Dear Emily, When I got the offer for the job I have now, I dimly suspected that the company was operating some sort of high-tech hustle. But this inkling didn't assume any solid shape in my mind. When friends asked me what I'd be doing, I repeated what I'd been told by my new boss, who didn't seem to harbor any doubts about the enterprise. When the job started, and it became clear that there was almost no work to do here, I revised my boilerplate answer. When people asked what I did, I told them I was a reporter taking summer vacation in a cubicle.
Summer is over.
The people who head the company have secured a large amount of venture capital from investors who are convinced that, in the future, there will be tremendous demand for what we will, by that time, do. Until then, we strike a pose of readiness. Management repeatedly claims that very exciting developments are in the works and that a major, major announcement is just around the corner. One nods and smiles. When one is given something to do, one does it.