Fifteen minutes ago it was a lovely, peaceful Friday morning.

No longer.

You know the freaking client who was supposed to have data to me by Tuesday and who caught a break because no one told me that until Wednesday, so I gave them until noon on Thursday?

They left me the world's longest voice-mail last night to explain why they're changing everything and then going to discuss it with Bernie (who is sometimes mysteriously absent on his "working from home" days) before sending it to me. And, oh yeah, by the way, if I don't hear from them by noon I should call them because they might forget and she (the caller) has today off, so she can't follow up on it.

I hate getting mad this early in the morning. Trashes my whole day.

I had the data coded (in both formats and both versions) and now it's all going to heck.

I started to send Bernie an e-mail (twice) explaining that I'm busy this weekend and won't be available to work. I stopped myself.

It's not his fault I wasn't firmer with the client. (When I have a "noon, Thursday" deadline, I make the deadline. I've never, not in all my years of working, managed to adjust to how other people, well, don't live up to their business commitments. I'm the world's worst slacker and procrastinator in my personal life, but not at work.)

Assuming I'm still working here, I won't forget this again, and won't let it happen again, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm pissy right now.

(I swear to god, I think Bernie is half willing me to fail. The number and kinds of things he doesn't think to mention to me….)

Yesterday Bernie got totally rabid because an invoice he had me send a few weeks ago wasn't worded the way invoices to that client used to be worded before he and the Tweenybopper forgot to send any invoices for four months.

He got mad at me for not knowing how he did things before I started working here and he got really pissy with DiamondGirl because she should have known better…forget that she never saw the previous invoices and she didn't see this invoice because she's the software programmer not the freaking bookkeeper, and that he never specifically told her why he was mad at her and it wasn't until I backed him into a corner three hours later that I was able to make him explain himself.

I like DiamondGirl. The work in this job is going to prove, I think, to be very interesting, in spite of the current lack of focus or specialization.

But Bernie? He's rapidly turning into the deal-breaker.

…long silence…

So, I went and unloaded on Buehler about Bernie. He agrees, he already knew, that Bernie is burnt out and acting crazy.

Bottom line? He thinks Bernie is going to keep on being Bernie until he drives me and DiamondGirl away. After we quit, he'll be able to say the company closing isn't his fault (he's one of those people who will go to ridiculous, almost suicidal extremes to be "right" at all times and in all situations) and he'll walk away from it.

Which aggravates me because (a) I like having a job, (b) I really like having a paycheck, (c) I have some expensive amusements coming up that have to be paid for, and (d) it makes me feel like I was hired almost under false pretenses.