The Very Quiet Gatekeeper.

In my team I decide who rises and who stalls. I pretend it's about performance and company values, but the truth is far smaller and uglier. I reward the people who laugh at my jokes, who turn up for after-work drinks, who say yes without hesitation when I need cover. The ones who don't? Their names vanish from email chains. They disappear from meeting agendas. I've delayed promotions with a single comment, calling it 'constructive feedback' while quietly closing the door behind them. People talk about impostor syndrome like it's something creeping up from inside them. They never suspect it's me, shifting the ladder just out of reach one petty grudge at a time.