Sharmaine Violet Mendoza, a girl who lived in Q city—a far place filled with underwhelming opportunities. The salary there was not low, but for some reason, she ended up going through hundreds of jobs before she could find one that paid reasonably.
As a waitress in a bar down the streets, Sharmaine's duties were to serve alcoholic drinks and entertain her customers—though she did not prefer the latter. The place was a sweet spot for adults, although, the shop turns quiet during the day.
"Here's your Margarita, Sir," she placed the cold glass on the table. The man grabbed his drink, took one glance at Sharmaine and let out an irritating smile.
She wore a Chinese dress, and even though her figure was exquisite, it was laughable because of her poor taste in fashion. All the other girls wore almost nothing but a bra and underwear as they danced at the pole, to entertain perverted guests who showered them in money.
Sharmaine, as pissed as she was, ignored him and took other customers' orders. She passed by a middle-aged man who seemed to have taken interest in her.
"Cosmopolitan," he called, trying to bat an eye to her.
"I'll go get it, sir." She smiled awfully, and was about to leave when suddenly, a tight grip reached her wrist, pulling her and ending up on his lap. The man's big hand made its way around her torso, giving her immense disgust that made her let out an immediate scream, which made the other customers turn to their direction.
"Ugh, sir!"
"Shhh," the man gestured as he caressed her cheek, "Why don't you entertain me for a bit?" His gross body leaned closer to Sharmaine's chest, luckily before the man could grope her, she had used all her strength to push him off the chair.
"Sir, I will only give you your drink!" she exclaimed as she stood up.
A man in his forties, clad in simple clothing with an abundance of gold jewelry, who happened to be the owner of the bar, he intervened in the commotion and assessed the customer.
Sharmaine pointed to the man, "He was touching me in all the wrong places!"
"This is a bar woman, aren't you supposed to be a bar maid? Why can't you entertain your customer?" The man's voice roared despite the boisterous surrounding.
"Why you—" Sharmaine rebutted but was cut off by the owner. He glared at Sharmaine then turned to the customer.
"We are sorry for this inconvenience, Sir, you see, this girl is a newcomer and CLEARLY doesn't know what she's supposed to do." The owner's words was filled with sarcasm and disappointment as he explained the situation.
"Sharmaine, why don't you entertain this customer for a while?" He said with a hint of sarcasm in his tone, glancing to her direction after.
"Entertain? Certainly not!"
"Excuse me?" The owner grunted in frustration, and without notice, he abruptly dragged Sharmaine, cutting the crowd and bringing her to a private area.
"Sharmaine, what the heck?" he said, trying to not burst out of anger.
"I have my dignity."
"Sharmaine Mendoza! this is YOUR job. Please do it correctly d*mn it!" Impatience covered the owner's words.
"My job? Fine then, I quit!" Irrationality clouded her mind as she ripped off her name tag, threw it on the ground and stomped away, leaving the owner furiously returning to the owner with an apologetic face. He went to the comfort room to vent his anger a few moments after the customer was gone.
An idea struck him, though he was just a bar owner, he was very influential. He grabbed his phone from his pocket then dialed a number.
"Hello? Yes, it's me. I would like you to tell the other shop owners hiring applicants to not accept a girl by the name of Sharmaine Mendoza. She made a mess at my bar, why not pay her back? Sure thanks." The phone call ended and the owner rejoiced to have succeeded with his pitiful revenge.
Sharmaine, on the other hand, realized that she had just lost her patience. She knew that it was the right thing to do, for her reputation was at stake. She grunted whilst taking off her pony tail that revealed long beautiful locks of brown.
—
"Ugh, I can't believe it. The shops here aren't hiring me. Am I not qualified enough?" Sharmaine complained.
The last three hours was pretty rough. No other shops accepted her, whether it be grocery shops or flower shops. It did not make sense as well because when they saw her, they thought the heavens had granted them a goddess, but when she gave her name, they instantly rejected her as if she was a threat or criminal of some sort.
