"Anyway, Mark thinks he knows how to negotiate with
anyone in the world. The big turkey once got a major
project going in Latin America, and that got him promoted
to department head. Now he thinks he's God's gift to
international negotiations. Unfortunately, his attitude
keeps causing trouble for the rest of us.
"Since I know a few Slavic languages, I handle eastern
Europe. But today, Mark ruined a deal I was making with
people in the Czech Republic. He rewrote my cover letter,
offered them a bribe, then sent it out. A bribe! That's so
insulting. I begged him not to do that, but he thinks he
knows better. Now they're going to reject the deal, and I'll
get the blame."
O.E. offered a suggestion. "Competing with you."
Rebecca paused. "Why would he compete with me?
He's the boss already."
"Threatened by you."
"I'm no threat to him."
"Thinks you want his job."
That's ridiculous. Or was it? She couldn't deny that
she'd like to run the department-maybe Mark sensed that,
too. O.E. seemed to have real insight into people. "I
probably should have his job. He sure can't do it."
"He knows that. Wants to make you look bad."
"Damn, O.E. You might be right. How do you know so
much about this stuff?"
"Used to do business. I know people. Is he sexist?"
It's like he comes to work with me every day. Rebecca
exhaled loudly. "The worst. He's a total pig. There's another
woman in our group who had a baby last year. Now she only
works part time. He's always accusing her of slacking off
and threatens to fire her."
"Bet she works plenty hard."
"Yeah, she does." Rebecca laughed. "I think Ultra
Threads needs you to come in and do an evaluation."
"Doing it now. Does he touch you inappropriately?"
"Well. . . He shakes hands with men but hugs women."
"Uh huh. Can I beat him up?"
Rebecca visualized O.E. knocking Mark to the floor,
and it brought out an involuntary giggle. "Maybe you
should." She took a few seconds to calm herself before going
on. "What can I do about this?"
"Document everything. Send him e-mail. Tell him bribe
is wrong."
"I already went to his office and said that."
"Send e-mail too. Then you have a record. Office visits
are off record."
Who is this man who avoids any thought of work yet
knows it so thoroughly? Whoever he was, he certainly was
nothing like the underhanded jerks she encountered so
often at work. She recognized the value of his suggestion
and found herself surprisingly less upset.
"You're right. Thanks, O.E." Rebecca took a few breaths.