Tumgik
#male dominated job environment and then a few talks later the office guy mentioned how he had a trans woman in his portfolio and that
chelseaheskett · 4 years
Text
12:37PM, WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 9TH, 2019.
They’d been worried over nothing. When Chelsea went in her for interview, the guy took a quick peruse of her portfolio and offered her a job on the spot. He was really friendly. His name was Christian--Chelsea realised it sounded a little Fifty Shades of Grey, but it wasn’t. Obviously. If she wanted anyone to bend her over an office desk, it was Elliot. And that was something they could do now, if they wanted to! The State Bar of California reinstated him and now he had an office at Macy’s firm. Chelsea couldn’t remember Elliot’s title past the obvious lawyer part of it all, but that didn’t matter. They were both in a good place. Neither of them had failed like they thought they would. They were raking the money in. Chelsea only worked onsite Monday through Wednesday, when her Mom could look after the kids. The other days she spent at home, juggling toddlers and work emails and sketching down new designs or ideas. Elliot stayed back later at the office than he would have at the garage, but they managed. For now, only a few weeks into a new routine for everybody, it was sustainable. Chelsea felt happy. Hormonal, still, of course, but happy, nonetheless.
Tumblr media
There was some sort of celebratory launch lunch at work today. Their team was pretty small, only six of them, including Christian. Enough to fit in two cars, where they drove to Downtown Los Angeles to some café to eat lunch together. Only a couple of blocks away from Elliot, funnily enough. That was one thing she noticed: how much she missed him and her babies while stuck sitting at work. They were being contracted by the council, so they had some office space in one of the government buildings in Glendale. It was an open floor plan, with a kitchen and restrooms cordoned off by wood-carved doors. They all worked in the same room, besides her boss, who got his own office. It made it hard to text Elliot, that way. Even harder to get in contact with her Mom every few hours, checking in on the kids. Don’t know how in the hell Jenny managed to do it, sending her stupid memes under her desk at school. In middle school. That girl was way too smart for her own good. She had a thing or two to teach Chelsea, that was for sure.
In the car, on the way to lunch, Chelsea didn’t even get the chance to tell Elliot she was going to be on his side of town. Christian, in the driver’s seat, and her other co-worker, Brad, sitting beside her in the back of the car, wouldn’t stop talking. Asking her questions, telling her funny stories. She didn’t want to be rude, so she kept her cellphone in her bag. Too much of a people-pleaser. Had she mentioned that it was only her and one other girl on the team? It was intimidating. Something she was still getting used to. She was sixteen weeks pregnant and her stomach was starting to poke out. It was noticeable. Hard to hide now--not that she wanted to, but being in such a male-dominated environment made her more self-conscious than usual. It didn’t matter. They all liked touching her stomach, sometimes without her permission. It came with the territory, she guessed. 
Chelsea didn’t like dressing for work. Every other day, even when working at home, she was fine in a pair of yoga pants and one of Elliot’s baggy old shirts. Something casual, something she didn’t mind getting messy when cleaning up spit-up or a snotty nose from Isaac. She made Macy and Amy go clothes shopping with her, after she’d been hired. Her last two pregnancies hadn’t included work appropriate maternity wear. The dress she was wearing today was one of her favourites. Black and knee length, with decorative zips on the sides of the bodice. Made it so she didn’t look obviously pregnant from the back or straight on. Christian had made a comment about it when she first came in that morning. Chelsea didn’t think on it again. 
Tumblr media
He pulled her chair out for her when they got to their seats. The rest of the team was already at the table, chatting and looking over some menus. “Thank you!” Chelsea said, politely. Took a moment to pull her phone out of her bag to check her notifications. Wondered what Elliot was doing right now. If the twins were down for their afternoon naps. If Jack was screaming the house down for her mother. Chelsea quickly shot Elliot an I love you text message, complete with heart and kiss emojis, because when it came to her husband, Chelsea was a Goddamn teenager still. Christian, taking up the seat beside her, coyly asked her what she was so happy about. Chelsea shook him off and picked up a menu, pretending to read it. 
Once he redirected his attention elsewhere, Chelsea let her gaze wander. Looked up at the specials board by the counter and cash registers. There was a man in the queue, the last one in line, with his back to her. He was wearing a suit and had a phone in his hands. His hair tied up at the back. Chelsea would know Elliot anywhere--even in the dark, even blind. “Excuse me for a sec, guys.” She said to her team, without taking her eyes off of Elliot, slapping her menu down on the table. Chelsea briskly walked until she was standing right in front of him. Didn’t want to scare him or take him by surprise. “Fancy seeing you here.” Chelsea teased, wrapping her arms around his neck. They were close enough that her belly rubbed against his dress shirt. She kissed him on the mouth, chaste but full. Probably still inappropriate in a public setting, but she missed him, okay? It didn’t matter that it’d only been a few hours since they last saw each other at home. “Hi, baby.” She mused, finally pulling back to properly greet him. “You have no idea how good it is to see you.” Highlight of her day! She kept her arms locked around his shoulders. “Are you on your break? Come have lunch with us.” She couldn’t spot Macy anywhere, but maybe she was in the restroom, or waiting for coffee and food back at the office. It couldn’t hurt to ask.
