Nina woke up the next morning to several text messages from Sirius Software and her bank.
The messages said that she had accumulated several employee contract violations, for which she was now liable to several thousand dollars in fines and that the amount had already been deducted from her meager savings account leaving her with just enough money in her account to travel to Sirius Software for two days via Uber.
Horrified at the brutal efficiency of Sirius Software's systems, and furious with herself for her naïveté in assuming that her campaign attempts wouldn't be blocked, Nina frantically typed an email to Aaron demanding an appeal.
The only reply she got was: "Actions have consequences. You read and signed the employee contract."
With a sinking feeling, Nina read through the copy of the employee contract that Aaron had helpfully attached to his cold reply.
Sure enough, there were clauses forbidding the use of Sirius Software's internal communication systems to discuss politics, religion or ideology.
She had been so caught up in defying his dress code mandate, and so eager to start agitating for change, that she had forgotten all about those other clauses.
She typed a scathing reply to Aaron, accusing him of abuse of power and harassment, and threatening to sue him in court.
Not receiving any other replies, she quickly dressed, jumped into an Uber and raced to Sirius Software.
----
Nina slammed her hand into the hand-print lock on the main entrance door, but it refused to budge, displaying a red "Access Denied" sign.
Seething with rage, she buzzed the intercom. "Let me in you monster!" She screamed.
From his office, Aaron watched her through his security cameras and answered coldly through the intercom: "As of today, and as per the terms of our contract, your employment has been terminated. Get off my property."
"How dare you! I have rights! You can't just clean out my savings and then fire me!" shouted Nina through the intercom.
Deathly silence followed, the door still refused to budge. Nina buzzed the intercom again.
"You can't do this to me!" she screamed.
Still silence from the intercom. Nina's anger started fade and worry started to surface.
Despite her threat of suing Aaron, she knew that he could easily command an army of expensive lawyers to counter her claims. A negotiation here and now would be better than through the legal system.
"Please can we talk about this?" she pleaded into the intercom.
Dead silence met her pleas. Her worry and fear started to build.
"Please Aaron, lets talk about this. I'm sure we can resolve this without the courts." she said into the intercom again.
The intercom still remained silent. Nina started to get more anxious and desperate. Tears started to overwhelm her.
"Please! Please! Just give me another chance!" she cried into the intercom.
The door finally hissed open and Nina stumbled into the empty Sirius Software lobby once again.
----
Nina slowly regained her composure as the elevator took her to the 128th floor.
She stepped out of the elevator, adjusted her over-sized bright yellow blazer and ankle length skirt to hide the t-shirt, yoga pants and sneakers she had on underneath, squared her shoulders and marched towards Aaron's office with renewed determination.
She would not let herself be intimidated or cowed by Aaron Zakhrov!
As she marched into his office, the door behind her slammed shut with a deafening boom and the office was plunged into complete darkness.
Fresh panic gripped her as the sudden darkness disoriented her, and afterimages of the office swam before her eyes.
She tripped over her trailing skirt and fell hard onto the unyielding granite floor, her purse flying out of her hands.
"Don't say a word unless I ask you a question or give you permission to speak!" thundered Aaron's deep gravelly voice in the darkness.
Nina felt around for her purse, but the complete darkness made it futile. She started to tremble as she painfully got into a kneeling position, the gravity of her situation finally dawning on her.
"From now on, you address me as 'sir' or 'Mr. Zakhrov'. I will not brook any further insubordination. Are we clear?" asked Aaron's icy voice, sounding even deeper and more menacing in the darkness.
A mixture of dread, helplessness, and anxiety flooded through Nina.
Her right shoulder, temple, hip and ankle throbbed painfully from the fall.
The inky blackness of the office pressed around her, making it difficult for her to breathe. "Y-Yes sir" She answered softly.
"As you have already realized, attempts to infest my company with your vile and unsolicited ideology will result in severe consequences.
I expect you to keep those misguided opinions to yourself and perform your duties as my personal assistant. I have neither patience nor tolerance for social justice obsessed vermin.
Are we clear?" thundered Aaron's voice again, reverberating loud and menacing in the darkness.
"Yes sir" Nina whimpered. Each syllable of Aaron's voice felt like a physical blow to her, the reverberations increasing the throbbing in her right temple.
"And finally, I expect you to present yourself in a tailored skirt-suit and high heels.
Any more foolish, and pathetic attempts at defying or protesting my dress code, will result in immediate termination.
Are we clear?" thundered Aaron's voice again.
"Yes sir" Nina whimpered again, trembling at the realization that she was at his mercy.
The office ceiling blazed white again and Nina saw Aaron towering over her. Cold, merciless fury in his blue eyes.
Nina couldn't bear to look him in the eye.
Fear, humiliation and helplessness coursed through her as she kept kneeling and looking at the floor fighting back tears.
Aaron's black leather boots entered her field of vision. He seized her by her short-cropped hair and forced her to look at him. Pain shot through Nina's scalp, and fear coursed through her.
"Repeat the rules I've set out for you Ms. Avanthika." he ordered coldly.
"Yes sir. I will address you as 'sir' or 'Mr. Zakhrov', I will keep my opinions to myself and do my work as your PA. And I will follow your dress code sir." whimpered Nina, terrified.
"Good girl." he growled, and released her.
Those words sent a deep shiver down Nina's spine, and she crashed back down to the floor, overloaded with emotions, she fell at his feet in uncontrollable sobs.
As Nina's sobbing slowly subsided, she felt a sort of numbness come over her, and she realized that she had made a small puddle of tears and snot on the black granite floor of the office, and her over-sized clothes were sticky with sweat.
"Clean your face and then clean that mess you made on my floor." spat Aaron coldly, tossing her a box of tissues.
Not daring to incur his wrath again, Nina quickly wiped her face, and then wiped up the puddle on the floor.
"Good. Now. You are to return those excuses for office wear you wasted your employee credit on, and get more appropriate attire. Then, you can take the rest of the day off to reflect on your actions." said Aaron coldly after Nina was finished.
"Yes sir" said Nina quietly, unable to look at him. His office door hissed open, and she shuffled out to carry out his tasks.
----
Nina returned to her apartment, and fell onto her bed completely drained and exhausted.
Neither her Women's Studies course nor her favorite feminist podcasts had prepared her for the ordeal she had just faced. Just who was Aaron Zakhrov? She had never felt intimidated by men before, even by men in positions of power and authority like the dean of Boston University, or the strict principal of her public school.
However, Aaron's powerful presence, the way he ruthlessly obliterated her savings through heavy fines, forced her to beg for her job back, and his cold, uncompromising demands, coupled with his complete control over the Sirius Software building, had stripped away her feelings of empowerment, and crushed any thoughts of reprisal.
Yet, at the same time, she felt a perverse admiration for his iron resolve to uphold his sexist views and the ruthless efficiency of his methods to thwart her activism.
Horrified that she would even entertain those thoughts, she shook her head and slapped her cheeks to regain her bearings.
"I have to play by his stupid rules for now, but I will make him change them!" she said firmly to herself as she gathered the over-sized blazers and long skirts to return.