Tarnished Streets of Gold by Brown Lissa

Author:Brown, Lissa
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-24T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Six weeks passed and Chana proved to be adept at every task her uncle assigned to her. Recalling her agreement with the owner of the firm, she’d expected him to come to her to announce that she would get the same pay as the two male assistants, but he never did.

“Do you think I should go see him?” she asked her uncle. “He did make a bargain with me.”

“He’s very busy. I’m sure he forgot. Sure, go ask the secretary if he has time to meet with you.”

In a few days, the secretary came to Moishe’s office. She walked over to Chana’s desk and when Chana didn’t look up, she cleared her throat.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”

“I came to tell you that Mr. Goldstein can see you now, but I see you’re in the middle of something.”

“Oh, no, I can come now.” Chana followed her back to the boss’s office and stood in the doorway waiting to be invited in.

“Come,” he motioned. “Sit. So, you wanted to see me. Here I am.” He smiled at his joke.

For Chana, this conversation was all business, so she began in earnest, “When I began to work here, we made an agreement about my pay. I hope you remember that you promised if I worked well, after a month, I’d get the same pay as the other assistants.”

“Oh, did I promise that? I recall saying I’d consider it, but I don’t remember promising.”

Chana started to speak but he raised his hand to silence her.

“From what I hear, you do very good work, even better than some of my long-time employees, but you’re a woman and nobody pays women the same as men. You’ll recall that I told you the other assistants have families to support, so they need more money. You remember that, right?”

“Yes, but ...”

Again, he held up his hand to stop her from speaking. “It wouldn’t be fair for me to pay you the same when you aren’t supporting a family, would it?”

“May I speak?” Chana asked, irritation showing in her voice. Given permission, she continued, “It isn’t fair to pay people based on what they need. If that were so, rich people wouldn’t get paid at all. Excuse me, but I’m sure you get paid more than you need. And besides, I need money to pay for my passage to America and also to pay for my younger brother and sisters to come when they get a little older. You said I do good work. There is nothing I’ve been given that I didn’t do as well as anybody else. Ask my uncle. And,” she added for emphasis, “I was supposed to get paid more after a month. It’s already been a month and a half.”

Did I go too far, Chana wondered. She couldn’t read the expression on the boss’s face. Maybe he’s going to fire me for being disrespectful, she thought. Finally, he spoke.

“You’ve given me a lot to think about. I need some time to consider my decision.

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