Shirley watched in disbelief as her husband, Brody, openly flirted with his secretary, Lila, in their office. Her hands trembled,
dropping the spoons in her hand to the floor, yet they seemed not to notice her at all.
“Brody, what’s going on here?” Shirley confronted them, her voice cutting through the silence of the office.
Brody feigned innocence, “What’s your problem, Shirley? We’re just discussing work.”
“This is how you discuss work?” Shirley’s voice was laced with anger. “By putting your hands up her skirt? In front of everyone?”
“Don’t make a scene,” Brody warned, but Shirley was resolute.
“We need to talk. In private. Now!” she demanded.
Brody’s anger flared. “You don’t get to order me around. I’m filing for divorce today. I’ll take the house.”
“You can’t take my house. It was my parents’. You have no right!”
Brody smirked. “Don’t forget you’re married to a lawyer. Just watch me. I’ll move Lila in, and we’ll celebrate on every surface in every single room.”
Shocked and hurt, Shirley could barely respond as Brody pushed his wedding ring into the cake she had brought to share with him.
“Maybe you can pawn this for a dog house,” he sneered, leaving with Lila.
Shirley was left in a daze, surrounded by whispers of pity. Later, alone in a cheap hotel room, she couldn’t help but cry as she thought about her and Brody’s relationship.
How had the man she vowed to spend her life with transformed into this stranger? Had she really let herself go? Was it her fault that Brody had turned to Lila?
Overwhelmed with emotions, she punched a pillow, hoping to free herself of some anger and pain, when a knock at her door interrupted her. Expecting it to be a staff member, she opened the door and was surprised to find a strange man.
“I heard… I thought I heard a cry for help,” he stammered.
“Well, you heard wrong. Unless you can help me keep my house from the husband who’s divorcing me, go away,” she snapped, her voice brittle.
The man’s eyebrows rose, taken aback by her sharpness. Then, he looked at her from head to toe and said, “I can’t help with that. But now, I can see why he’s divorcing you.” With that, he turned on his heel and walked away.
Fueled by anger, Shirley followed him to his room, refusing to let his comment slide. “What did you say to me?” she demanded, blocking his door from closing.
The man tried to clarify, “I was concerned about the noise.”
“I clearly know what you meant!” she retorted. “I may not look perfect, but that doesn’t give you the right to judge me.”
The man softly agreed, showing a hint of regret, “You’re right. You don’t deserve that.”
Shirley was momentarily stunned, the fight draining out of her as his words registered. But before she could process or respond, he quickly stepped back, shutting the door in her face with a firmness that allowed no room for further conversation.
“Wait! I was still yelling at you!” she shouted, kicking the door, only to injure her foot.
The next day, she limped into her office, her mind still racing with the stranger’s thoughts. Suddenly, she recalled something: Mr. Williams will be here today!
“Great, just what I need when I’m already a mess, a new boss,” she muttered, sitting.
“Well, your new boss is already here,” came a voice behind her, startlingly familiar and not at all welcome. “You must be my kind and helpful secretary, Shirley.”
Shirley froze, then slowly turned in her chair, only to realize the stranger she had yelled at, the man she had thought she would never see again, was Mr. Williams, her new boss!
She was flustered, facing Mr. Williams after their hotel altercation. “I’m sorry about last night,” she began, but Mr. Williams wasn’t interested in her apologies.
“Your behavior was unacceptable. I expect better from my employees,” he said, cutting her off. “I need the case file for Richardson vs. Richardson. Now,” he ordered and marched to his office.
Embarrassed, Shirley accepted his rebuke and turned to her task, searching for the Richardson case file amidst a disorganized mess. In her haste, her hands brushed against a stack of folders, scattering them across the floor, drawing Mr. Williams’s critical eye again.
“What’s taking so long? I asked you to bring me the case file, not scatter it across the floor,” he said, approaching her.
“I-I have it here,” Shirley replied, handing over the file, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.
Mr. Williams took the file, his gaze sweeping over the disaster area that was once an orderly corner of the office.
“This is quite the mess. It seems tidiness isn’t your strong suit,” he remarked dryly.
Before she could reply, he turned and left, leaving her to clean up. But Shirley’s problems were far from over.
As she cleaned the mess, Brody and Lila appeared, their laughter adding to her humiliation. This was the last straw for Shirley. She was done with men ridiculing and belittling her all the time!
Storming into Mr. Williams’s office, she declared, “I’m not your secretary anymore. I resign.”
Mr. Williams, unfazed, refused to accept her resignation. “Get back to work on the Richardson case, Shirley.”
“No. I’m leaving, so sign my resignation,” Shirley insisted, her voice firm.
“I won’t sign this,” Mr. Williams replied, crumpling her resignation letter and tossing it out the window.
Frustrated and emotional, Shirley sat at his desk and penned another resignation, her words fueled by the pain of betrayal and injustice. “Look, I just can’t take it anymore,” she broke down before she could finish writing. “What is it with men like you… that makes you think you can control my life?”
Mr. Williams’s demeanor softened as he listened. “I’m not refusing to accept your resignation because I want to bully you,” he explained as he rose and took the seat beside her.
“Just let me go,” she pleaded, looking up at him. “I can’t—”
Shirley broke off when Mr. Williams took out a handkerchief and gently dabbed at her tears.
“I can’t let you go because I like you, Shirley,” Mr. Williams revealed, his sincerity catching Shirley by surprise.