so , the usually brightly dressed woman with congenitally unkempt hair , a too frequent smile , and a knack for finding oil , had found herself back in the job market , `` severed '' from her allegedly deeply appreciative former employer of almost two and a half decades , and about to start work as the sole geophysicist for a small start-up company in houston whose best opportunity to date was acquiring shallow drilling rights on a land deal in the niger delta .