The fourth club meeting was essentially the same as the others. Everyone arrived early. The great food and great wine were popular draws. Each girl feared missing out on the money.

Before the presentation, there was a clipped repeat of the group chat arguments. Sarah and Cindy were on one side. The other girls were on the other side.

No one had changed their minds. Sarah and Cindy continued to defend each other’s decisions about how they’d sabotaged their long-term relationships. Denise, who didn’t like drama or the limelight, said she was still uncomfortable with how Sarah and Cindy had ended their relationships. Sammi felt the same way. Kathy didn’t approve of the lies, though she did say “good riddance to the men.”

The girls asked Judith to weigh in on the drama with Sarah and Cindy. Judith said, “You never heard me tell Sarah and Cindy to break up with their boyfriends. Remember, when we were talking together earlier I told them to let their boyfriends fuck them if they wanted to keep their boyfriends. Every girl needs to decide what’s important to her. They’ve obviously decided. The rest of you girls should let them make decisions on what’s important to them. As far as how they did their breakups, I don’t know all the details, so I won’t comment on it. I do approve of them being decisive. Let’s talk about something else.” The Voice Of Authority had spoken. Every girl agreed to change the topic.

At 7:30pm, Judith turned on the presentation. A large “4” filled the screen. The girls remembered nothing of the presentation. Once it was over Sammi again felt objections. Sammi knew these feelings were irrational and ignored them. More socializing followed.

After each presentation, Judith appeared even prettier and wittier to every girl. It’s not that the girls wanted Judith sexually. The girls increasingly wanted to be exactly like her. Every girl was desperately trying to figure out what she could copy from Judith’s example. Judith was The Role Model. Judith was the template each girl was trying to follow.

Katina, Sammi learned, had a strong sense of pride in herself. Katina was sure her future lover was somewhere out there. Katina would not change herself for him, though. Katina even had a long list of requirements for Mr. Right. Sammi decided that Katina’s Mr. Right, whoever he was, would have to be one special man.

Kathy continued to trumpet that no man would ever control her. Kathy thought Katina’s special man was a fantasy that distracted Katina from more important things. Sammi had to admit, Kathy could be a little abrasive, but Kathy was probably right.

Denise asked Judith, “Why $100,000? That’s a lot of money!” All conversation stopped. Every girl’s head turned to listen. Every girl had secretly wondered. Every other girl had been afraid the offer would be withdrawn if she asked. If asked, Judith might realize she didn’t need to pay so much. So, all the other girls had decided not to ask. For a girl who hated drama and attention, Denise was exceptionally good at accidentally causing drama and drawing attention.

Judith was unphased. She brightly responded, “That’s easy! You’re worth it! I know none you realize you’re worth it. You’re worth it anyway. You really are. I promise you. Stick with me. Let me help you. You’ll realize your value.”

That answer caused every girl to worship Judith even more. After that answer, Judith could have led the girls straight to the barricades.

Every girl loved Judith. Judith was amazing. Judith was their role model. “What would Judith do?” was how every girl had started to look at life. Every girl in “Women Overcoming Obstacles for Leadership” was an undeclared member of the Judith fan club. Every girl felt like she would willingly follow Judith over a cliff.

Each girl was sad there was only one more meeting. Each girl committed herself to being at the final meeting.

The final meeting would change everything.