Hey Priya… I think you left something at the printer this morning 👀
oh? what was it
Your CV. Two pages. It was sitting right on top of my budget report 😬
wait WHAT
omg no no no. please tell me nobody else saw it
I got there before anyone else. I have it on my desk now. Don't worry.
thank god 😭 I'll come get it right now
Sure. But can I ask you something first?
…yeah ok
Are you leaving? I saw the job title at the top. Senior Product Manager at Velta Co.
I'm just… looking. It's not decided or anything
please don't tell David. He'll make my life very difficult if he finds out
I'm not going to tell David. That's not my place.
But I am a little surprised tbh. You've only been here two years.
Look, I like it here, I really do. But I've been doing Senior Manager work for eight months now and I'm still on the same salary. I asked David about a promotion in January and he said 'let's talk in Q3'. Well, it's Q3 now, Margaret. He hasn't said a word.
Oh. I didn't know that.
yeah well. I didn't want to make it a big thing
Is Velta a good company? I don't know them.
They're growing fast. The role is properly senior, not just the title. And the salary is 20% more.
That's significant. Have you had an interview yet?
Second interview is on Thursday. That's why I was printing the CV — I was going to update it tonight but I printed the wrong version by mistake 🤦
Ha! Classic. Okay come get it. My door is open.
Priya came to Margaret's office to collect the CV. They talked for almost twenty minutes. When Priya left, she was holding a small sticky note Margaret had written for her.
Margaret. Did you seriously just give me the name of your old contact at Velta??
I worked with their Head of Operations for three years, starting in 2019. She's excellent. Tell her I said hello.
why are you so nice to me lol I literally thought you were going to be angry
Angry? Why would I be angry? You want to grow. That's completely normal.
Between you and me — David should have promoted you in January. I've seen your work.
that actually means a lot coming from you
okay I need to go pretend to be focused in this 10am meeting 😅 but thank you. seriously.
Go. And Priya — good luck on Thursday. Let me know how it goes.
Thursday came. Priya's interview lasted two hours. She sent Diane Osei's name as a reference on Friday morning.
Margaret. I just got off the phone with Velta.
And??
They offered me the job. Like… they actually offered me the job. I can't stop shaking. And — okay this is the thing — Diane told me that your name came up in the conversation and she said, and I'm quoting here, 'any colleague of Margaret's is worth taking seriously.' I just… I don't even know what to say. Thank you.
Oh Priya. Congratulations. You earned it — I just made one phone call 😊
wait you called Diane for me?? I thought you just gave me her number!!
I called her Monday afternoon. I told her she'd be lucky to have you.
I don't understand. Why would you do all of that for me?
Because thirty years ago someone did the same for me. And I never forgot it.
Now go tell David before he hears it from someone else. You owe him that much.
yeah… you're right. ok. deep breath 😬
I'm going to miss you Margaret. More than anyone else here, honestly.
I'll miss you too. Truly.
But next time — please collect your documents from the printer 😄