This story is not about attraction. It’s about destruction. Power over others. Abuse. And complete and utter defeat. It wasn’t pretty to watch this unfold. And some of this is a dramatization.
Nisha was the Business Controller of what used to be a small business in Texas called Trisurance. Over the years the small business had grown. She wasn’t always the Business Controller, but the assistant to one. After some differences between the CEO of the company and her Supervisor, she found herself in a nice comfy position with more pay than she expected. This is nothing new, a lot of homegrown businesses promote on the inside even if the employees don’t have the experience the position usually holds.
Nisha was from the Philippines, though she’d lived in America for the last 21 years. Though she spoke fluently, sometimes her English grammar failed her and she had problems with her tone. She couldn’t tell when someone was angry with her, and she didn’t know some small nuances like when a question was rhetorical and whatnot. That had never been a problem. The CEO probably found her momentary confusion at times cute.
She was a 44 year old woman and considered tall in her culture at 5’7. She had plain features, and dyed brown hair. She only dyed it to make herself look younger after her divorce. Her hair was shoulder length and thin. Her breasts were simply a B cup, around 34.
Her twin girls were grown and out of the house at this point, so she had it all to herself. She would do online dating and had many dates, but nothing she would call special.
Though she had some unpleasant things she’s gone through, for the most part she was happy. That is until Trisurance got a new CFO.
The small business had evolved into a medium class business. With it were growing pains; that led to a lot of new hires. Things couldn’t be done the same way anymore, and management couldn’t be as disjointed as it was allowed to be before. With structure came the need for a CFO. And so begins the internal troubles of the company.
Charlotte was a white woman of Irish descent in her early 50s. One could see that once upon a time she was probably the talk of the town. She never got the memo that she had aged. She would dress in high heels and short skirts. The office would buzz about with words such as “inappropriate” and “slut.” But she was in a position of power and crossing her wasn’t a smart idea.
Charlotte was short only reaching about 5’1. And maybe to compensate for her height, she swung her power around like a wrecking ball. She crossed different departments and managers. She started with the IT before making her way through the HR departments.
Some employees would ask Nisha what she thought and she would defend Charlotte with words of “this is how it’s supposed to be.” That wouldn’t last long.
--
Monday
“Nisha, I need reports on all clients over the age of 60 that have children not over the age of 21.” Charlotte told her.
“Okay. I’ve never done a report like that before, so I’ll need some time to complete this task.” Nisha responded.
“I need it by tomorrow.”
--
Tuesday
“Nisha, one of our vendors is complaining that they have not been paid.” Charlotte said.
“That’s not my responsibility. That’s part of payroll. You’ll need to –“
“Payroll doesn’t report to you?” Charlotte asked, surprise in her voice.
“No.”
Charlotte just sighed and left the office.
--
Wednesday
“Nisha, I want you at this meeting at Noon. We’re looking into a new accounting system.” Charlotte said excitedly. “Big changes are on the horizon.”
“Charlotte, I’m supposed to meet my daughter for lunch.”
“Just cancel.”
“It’s 11:30. She’s already begun making her way over.”
“Cancel on her before she gets here. This is important.”
Nisha frowned. Up until now her demands simply put, were not this demanding.
Charlotte studied her. “This is a bit short notice, I admit. Go have your lunch, but going forward, please let me know when you have lunch plans.”
Nisha nodded, though the frown did not leave her face that day.
--
Thursday
“Nisha, can you give me a list of all the tasks you’ve undertaken this week, by the end of the day?” Charlotte asked.
“Yes, not a problem.”
“And the times of the day you came in?”
There was a small pause before she responded. “Okay.”
“Thanks.”
--
Friday
“You’re leaving early?” Charlotte asked.
“Yeah, I’ve already cleared it with the CEO.” Nisha replied. Truthfully, she had had enough of this woman for this week. And she was starting to become irritable. What did she expect? Her to not leave early if she confronted her?
“Going forward, you clear these things with me, not him.”
Nisha swallowed back her retort and just nodded.
--
Nisha lay on her bed, exhausted from a week’s work. She felt like she could lay their forever, but she couldn’t get Charlotte out of her mind. She was restless, and didn’t know what to do.
“Knock knock.”
