The thing is, aside from the initial meeting to scope the work, she'd be working almost autonomously on MS Project, and I swear, she's an absolute gun at it. I, on the other hand, am a PM, with PM skills and qualifications, and while I've got fairly advanced MS Project skills, I'm not anywhere as good as her. Different skill sets altogether. I actually argued AGAINST me going because I don't know if I can do it. I have other opportunities here too that are more aligned with my skills, but this area has never let someone in from the PMO before because they're so insular. I'm the first person they've ever asked, so I've been told I'm going.

I just spoke to her and she just shrugged and rolled her eyes. We're friends now, so I know she's not blaming me, but she said yesterday that they'd want the 'pretty' one and she just feels like her opinion on it has been validated. Which is a shame.