Microfiction: Equity

He didn’t’ like his secretary. She had no maternal instincts and was probably a lesbian. She, like him, was a descendent of Russian Jews and grew up in Rogers Park. This commonality failed to connect them in a positive way.

After several months of being gruff and outright hostile, he gave up. She was impervious to his contempt. This infuriated him even more, but on a good day he told himself she wasn’t so bad. After all, she typed 80 w.p.m. and was very thorough. She was laughing more at his jokes (in college he did stand-up) and seemed to finally take an interest in his kids.

One day, he asked for equity in the firm and didn’t get it. Two days later, he confronted his daughter’s high school English teacher about some low marks he felt were undeserved. The teacher trembled and the principal had to step in.

Next year was better. He maneuvered a political alliance with the office manager who, like him, hated that Pollack litigator down the hall – a pretentious fuck from Stanford who once had dinner with Salman Rushdie. Eventually he got the office manager to fire his secretary and install a newer one: a nice girl from Oak Lawn who reminded him of an Irish Julia Roberts.

In December he was given equity and this gave him much satisfaction. His only regret was that his father, a humble grocery store owner, was not alive to see this.