{"product_id":"they-smiled-at-me-the-calvin-l-daniels-9798196675546","title":"They Smiled at me the Whole Time","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThey Smiled at Me the Whole Time\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eA Memoir and Professional Survival Guide\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey welcomed him. They mentored him. They smiled at him - the whole time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThen, in one conference room, one career-defining moment, his closest colleague let him fall.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThey Smiled at Me the Whole Time\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of Marcus Webb - a Black man who made it from the east side of Kansas City to a VP seat at a regional investment firm, only to discover that making it through the door is not the same as being safe inside the room. When a high-stakes project review turns into a public ambush, Marcus is left standing alone, without allies, without cover, and with a choice every professional who has ever felt the gap between \u003ci\u003ewelcome\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ebelonging\u003c\/i\u003e will recognize: walk away quietly, or rebuild.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe rebuilds.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMethodically. In silence. Over two years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat follows is one of the most honest, practical, and compulsively readable accounts of corporate survival ever written. Marcus doesn't rage. He documents. He builds his reputation outside the room that tried to define him. And he draws on the deepest resource he has - his mother, Vivian Webb, a woman who cleaned the same offices he would one day run, and who knew more about power, patience, and professional endurance than any MBA program ever taught him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach of the thirteen chapters pairs raw, cinematic storytelling with a concrete, actionable \u003cb\u003eLesson\u003c\/b\u003e - making this simultaneously a gripping memoir and a genuinely useful guide. No jargon. No platitudes. Just hard-won wisdom, finally in print.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIf you've ever been the only one in the room - or smiled at by everyone in it - this book was written for you.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Calvin L. Daniels\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798196675546\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/12\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 148\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.41lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.37d","brand":"Calvin L. Daniels","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48743209631999,"sku":"9798196675546","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/they-smiled-at-me-the-calvin-l-daniels-9798196675546","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}