She was stunned into silence. They surrounded her like a marauding pack of wolves, their bite filled with belittling comments and degrading accusations. Never before had she been a casualty to such berating behavior nor had she had to contend with being strong-armed into submission. Her quiet, shy disposition, lack of self-esteem, and an unwillingness to engage in aggressive confrontations were the weaknesses being exploited by these vicious beasts. She had been fortunate in the past to have avoided such treatment but reality had finally caught up with her.
Taking a passive stance as she was accustomed to Samantha simply nodded her head in compliance as the man at the top of the chain of command in the facility continued to verbally assault her with cutting words and angry gestures. She repeatedly declared in a monotone state with head hung low ‘I understand’ and ‘Not a problem’ despite the boiling rage and growing resentment coursing through her veins. Her innards felt as if they were on fire as she watched the two other women involved in the encounter smirk at her in a condescending manner.
The barrage of threats and constant browbeating had her on edge as she sat nervously in the chair while she was assailed with a torrent of demeaning and scornful discourse. It was clearly and boorishly conveyed to her that if she did not bow to their whim that she could easily be replaced. In one fell swoop they had managed to impart to her in a very hurtful and derogatory way that she was worthless and that they could pull anyone in to do the job that she had been trained to do.
The small portion of her that held onto assertiveness fought her on this matter. If this were true then why go through all the trouble of berating and belittling her when they could simply replace her unless of course they were sadists that enjoyed tormenting others. That explanation seemed highly unlikely. Their words did not add up to the reality of the situation but Samantha remained subdued. She desperately needed this job and they were well aware of this fact, attempting to exploit her and manipulate the situation to fully suite their own needs.
A half an hour later after they had diminished in their venomous attacks Samantha was asked to step out of the office so that they may continue to discuss matters further. She took this gesture to indicate that she was not considered worthy of being involved in any further discussions. She removed herself from the torturous situation without hesitation closing the door carefully behind her. She just wanted to find a small, dark hole to hide in until the day had ended. Never had she felt so lost and alone in the world.
It wasn’t long after her departure that Samantha’s ears picked up the familiar sound of pious laughter emanating from the office. She knew immediately that it was at her expense. They had won this match and loudly reveled in the fact that they had whipped her into a corner cowering with her tail between her legs. They cared not how their loud, obnoxious victory cries affected her but in fact had wanted her to be assailed by them so as to seal the notion that they were the top dogs with all of the power. Despite the fact that she had not been in the wrong Samantha had allowed these sanctimonious tyrants to treat her as a door mat. She was the one at fault for not standing up for herself and holding firm on her boundaries. They may have exploited her weaknesses but she had allowed it to happen in the first place.
One of the young women that shared the outer office with Samantha emerged from the elitist meeting with a smug grin showcased on her face. She waddled her way over to the other desk across the way and sat in the black leather chair with her back turned to Samantha. A few minutes later the man in the office buzzed out to the front desk and asked her what the reaction had been from his victim with a pompous and insolent tone. The young woman quickly picked up the receiver to try and prevent Samantha from hearing any more but it was obvious that it had been staged. She then hung up the phone and headed back into the office to converse with Samantha’s other tormentors once again.