Nisha’s eyes bolted to the door, but she sighed in relief when she saw it was just one of her daughters.
Nikki looked like her mother, but superficially. Same light brown skin tone and same light brown eyes, with similar mannerisms, but nothing identical.
“Where’s your sister?” Nisha asked.
Nikki shrugged. “She’s staying on campus this weekend. I wanted to come home.” She looked at the dark room. “Were you sleeping? Sorry, didn’t want to surprise you by turning up the music.”
“No, I’m just thinking.”
“Thinking?” Nikki asked. “Well, okay. Never seen you do this before.”
“It’s not been a good week.”
“Just make next week be a better week than this one like you tell me.”
Nisha smiled at that. “It’s probably just a bad week. Yeah.”
--
The next week was worst. Charlotte was hounding Nisha on every little thing. Nisha confided in her coworkers that she was feeling increasingly uncomfortable, but all she received were some remarks of sympathy, but was also reminded that everyone had go through this with Charlotte.
The end of the month was coming up and Nisha was preparing for her end of month duties: Vendor evaluations, interest rate adjustments, and client calls to those with special plans under Trisurance.
--
Thursday
Nisha was at the fax machine preparing to send a fax over to a vendor when Charlotte approached her.
“We’re going to begin importing the data into the new accounting system today.”
Nisha looked at her in disbelief. There was no way that Charlotte didn’t know how busy she was already this week.
“I can’t. I’m working on the vendor evaluations.”
“This is important.”
“I understand, but so are the vendor evals. I can’t split my time; I need to get this done.” In her mind, Nisha relaxed. She had stood up for herself and felt her argument infallible.
“I understand that, but this is important. If you put your mind to it, you can do both.”
Nisha’s shoulders visibly sagged at this. “No. I can’t. Just wait until the start of the month. I’m not prepared for this right now.”
“You are the Business Controller. And you’re an exempt employee. There’s no reason for you NOT to work overtime in these types of situations. I don’t care if you work 20 hours! Just get it done!”
Nisha shook her head. But before she could respond she noticed the hallway peering with eyes. A lot of people were curious about what was going on, but they were just walking by. So she walked away, hoping to end the conversation on that note, but Charlotte followed her.
When Nisha was in her office, she turned around to close the door, but Charlotte held the door in place. Nisha was stunned as Charlotte then entered her office.
“So we’re clear, you’ll get the data imported, and work overtime to complete everything else.”
Nisha had agreed to no such thing. And for some reason she felt more confident. It probably stemmed from feeling like her office was home field advantage. “Why is it so important to get the new accounting system up so soon?”
“I put this on the agenda for the board of directors. I’ve told them we’d have this done by end of month.”
Nisha felt her anger rise, but before she could say anything the CEO was at her door. She sighed in relief, and figured if she explained it to him he would agree with her. However the CEO would offer no help, and instead closed her door so that they wouldn’t disturb the other employees.
That knocked the wind out of Nisha. There wasn’t going to be any support. And Charlotte opened her mouth to speak.
--
It wasn’t for another 10 minutes before the door opened again. Charlotte walked out of Nisha’s office and back to her own. Nisha was left there, silent.
She needed to calm down. She reached for a glass of water on her desk, and saw her hand shaking. Not in anger, but anxiety.
--
Saturday
Nisha slept in on Saturday. Charlotte had won, and she had worked like a slave the last two days to get everyone done.
She finally decided to roll over to her nightstand when her phone vibrated. She looked at it and saw she had a text message from Charlotte. Just reading her name caused her hand to shake again. But she decided to read the message in case Charlotte was asking her to do more stuff.
Hey! Thanks for your help this week. I know it was busy for you, but thanks to you the new accounting system project is well on its way. Have a great weekend!
Nisha put down the phone and got out of bed to get a glass of water. When she held it in her hand, her hand was shaking again, this time it was enough for her to drop the glass onto the ground. It shattering snapped her out of her stupor. She stared down at the broken glass, and then at her shaking hand.
She needed to go to a doctor.
--
The doctor had run several tests, but there wasn’t much wrong with her. Shaking isn’t too uncommon, so the doctor asked if she was stressed. She admitted to it.
