Vicki had been hired as a secretary, back when that was still a job title that people used openly instead of under their breath. Ambition and sheer force of will had metamorphosed that post into a vague supervisory role over the interns and new hires. A look at the company payroll, though, confirmed that she was still officially an “executive assistant,” albeit one with pay and benefits akin to a middle manager. Only her lack of an MBA kept her from ascending higher.

Being in the business as long as she had–nearly 30 years–Vicki was a bottomless font of knowledge, loopholes, and shortcuts. Rumor had it that more than one rival insurer had been bankrupted by careful application of her knowhow, and she did nothing to dispel it. An intern or new hire hungry for an edge could do a lot worse than to consult the Vickipedia.

In spite of that, or perhaps because of it, Vicki was a terrible enemy when enraged. Failure to show her proper obeisance or any real or imagined insult was enough to permanently set her against a person, which more often than not was a professional death sentence. If the Vickipedia didn’t have an article on how to undermine a career, constant low-key intimidation and harassment would suffice instead.