Taking Stock (18 page)

Out of the elevator and across the floor,
Eric
a received a few words of encouragement here and there on her way to Gregg’s office. He beamed adoringly at the sight of her entering his cube. This wasn’t lust in his eyes; he didn’t spring up to grab hold, he sat back and reveled in her arrival like a warm spring breeze. Her warm smile naturally returned his.

“Hey, what a surprise,” he said.

“Thought I’d come down and check things out. Make sure no one’s having trouble.”

“You don’t need a reason to visit. It’s humble compared to yours, but you’re always welcome.”

Eric
a wished they’d started this two years ago.

“Heard about Brad’s promotion. Is yours next
?
”

“What promotion
?
”

“You didn’t see the email
?
He made S.V.P.”

“When
?
”

“This morning.”

The bastard! He wasn’t above stealing credit, but how could he after she worked herself to exhaustion for eighteen straight months. She never saw this coming. He’d done everything but assault her to derail the project and now that it was a success he gets promoted. All he said in the boardroom was ‘the team’ did a great job. He never mentioned her and now she knew why. Whatever he said about her in private, it wasn’t flattering.

She fumed all the way up to twenty-two then stood around the corner from his office trying to calm down. It was premature to blow up and make a scene. Her promotion could come next week or next month. She went in relaxed, hiding her distaste for the wretch behind the desk.

“Well
Eric
a, you haven’t visited in a while. How are things downstairs
?
” The snide expression might have meant things with Gregg.

“Everything’s fine.”

“Good. The board was pleased with our effort.”

“I’ve heard. Congratulations on your promotion.”

“Thanks. It’s been in the works a long time. This last project pushed it over the hump.”

“I guess that makes me the humpee.”

Brad looked back to his monitor as if the conversation were over, a silent dismissal without a single word of thanks for eighteen months of sleepless nights. She stood motionless, waiting for a sign of humanity. It didn’t come. Seconds passed awkwardly, neither of them spoke. She wasn’t going to bow outside and let it drop.

“What’s next for me
?
”

“What do you mean
?
”

“Do we have anything big coming up
?
”

“What you’re doing now is very important.”

“And what’s that
?
”

“Supporting client services. That system of yours is going to need modifications. It’s been a good week, but you can’t expect it to be trouble free. Problems are going to come up. Who better to resolve them than you
?
”

“Ganesh for one.”

“I’m moving Ganesh to the attribution project.”

“Who’s leading that
?
”

“Andy’s got it. They kick-off the next phase in a couple days.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Andy’s the best man for the job, pardon my phrasing.”

“I brought this thing in on a shoestring. We’ve had less than a dozen bugs since Monday. Andy’s been working for
me
the last year. How can you think he’d do a better job
?
”

“I’ve been preparing a formal review of your project management. It’s not complete, but since you’re here, why don’t we discuss it now
?
” He was enjoying this. He was going to rip her performance when everyone else in the company was raving about what she’d done.

“What are you trying to do
?
You kept the staff so small it was practically impossible to finish on time. Then you took the credit for our success. What do you have against me
?
”

“It’s nothing personal. I’m your boss whether you like it or not and there are some performance issues we need to discuss.”

“What issues
?
”
Eric
a screamed. She could hear people moving closer outside the door but didn’t care. This was so wrong.

“Relax,
Eric
a. If this conversation is going to be constructive you have to be willing to listen. Feedback is useless unless you’re calm enough to process it.”

“What planet are you from
?
”

“Fine, if you want to do this another time, I understand.”

“No, I don’t want to do this another time. If you have a problem with the way I handled this project, I’d like to hear it. Then I’ll tell you what I think of you cutting my team in half two weeks before go-live. You’re damn lucky I was here night after night bringing this thing in.”

“I understand how you might feel that way, but you have to realize that we have other projects to deliver. Yours is not the only work that matters.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.”

“
Eric
a, get control of yourself.”

“I’m fine. It’s you who’s lost your mind.”

Brad stood up behind his desk and pointed to the door. “Enough. Go back to your office and cool down. When you can act professionally you can start fielding questions from client services. If you don’t like that, put your resume on Monster and find someone else to torment.”

