You know what I mean. Surely there were all kinds of people, men and women acting, in a sense, like groupies, wanting to hang around a self-made successful businessman ONLY to further their careers, nothing more. That, in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing, it happens in the business world all the time, as long as things are kept on a strictly professional level.
It’s called networking, THAT’S the word I’m looking for.