Tumblr media
40 notes · View notes
namjoonchronicles · 7 years
Text
Obvious - [BTS] Pharmacist!Taehyung Au
Tumblr media
[A/N] In real life, I’m close to this one pharmacist. He’s super sweet and before I forget, I have to immortalize him in my writings.
New experience tend to be exciting and nerve-wracking, all at the same time. A wise man once said, if it’s frightening and excites you all at the same time, it’s a good idea to go on with it.
Because it means, that you’re stepping out of your comfort zone. And stepping out of your comfort zone, means you are progressing in life. And progresses, results to a pass or a fail. Strength is not being able to pass all at once with little difficulty. Strength is to wear your failure as a badge and improve.
Of course, it’s going to be difficult at first.
There’s enemies along the way. But also friends. and the only way to find out, is to proceed.
You walked into the fifth floor with a jittery heart. You were extremely worried since this is your first time working with your degree ever since graduating. You did all kind of jobs while waiting for the interview. It was a big hospital and everyone knows it, just by name.
Haesang Medical Centre.
It was peak hours and you skipped introductions, straight to blending in. But a few minutes later, patients reduced in numbers. It became a more relaxed environment, instantly. And only then, they introduced themselves. Your supervisor, also your mentor, Miss Kim, an unmarried 37 year old was the boss. Together with the team is the somewhat sassy, Nana who is probably a bit older than you but behaves like a queen.
Apart from Nana, there’s a locum, awaiting placements, who is meek and pretty, the quiet and shy, Chaerin. Who are you kidding, its pharmacy, there’s no guy around. If you enrol in pharmacy, expect 2.5 out of 10 people in your faculty is a male. It’s a female dominated field and it shouldn’t surprise you anymore.
But you spoke too soon because someone just flew in through the door you came in, lab coat spinning around, careless footwork and ID tag tangled around his long fingers. He looks unprepared for work. “You’re late. And you missed introductory session with our new permanent staff.” Miss Kim sighed, crouching at her laptop, clicking the mouse without having to look at this walking mess.
Miss Kim mentions your name and you look up to give your best first impression and when he glanced back at you, you were instantly defeated. He was…
He was… Very good looking.
“Hi. I’m Taehyung. And there’s a lot of new I am willing to teach you.” He said with a secretive grin. “Don’t teach her weird things, Tae.” Miss Kim warned.
So long story short, Taehyung is the only one in the whole team who was willing to teach you what he knows. He’s young but he has been working in retail pharmacy before and is well equipped with details involving the best drug in town. Even though he appears playful and takes nothing seriously, he turns into something else when he answers doctor’s enquiry, and when he dispense the medication to the patients.
He is used to answering calls from doctors who finds it easier to speak to him than Miss Kim even though Miss Kim is senior. You eavesdropped whenever you can, to brush up your skills later. “Yes, Dr. Koo. Correct, initial dose is 5 micrograms per kilogram per minute. Not hours. And it is not to be mistaken as Dobutamine. The dose is entirely different.” You heard his husky deep voice from the racks.
He pressed the phone in between his ear and shoulder, his eyes just darted upwards as he recalls. “Dopamine is used to treat low blood pressure. It has to be diluted with Dextrose 50% prior to use.” He explains. You see Nana bringing him a prescription to sign. It was DD. DD stands for Dangerous Drugs.
Diazepam, Lorazepam, etc.
Only pharmacist above three years of service is applicable to sign a prescription containing DD. Taehyung looks like he’s been here for awhile. It shows when he checks your packing. And when he posts labels. The stickers on medications, Taehyung posts them, types them, checks the dosage and double checks the durations. So he handed you a prescription to fill. “Saphris?” You asked.
Since you were new, there’s a lot of new drugs you didn’t know. “That’s Asenaphin. It’s neurology.” He said. “You know Lyrica right? Pregabalin 50mg. Eaten only at night. Caused drowsiness. So don’t forget the cautionary stickers.” He said.
You packed as the prescription says. But being new and inexperienced, you tend to make mistakes. Misskim would usually lash out immediately on you but not Taehyung. “The prescription is for four weeks. Not eight baby.” You froze. “Don’t be scared. Taehyung calls everyone baby.” Chaerin giggles. “No I do not.” Taehyun defended himself.
