Thread: Can She Rise To The Challenge (google and skittish_butterfly)

The man looked strangely pleased with himself, like he didn't even recognize he was losing an argument -- on public record no less. The smirk on his lips, that was it. Like he thought he had her. So annoying, really. Well, if he wanted to embarrass himself, and the industry he represented as well, who was she to stop him. Katherine stood respectfully silent, letting his every word pound the nail into his coffin a little deeper, until she was ready to bury him in it. He thought he had her, but she could see he was playing checkers, unaware the game was chess! His words mocked her own confidence. And then, sure enough, like a shark pouncing on a smaller fish like it was a sure meal only to discover the barbed hook too late, he mocked her fortitude as well, speaking to her in full view of the world as if she were a little child incapable of handling a little difficulty without crying for her Daddy. Then his ego took over so predictability, the utter confidence in his manliness being irresistible. The very thought of her craving his every attention made Katherine want to laugh in his face. Everything was perfect. He even insulted her, as if he thought she needed prodding. Being called little girl was indeed insulting, and Katherine didn't need to feign how it irked her, couldn't hide how he irritated her if she wanted to. But it didn't matter because it meant she had him perched on the precipice of her own victory. He couldn't stop himself from insulting her, doubting her, questioning her ability if he wanted to. He was an arrogant, over-confident jerk and it was simply his nature. The offer of the money grew a gasp from the crowd and then an aura of silence Katherine felt suited the moment perfectly, and highlighted for the cameras the drama of what she'd accomplished. She stood still, letting the moment build, letting his certainty she would back down hang in the air as the crowd waited. Just two more seconds and then she would twist his argument to reveal its fatal flaw and she would leave the hall crowned with victory and the crowds adulation, not to mention a trending twitter topic most likely. Two seconds. She was that close. It was Don who ruined it. He jumped between them, facing the man. No way! No way! I won't let her! Katherine fumed silently. That idiot! Of course she wasn't going to do it. She needed that possibility out there, the size of the offer to establish the stakes so her rhetorical flourish would pack the punch it needed. But she wasn't going to do it. The thought of it sickened her. But now the thought the world would view this moment as her stupid boyfriend cavalierly saving her, the damsel in distress, from having her honor besmirched... well, it sickened her worse. In fact, it made the very point she wanted to dismiss about herself. She was the educated woman, the woman who didn't need protecting -- because she'd protected herself! It was the poor girls, the uneducated girls, the vulnerable girls who didn't recognize what a monster this man was, they needed protection -- her protection, not Don's! She couldn't stop herself. The moment the situation was clear to her, it was like there was never any choice. She pushed her way past Don, camera side of course, standing now uncomfortably close to the man but showing she didn't need Don's protection. I'll do it. Her mind didn't stop working though, it never stopped working. But! With one condition. The poison pill, the one he couldn't swallow, the one that would keep him from devouring her as prey and give her the victory instead. If I win and can show after six months that a woman with education doesn't end up broken and 'craving your attention' not only do you give 100,000 to charity from your ill-gotten gains -- as you should anyway of course -- but you also close up your shop, stop using these other more vulnerable women for your profit and pleasure. If I win, you quit!