Caleb glanced impatiently at his watch, which showed 10 minutes past 8 o' clock, the start of a workday. A female employee, Suzanne ran into the office, panting. "Hey boss, I'm so sorry for being late. The train broke down and we had to...," she said apologetically. But before she could finish her sentence, Caleb interrupted her.
"You're 10 minutes late, Suzanne Chan Yuk-kei," he said irritably. "What have you been doing? Taking your own sweet time to do your makeup? I now have to write you up." His voice attracted the attention of other female employees, who furtively shook their heads in disapproval.
"No, please. This is my first time being late, and besides, I stay far," Suzanne pleaded, but Caleb was implacable.
"No exceptions," he insisted. He then took a look at Suzanne's appearance. "And also, those designs had better be good. You know how important is the client's meeting tomorrow." He gave a sigh as Suzanne went to her workdesk. Just then, a male employee Donovan came into the office in a leisurely manner.
"Hey Caleb, I'm so sorry I'm late," he said without a shred of remorse. Instead of reprimanding him, Caleb patted him on his shoulder and said, "Hey, don't worry." They then chatted about non work-related matters, with Caleb saying, "The perks of being in a boys' club." They then exited the office to get coffee. As they left, Suzanne's female colleague cum friend Mabel, who was seated beside her, shook her head and turned to her.
"I can't believe he was so hard on your case but said nothing to Donovan," Mabel remarked. "The perks of being in a boys' club, indeed."
"Yeah," Suzanne replied. "Tell me about it." She then unzipped her briefcase and pulled out some papers containing her designs.
"Wow," Mabel exclaimed. "Are these your designs?" Suzanne nodded her head.
"Wow, they're amazing," Mabel continued as she looked at Suzanne's designs, which were impeccable.
"Really?" Suzanne replied. "Thanks. I'm trying to get that new senior designer promotion that just opened up, so I worked extra hard on these."
"Well, everyone knows you're the most qualified designer on the team," Mabel said. "I believe you'll get the promotion."
An hour later, Suzanne knocked on the door of Caleb's office, where he and Donovan were engaged in yet another non work-related conversation. "Hey boss," she addressed Caleb. "Here are the designs you requested." She walked up to him and gave him her designs. Caleb briefly looked at the designs, and threw the question, "What is this rubbish? This is not what I asked for at all."
"Oh, well, I just thought I'd add some personal touches. I think the client will really like them."
"What is with you women?" Caleb asked irritably. "Your constant need to change things, huh?" He then sighed. "Never mind," he continued and turned to Donovan. "Donovan, let's see what you have."
"Oh, uh, actually I never got a chance to finish my designs," Donovan stammered. He then pulled out a paper containing his incomplete design and continued, "This is...all I have. I was partying the night before and was so hungover, and then I just finished until here." Once again, instead of reprimanding Donovan, Caleb laughed and said, "No, it's alright." He then continued his casual conversation with Donovan, and the 2 men laughed in between their conversation. "Just finish it by tomorrow, before the client comes in," Caleb said. Suzanne felt hurt by the preferential treatment as she listened in on the conversation. Caleb then turned to her.
"What are you waiting for?" he threw the question and pushed the papers containing Suzanne's designs. "You're dismissed." Suzanne took her designs and left Caleb's office.
Later that day, a meeting was being held. "Tomorrow is a very important day," Caleb began. "Our client is coming into the office, and if he likes our designs, it could be the biggest deal in the company's history."
"We should have another boys' night to celebrate when he says yes," said Roderic, a fellow male employee, much to the chagrin of the female employees.
"Oh yeah, I already got it planned out," Caleb added. "Now, anyway, the new senior designer position opened up, that means I need to promote one of you." Everyone was hopeful, especially Suzanne, who was certain she would get the position. Caleb then announced, "So I decided to go with the most hardworking, the most talented, and the most reliable person on our team. That person is...Donovan. Congratulations." The female employees were in disbelief, especially Suzanne.
"Wow, thank you so much," Donovan said. "I know I'm new here, but I promise I won't let you down."
"I know you won't," Caleb replied. "Okay, let's get back to work, to prepare for the big day tomorrow." When the meeting was dismissed, Suzanne stopped Caleb, who was about to leave the meeting room.
"Excuse me, Sir," she began. "But Donovan? I've been here longer than him, and I've worked 3 times as hard. Why did you choose him over me?"
"Okay," Caleb said. "You are doing an awful lot of talking back today, Suzanne. Are you out of your mind?"
"I just...I'd just like to know...what he has that I don't?" Suzanne asked, trying to hold back tears.
"Let's just say," Caleb said, "some jobs require men, not women."
"So that's what this is about?" Suzanne asked. "You gave him a promotion because he's a man, even though he doesn't have what it takes to be promoted?" Caleb looked condescendingly at Suzanne and replied, "I'd be very careful if I were you, unless you want to get written up again, or even worse, fired." That was the last straw for Suzanne. Taking a deep breath, she stood up and said, "You know what, Caleb Au Pak-man? You don't have to fire me, because I quit. I'm going to take my designs and I'm going to start my own company." Caleb simply laughed it off and said, "You? A woman? You'll definitely come crawling back when your business fails."
"We'll see about that," Suzanne challenged him and walked out of the meeting room with a confidence never felt before, ignoring his mocking laughter. She ended up leaving her job as Caleb continued taunting her. The next day, Donovan brought in his designs and showed them to Caleb. They were nowhere as good as Suzanne's and furthermore, they were incomplete. Caleb began to stress out, so he decided to ask some of the other employees for help. Tired of Caleb' misogynism, the other employees decided to quit. He had no choice but to rely on Donovan's drawings. Meanwhile, Suzanne worked hard to perfect her designs. She completed them and prepared to pitch them to a new prospective businessman. On the other hand, during the client meeting, Donovan presented his drawings. The client took one look at them and was so disappointed that he walked out on the spot, ending their multi-million dollar contract. He ended up going to a new design firm led by Suzanne, who is extremely talented. Suzanne and her team comprising colleagues from her former company impress the client so much that he presents them the new deal on the spot. Suzanne's life started going uphill while Caleb's life started going downhill. With neither client nor design team, he ended up falling behind on his bills and was on the verge of being evicted.
A few months passed, and Suzanne and Caleb were to cross paths again at her former company. "And this is the common office area," the property agent said to Suzanne and her team.
"We know," Suzanne replied. "We used to work here."
"Oh, great," the property agent said in excitement. "Then you probably have already seen the executive office. Right this way." She directed them to the executive office, where Caleb was seen struggling with a mountain of debts. "Here it is."
"Ah, Suzanne. I knew you'd be back," Caleb said with relief. "You've all come back to beg for your jobs, I suppose?"
"Actually, no," Suzanne replied. "On the contrary, we're here to take over this office space."
"What are you talking about?" Caleb asked, unable to believe what he had just heard.
"We're expanding our business," Suzanne replied, looking at Mabel with pride.
"You can't do that," Caleb protested. "You can't kick me out of my office."
"Was your office," the property agent corrected him, placing strong emphasis on the last word. "You haven't paid your rent in months." She then turned to Suzanne and her team. "You can move in as early as next week, if you're interested," she continued. Suzanne and her team exchanged nods of approval. "It's perfect, we'll take it," she replied.
"Great," the property agent said. "I'll start preparing the lease now." She then left the office.
"But," Caleb began. "I don't understand, how can you afford all of this?" Now it was Suzanne's turn. Looking at her former boss from head to toe, she chuckled and replied, "Well, let's just say, some jobs require women and not men." With that, she and her team left the office, leaving Caleb to deal with the consequences of his misogynism.