The doctor was going to suggest that she regulate her diet and make sure that her vitamin intake was balanced. He told her that she didn’t really need anything more, but she insisted on Valium. She had texted her friends earlier about her issues, and someone suggested it to her. The doctor responded with wanting to do blood tests and upon those results deciding if Valium was the best option.
“It’s not worth getting medicated when there isn’t a need. Please, get proper rest, and a proper diet. By Tuesday we’ll see where we stand.”
Nisha reluctantly agreed.
--
She remained restless the rest of the weekend. She called in sick the following Monday. She also received a text message from Charlotte that night.
Nisha, I hope you feel better. Tomorrow we’re interviewing an accountant to help you. Please try to come in tomorrow.
“To help me.” She muttered, bitterly.
--
Tuesday
When Tuesday rolled around, Nisha was paranoid. She wanted to know the results of her blood work, and she was curious about this new possible assistant. Of course she wasn’t naïve. Charlotte was making a move and more probably wanted to fire her.
Nisha took the initiative and went to the CEO.
“Do you have a minute?”
“Sure, Nisha, come in.” He beckoned her into his office.
“About this potential hire.”
“Yeah, I hope it works out. Charlotte was saying how rough she was on you last week, and figured you needed someone to assist you. We’re growing, and things are only going to get busier from here.”
“Oh. I was worried she was trying to hire someone to take my place.”
“I wouldn’t let that happen.” He assured her.
She smiled. Her first smile in weeks. Though possibly her last.
--
Monday had been shake free for Nisha, and Tuesday was looking to be the same. Her work phone rang and when she picked it up she wasn’t surprised to hear Charlotte on the other line telling her that the interview was set to begin.
“I’ll be right there.” She said as she hung up. When she made it to the conference room, she saw the new employee. A fellow pinoy (Filipino) like her. She was relaxed a bit, but her shakes soon returned upon seeing Charlotte. It actually surprised her. Her voice hadn’t triggered anything. But the site of her…
Nisha blinked hard and prepared for the long interview.
--
The prospect was hired not too long after that. Nisha’s bloodwork was clean, but the shakes would not leave her. Her doctor prescribed her the Valium she had asked for and it relaxed her. She was able to get through the nights. Her weekends became less involved, and she was always tired. And now that she had an assistant, Charlotte hounded her more than ever.
The next few months went by slowly. She stopped fighting Charlotte and Charlotte seemed to back off.
“Nisha, please provide me with our GAAP policy.” Karla, the still considered new assistant told her.
“GAAP?” Nisha asked.
“Generally accepted accounting principles.” Karla said, a bit unnerved that Nisha didn’t know already.
“We don’t have that.” Nisha replied with a frown.
“What?” Karla said. “How have you guys gone on so long without it?”
Nisha didn’t know what to say. And to her surprise, found herself in a lecture by her own assistant.
That was the beginning of a new plot. Charlotte had backed off and sent Karla to eat her alive. Nisha frowned at the realization.
--
Saturday
“Mom, you’ve been a bit off for a while now. Is it because of work?” Nikki asked.
“I don’t enjoy it anymore. Work is nothing but stress.” Nisha responded.
“Then what’re you going to do? Are you going to quit?”
“I’m thinking about it. Resigning and finding a different corporation.” She sighed. “But, I don’t think I’ll get paid as much as I am now. Not without more experience.”
“But if it will make you happy,” Nikki said.
“No. At least not yet. If I can just do my work, I can get through this. Charlotte...no one likes her at work. I’m hoping she gets fired soon.”
“What’re the odds of that happening?” Her daughter asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t even know why she hasn’t been fired already.”
--
It was a false hope. And her torment would continue. Charlotte was now officially after her job. She was moving a lot of her responsibilities to Karla who eagerly took it.
Nisha found herself back in the CEO’s office with a tired look on her face. “What am I supposed to do?”
The CEO frowned. “I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry about it.”
Figure it out? Like how he figured that closing the door during their argument would be better than coming to her rescue? No, his figure it out wasn’t going to work.
And it didn’t. Two weeks later Karla was being congratulated as the new Business Controller. But the CEO prevented Nisha from being fired. She was given a floater position to help other departments throughout the day.
“Sign here.” Charlotte said, seemingly relishing the moment.
Nisha mechanically signed. She had signed away half of her pay now. Her new position just wasn’t up to industry standards to make the same pay.