As weeks passed, you started to feel comfortable with your own skin. You found your footing and was able to be better as time goes by. And you and Taehyung got closer. You would fill prescriptions side by side with him. Help him take things from the inventory stores, take calls for him, help him open the door since he always misplaced his access card. Buy him coffee. And sometimes, when he’s making labels for the medication, he’d read them out loud so that it’ll be easier for you to pack.
“This prescriptions is for how many months?” You asked from inside. Taehyung, seated at the counter glanced short, “3 months. Patients wants to come back after 3 months. And he doesn’t want the Total Fiber Sachets.”
“Good. Less things to pack.” You replied.
“Because I love you and don’t want you to suffer.” He totally meant it in a platonic way. “The patient chose not to eat Total Fiber, why does it have anything to do with you.” You frowned as your hands grabbed to the other medications on the prescription. “Because I may have contributed to it by the smile I gave to the patient?”
“Stop talking nonsense.” You set the basket full with medication to his hands as he stood by the ‘checking’ table, pharmacist has to check the filled meds and paste labels on them before dispensing them to the patients. Taehyung’s favourite thing to do during checking time is to chat with you. “Since the patients aren’t too many today, why don’t you go on an early lunch.” Taehyung said, speaking to the labels.
“Alright, I’ll see you in one hour,” you smacked your lips together and he makes a kissing sound while you reply the same. It was all a platonic kind of affection.
Days that came after, people in the pharmacy team had been observing. The day you came late and forgot your locker keys where you keep your scissors, Taehyung without question, handed you, his scissors, saying that he, “...doesn’t use it much.” The flirtatious smile that passes between you two. The unbelievable chemistry. The way you two would finish each other’s sentences and how you complement each other makes people around you feel that there’s something going on.
And to be honest, you felt more comfortable sharing things with him. You’re not going to lie that he gives you that feeling close to home. You laughed loudly around him. And he notices this. One lunch you had with him on the hospital's’ rooftop, he admits it. You caught him staring at you with a smile. “What.” You instinctively said, wiping tears away from your eyes, from laughing.
“You’re so cheerful…” he pauses and averted his eyes to your tag and then to you. “Your smile is brighter, you laughed a lot more than you did the first two weeks. I thought I was never going to see this part of you.”
It was true. The first two weeks was the worst. You cried before going to work. Cried after you went back to work. Wouldn’t eat. Wouldn’t speak. Wouldn’t smile. You were depressed and because of it, you were making a lot of mistakes in your packing. You failed to see the contradictions in the prescription doctors wrote and you almost a wrong quantity to the wrong patient.
Your big boss, the head of department, came down to see you and see how you were doing. She asked you, “How are you?”
And Taehyung heard your answer, clearly and it stung him, “...breathing.”
And that’s when the big boss took you in her office and you cried for an hour. Taehyung remembered how puffy your eyes looked. And to compare that to what he sees now, it just shows how humans can progress. Taehyung sighed, looking up at the sky at the rooftop with you.
“People try to conceal their weakness thinking that it would scarce them, imperfect them, render them weak. But can’t you see how flaws make you human? We all make mistakes. To err is human.” Taehyung said. He’s young but his heart is not.
That lunch drawn you closer even more. Miss Kim looks at Taehyun as you were packing medications. She said, “...go ahead.” Taehyung beamed a smile. “I think this fell out the basket,” Taehyung threw something inside the basket you were filling and you took a look.
“Oh thank you baby,” you said nonchalantly since you two always address each other that way. You picked the ziplock up from the table and took a look. It’s shiny and round. Hollow in the middle. “Taehyung?” You asked. He makes a kissing sound and puckered his lips at you, kissing you while you were not really paying attention. He stole a kiss.
“Marry me.” He bit his lips, putting in the last medication in the basket. You gaze up at him. “Marry me.” He repeated. You blinked. “Yes?” He asked.
He puckered his lips and dropped his gaze. “Yes.” It slipped out of you. “You’ll marry me?” He beamed.
“Yes! A million times yes!” You choked. Taehyung tipped your chin up and kissed you while Nana and Miss Kim watches. Chaerin smiled and was like, “I knew this was going to happen.”
It was so obvious.
143 notes · View notes
Sexual Harassment and Bullying in the Workplace: The long term effects.
It is common in the workplace to have procedures and regulations to protect employees against bullying in the workplace. Although, what really happens when an individual comes forward in the case of sexual harassment? This is corporate 101 - Human Resources and Sexual Harassment. 
I work in a male-dominated industry in general, but for my specific team, I was one of two females. The other female is older and at a higher position which requires travel. I was a sheep in a lion’s den. I’ve always been a guys girl and though I dressed feminine I am a bit of a tomboy. It takes a lot for me to feel insulted or intimidated by a male. (Thanks to my military dad). 
