The Varelas

Hello again. I have some interesting news to report on the work front:

On Friday, Kate sprung a good deal of work on me at the last minute (her exact words on the phone: "We are going to do a proposal, but trust me, you aren't going to have to do any work"). I came to find out yesterday that she has known about it for 3 weeks but just didn't do anything about it until Friday, even though this work is due today. Because she knew I would push back and remind her of our department and company turnaround standards (in this case, at least 10 business days), she tried to push some of this work off on someone in another department who knows basically nothing about proposals (she just changed positions from accountant to client relations manager, both unrelated to proposals). Once I realized what was happening, I tried to make the girl (Martha) feel better for not knowing how to do anything, and I told her that it's my job, not hers, so if Kate asked (told) her to do anything else, just direct her to me. By the end of the day, I got a call from the boss of Martha's boss (Carol) saying she was so sorry about the mixup and the last-minute work. That's when I found out it had been in Kate's hands for 3 weeks, but she hadn't done anything about it. Apparently, Carol and Kate got together 3 weeks ago and Kate decided they wouldn't do a proposal for this prospect; she'd just "write a letter." Of course, that would have been too much work for Kate (a 2-page letter? No!). I told Carol that this is something I have come to expect but am not going to continue to put up with (and Kate knows that, which is why she didn't come to me to do the work like she should have, even if it was last minute). I also told Carol the proposal would be a good one and I'd get it out on time. I could tell she was upset with Kate. That made me happy! The more advocates I have, the more people see what Kate is really like, the better I feel. I do not want to get Kate fired, but I do want people to understand that I'm working hard! I also think that the more people who understand what Kate is like, the more likely she will have her blinders removed to see that she treats people like dirt.