Maybe they had seen the devil inside of me, she thought as she strolled the brick pathways, passing by two women, who glanced at her with excitement. They started gossiping loudly as if Sharmaine could not hear them herself.
"That's her, right?"
"It is, she's the girl who made a mess at the bar down there."
"Ehh? No wonder she can't get any jobs. The owner says she was such a b*tch and told not to hire her for she might be the cause of one's misery."
"Hush yourself, she can hear us."
Sharmaine wasn't deaf to not hear them, her fists were clenched, ready to smack the women who purposely gossiped without true context. Though fury was deep in her, she chose to remain composed.
"It's that owner!" she said to herself, "Ugh! How am I going to find a job now?" She sighed, gazing at the fluffy clouds moving with her every step. Suddenly, a flashy billboard caught her attention.
"Now Hiring: Assistant Secretary for the Suarez Corporation"
It took a moment for her to realize that this was a perfect opportunity for her. She dialed the number written. The phone rang for a bit, and someone on the other line spoke.
"Hello?" a deep voice of a man asked, which was quite strange, for women always answered the phone during job inquiries.
"Hello, good afternoon sir, I would like to apply for the assistant position. What are the qualifications?"
"Ahh, yes. The qualifications are: you must be 20 and up, you must have a college degree, at least ten thousand hours of experience and a man. Any questions?"
Was she hearing things wrong now? Did he just say, 'a man'?
"Um... a man? Can it be a woman who takes the job? she asked.
"No, our boss strictly hires men. Any more questions?"
"Um... salary?"
"100,000 a month."
Sharmaine's face lit up upong hearing. She could just see herself getting rich in no time!
"Ahh, I see. Where shall come and meet you?"
"Upon application, you must wear formal clothing, preferably a black suit, and bring your resume to Suarez Corp. at B city, Fifth Avenue, Building A."
This man was very reliable, she thought. After hearing the qualifications, she knew that she was up for the job.
"Sure, thank you very much." The phone call ended, though Sharmaine was overjoyed yet hesitant. She knew that B city was too far, and that one of the qualifications is that the applicant should be a male.
Could she just let it go?
She shrugged it off and said, "Nah, I won't take such risks," until she remembered that her credit card was nearly out of money—she won't be able to eat for the next few months. There were no other choices.
After hours of walking and staring on the horizon, an idea struck her—what if she dressed as a man for just a few months or maybe a few years? It certainly wouldn't hurt to pretend. That whole afternoon, she said goodbye to her long hair, spent her last few bits of money on a cheap suit, hair gel and bandages, and went home with a decision she cannot undo.
The next day, she woke up early to prepare for the big show she would be putting out to tens or maybe hundreds of people.
This was now or never.
Stepping out of the house felt like an oven. The suit was really hot and the bandages around her chest was barely letting her breathe properly, though she looked really authentic.
After hours of travelling, she arrived at B city, and stepping out of the train, a lot of women stared at her, maybe because of the charming aura she's giving off. Soon, she arrived at the company building.
Stunned. That was what she felt looking up the huge empire of Suarez Corporation. It was definitely a level she couldn't get even with her tons of hours of hard work. The building was made fit for an emperor in this modern era; the glass walls shone as rays of sunlight bounced around; the floors were marbled, and the staff was accommodating.
—
The interrogation proceeded smoothly with a number of employees leaving the door either confused or terrified. Her body shivered slightly at the thought of grumpy-looking men judging her, but still she remained hopeful and pushed through her decision that may result in her going to jail for potential fraud. After hours that seemed like eternity, she finished the interview.
"We'll notify you if you got accepted," a man informed her, making Sharmaine feel like she got busted. It sucked, but it felt good that she won't be going to jail anytime sooner.
She went home feeling disappointed. These past days were very uneventful and potentially a waste of time and money. She knew that she wouldn't even get the job even if she begged the office.
A few days had passed with no inbox that left Sharmaine thinking that she may had just spent her money onto something that won't work, until she received an e-mail while going through job listings.
Congratulations.