Terms of Endearment

01/2007

A business associate of mine (let’s call him “Warren Buffet”) worked with me on a deal recently (let’s call it “NetJets”). I was impressed. He got married recently but that’s not what caught my attention. What stopped me in my tracks was this: right in between important points of negotiation, he stopped me, looked me square in the eye, and told me I look like a certain celebrity (let’s call her “Ashley”). Now, I look nothing like “Ashley” but who cares? I mean, really, WHO CARES?

I loved every minute of his delicious, misguided, compliment. I almost gave in on every point of difference, but NO. My clients trust it takes more than flattery. But my clients have no idea there are other celebrities to whom I’ve been compared lately. You would laugh if I told you their names. So would my clients and so would the Man I Love. You would worry if I bought stock in the compliment. So would my clients. So would the Man I Love.

But here’s the thing: My Man never calls me Sweetheart. He doesn’t call me Darling. He doesn’t even call me Honey.

Mark my words, as soon as I cozy up to him and say, “Honey, Warren Buffet thinks I look like So-and-So” his first response will be this: SWEETHEART, you do NOT look like So-and-So. DARLING, don’t ever think you look like So-and-So. HONEY, please don’t tell people you look like So-and-So.

So last month, over pancakes in Paris, I peeked over my latte and hummed, “Don’t you think I look like So-and-So.” He called me Sweetheart in record time. He called me Darling. Then he called me Honey. 1-2-3. It’s simple math – no Harvard degree required and that equation equals happiness every time.