The sun had long set and the cleaning staff had all left the building. Dorothy enjoyed her work and putting in long hours did not bother her. She sat hunched over her laptop studying the recent report from the focus groups on the new project. She liked what she read and smiled to herself. Garrideb had always supported “skunk works” by their top employees, and Dorothy’s recent promotion gave her the authority to proceed. Engrossed in her thoughts, she had not noticed what time it was.
“Burning the midnight oil again,” came a voice from the doorway.
“Oh!” She jumped, turning around. “Dave, you startled me!”
“Sorry, just passing through and saw your light on,” he said, approaching. “Must be something good, judging by your concentration.”
“Oh, just something I’m playing with,” she said, nervously shuffling some papers on her desk.
“Personal business? On company time?” he joked.
“Hardly. More like company business on personal time.” She smiled back playfully.
“And I thought I was the only one overworked here,” he said, leaning over her desk to take a look at her computer screen.
“Sorry, can’t look,” she said, lowering her screen to block Dave’s view.
“Excuse me,” he said, pretending to pout and backing off. “I thought you trusted me! We’ve known each other for a month now—and I always buy you coffee in the morning.”
“The coffee is free, Dave. You’re going to have to do better than that,” she quipped.
Dorothy and Dave had gotten to know each other pretty well since he first approached her in the cafeteria. The morning coffees had turned into the occasional lunch, and they had drinks together once after a company function. They shared stories about the company and laughed about some of the more colorful staff, but nothing out of the ordinary or inappropriate. Dorothy’s focus was always on her work and career, and her dad’s advice about not mixing business with pleasure was etched in her mind. Not that she didn’t find Dave attractive—all the women did—but she really didn’t know much about his personal life, and felt that she should never cross that line.
“Do you really think they’re going to support you on this?” he asked probingly.
“Well, Jerry said he would consider anything I come up with as long as I have the data.”
“Yes, but Jerry’s not the decision-maker here,” countered Dave.
“Well, who is, you?” she laughed.
“Frank’s really the one you have to convince. He’s the roadblock here, you know. He only likes ideas he comes up with, and regardless of what marketing says, unless development approves it, it’s history. Jerry just doesn’t have the in with the big boys like Frank. Frank will quash it the first chance he gets.”
“I think he’ll like my idea,” she said, feeling a bit defensive, “and Jerry will make a good pitch for it.”
“I would line up a few more ducks before I float anything to Jerry,” Dave suggested in a paternalistic tone.
“So I guess Frank hasn’t liked any of your ideas yet,” she said pointedly. “You’ve been here a long time by Garrideb standards; what’s your track record?”
“Boy, you get feisty at times, don’t you,” said Dave, defusing the growing tension in the room.
“Sorry, it’s just that I’ve been working on this for over a month now, and I don’t want to think that politics is going to stand in the way.”
“This is a big company now, Dorothy. There’s going to be politics. And,” he said, interrupting her before she could respond, “you’re not very comfortable with things political, I’d say.”
“We’re not all big shots like you, Dave. I’ll get this through on my own.”
“I’m just suggesting that sometimes it’s wise to work with others. One hand washes the other, you know.”
“Please,” she said, dragging the word into two syllables and rolling her eyes. “I know, you’re going to make me an offer I can’t refuse, right?” she said, turning back to her computer screen.
“Well, maybe . . .”
Discussion Questions