Chapter 1 is here.

Chapter 2 is here.

CHAPTER 3: I PLAN TO TAKE MY BOSS’S JOB

I returned from lunch shaken by the attack on my family, but determined to work even harder to prove myself. That’s why I was horrified to find my boss waiting for me in my office.

“IT’S TWO O’CLOCK!” he roared. He always yelled.

I sputtered and tried to explain that I’d been dealing with an unfair attack on my son. But it didn’t matter. It never did.

I knew that the human-resources department was there to protect employees like me; people who were unfairly targeted by sexist bosses. And I knew that it was time for me to take action. I wanted to apply for a job in management. I headed to the second floor to talk to the person in charge. I knew that she was feeling desperate, too: she was under a lot of pressure to increase the number of women in management. It was my chance.

I explained the situation to the receptionist, a perky young girl who really seemed to understand. She leaned in and winked.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “Katie’s a mom, too.”

I was relieved. We could just talk, working mom to working mom. Finally, my moment had come. I would be freed from that office, and would be able to work hard for the shareholders. That’s what I wanted to do more than anything else.

Imagine my disgust when the questions were all about my qualifications for the management job! I thought that because the interviewer was a woman, she wouldn’t ask me questions like that!

“Katie!” I sputtered. “I did finish high school. I’m sure I’ll remember which one later.”

She said she wasn’t able to discuss my family life during the interview, even though I kept trying to bring it up. Something about government regulations. She just didn’t seem to understand that family life is really important to me. And then she asked me about my relevant experience. Admittedly, I did not respond well, but I was so annoyed with her badgering and questions. It was like she thought I was a stupid hick who didn’t know anything about management or the company. Or myself, for that matter. She actually asked me to name my best features, as if they aren’t completely obvious.

At the very end, she asked if I had anything else to add.

“Yes!” I said. I began to recite all of the things my son had done that weekend during his soccer game, but she rudely cut me off.

“None of that is relevant.”

None of that is relevant, I thought. Well, that just says it all. If I can’t even get through a job interview without another baseless attack on my family, that really proves that I’m trying to swim against the tide.

It did not go well. And I knew that. I walked back to my office feeling heartsick. Even sicker than I’d felt earlier in the day when the effete young man refused to shovel his sidewalk. I knew that, yet again, I was a victim of sexism.

I went into the bathroom and had a good cry. My mascara was running. I knew that men never had to deal with problems like that. It was becoming harder and harder for me to do my job, considering the roadblocks that were being thrown up at every turn. People wanted me to fail. But I loved the company’s shareholders far too much to fail.

I wiped the eyeliner off my cheeks and went back to the second floor. I strode boldly into Katie’s office.

“I quit,” I said.

She looked up in shock and stammered out something about how I still had my job for now. Something about union representation, investigations and due process. I didn’t really hear it. I hate unions, anyway, and the whole thing sounded vaguely communist. No, I knew I’d won: nobody had expected me to quit. This was a way for me to really make my mark, to go out with a bang, to make a real difference for the shareholders.

And that’s how I got to this point. I know that I will only go on to do bigger and better things. To serve faithfully and show that sexism should never play a role in the modern office. And, most importantly, to