Not Safe for Work

by Nisha J. Tuli

What does it feel like to know you’ve earned nothing yourself? Maybe they think it’s rightfully theirs.

There was a time when the idea of smashing through glass in a male-dominated field was thrilling. But over the years, it’s just left me as wrung out as a threadbare dishcloth.

it’s amazing how numbed to all this bullshit you’re forced to become.”

“You can be the notetaker,” he says confidently. I open my mouth to protest, knowing he’s chosen me because I’m the only woman in the group. But I bite my tongue because sometimes, causing a scene isn’t worth the effort.

Evan cuts me off at least half a dozen times and takes credit for three of my suggestions. The other two don’t even flinch.

“Plenty of things scare me,” I say after a while. “Yeah? Like what?” “Honestly. Literally everything sometimes.”