say only makes it worse or makes me look paranoid, vindictive, or bitchy.”
Kelly leans back on the couch. She has an air of control that I’ve never seen before. “So murder and talking straight won’t work.”
“Maybe we should start insidious rumors about her. You know, she slept with Chris and now she’s sleeping with Sid,” I add.
Kelly shakes her head and gives us a look like we’re both idiots. “You two, really?”
“What?” Juliette says looking concerned.
“Effectively spreading rumors takes skill. You two idiots will get caught and look like…idiots.”
“You’re not leaving us with many choices. What’s left?” Juliette asks.
Kelly takes both of us in. “What do you really want to have happen? Snow?”
“If she continues with the rumors I’m eventually going to leave. I’d rather have her leave. Preferably to someplace I will never want to go.”
“What does this Terri chick do?” Kelly questions.
“She manages schedules, you know, like what Isabelle does.”
“She’s only some kind of administrator? And she has all these engineers and managers leaving the company? Really? Damn, talk about the tail wagging the dog. You got to hand it to her. There’s nothing quite like running the company from the bottom of the org chart.”
“Kind of scary when you put it like that,” Juliette says.
Kelly focuses us back on track with, “Yeah, but our goal is to get her to leave without getting any negative blow back on either of you.” Kelly contemplates for awhile, “Where does this chick live?”
“She rides the bus down from San Francisco,” I tell Kelly.
Kelly responds with a big smile on her face, “This is going to be too easy.”
“What, you’re sabotaging the bus?” Juliette asks.
Kelly gives her a pathetic look. “No. You two are going to find her a job in San Francisco.”
“What?” we both say at the same time.
Kelly starts directing us, “Hita, get on Linked In and connect to her. Make sure to connect to at least twenty other employees at the same time, preferably people she knows or works with. Use her profile to create a résumé. Then use all your smarts and her new résumé to apply to every possible job in San Francisco. One of those companies up there will need someone with her skills and experience. You two aren’t looking for jobs up there, so you won’t have to run into her again. It’s a win-win for everyone. She shortens her commute and you got rid of her.”
“But what if someone catches us?” Juliette says.
“What, some recruiter is going to call the FBI to find out who gave them a candidates résumé?”
“Well, no,” I answer.
“What’s the worst that happens, she gets a few calls from some recruiters and wonders who’s passing around her résumé? You don’t use any work computers and never discuss this with anyone at your company. Not even the other princesses.”
“This might take a while.”
“What, and a whisper campaign won’t take a long time? It sure beats going to jail for trying to poison her.”
Juliette and I look at each other. I finally say, “You know this idea might work.”
Kelly says with a big, satisfied smile, “Even better, you know how unhappy Isabelle is where she works? When Terri leaves, you two now have the perfect new candidate.”
“Kelly, I never knew you were so diabolical,” I tell her in awe.
Kelly smiles real big, “Hita, you have no idea.”
Chapter 38 – The Trap is Set
Listening to Kelly’s advice, I connect to Terri on Linked In along with all the other admin types, product managers in her old group, Sid, and a bunch of other people who work for him. A couple days later, Terri approves my connection.
The one blowback I didn’t expect is that Sid calls me into his office. He’s never done this before. I wonder how he figured out our plan.
After he asks me to sit down he asks. “Hita, are you happy working here?”
“Yes,” I say as I wonder when the next shoe is going to drop.
“No problems? You’re not looking for another job?”
“No,” I answer. Then I bravely ask, “Why are you asking me this?”
He clears his throat. “I saw your invitation for Linked In, most people only build their Linked In résumé when they’re looking for a new job.”
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding as I respond, “No, I’m happy, I wanted to update my information from college.”
Sid nods before saying, “We’re happy with you, and we’re glad you brought Juliette here.”
***
Juliette and I use Terri’s profile to build a résumé. We’re so