An occurrence happened where a large job was left in my lap and I had to guide it to another employee who had more knowledge. He raised his voice to me and continued to be aggressive, so I said back to his cube we can discuss this with our boss. Needless to say, a week earlier I reached out to my manager to let him know of the difficulty with the communication I was experiencing. We all eventually had a talk and stated to not continue the conversation. Instead, he talked poorly about me to other teammates and that’s when the hazing began. 
I was excluded from lunches, I couldn’t reach out to my teammates without getting backlash and it only became more apparent to me that nothing would be resolved. A general email was sent out about talking at your desk, putting your phone on speaker, and another office etiquette. I was in a private booth calling a company for a follow-up and when I came back, a wall was built in my cubicle that I shared with someone else and everyone went to lunch. Out of embarrassment I took down the wall, sat at my desk trying to continue to work, and I couldn’t help but tear up. I went to lunch and they joked about it when I got back and I said it’s not funny. The next week the manager who hazed me yelled over the cube about a speakerphone and I had no response. 
That’s when I wrote the letter. The letter was me stating the most minimal occurrences of the bullying I was experiencing. It only mentioned two of the sexist comments I’ve experienced. “Are you on your period” and “Go make me a sandwich”. After writing this letter I sent it to my boss where he then forwarded it to HR. They reached out to me but with fear the bullying would only get worst…. I kept the identities secret. It wasn’t until I found out another assistant who was female was being hired until I spoke up. I can take it, but I will not let another person be a victim. 
We went to the meeting which included HR, my manager, the director, the person who oversees assistants, and the person who made the comments. To sum it up, he said sorry and walked out. There was nothing else done. If he was written up, I would have no knowledge. We were told to not repeat what happened. I told someone that it was productive and that it would be beneficial for not just myself but others. I was walked into a room just two days later and was reprimanded stating that it would damage the persons’ character. I explained to them that after months of being in a hostile environment, it will take time for me to regain my relationship with the guys involved. He said, “it concerns me because the team is usually always so helpful”. Well, when you are a female having sexist comments said to you… that’s not so helpful, is it? After this initial meeting, I felt like I couldn’t come forward with any other information. 
To question me if I can keep my demeanor after at least six months of harassment is like telling a rape victim because she took a shower or changed her sheets to get over it. 
So here are just a few things that I have experienced: 
1. Getting my ass grabbed at a company event (baseball game) in front of my husband 
2. Being told women’s feet are smaller so they can stand closer to the oven 
3. Asking me to call you on Facetime because my phone was tucked at the side of my shirt while my hands were full 
4. Making a joke about me coughing while eating yogurt because you made me laugh and then making a joke about me being able to swallow with another employee. 
5. Telling me to make you a sandwich 
6. Asking me “Are you on your period?” 
7. “I wish your fine ass was here drinking with me” - over the phone on a business trip 
8. “You’re pretty” insisting that I was stupid. 
9. I’m clipped so we wouldn’t have to worry about you getting pregnant. 
10. Speaking about a woman about how she dyes her hair and stating she is crazy whom also is a client and a friend of mine. 
11. Teaching someone how to use the new coffee maker and the girl said: “She’s good at showing people things” (I had been training her) and the male looks at me and smiles. 
12. Stating you can’t say anything to me (after my HR meeting) bc you would be accused of sexual harassment —- and making me a victim again. 
I had been becoming overwhelming depressed. I felt ashamed, stuck, hopeless, alone, and my feeling of self-worth depleted. 
Before all of this, people could sum me up in the following words said by women: “Sweet”, “Kind”, “Sunshine”, “Funny”, “Smart”, “Always helping others” 
For someone to say recently…. “I saw a girl who always had sparks flying. Vibrant Colorful Sparks”
… that doesn’t sound like someone who thought about suicide because of all the stress and loss of hope. I decided to seek help not just for myself, but for the people who wouldn’t want to lose me. Because what those people don’t know, is I am a rape survivor. I have spent the majority of my life being objectified by men and after meeting my husband… I learned my self-worth. I learned that it is not okay. I still lived in fear of speaking up even after over 10 years of saying I wish I had spoken up more about my experience to help others. 
I’ve been seeing a counselor who has been an incredible influence on my life. I am taking medication to get through this hurdle in life. Whether it’s me staying where I am and creating new boundaries but still feeling my career has now had a set back… or to move on to a new beginning. Maybe even something that could help another person fight through the feelings and experiences I myself have gone through. 
I know in my heart I AM WORTH MORE. I DESERVE MORE. I WILL HAVE MORE. 
For anyone who has experienced sexual harassment or assault. They do not get the best part of you. Do not let them control your mind or your health. You are not stuck. You are not to blame. Everything with be okay and now you are even stronger. 
0 notes