--
That night Nisha tossed and turned in her bed. Her mind was too active, even the Valium didn’t help. She needed to blow off steam. She needed to let her thoughts out.
Her cell phone buzzed.
Hey Nisha, just checking in on how you’re doing. I know things have been a little rough for you, so let’s have a 1 on 1 and discuss your schedule.
This time she didn’t shake. She seethed.
--
Friday
Nisha expertly shielded herself from Charlotte throughout the day. She kept her schedule known by everyone and prevented an early meeting. And she postponed any meeting she could have until late in the afternoon. It wasn’t until about 6:00 when she was able to sit down with Charlotte and talk with her in Charlotte’s office.
“How are you?” Charlotte asked with a smile on her face.
“Not good.” Nisha said. “My life hasn’t been smooth in the last couple of months.”
“Just a challenge for you to get through. Life isn’t easy.”
Nisha spoke the next part in Tagalog. I don’t need you to lecture me.
“Come again?” Charlotte asked.
“It isn’t.”
Charlotte cocked an eyebrow at that, sure that that wasn’t what she said. She noticed Nisha gripping the chair handles tightly. “Relax.” She said.
“I am relaxed.” Nisha replied quickly.
“I just wanted you to know, that you have a support system here. We’re here for you.”
Nisha could not hide the look of disgust on her face. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m your friend here. And I want you to succeed. You can confide in me anything.”
Nisha could not speak. Now she knew Charlotte. She knew that Charlotte wanted people to like her. It was true what she said to her daughter back then. Charlotte was hated by a lot of people there, and she felt the board wasn’t too excited about her either. But did she think that if she reached a hand out to Nisha that it would improve her image? SHE WAS THE REASON BEHIND ALL OF THIS!
You hypocrite! You are not a good person! You fucking witch!
“Excuse me?” Charlotte said. Now, she didn’t understand Tagalog, but that last part was pretty clear even to her.
Nisha found she could barely breathe. The pressure inside of her was building, and building.
When she could breathe again she noticed that Charlotte was on the floor.
Nisha had stood up and reached across the desk and punched Charlotte in the jaw, flooring her.
Charlotte writhed in pain on the floor, but got up. Nisha just stared at her, unsure of what to do next. She had about 6 inches on this woman. But that didn’t deter Charlotte at all from retaliating. She jumped on her desk and punched Nisha right back.
In truth, the blow didn’t have enough power to do what it actually did, but Nisha just had never been hit since she was in her teen years and just didn’t know what to do, but fall. It was an out of body experience for her when Charlotte jumped on top of her and began punching her in the face.
It wasn’t until she heard Charlotte screaming “You fucking bitch!” That she awoke from her trance and pushed Charlotte off of her. She opened the door to Charlotte’s office and ran out of there. She quickly got to her office, grabbed her purse and left the building.
--
New Message
Please Charlotte, let me explain. I didn’t know what was happening. I’m just not in a good place right now, and I just snapped.
Next message
Please Charlotte, let’s talk about what happened. After our emotions have cooled off. Please. Let’s keep this between us.
Next message
Come over to my house in the afternoon tomorrow for brunch. Please. Please let me make this up to you.
--
Saturday
Charlotte had definitely won the fight. Nisha’s black eye, bruised lip, and sore cheek bone were a testament to that. She wasn’t sure what had come over her. But all that rage from yesterday was gone.
She texted her daughters not to come this weekend. She didn’t want them to see her like this.
Her cell phone buzzed.
I’ll come over at 1. This is between us.
Nisha wasn’t sure what to make of that. It sounded a bit confrontational, but that’s not what Nisha wanted. There is no doubt that she was in the wrong yesterday, but if this became a legal matter, Nisha would do as much damage as she could to Charlotte’s reputation in Trisurance. Charlotte had to know that right?
Either way, at 11 Nisha began covering her face in makeup to cover up any hints of their confrontation from yesterday. By noon she was dressed in a white blouse with a red manila shawl covering it. And by 1 she had finished cooking a passable brunch for the two to share.
Charlotte knocked on her door exactly at 1 in the afternoon.
Nisha opened the door, to see Charlotte glaring at her. Nisha responded with an uneasy smile and motioned for her to come in.
