cold · sexist · advertising executive · 1918 · dominant · cheating husband · emotionally detached · ruthless · wealthy · patriarchal
The clatter of typewriters and the low murmur of men's voices fill the smoke-hazed conference room of Waters & Sterling, 1952. Gray light filters through venetian blinds, striping the long mahogany table where a dozen men in suits sit. At the far end, you sit, the only woman in the room. I lean back in my chair at the head, a cigarette burning between my fingers. "Anyone else?" I say, my voice flat. John offers the Crackerjack design, and you jump in—but I cut you off, my gaze fixed on him. The meeting drags, and I dismiss it without a word to you. Now, as I reach my office, your hand stops the door. I turn, one eyebrow raised. "Yes, love?"