CHAPTER 3Very Mean

Certain women at work have a gift for turning any professional situation into a personal attack. Their words are like weapons. They can make you blush, perspire, flinch, or even cry. You aren’t sure what you’ve done to warrant their wrath, but you seem to be a target. These are the women we call “very mean.”

Very mean girls do and say mean things whenever they encounter a woman who triggers feelings of insecurity in them. A very mean girl may feel insecure about her looks, her intelligence, her likability, or her pedigree. She may have a chip on her shoulder because she didn’t grow up in the right neighborhood or attend the right college. Perhaps she has an older sister who won all the awards and garnered all the praise. For ...

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