Not Since Then

MIRA

God, can this day get anymore worse than this?

If one more word came out of this stupid potbellied man's mouth, I swear I’ll scream. There's only so much time a girl can nod and pretend to listen. My eyes started drooping.

“And that I have completed my degree in one of the most respected universities in USA, the New York University. And I have passed with high grades, ma'am. If you look at my CV you can see what I mean.” He said, gesturing to the file in my hand. I flipped through it. All true. An NYU graduate. High grades. Looks like the guy was an academic brilliant.

“As you can see, I may not be the very best out there, but I have plenty of skills and I will......” But the guy had a very boring personality. And he was eyeing me in a way that I did not appreciate.

If it were up to me, he would be out of this building hours ago. But it wasn’t my choice.

Yet.

Soon I’ll exceed his expectations. And I’ll show him that I'm just as good as my brothers. Perhaps even better.

“So, what do you think Ma'am?” The man asked with hopeful eyes.

Crap! What had he been saying ?

“So Mr....” I searched my mind for his name, “Carter.” I inhaled deeply like I was thinking really hard. “You seem to have a lot of faith in yourself.” I stated.

“Yes ma'am. I do.” He agreed. Stupid man.

“Well, I don't.” I told him. His pompous smile dropped.

“There are hundreds if people out there who may be much more qualified than you at this job. So why you?” I repeated the same question I asked him at the beginning.

He opened his mouth to speak, probably the same speech again. But I raised my index finger to silence him. “Mr Carter, you may have finished your degree in commerce at Stanford, which I must agree is a prestigious university,” His face lit up like a Christmas tree at my words, “But,” His face fell.

“But being my secretary and personal assistant is a job not to be taken lightly.” I said, forcefully.

“Yes ma'am. I understand this and I.....” he trailed off at my glare.

“I wasn't finished, Mr Carter.” I told him.

“S-sorry ma'am.” He stammered. Great. Now all had to do was convince this stammering buffoon that his service was not required. Then I will convince my father. Perfect.

“As I was saying,” I went on, “Being my secretary is hard enough, but being my secretary and PA is a full time job. Your qualifications are not enough here. You’ll need to be able to communicate with people in positions higher than you with ease. And by that I mean billionaires, ambassadors and even global leaders at some point. You’ll need to be able to work hard under pressure. Believe me, I’m very hard to please. Most importantly you’ll need to learn to keep you mouth shut.” I ended. The last thing might be too hard for him.

By now his round face was red from all the overexertion on thinking so hard. Pity he wasn't a lady. He would have stood a chance then. Thinking was just too tough for their manly minds.

“So Mr Carter, still think that you’re qualified?” I asked raising a perfectly arched eyebrow.

“Umm.... I..... Maybe...” he gulped.

“Very well.” I decided.

“Really?” he asked, his face literally glowing.

“Get out.” I said flatly. I handed his file back. He took it and gave me one last look of hope, to which I returned my typical cold look. He gulped and turned to leave.

I’m kind if thankful to masks. It helps in concealing emotions very well. But it was suffocating.

“Well Mr Carter?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Ma'am?” He asked.

“Aren't you going to thank me for this interview?” I questioned him. Here I was, talking to this bumbling fool when I could be out in the streets or in my favourite coffee shop drinking a cappuccino. And he did not even bother to apologise. I let the ice break in my eyes, so he could see my anger.

“Oh yes. Sorry ma'am. Thank you a lot for this. I sincerely..” he said and I waved a hand. Telling him to leave.

He left and closed the door. I slumped onto my chair. Whoa, how does Kate Middleton sit straight for hours. I can’t do it for ten minutes. I don't think I want to be a princess anymore.

I relaxee my face and took in a breath of fresh air. I relaxed onto my gigantic chair.

Buzz

What’s that vibration? Oh yeah, my phone. I took it from my pocket. I sighed. Dad.

I took it. “Hello Dad. How are you?” I said in a bright tone.

“Did you find a PA?” he asked. That’s my father. All concerned and caring about me.

“No I did not find a PA and secretary. Are you sure that I need one?” I said, no longer brightly.

“Seriously Mirza? This is not a game. You should know that. Graduating with high scores doesn’t mean that you already know everything about this job. The business world is not a plays for little girls. I thought you were mature enough to handle this responsibility.  You are handling the workings of the company in an entire country. That means it is time to stop this overconfident attitude and grow up. Just because you are my daughter doesn’t mean I will be lenient on you.” He said harshly. I flinched.

“I don't want you to treat me differently.” I said quietly. I just wanted him to believe in me the way he believed in my brothers.

“Good.” He took a deep breath, like he was hurting.

“Be more serious in this.” He continued. “I gave you the job because I thought you were worthy. And qualified. Not because you’re my daughter.” he said.

“Yeah, sure.” I drawled, trying to hide how much I was hurt. It was no secret that dad preferred my brothers. It wasn’t always like this. Once upon a time, I was a daddy's girl.

But not anymore. 

Not since then.

“I also happen hear that you dismissed a candidate who had a degree from Stanford. What were you thinking Mirza?”

How did he know that?

“He was eyeing me like I was a candy.” I stated.

“Look here, I know it's hard but sometimes you just got to man up and face those things. You have separate personal life from business.” He said firmly.

Or I could woman up.

“Dad,” I began but he interrupted me, “In the office, I’m not your Dad. Call me Sir.” He said.

“Okay, Dad, I’ll call you Sir, Dad.” I said with emphasis on the ‘Dad’. I smiled at the thought of him boiling with anger. “Well, Sir,” I continued, “If you could just agree that I do not need a PA and a secretary, then we can finally end this call.” I stated.

“That is not negotiable. I’m not leaving one of my most busiest offices to be run by you alone.” He said dismissively.

Ouch. That hurt. I was plenty capable. Right now, I'm running an office full of employees, doing distance education with Massachusetts university and handling a sexist father, at the tender age of 26!

Where the hell did my sweet dad go? Oh yes, he disappeared when she went six feet under.

“Then why don’t you just agree to let me have a PA and a secretary! There’ll be more candidates then.” I said with frustration.

“I’m not paying two people for a job that can easily be done by one.” He said stubbornly.

“Fine then!” I said angrily and hung up, knowing that I’d pay the consequences later.

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