The Day I Kissed An Older Man by Cher the Cherished

Rita returned to the office with the interview recordings and notes, only to be summoned by the boss as soon as she entered. "I
heard you've clashed with some of the senior colleagues in the office again," the boss said without looking up from his work.
Rita looked puzzled. "What do you mean, 'again'? It's so obvious they're the ones causing trouble for me! You gave me this
almost impossible task, but I managed to secure the interviewee. Isn't that impressive? Yet, instead of praising me, I'm getting
scolded for standing up for myself against all the ridicule? It's because I'm a newcomer, isn't it?"
"Just look at yourself. I haven't even said anything, and you've given me this whole essay! I'm not saying you should silently
endure their ridicule, but those people are your seniors. You should at least show them some respect. Don't you know how to
give some surface pleasantries? Why do you insist on talking back to them? To make matters worse, they came to me to
complain about you. They even have a recording of you mocking them! How do you expect me to deal with this?"
Rita was so angry at her sly male colleagues that she laughed bitterly. Indeed, reporters always had their voice recorders handy,
ready to capture anything at any time. It was a pity she did not record their ugly behavior at that time.
"So, what do you want me to do? Don't tell me you want me to apologize to those people?" asked Rita.
"Is this how you talk to your boss? I wouldn't be in this predicament now if you hadn't let your temper run wild."
Rita scoffed and crossed her arms. "Am I the problem here? Those colleagues of mine have been bullying me just because I'm a
newcomer. They took advantage of their seniority, and you did nothing about it. But now that they've recorded me fighting back,
you're suddenly concerned. Boss, you really disappoint me."
Rita had thought her boss, who had helped her before, would stick up for her to the end. However, he turned out to be spineless
through and through.
The boss' face darkened at Rita's criticism. "In any case, you don't need to follow up on this interview anymore. Let them handle
the subsequent work."
"Why not? No, I don't agree with this. I was the one who secured the interview. Has Claire ever responded to any of their
invitations? No! So why should I hand over my work to someone else? That's simply ridiculous!"
"Hmph, it doesn't matter whether
you agree to it or not. I'm the one who says who does what! It's enough that I've given such an important task to a newcomer like
you. You still have plenty of other tasks to do. Now, if you have nothing else, you can leave. There's a meeting later. Don't forget

to send the materials to your colleagues before that."
Rita remained standing in place for a long time until the boss glanced at her as if to say, 'Why are you still here?'
Only then did she exhale deeply. "Boss, you're going to regret this."
"What do I have to regret-"
Rita maintained a proud, upright posture as she walked out of the office. After all, she was the noble Miss Russell, and nothing
could force her to bow. As soon as she stepped out, she walked over to the male colleague who had provoked her earlier and
slammed the stack of materials she had collected onto his desk.
"You really lived up to your reputation as a veteran reporter. I can't win against your underhanded tactics at all. Are you afraid I'd
recorded our argument? Well.net
surpass you? Is that why you
you
don't need to worry. Consider this
interview a gift from me. However, I won't be so accommodating next time."