The HR team listened, and honestly, they couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him.
It’s just the way the workplace is sometimes—everyone gets pushed around or singled out now and then, and the HR folks were quick to empathize.
But Camila Davis? She sat there, face unreadable, barely reacting.
Jim, noticing her cool demeanor, immediately started to plead, “Ms. Davis, I really want to work with you again. You know what I can do—if you hire me, I promise I’ll be your best assistant.”
Camila almost cracked a smile. “Yeah, I know what you can do. That’s exactly why I don’t have any questions for you. You can step outside now. Someone will let you know our decision later.”
Jim hesitated, like he wanted to say more. But Camila was already flipping to the next résumé.
“Alright, let’s bring in the next candidate,” she said, not looking up.
HR nodded and ushered Jim out.
The next hour was a parade of people from The Smith Group, all telling more or less the same story: Sandra Taylor froze them out, targeted them, and eventually forced them to quit.
The interviews dragged on for over two hours.
When Walter Wilson finally finished his own meetings and dropped by to check on things, Camila handed HR a neat stack of folders. “These? Tell them thanks, but no thanks. Not hiring any of them.”
HR blinked in surprise. “None of them? But I thought they used to be your team!”
The HR rep had expected Camila to show some favoritism. But she was letting them all go, no exceptions!
Walter, who knew Camila well, just raised an eyebrow. “Something off about these folks?”
Camila gave a dry chuckle. “If one or two left, sure, that’s normal. But a whole group, coming over at once, with identical stories? It’s like they rehearsed it. I’d bet money someone sent them in here as corporate spies.”
She tossed the résumés aside. “Besides, they’re crossing industries. They barely scraped by at The Smith Group. There’s no way they’d keep up in pharmaceutical R&D. Even if they could… I still wouldn’t want them. I’m building a stronger, more efficient team. They’re just not qualified.”


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