Charlotte was in her own blue blouse with a white skirt. She had long stockings and high heels on. Nisha wasn’t sure if she felt that she was overdressed for this.
Nisha showed her to the dining room and the two sat opposite of each other.
“Charlotte, about yesterday-“
Charlotte quickly cut her off. “What about it?”
“Look, I’ve been on Valium for my anxiety. And my prescription recently ran out, so I was a bit edgy yesterday.”
“A bit edgy? That’s what a bitch calls an assault?” Charlotte asked, harshly.
“...okay, I deserved that.” Nisha said. “I just don’t want this to get out of hand. I’m really sorry.” Nisha then noticed the bluish purple bruise on Charlotte’s chin. She hadn’t bothered to cover it up?!
Charlotte began to eat the brunch. But she never kept her eyes off of Nisha. Nisha nervously ate as well, trying not to look at her.
“Do you know what your problem is?” Charlotte asked, causing Nisha to look up at her. “You don’t know enough. You were not qualified for that job position and you made it abundantly clear.”
Nisha didn’t like where this was going. “I’m just trying to make peace with you.”
“You’d have to do a lot better than this.” Charlotte said, standing up. “Grovel at my feet. Beg for forgiveness.”
Nisha was taken aback by that response. “I’m not going to do that.” She said firmly.
“Of course not. You think you’re better than you are. But you showed your true colors bitch. You’re just some psycho who’s mad that she’s not good enough.”
“I would like you to leave my house.” Nisha stood up quickly.
Charlotte stood up as well. “I’ll go.” She said, before she reached over and slapped Nisha across the face.
Nisha pushed the entire table over, trying to retaliate, but Charlotte had already moved away. Charlotte literally threw caution to the wind as she jumped from her position and tackled Nisha to the ground. Nisha immediately pushed her off and tried to get back to her feet, only to feel Charlotte gripping her legs in a bear hug and forcing her back onto the ground.
Nisha wasn’t completely discouraged yet, she knew she was bigger and stronger than Charlotte, and as long as she didn’t go down immediately, her strength would prevail.
She felt Charlotte crawling on her back and gripping her shoulder length hair. She immediately screamed against her will. And for a moment she heard Charlotte chuckle. That was before the smaller woman bashed her head against the floor. The first one dazed her, and the second one caused Nisha to use all her strength to push herself onto her feet, shocking Charlotte and causing her to hit the ground.
Nisha was undecided on pressing her advantage. Maybe now Charlotte would just leave. But Charlotte got to her feet and moved to tackle her. Nisha brought her knee up to counter do to the height difference, and actually kneed Charlotte in the face causing the woman to crash right back into the ground.
That one hurt. And she could see Charlotte writhing on the ground.
“Now leave my house!” She demanded.
But she was rewarded with her TV remote smashing into her head. All she could think about was where the hell did that come from? By then she was tackled back to the floor, with Charlotte on top of her.
Charlotte raised her fist about to punch her, and Nisha prepared to push her off just like the day before, but her hand started shaking. And she froze.
Charlotte had no such handicap and began punching her in the face a dozen times before she stopped, as her hand felt like it was on fire. Or rather her knuckles did. Her palm however was ready to dish out more punishment, as she slapped the shit out of Nisha. Over and over again.
“You. Stupid. Bitch. You. Worthless. cxnt. I’ll. Show. You.” Each word was a slap. Nisha was in tears, no longer with the will to fight back. Her face burned and her dignity began to fade.
“Stop. Please. You won.”
“I won?” Charlotte asked incredulously. “I’ve taken your job, and your money, and you only think that I’ve won now? Bitch, I’ll tell you when I’ve won.”
Nisha was shocked! Charlotte was grabbing her shawl and quickly ripped it off. Her blouse was next; Charlotte looked possessed as she was tugging at it with all of her strength. Buttons popped and modest B cup bra was now visible.
“Stop!” Nisha exclaimed. Where was this leading to?
“Shut the fuck up!” Charlotte said with another slap to her face. “I. Haven’t. Beaten. You. Yet!” With each word came a tug at different pieces of clothing.
Nisha couldn’t even choke out words anymore. She just continued to cry.
“You’re just a beaten bitch, who has no one. It’s why your husband left you. And that’s why you look the way you do now.”
