Page 13 of Analysing Her Assets

“Who, Gideon?”

Marina nodded. She exchanged lovers frequently, going for tall and large men. She never seemed to find someone she liked, explaining that since she used only one criterion—size, they often lacked in other departments.

“Is he big enough for you?” Tamar asked, trying to keep her tone neutral.

Marina cocked her head, then nodded.

“I’ll make an exception. He’s delish.”

Her belly knotted with an unfamiliar, totally unexpected acidic touch of jealousy. It would be so weird to see Marina and Gideon together. Impossibly weird.

“Well, you can’t go after him, okay?” People walking ahead of them on the street turned their heads curiously. “You can’t,” she repeated more quietly.

Marina burst out laughing.

“You’re cute all puffed up like that. Don’t worry, I’m leaving Gideon Sela.” Her long arm hugged Tamar. “To you,” Marina whispered and giggled. Tamar shrugged her away.

“I have my rules,” she repeated her mantra, because she was a little functioning robot that had only one line branded into its Read Only Memory.

They reached the pet supplies store, and she picked a leash and a carrier that could double as a “poop box,” and bio-based poop bags, the kind Gideon gave her. The shop owner convinced her to add a comfy flat poof to be Giddy’s bed, several chewing toys and dog food, the extra nutritious kind for puppies. Laden with all that, they continued to Tamar’s.

“Listen, I’m telling you something in confidence. N called me to her office and told me she was leaving Peaks. Taking a break.”

“I’m not surprised,” Marina said, not too moved by the news. “N ran for CEO against Keynan and lost by one vote. She probably never meant to work under him for so long.”

“N told me that if it were up to her, she would have nominated me as her replacement.”

“Tamar, that’s huge!” Marina bumped her shoulder and grinned at her.

“But it’s Keynan’s call in the end. Also, guess who the other internal contender is.”

“Gideon?” Marina was shrewd. Tamar nodded.

“Then it’s not such a bad idea, you and Gideon Sela. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, like really, really close.”

An image of Gideon’s tented office pants popped, and she abstained from further protesting about rules, etc.

“In N’s eyes you’re a leading contender,” Marina continued, “but whenever there was an opening, Big D gave it to a man. And he prefers external candidates. That way they owe him.”

“That’s why I took a puppy—to make Keynan notice me and like me. To make me more human,” she mimicked Marina and got an elbow into her ribs. “Ouch! Marina! Anyway, it didn’t work. Maybe I should do a project, or something to give me an edge over external candidates and over Gideon. What shall I do?”

They mulled a while in silence.

“I have it!” Marina said. “Before you rescued me from sell-side, for which I’ll thank you for the rest of my life, I was always working with the brokerage. They constantly complained that the recommendations and valuations from the research department were a complete mess. Our team should work on the recommendations’ system.”

“What team?”

“The T-team,” Marina announced. “The Tamar Team. I’m your friend and I want you to win the position. I’m running you for office. I’ll talk to Noga, my friend from the provident funds. She’s an investment manager, and I’ll ask her to join our team. The more the merrier.”

“You’re my friend,” Tamar said a little wonderingly. “Right.”

Tamar had been in Peaks for eight years, but she’d never tried to make friends. She liked to work in silence, eat short, inexpensive meals by herself, and then keep on working. She managed her team members efficiently and learned to be considerate of their personal demands. The people who worked with her were colleagues, not friends.

But there was no mistaking the glow in her belly, warmed by Marina’s words.

They stopped at the entrance to Tamar’s building.

“Listen, are you okay from here? I have to go back; I have a meeting in fifteen.” Marina asked.

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