2
ISABELLA
“Thank you for your time, gentlemen.” I closed my laptop and forced a smile at the bunch of supposedly superior beings seated around the conference table on the forty-fifth floor of yet another skyscraper.
Seriously, if men like them spent less time patronizing women, perhaps they could’ve applied their energy to coming up with a building design that was slightly less phallic.Why is it that every great institution of so-called power in the Manhattan business world has to be situated somewhere within the confines of a massive erection?
Everyone knew what this group carried between their legs. They didn’t need to keep building giant hard-ons to remind us all of it. And yet, every building with sought-after office space in the great and mighty New York City had to resemble an enormous shaft.
Go figure.
I realized that a lack of physical space meant that we had to build up instead of on the ground, but I really felt like someone should’ve had an idea that didn’t involve a proud boner jutting up into the sky. Or maybe I just saw it that way because I was feeling a little jaded right then.
Normally, I wasn’t a feminist. Well, not any more so than any other woman who felt that it hadn’t been a mistake for us to be allowed to do things like vote and enter the workforce. But after the last few months, I was starting to realize that this city wasn’t as progressive as I might’ve thought.
Everyone seemed to like to pretend that they supported equal rights and that they weren’t in fact closeted bigots. But my experience so far was proving that, when push came to shove, the boys still liked to stick together.
Case in point, the men I’d come here to see. They all nodded politely as I packed up my things, but half of them were nodding goodbye to my boobs and not the woman attached to them, while the other half wore such absent expressions that I doubted they even realized I was still there.
I mean, I have great boobs, but come on.They’d invited me here today to pitch my services as a consultant, not to model my chest.
“Thanks for coming, Isabella.” Asshole number one flashed me a grin. “Tenacious Technologies thanks you for your time, but we’ve got a few other guys coming in. We’ll be in touch once we’ve made our decision.”
Sighing inwardly, I nodded but I hadn’t missed his slip of the tongue of a few otherguyscoming in. Maybe I was wrong and he didn’t mean actual guys, but I doubted it. They wouldn’t be going with me because I was a woman.
In a male-dominated industry like the tech world, it was nearly impossible for me to get hired. Take Tenacious Technologies as an example. They were gearing up for an initial public offering. I’d seen them taking notes during my presentation. It wasn’t the content of what I would offer that they had a problem with, but rather what I was packing, or not packing, in my underwear.
It sucked. My spirits took a nosedive, but I kept my chin up. “Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.”
Not that I would be, but appearances and all.
As I shouldered my laptop bag and left the room, a black cloud settled over my head. I couldn’t believe—
“Isabella! Wait,” a voice called from behind me.
My heart skipped and I turned, hoping against all hope that maybe I’d been wrong about them. Maybe they weren’t chauvinistic dickholes who had discounted me as soon as I’d walked in. Maybe there was hope for humanity after all.
Asshole number one had followed me out of the conference room, and he was striding toward me confidently.Please, God, let them have realized that I really am good at my job and that I’ve offered my services at an amazing rate.
“I’m glad I caught you,” he said, stopping much closer to me than I was entirely comfortable with in a professional setting. I smelled the garlic on his breath when he spoke again. “I didn’t want to ask you this in front of the others, but would you like to have a drink with me later? Say seven o’clock at Colder?”
I blinked hard.He’s asking me out? That’s why he chased after me?
Thunder suddenly clapped and lightning flashed across the metaphorical black cloud, turning into a storm cloud instead. Even so, I refrained from giving the guy a piece of my mind. I already knew they weren’t going to hire me, but that didn’t mean I’d risk my reputation by giving him a reason to call me a bitch to friends who might also be prospective clients.
If he’d been a nicer guy, I might have considered saying yes. But he wasn’t a nice guy. He’d all but called me incompetent while I’d been giving my pitch, alleging that men just knew more about the financial aspects of an offering like theirs. Also, I didn’t even know what color his eyes were because he hadn’t looked into mine just yet. His gaze was firmly fixed on my chest.
Damn it.“I’m sorry, but I don’t date clients.”
“You work for yourself,” he said, like that changed everything. “Doesn’t that mean you can date whoever you want?”
“Yes, but I’m afraid it’s a strict rule.” One I’d made up on the spot after the first time this had happened. “Have a good day, Mr. Kent. I hope to hear from you soon.”
His brows shot up on his forehead and he sneered. “Forget about it. If that’s your attitude, we don’t want to work with you.”
Deep breaths, Izzy.“I’m sorry you feel that way, but let me ask you this. If I was a male consultant, would you still have asked me for a drink?”
He seemed taken aback for a minute, then he scoffed. “No. I don’t swing that way. Why would you even ask me that?”