A little background: I am a low/mid level manager in state government. I have a small staff, but still report to the branch director.
The secretary in our office has eluded to having a “good” and “special” relationship with the director. She has mentioned several times that if he were to leave that she would quit and he would find her a new job. She has said other odd things too. Once, she mentioned that she was thinking about getting a tattoo, but he wouldn’t like it so she didn’t.
I have worked there for two and a half years. Prior to me, my predecessor was let go. The director reclassified the job to better suit someone with a more modern set of skills and that’s how I got the job.
After starting, I learned that a big reason for my predecessor being let go was that the secretary hated the person. She (the secretary) believes and likes to say that she got the person fired. Idk if that is true, however, she believes it in her mind.
Needless to say, the secretary has made it clear that she doesn’t like me too. She has told me that there is no reason that I have to communicate with her, and reminds me that I am not her boss.
Often, she takes extra long to do tasks I ask of her and in some cases, goes out of her way to not include me in important office emails.
Next week I am speaking to the director about her, the same director she claims to have a special relationship with.
My fear is he won’t take the issue with her seriously. At what point would I want to speak to an attorney? Should I involve HR?