THE HOTSHOT

I’ve been here at Fastrack a long, long time, even though I’m only in my thirties. I was hired in my teens by Ms. Trellis after I’d gained a bit of hacker notoriety in computer circles that today would land me in a federal penitentiary. She dangled just enough money in front of me to turn to the Good Side of the Force, where I’ve resided ever since. Little did I know that one day Ms. Trellis would be my mother-in-law. (Yes, she still insists that I call her Ms. Trellis.)
My lovely wife Chelonia calls her Mother, but aside from her everyone else has to address her as Ms. Trellis, except for Wendy. At Fastrack, Wendy alone is given the honor of calling her Rose. They’ve reached some kind of level of mutual respect that is a mystery to the rest of us.
Like me, Wendy was once a young hotshot at the company, hired in her mid-twenties to be Fastrack’s P.R. director. She was quite the ball of fire, and adopted a fiercely intimidating persona. She was eventually let go, but was rehired as Donald Argus’s secretary. After she proved herself in that role Ms. Trellis took her for her own executive assistant, and they’ve been a team ever since.
Now Wendy has her own young hotshot to contend with. She hired Dethany, it seems, because she saw her younger self beneath the Gothic accessories. It was a smart hire, but now it’s triggered some insecurity in Wendy. For the first time she’s encountered someone just as smart and savvy as she is, but with less mileage. At 40, Wendy’s no longer the young hotshot.