The Devil Emails at Midnight

12The Boss Who Questioned My Loyalty and Called Me a Rat

Like many of you, I have experienced a wide range of bad bosses.

I had to learn to survive three of the worst, most dreadful, and at times most horrific bosses I ever had in my career. And I promised myself I would do everything I could to never, ever become any one of those three bad bosses.

First, there was the Sheriff who did not want to learn how to say my full first name Madhumita, or call me Mita, and so he decided to nickname me Mohammed.

Second, there was Medusa, who had temper tantrums like a toddler, throwing pens and even once her Chanel shoe at a colleague.

And there was Tony. Tony Soprano. With one swift phone call, he could kill someone's career.

Tony might just be the worst boss I ever had. And one of the best boss nicknames I ever came up with (even my husband agrees).

Enter Tony.

Tony Soprano is a fictional character who rises in the ranks to become the mob boss of the fictional DiMeo crime family of North Jersey, in the series The Sopranos.¹ Tony is a complex character, portrayed as a family man attending his children's school events and having dinner with his wife. He's also abusive and violent. He's a calculating and ruthless mob boss who is on a quest for power and control at all costs.

The first time I met my former boss Tony was at a well‐known Italian restaurant in the city. He was courting me for a role on his team. During that first lunch, he was loud and bombastic, quiet and reflective, and ...