Eric
a walked to her office replaying the conversation in her mind. Her promotion was never an issue. Brad was against her from the beginning. He’d sabotaged her project. He’d made it impossible, hoping the project would fall apart. That’s what he’d wanted all along: an excuse to fire her. When she pulled through, he had taken the credit. Now he was sticking her on support duty to try and make her quit. He even suggested it.

Why was he going to all this trouble to get rid of her
?
The other guys on the team followed Brad’s orders blindly, but no one worked as hard as she did. No one came close. It wasn’t discrimination. If anyone wanted women around, it was Brad. He ogled her relentlessly no matter what she wore.

She sat alone, angry and confused, wondering why she’d been singled out. It wasn’t something she did. Whatever it was, it was Brad’s problem. How it related to her, she had no idea.

Nearly a week had passed since Sarah’s meeting with Gregg and
Eric
a and they hadn’t returned a single email. Her phone queries were met with excuses and requests for more time. Three trips to his office produced scant conversation. He was polite but brief and his romantic interests were aimed in
Eric
a’s direction. She suspected that neither he nor
Eric
a had researched Mr. Johnson’s problem, nor would they. Sarah was growing more infuriated by the day. She wasn’t sure which was worse: losing her chance with Gregg or watching the most important development of her career sit idle. Relying on the scam artist to dig up evidence of her own fraud was futile. It was time to find help elsewhere.

Stan was useless.

She couldn’t go to IT. A leak there and her credibility with Herman would be shot. Gruff as he was, and annoyed as he’d be about her detour from his plan, Herman was the only choice. She arranged a meeting and made her third visit to the mahogany trimmed twenty-third floor.

Herman welcomed her warmly, but underneath the phony smile he discounted her input. She had no auditing experience and she hadn’t been at BFS long enough to know anything he didn’t. He’d change his mind once he heard what she had to say.

“How are things downstairs with Stan
?
”

She settled into one of the thick leather guest chairs. “Fine,” she said.

Herman read through her noncommittal tone without missing a beat. “I’m surprised to hear you say that. I was expecting something more along the lines of – he’s a lazy no good bum. Why’d you hire him
?
”

“Ok. Why did you hire him
?
”

“Believe it or not, Stan fits the job, my vision of the job, pretty well. He studied criminal justice and even enrolled in the
Boston
Police
Academy
.”

“Failed cops make good auditors
?
”

“This one does. He wound up here because he has asthma. Flunked the physical. To him this is the backwater of law enforcement. He’s got the right mindset even if he’s a little short on motivation.”

“A little short
?
”

“Better that than too gung-ho. That’s something I’m far more worried about, particularly with you.”

If her teeth weren’t clenched, Sarah’s jaw would have dropped open. Did he say he preferred Stan to her
?
She faced him dumbfounded. He couldn’t be serious.

He softened his tone. “We deal with highly charged issues. Stan keeps his head and stays on plan. He might not be leading the charge at one hundred miles per hour, but don’t underestimate him. He can sit with someone five minutes and know if he’s got something or not.”

“But he’ll never find anything if he doesn’t care about the work.”

“Sarah, we’re not cowboys and we’re not policemen. We’re here to help the operating units protect themselves. If we get too excited looking for bad guys, we slow everything down and we scare the heck out of people in the process. We’re not out to hang offenders in the public square. Sometimes we decide to quietly part ways with an employee. That can be hard to swallow, but if that’s our decision, you’ll have to deal with it and keep your mouth shut. It’s difficult to set someone free knowing he’ll try to steal from another firm, but sometimes that’s what we’re asked to do.”

“That’s insanity.”

“It’s not ideal, that’s for sure. It doesn’t always happen that way, but when it does, you have to be able to let it go.”

Herman stood up and took a step toward the door. “Don’t worry about Stan. He’s not a bad guy.”

Sarah stayed rooted in her chair. “That’s not why I came.”

Surprise registered on Herman’s face.

“I think I’ve found something,” she said, minimizing her excited tone.

“In the payroll records
?
”