I walked into the office dressed in my Sunday finest: a blue sundress with short, silver heels, completed with dazzling opal earrings. The office was fairly organized, with multiple filing cabinets lining the walls and various official documents framed on the beige walls. A large oak desk was centered in the small room, with a shiny plaque reading Kent Lawe placed right in the middle. The owner of the desk didn’t bother to look up from his mound of paperwork as I entered.

I closed the heavy oak door behind me and then extended my hand. Somehow sensing I had offered a handshake, Kent limply raised a hand in return while staying focused on his papers. I grabbed his rough, wrinkled hand with mine and gave a solid shake. “Nice to meet you,” I greeted in my feminine voice. No replies came save for a few mumbles.

I took my seat across from Kent Lawe’s desk and waited for him to look up from his paperwork. Even though I was sitting there right in front of him, waiting for an important discussion about our upcoming election, he ignored me and continued to scribble away on his paperwork, like an author on a breakthrough.
I gave a slight cough to capture his attention. He reluctantly looked up, peering at me through dark brown eyes from behind large glasses. This gave me a chance to actually see his face. His large, flappy ears were shrouded by a head of long, dirty, grey hair that looked like a mop head perched upon his skull. A long, round nose and crooked smile sandwiched a thick mustache that matched his hair color, representing his Hispanic heritage.

“Yeah, yeah, nice to meet you, Shelly,” was all he could muster as a reply.

“It’s Sara, actually,” I corrected.

“Oh, sorry,” Kent resumed working on his paperwork. Oh, the arrogance! I was here in front of him, being his only competition in the election, and this is how he greets me? I wanted to grab the red tie he was wearing over his white button-up shirt and rip it off. If that wouldn’t get his attention, nothing would.

I decided to start the discussion myself, seeing as he was too preoccupied with his paperwork to even consider starting a conversation with me. “So, about the elec-“

Kent cut me off. “Yeah. Look, we know you’re not serious about this, so let’s call this discussion a wrap, okay? There’s no one that will vote for a woman. Okay.”
I was shocked. I was completely serious about this election, and I intended to beat him! He paid me no attention as he waved his pen in a motion that looked like he was signing something.

I could tell Kent wasn’t interested in a discussion with me, so I got up from my chair and headed for the door. As I placed my hand on the cool doorknob, I turned and said, “Good luck,” as it was the respectful thing to do. His response was another mumble followed by a hand motion waving me out the door.

I left without another word. After all, when I win the election and become Kent’s boss, I’ll be sure he never runs out of paperwork.