So, Mollie. We need to talk about your…job. jdlasica Because there is a new CEO at Yahoo, ex-Googler Marissa Mayer, most Yahoo senior executives who got their jobs under prior CEOs assume that they are going to find themselves replaced in the next 18 months.

It's a normal part of the deal when a new CEO comes on to a company in need of a turnaround.

But that doesn't mean these people aren't sometimes surprised when it's their turn on the chopping block.

Take Mollie Spillman, for example. On Monday morning, she woke up as Yahoo's CMO, put into the position by interim CEO Ross Levinsohn. She was enjoying a typical August vacation at the beach, we hear.

Then, in the afternoon, the news broke: Yahoo had hired a new CMO – one of Mayer's friends in the industry, Kathy Savitt, the CEO of a startup called Lockerz.

A source close to the situation tells us Mayer informed the vacationing Spillman of the news only ten minutes before it broke.

"She was blindsided," said this source. Mayer and Spillman have worked closely together in the weeks since she became CEO, and the fact that Mayer was looking for her replacement never came up.

Again: Nobody senior at Yahoo is going to be shocked when they find themselves replaced by Mayer. These people are pros. But a few Yahoo watchers did find the way this story shook out odd.

The kicker: Our source close to the situation tells us that, after explaining to Spillman that she was no longer CMO, Mayer asked Spillman to please stay at Yahoo. We don't know if she's going to.

Despite lots of effort, we have been unable to reach Yahoo PR for quite some time.

We're obviously paying very close attention to Yahoo these days, and would love to hear from more sources. You can reach me at nicholas@businessinsider.com or text/call 727 507 1699.