My direct supervisor, Brenda Swanson, had a thing for flirting with the male employees. The whole department was practically her harem, while the women were just workhorses. My youth and, I guess, decent looks especially rubbed her the wrong way. She even got the whole department to ice me out. So, I reported her to HR, but she just scoffed, “Honey, I’m the chairman’s sister. You think I can’t get you fired?” I just laughed and called the chairman myself. “Uncle Frank,” I said, “exactly how many sisters do you have?” 1. I landed a sweet job at a major corporation right out of college. But my supervisor, Brenda, just didn't like me. She was all smiles and sunshine with Brandon, who started around the same time, giving him personal guidance on his projects. But with me? I got the cold shoulder and a whole lot of attitude. One day, I was having seriously bad period cramps, like, sweating-through-my-clothes bad. I put in for sick leave on Slack, but Brenda wouldn’t approve it. So, I dragged myself to her office. Before I even got to the door, I heard this shrill, grating laughter coming from inside. “Brenda, my sick leave request…?” I asked. Brenda’s smile vanished the second she saw me. She rolled her eyes. The male coworker sitting on the arm of her chair got up to leave. “Brenda, I gotta bail this afternoon, okay?” He gave her butt a playful pat as he walked past. Brenda just purred and watched him go, smiling like a lovesick teenager. I swallowed my disgust and repeated my request. Brenda didn’t even look up. “Nope. Just a little period? This is a job, not your freaking house. You girls are so sensitive. Back in my day, I worked 'til midnight with my period, no problem." I was about to pass out from the pain. “How come you approved Brandon’s leave then?” Brenda slammed her hand on the desk. “He has actual things to do. I’m sick of you trying to skate by. Just go! Leave Denied!” I couldn’t deal with her BS, so I just turned and left. As I reached the door, she added, “And you can write his proposal. Get it done before you leave." Furious, I went home. Later that night, my work chat blew up. Brenda tagged me in the group and blasted me: “Hannah Miller, Unexcused Absence! Gross Misconduct! Consider this an Official Warning! Get your act together, or get out!” I was too weak to argue, so I replied politely, “Brenda, I requested leave due to illness.” “Did I approve it? NOPE! That’s called skipping work! No perfect attendance bonus for you, Miss Hannah Miller!” A bunch of her sycophantic male coworkers chimed in: “Brenda’s being way too nice. Any other boss would have fired her already.” “Yeah, if you don’t like it, quit. Plenty of people want this job.” “@Hannah Miller, get in here and apologize! This is a terrible attitude!” Brenda's department was mainly guys, except for me and Sarah. Sarah messaged me privately, trying to comfort me: “Ignore her. She wouldn’t even give me time off when my grandma died. But the guys? She lets them off for anything. She’s so biased.” I asked her why no one ever reported her. She said, “Brenda’s been here forever. She's supposedly the owner's sister. Nobody dares say anything!” Brenda was always on my case. If I carried a nice purse, she’d make snide remarks: “These young girls are so materialistic. How much do you even make? Hope you can still afford food!” If I got to work early and put on makeup, she’d glare at me: “Who are you trying to impress? You're coming to work, not going on a date." Then she'd spend the entire day watching my every move. If a male coworker spoke to me, she’d barge in, laughing way too loudly and getting way too close. I had to chant 'This, too, shall pass' like a freaking mantra. I had a mission to finish. But this time, I snapped. Me and Brenda were officially at war. 2. Bright and early the next day, before I even had my butt in my chair, Brenda stormed over to my desk with a huge stack of files. “Here. Everything you didn’t do yesterday. Don’t even think about going home until it’s done.” I glanced at the names on the files. “These aren’t my assignments. I’m not doing them.” I wasn’t gonna play nice with someone who obviously didn’t like me, no matter what I did. Brenda’s voice went up an octave. “Who’s the boss here? Me! Do it, or kiss your end-of-year review goodbye.” She glared at me, all venom and vinegar. Brandon walked in right on time, carrying two breakfast sandwiches. Brenda’s scowl instantly transformed into a goofy grin. She squeaked, trying to sound like a teenager, “Brandon! You’re here! Aw, did you bring me breakfast? I love this place!” It was so awkward watching this middle-aged woman try to act like she was sixteen. Brandon just looked uncomfortable and mumbled, “Sorry, Brenda. This is for Hannah.” Brenda’s mouth twitched. She shot me a death glare and stalked off in her high heels. Brandon was the best-looking of the new hires. Brenda’s eyes had been glued to him since day one. During lunch, I overheard a conversation in the break room. Brenda’s shrill voice was unmistakable. “Brandon, I checked your info with HR. You’re from a