Page 5 of Analysing Her Assets

A Bigger Prize

(58 days to end of year finish line)

4. Tamar

Tamar levered her chair down, then took it back up. Re-arranged the backrest. Attacking the mountain of large envelopes that contained prospectuses and presentations, she sorted quickly, throwing more than half into the carton box, which was destined for the paper recycler. She wiped her desk with a cloth. Sprayed and cleaned her monitor.

Then, refreshed and ready, she turned on her computer.

Nathanela Hacham’s tanned face and gray crewcut appeared above her partition. Tamar’s boss, still the only woman heading research in all the large investment houses, was smiling.

“Good morning, Tamar, I see everything is neat and proper.”

Tamar nodded and smiled back at her boss. N got her.

“I’d like to talk to you. Please come into my office.”

Her boss’s office wasn’t a cubicle, but it wasn’t very spacious, either. The windows looked east towards the long stretch of Hertzel Street leading to the warehouses and industrial buildings of southern Tel Aviv. N remained with her analysts and refused a larger office on the 29th floor, the management floor. ‘I prefer smaller and closer to larger and farther’, she had famously said.

“Close the door, please, Tamar, so everything stays between us. By the way, excellent performance with your portfolio. Being second is okay as long as you’re up there. Consistency is everything.”

“Thanks.” Tamar sat and shrugged off her jacket. One of the many perks of having a female boss was that she didn’t have to worry about stares directed at her chest.

“We’ve worked on your people’s skills, running your own team,” N continued talking in a serious, intense tone. “You’re hardworking and conscientious, which is important, but....” N seemed to search for words. “But I need you to start thinking even larger.”

“I am thinking larger,” Tamar assured her boss, although she didn’t quite understand what N meant.

N stared outside at the nondescript view. Then she took a deep breath.

“I spoke to Keynan this morning and handed in my resignation. We agreed to keep it under wraps until next week.”

“Are you leaving?” Tamar gasped. “Retiring?”

She had envisioned Nathanela as always being in Peaks. N had worked in the firm for nearly seventeen years, and she was chief analyst for the last ten.

“I’m taking a...temporary respite until I think of my next move. The coming offsite in Eilat will serve as my farewell party. But I don’t matter right now. I told him I wanted the person replacing me to come from within Peaks. It’s you I want.”

Tamar’s blood buzzed with elation, making her almost lightheaded. All the long hours, all the sacrifices, all the rules—they were worth it. She took a deep breath. She needed to concentrate now. N was giving her valuable information.

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