Charlotte was referring to her nakedness. A loose job. Low income. Torn clothes. It was the full package. And Nisha could do nothing but silently weep.
Charlotte wasn’t done. She made her way into the kitchen, leaving her practically comatose victim on the floor. When she returned she had a turkey baster in her hand.
“This is the only passable thing you had in there. This will have to do.”
Nisha didn’t know what to make of it. Was she going to beat her with it? Charlotte gripped her nails into Nisha’s side and tugged, causing the woman to roll onto her stomach.
“I expected more of a fight then that.” Charlotte admitted.
Nisha didn’t know why. She was done. She just…wanted it to end. But when she felt a slap on her ass, a new feeling of dread washed over. And she placed her hands on the floor and was about to do a push-up to get back to her feet, but her hands, just wouldn’t stop shaking.
She felt something touching her anal cavity. Her butt cheeks were spread and felt Charlotte’s knees keeping them open.
This forced Nisha’s voice back into her. “Oh my god!” She screamed.
“Yes, fucking scream.” Charlotte’s voice was low.
And Nisha did just that. She couldn’t see it, but she felt her ass being intruded by the turkey baster. In her whole life, she remained an anal virgin, having denied even her ex-husband. But those thoughts just didn’t make sense to her. Was Charlotte really taking it this far? Was she going to fuck her?
“Ugh!” Charlotte said with disgust. “You farted, you fucking animal. You fucking pig.”
Nisha screamed as Charlotte began to figure out how this even works. Or perhaps she was just relishing her conquest. She slowly twisted it as if that would help it ease into her victim’s ass.
“Oh damn.” She said ominously. “You’re not going to want this thing when I’m done with it.” And Nisha screamed again as she took it a second time. “Showing a cxnt her place. This is amazing. Now stretch for me.”
Nisha didn’t know Charlotte’s state of mind, and sure as hell couldn’t fathom her own state of mine at the moment. Right now she felt as if she needed to shit. And that feeling would leave and return as Charlotte began to get into a slow rhythm. One thing was for sure, for a sexual act, Charlotte was the one receiving all the pleasure at torturing her victim. Nisha felt nothing, but what felt like a numbness to the pain. She felt her mind sinking lower and lower. Her ass was slapped, revitalizing her.
Smack!
“You’re getting quiet, pig.” Charlotte taunted. “I’ll tell you what. You squeal like the pig you are. I’ll fucking stop and leave.”
She heard nothing from Nisha.
Smack!
“Squee.”
Smack!
“What the fuck was that? Pigs don’t sound anything like that. Do something like BUHI.”
“Buhi!”
“Yes! Like that. Do it pig!”
“Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi!”
“That’s right pig. Now things are going to turn up! You will learn that this is what you are. That you’re just a worthless pig. Now get to work!”
Smack!
It wasn’t sliding in and out without effort. There was definite force to push the glass baster past her sphincter. And Charlotte looked at her victim in an excited daze. IT was surreal. She hadn’t come to do this. She had come to settle the fight from yesterday, but this… this was the ultimate conquest. She had complete power over another human being. And could do anything she wanted. Charlotte drew herself away from even darker results, and began thrusting in and out at max speed.
This was Nisha. AN employee at work, reduced to nothing more than some anal slut. She chose her ass because it was less intimate. It was pure domination. And she was so aroused by it. And the noises and shuttering that Nisha did…it was addicting.
“Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhi! Buhiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!”
And it was over.
Charlotte actually had the audacity to think that Nisha had cum from that. But the truth of the matter was, Nisha had just given it her all, in hopes of ending her pain.
“Now, I’ve won.” Charlotte whispered.
--
Nisha had called in sick the rest of the week. She had seen the doctor, disguising the damage as rough sex. It really wasn’t that hard. Go in with a smile, and a fake blush, and a lot of questions don’t get asked. But that still begs the question: What was going through her mind?
It didn’t make sense. She was literally beaten and raped by her tormentor.
But she saw it as something else. By not confessing to what had happened it was an agreement. An agreement that when she turned the tables on Charlotte, she would act with the same discretion.
Her pride had been stripped from her. Her dignity. As well as material things, her job and her money. But next week would be better than this week. But there was balance to that thought. For one person’s week to get better, someone else’s week would need to get worst.
