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nothing to support this claim beyond his height, jaw, gruff voice , and impudence. And instead of ignoring this nonsense and telling the bloke to take a hike, this softie Stewart all of a sudden starts mumbling about corporate policies, pointing apologetically at unsatisfactory performance, and simply behaving like a schoolboy caught cheating . So then there ’s nothing left but to step in, lose the “I ’m-so-sorry ” face and tell this six -foot lazy-ass all the things that Stewart was supposed to tell him.
    Although in all fairness, that was the entire purpose of her being here ; f or cases like this. You can ’t ask too much of Stewart, after all. He ’s been wearing his shiny ‘manager hat ’ for less than three months. Still figures out the right way to behave. One day he ’s their best buddy, another day he ’s asking for permission to give directions, and the third day he ’s threatening them in a hopeless attempt to intimidate. The guy needs to learn. And this takes time. Everything will come with experience. A couple of these ‘termination procedures ’ and he ’ll be good at it or will at least be able to do an acceptable job. Or won ’t—some never make it. He might be one of those weeping softies. Time will tell. Worst case, there will be one less manager on the team next year.
    It was funny to see that bloke’s reaction when she intervened . His granite jaw literally moved down and hung there for a second in a total astonishment. He surely wasn ’t used to that kind of talk. Let alone coming from her. Until now , he had met her only in hallways where she always had a charming smile and a caring question for her employees. Cute and harmless. So cute and so harmless, that in their chitchat behind her back they ’ve been calling her , “Our Barbie ”—and not only because of her blue eyes and blond hair . So when Barbie ’s eyes suddenly become icy and her cute lips coldly announce that it ’s too late, it has a significant effect .
    The bloke proved to be not completely stupid. Within a minute he had lowered his tone, two minutes later he apologized, and three minutes later he was already talki ng about kids needing to be fed and a mortgage that must be paid. He even went as far as asking Stewart for another (“Last, really the last!”) chance. Poor six -footer—he was too naive to understand who made the decision s . And when , at the end , she threw in a bit of sympathy and asked him a few questions about the kids, he melted down completely and looked at her as if she was his best ally. And that was smart, for it ’s always better to choose your enemies yourself. It ’s Stewart the Softie who will go down as the bad guy in the bloke ’s memory. Her name , on the other hand, will always be recalled with respectful admiration.
    And then after the handshaking and goodbye s came the moment when both of them—the bloke and Stewart—stood next to each other and stared at her back as she walked towards the stairs. It wasn ’t clear what they discussed at that particular point , or whether they had any discussion at all, but she was absolutely certain that they stood there and stared at her like a couple of lovesick bulls. All men are the same. You can be a not -too -bright bloke or his MBA-bearing manager, but you ’re still a man. Boys will be boys , and there ’s nothing they can or want to change about it . . .
    Yes, it’s been a tiring day , by all accounts . But during this day she ran into Randall in a hallway. Into Randall himself. And Randall himself walked away completely charmed by her business insights. Or by her smile. Or by their combination. Who cares what exactly it was. All that matters is that he left utterly charmed by something she had to offer.
    She gazed around thoughtfully. It took her almost five years to climb the ladder and reach this point. Almost five years to get hold of this share of power . . . Quicker than it takes many. Longer than it takes some. And