Irma was a petite blonde. Not by nature, but who cares these days about what’s natural and what’s artificial (unless we’re talking about Picasso). When she was young, Irma didn’t consider herself beautiful, and the long blonde hair was a step in the desired direction. As she grew older, she required further help from beauty treatments to maintain the image of the ageless, petite blonde.

Over time, Irma perfected the role of the naïve blonde. In group discussions, she rarely voiced an opinion; mostly, she asked questions. She had very strong views but was not willing to share them with others. She needed information about them to later use it against them, should it be necessary. Irma hated open confrontations, and whenever possible, she avoided openly aired discussions. In her language, Irma used superlatives. Everything was fantastic, excellent, and wonderful, even when the opposite was happening.

Irma worked in silence. She presented herself as cooperative, helpful, and understanding, but this was only toward her supervisor. Toward her colleagues, she also appeared cooperative, helpful, and understanding, but did the opposite. In the end, nothing was given to her. If necessary, she could be really nasty, but never openly, never on display. Only in a hidden way. Invisible.

She worked on a project that should finally enable her to be sent to sunny California for half a year, to the American parent company. It was a lot of work, and she cleverly utilized the younger employees but never allowed them to understand the full extent of the project. She only gave them partial information. The individual pieces they worked on were then added to her project. However, despite working hard and being satisfied with the result of her work, she felt there should be a “wow” factor. The new intern came just in time. Hardly anyone had time for the intern in this hectic phase, and who would waste time on someone who would only stay in the company for 6 months?

Irma gave the intern the final result of the work but didn’t say that it was her own. She called it the first draft, then asked the intern to take a month, research everything, verify it, and revise it. Afterward, she should come to her. The intern was very grateful for this opportunity. She immediately started working like crazy, day and night, including weekends, to show that she was capable. The final result was impressive. There wasn’t just the “wow” factor, but also much new and creative content. Irma was very satisfied and praised the intern. She even gave her a voucher worth 100 CHF for the excellent work.

An Ending for Realists

Irma submitted the revised version by the intern and got her half-year stay in sunny California.

An Ending for Fairy Tale Lovers

The chairperson of the selection committee was the intern’s uncle, and in the end, it was he who had enabled her internship. At his wife’s birthday party, the intern told him about her work, even showing him parts of it. When Irma submitted her work, he became suspicious. He showed the work he had received to his niece, and she confirmed that it was her work. Irma was advised to look for a new job. Nonetheless, Irma still went on her holiday to California. She just had to pay for the trip herself.