There was seriously something wrong with men. As much as it was to her advantage, their constant inability to judge her character as something more than a sex toy was beginning to grate on her nerves. That’s a lie, it’s always grated on her nerves, but now she was finding it difficult to not punch every fucker in the mouth before they even started speaking. They were predictable enough to know what they planned on saying before a single word came out.
Right now, the man she had hired over the phone was already irritating the life out of her and she had only been around him for two minutes: showing him to the desk he would be working at.
“Hello gorgeous, who might you be?”
“Your boss.”
He laughed and it made his beer belly wobble, “I like you, you’re a feisty one.” He stopped the chortle, “Be a dear and fetch me a coffee, no milk and three sugars will do the trick, thanks love.”
“If you want to keep your job, you’ll shut your goddamned mouth, or I will do it for you.”
Her smirked and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, “I would love you to try.”
She grit her teeth together, trying desperately not to take a swing at his head. “I hired you because I was told you were good at your job, Mr. Freeman. You’re really making me regret it.”
He stared at her, the slimy flirtatious look replaced with shock, “You’re really my boss?”
“Yes, Mr Freeman, but soon you’ll find yourself jobless, on your ass, outside the clock house if you keep disrespecting me.”
“But you’re a woman!”
“How very perceptive of you. You’re a man who drinks too much and smells of stale cigar smoke. Are we finished?”
“You can’t be serious.”
“About what, Mr Freeman? Me being your boss or me calling you a drunk?”
“How dare you-”
“How dare I what? I think you’ll find, if you want to stay in this job, you should shut your mouth and get on with it.”
“I’m not being bossed around by a girl who thinks she’s better than me.”
“Oh, well that’s a shame then, I’m afraid I will have to fire you if that’s the case.”
“Go ahead, fire me, but I know you won’t. You hired me because you needed me, not because I wanted the job.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong, Mr Freeman. We had a large number of applicants; I just picked the one who was recommended first. Unfortunately, it appears that the recommendation missed out on the part about you being a misogynistic asshole. As you have yet to unpack, you may take your box with you as you leave.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m firing you, Mr Freeman. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
She walked away, leaving him standing in a stupor that made her want to stab him with her heels. She wouldn’t though, not for his sake, but in order to avoid getting his weedy blood glued to her heels.
“That was highly entertaining, Ms Carter.”
Peggy glared at Jarvis who was smiling like a cat who got the cream, “I’m glad someone is amused.”
“At least someone was able to put him in his place.”
“Or remove him from it. If he’s not gone by tomorrow, he’ll be on the street with a black eye, bruised ribs and I will have sore knuckles.”
“You seem more angry than usual, Ms Carter, is there something else on your mind?”
“Nothing that concerns you, Mr Jarvis.” She sat down at her desk and stared at the pile of files sitting in front of her.
“What time would you like me to pick you up, Ms Carter?”
“6 pm will be fine, Mr Jarvis.”
He walked out and she let out a heavy sigh. Being a woman was goddamned exhausting and sometimes she wondered how bad it would be if she just beat up every man near her.
The photo on the corner of her desk caught her eye and she had to close her eyes to stop staring.
“I wish you were here, Steve.”
She wiped the tear from her face, frustrated at her inability to move on from him. She just wanted to curl up and exist instead of taking abuse from men who couldn’t see her and living a life that consisted of folders, reports, and assholes.
Maybe if she held on long enough, she would snap and show them what a secret agent was really capable of. It could be fun. Dangerous, yes. Illegal, definitely. Career-ending, probably. But fun.