Hi, brick wall, let's chat

I got a call from OldBoss's new assistant. "Karen, when you scheduled the [Professional Organization for Which Boss Is President] meeting at [Big Industry Conference], did you have any trouble getting a meeting room?" she asked. "No, I just called the hotel and reserved a room for the meeting," I replied. "Well, the hotel said that since POWBIP is separate from BIC, I need to get approval for a room, because they have all the rooms reserved for the whole time." "Oh. Well, the hotel I dealt with didn't require me to do anything like that." "Well, how to I get approval from BIC?" "I don't know. I didn't have to do it." "I guess I could say it's part of BIC...except I already said it wasn't...how did you reserve the room, since it was separate from BIC?" "OK, I admit it," I said, "I offered special perks to the people in charge, if you know what I mean. I can be very persuasive!" (OK, I didn't really say that. Or say anything else, for that matter. After 5 seconds or so of silence, she thanked me and rang off.)