“Hey, Samantha. How’s it going?”
“What are you smirking about?”
“Well,” Bryan said, “I heard Dell and Sanjeev having an interesting conversation this morning. Have you heard anything about us being taken over by Eggwhite Entertainment?” Samantha grabbed Bryan’s arm, knowing the jittery researcher tended to eavesdrop. Bryan’s arm began to twitch.
“What? Is it true?”
“Not sure. Dell and Sanjeet talked about an intercompany project and then switched to what might happen to them if Eggwhite Entertainment bought us. Have you heard anything?” Bryan’s nervous twitch was ramping up.
“It’s only Wednesday. I haven’t heard a thing, but I know someone who might know.” With that, Samantha returned to her cubicle and called her friend, Jennifer Adams, the manager of accounting and finance. Jennifer had nothing. Still, as soon as Samantha hung up, Jennifer called Tim Williams, the director of HR.
“Tim, what is the story with Eggwhite Entertainment taking us over?”
“And good morning to you too, Jen. I haven’t received any briefings on Eggwhite. If they are buying us, the news hasn’t come to HR yet.” Tim straightened his tie and sat up straight. “Let me look into it.”
“Thanks, Tim! If you find out by lunch, it’s on me.”
By lunch, Tim had learned nothing. Tim kept inquiring into the next day. By Thursday afternoon, he traced the rumor back to Bryan and called him to say he was coming over to chat. Bryan’s arm moved into full twitching mode. When Tim began asking questions, Bryan remained tightlipped and grew very quiet. Bryan’s silence felt heavy like a shield, and Tim sensed he was stalling. Tim returned to his desk and called Bryan’s manager, Rajiv, and said that he was coming to talk to him in two hours.
Rajiv didn’t enjoy HR visits. Tim never visited to tell him his budget was increasing to add more staff. More likely, he was coming to talk about staff reductions. As head of research and development, he feared his department would be cut. With the rumor about Eggwhite floating around the office, he assumed Tim would deliver the blow. He called a meeting of the team to find out what they knew. They knew nothing but the rumor.
Tim stopped by the lab where Dev and Sanjeev worked on his way to see Rajiv. They were not there. Their lab assistant said they were at Eggwhite Entertainment for a lunch date with the Chief Data Scientist.