Paint Me, Professor - The Sequel | Student-Professor Erotic Novel | 18+

Chapter 13 - Boss

Alison
***

I had had enough of some of my coworkers. I knew I'd have a tough time when I signed up to become Head of Communications in our operations in America, but I never imagined it would get to the point of actually wanting to avoid some people at the office.

Distance was better than confrontation, especially with people who hadn't yet accepted me as their leader, so I spent most of my time in my office to avoid unnecessary contact.

As deadlines got more demanding, a strong leadership was imperative, but it was almost impossible to manage some workers when they weren't willing to accept me as their superior.

My closest friends at Art Press were the CCO (Camille, the woman who recruited me at Kent's exhibition) who worked in the Paris headquarters, and my assistant, a girl a couple years younger than named Claire.

I spoke to the CCO by Skype for our scheduled weekly meeting and we always vented at the end about our struggles. In a company where the majority of the staff were men, it was always challenging to deal with them as women in positions of power. Ultimately, she helped me reframe my views and struggles since she had it way worse than me, having to stand her ground in the headquarters.

However, on a day to day basis, Claire was the one who really saw the stress and pressure I was under. She saw how I held my anger in as I went back to my office after being disrespected by some guy from editorials, or the days I held my tongue when the other heads of department made jokes about me only being 28 years old and already having so much responsibility.

"Do you need help with anything, Ms Bardot?" She'd ask me in a weak voice after a tough meeting.

I'd fake a smile and reply softly "No, thank you Claire. And call me Alison, I mean it."

This week was particularly challenging, and I had a feeling deep down it was because of Chris' visit on Monday.

I knew I was probably over analysing it, but ever since I introduced Chris to my coworkers I felt like they started treating me even worse. I had this weird feeling that they were gossiping behind my back, that they were commenting on Chris' evident dominance, his command of a room, his charm, his confidence.

How on earth did she land a man like that? Do you think she learned how to be bossy from her boyfriend or is she so frustrated of being put in her place at home that she takes it out on us?

I only took Chris to Art Press because I wanted him to see what I had achieved, so he could see my office, so he could meet all the people I was managing, so he could understand better what my work demanded of me. I also wanted to show him that I was proud of him so he could feel valued and appreciated in every aspect of my life, private and public. Only after a few days I realised I had made a bad decision, that I should have kept my private life away from the prying eyes of Art Press, and I was suffering the consequences of it.

"Of course they're not thinking that about you," Chris would say to me. "And if they are, who the fuck cares? You're making more money than them, aren't you? You're the one in charge no matter what they say, right? Let it go, it's a waste of time to suffer because of this."

I tried to remember his words whenever I felt people's judging eyes on me, but it was so hard to ignore and even harder to keep a strong demeanor.

It was getting to a point where I didn't feel respected at all, and on Friday I reached the breaking point.

The whole department had a meeting after lunch to discuss how we'd promote next month's publication. I sat at the end of the long table, my head low, immersed in my notes as I waited for everyone to get in and take their seats. As usual, they took their sweet time, and I wondered if they were just waiting for me to tell them off. I held my tongue, not wanting them to get that satisfaction.