small town? It must be tough making it on your own here.” Brandon replied, “Gotta hustle when you’re young. I want to buy a place here and bring my parents out.” Brenda lowered her voice. I pulled out my phone, pressing my ear to the door, not wanting to miss a thing. “That’s sweet. I knew I liked you. What kind of girl are you looking for? Not someone like Hannah, right?” He was silent. Brenda pressed on, all knowing: “Let me be real with you. These young girls, they can't be trusted. You see all that makeup she wears? That's not someone just out of school. I bet she is dating lots of people. You get the picture.” Brandon seemed a little hesitant. Brenda pounced: “I’m not one to brag, but I own a few places around here. You hook up with me, you can have your pick. Bring your folks out right now. And Frank is my brother, I guarantee a promotion.” “Really? Brenda?” Brenda chuckled in satisfaction. Then their voices dropped. I spent an hour thinking about it, but I finally decided to warn Brandon. Some roads are better left untaken. I found him and told him to be careful. He sneered, “What, you can date around, but I can't?” “What does that mean?” I asked. “Don’t play dumb. I saw you get into a Maybach last night. The guy had gray hair! Brenda isn’t even forty. I have way more self-respect than you.” I was beyond pissed. It was pointless arguing with someone like that. I turned to leave. Brandon grabbed my arm. “Brenda’s right. You’re just playing me, keeping me on the back burner.” The word "gold digger" made my head explode. “Gold digger? What have I ever taken from you?” “Why would you take my sandwich if you didn't like me? Isn't that taking advantage?” I almost laughed. The price of being a gold digger had dropped from a champagne brunch to a breakfast sandwich. You'd think I was charging him Michelin-star prices. "My bad, I forgot to pay you. Here’s enough for ten sandwiches.” I Venmoed him $20. He accepted it instantly. 3. From that day on, Brandon and Brenda were joined at the hip. Every time Brenda passed my desk, she made sure to adjust her collar to show off her hickeys. “What’s youth got to do with it? Brandon chose me. You think you can compete? You don’t have what it takes.” Compete? Really? I was speechless. During lunch, they fed each other in the office, all cuddly and sweet. Brenda kept glancing my way, like she’d won the lottery. Brandon spent all day in Brenda’s office, leaving the actual work to Sarah. The formerly shy kid was now dropping dirty jokes like he was born to it, making Brenda giggle non-stop. We could hear everything. Sarah had to wear headphones. Most of my coworkers pretended it was normal. Some of the guys were annoyed, but seeing the men fight over her only made Brenda happier. She'd cover her mouth and smile, all coy. I just rolled my eyes and hammered away at my keyboard. Finally, the giggling stopped. Brandon came out, tossed a folder on my desk. “Brenda wants this done today.” “Isn’t this your project? Are you giving it to me?” “No. I’m still in charge.” So he gets the credit and I do the work? Hell no. I pushed the folder back. It was almost quitting time anyway. I packed up. Brandon went to Brenda, hiding behind his boss. “Brenda, Hannah refuses to do what you say.” “Hannah, if you don’t do this, don’t bother coming back next month.” Brenda thought she could push me around like she did Sarah. But I just kept packing my stuff. “Fine. Fire me, Brenda.” Brenda’s nostrils flared. She was fuming. She was the type to hold a grudge. When bullying didn't work, she tried isolating me. I never got notified about meetings. If I asked coworkers for help, they ignored me. I was basically invisible. Brenda took the department out for a team-building event on Saturday, but nobody told me. I only found out on her Instagram. She was wearing a tight dress that showed off her potbelly, surrounded by a bunch of guys, smiling like she’d won the lottery. Sarah was off to the side, giving an awkward peace sign. Brenda captioned it: “My boys are the best.” Sarah secretly told me that Brenda had created a new department chat, but I wasn’t invited. Brenda threatened her, saying she'd lose her job if she got too close to me. She pulled me aside. "You're not the first one she's done this to. The other girls all left crying." Seeing my face, she sighed. "This whole department is Brenda’s personal playground. She won’t let attractive young women stay. Only someone like me, average-looking and not rich, can survive.” Sarah couldn’t afford to lose her job. It was the best-paying one she could find. She didn’t want me to be isolated, but she didn’t want to get fired either. Seeing how conflicted she was, I told her, “It’s okay. Besides her kiss-ups, nobody wants to spend their weekend sucking up to her anyway.” All official requests were in Slack. So I didn’t care and carried on. I went to work, ate lunch alone, got my work done and went home on time. No pressure. Brenda saw I couldn’t be bullied, and with Brandon, cooked up even dirtier schemes.
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