. Marjorie was only nineteen years old when her parents died in a tragic MBTA accident. Life hadn't been kind to her in those days. Somehow, against all odds, Marjorie not only survived but thrived.
Gatra's main office, located in Boston's prestigious State Street sector, had a high-tech yet comforting look. The CEO, Anna Nicole Tomasi, had come up in the tech sector prior to taking the reins of Gatra. Marjorie regularly interacted with Tomasi. The tall, dark-haired and bronze-skinned, thirty-something Italian American gal was frosty in her dealings with Marjorie. Born to rich Italian American parents in the South End of Boston and educated Boston Latin School and Harvard University, Tomasi was a blue blood. Marjorie came up hard. They were both driven career women but they were not the same.
"A woman's chief enemy in the corporate world is another woman," said Marjorie's former mentor, Nathalie Desroches. The tall, dark-skinned and silver-haired black woman had been the only Haitian faculty member at Suffolk University when Marjorie was in the business program. In those days, Marjorie had ambition to spare but she was pretty green. Nathalie befriended Marjorie and became her mentor. In the business world, it takes more than good looks and education to survive and thrive. One needed to be both polished and ruthless for it's a fairly cutthroat environment.
"Oh I believe it," Marjorie replied, and Nathalie nodded and smiled. The two black women had been dining at Au Bon Pain restaurant, a nice little spot located in the Back Bay area of Boston while discussing things. In those days, Marjorie was in awe of Nathalie. Born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, Nathalie came to Boston as an immigrant and achieved a lot. Educated at UMass-Boston and Northeastern University's MBA program, Nathalie worked corporate for many years before becoming a professor at Suffolk University. Along the way, Nathalie married a Jamaican American cop named Aaron Leopold Jones and bore him two adult sons, Junior and Carlton. Nathalie had everything that Marjorie wanted, and more...
"You've accomplished so much, I hope I get done half as much as you," Marjorie said, and Nathalie smiled and nodded. The two well-dressed black women dined and bantered while fellow Bostonians went about their day. The Back Bay of Boston is a moneyed spot but the locals were friendly for the most part. Marjorie always wondered what it would be like to live in one of those townhouses. If Batman was real and lived in Boston, he'd own a Back Bay townhouse for sure.
"Marjorie, your problem is that you doubt yourself, you have to take what you want," Nathalie said, and Marjorie smiled mysteriously and nodded. After dining, the two black women hugged and parted ways. It was Thursday and Nathalie would be flying to Hartford, Connecticut, for a two-day conference of the New England Black Professionals Association. Nathalie said goodbye to her husbands and sons, then went to Logan Airport to board her flight. The brilliant, ambitious black businesswoman turned college professor left her house unguarded...
