Give Me Novacaine

Mike's New Boss

Mike was in deep sleep when Bashir's yelling voices forced him to wake up and forcefully jump out of bed.

'Sir. wake up you're getting late, you're getting late'.

'God Dammit. I forgot to put on my alarm'.

'It's actually my fault too sir. I didn't wake up on time either'. Bashir said remorsefully.

'Don't worry about it Bashir. Just get a glass of milk and an orange juice on the table for me will you?'

'Affirmative sir'.

Mike only had ten minutes left to get ready for the bus. He didn't have a car and the bus stop was a little further away from his house so he knew he would have to make a run for it. He gulped down the milk and orange juice and darted down the street after giving Bashir a pat on the back and saying goodbye to him. Mike felt a wave of gratitude for Bashir who had once again been mindful about having his laptop bag organised and also for remembering to slip two cookies into one of its tiny compartments. He had only ran a few paces before he saw a pack of four stray dogs coming in his direction from the other end. He began to feel panicky because he was getting late for the bus and he was afraid of drawing attention to himself if he tried to pass them by quietly walking on the edge of the street. He froze on the spot not really sure what to do next as the dogs began to draw closer and closer towards him. The fear in his heart and mind was getting stronger with each passing moment and just as he was about to retreat in uncontrollable anguish he heard a loud screeching sound of halting wheels coming from right behind his back.

The sudden noise made him spin around abruptly and get forced into an unavoidable collision with Ayesha who had just come out of her car to check what was wrong with him.

'Mike what happened?

'Why were you backing away like that?

'Sorry. I didn't see you behind me. I am fine I was just heading for the bus.' Mike said in a choking voice. He was feeling out of breath due to the heightened stress of the situation.

Ayesha was just too smart to fall for this poor act. She stood in front of Mike as both of them watched the four dogs walk away taking no notice of them.

'Furry little bastards aren't they? Ayesha said in a cheerful voice.

'Yeah, Ayesha I am so sorry for being such a wuss. I missed my bus and also made you get late for work. I feel rather unworthy'. Mike said hanging his head in shame as he said those words.

He must've stayed like that for at least a couple of minutes before he felt the gentle touch of Ayesha's hand under his chin.

'Look up at me'. She said in a soft but firm voice. 'Retain the eye contact'.

He did as he was told but she could clearly see that he was not at all comfortable looking into her eyes.

It was enjoyable for her to observe how cute and innocent he was and the loving domination she so clearly possessed over him.

'Don't be afraid or nervous alright. It's no big deal if you missed the bus. In fact on the contrary you should be excited to know that you're riding with me today'. Ayesha said teasing him with a wink and rolling the car keys around the fingers of her right hand.

Mike couldn't help smiling broadly at Ayesha's attractive gesture.

'Thank you that's really nice of you'. he replied shyly.

'Okay then inside the car quick chop chop'. Ayesha said clicking her fingers as she said those words, giving out a hearty laugh at Mike's cute comment simultaneously.

Ayesha drove at a steady pace while they were inside the small town. The stylish black Altis glistened in the bright sunlight as it skidded across the main road towards the town exit gate. The lush green grass and tall date palm trees lined up on either side added even more to the splendour of the atmosphere.

'I think I should call my boss to let him know I will be late today'. Ayesha said calmly giving Mike a sharp stare as she spoke before fixating her eyes on the road ahead once again.

Mike had sent a text to his boss as well and hadn't needed to call him after seeing the two blue colored ticks on his w******p.

'Yes it's nearly 10 AM and we will need to drive for atleast 50 minutes before we reach the main city'. Mike said in reply.

'I already sent a w******p message to my boss because he gets all worked up even if I am 15 minutes late'.

'Your boss seems like a tough cookie to me'.

Ayesha said smiling as she continued to look at the road in front of her.

'Yes. he's always keeping me on edge everyday'. Mike said in a somewhat remorseful tone.

'I understand. What's the name of your company?

'It's...um...Livingstone Global Chemicals'.

Mike was jolted by the sudden pressure of brakes that Ayesha applied on the car.

'Hey, what happened?

'You're working in Livingstone?' Ayesha said staring sharply at Mike.

'Yea, why are you suddenly so alarmed by this?' Mike said feeling rather puzzled by this unexpected turn of events.

Ayesha held her stare at him for a moment and then gave out a gentle laugh.

'Nothing. Sorry, its just that'...her sentence was cut short as she began to laugh lightly again. 'I am having an interview at your company. I can't believe it'. She said with a surge of brightness and energy visible on her face.

'Say, something silly'. Ayesha said with another short laugh as She gave Mike a gentle nudge.

'Wow'. Mike finally replied with a little smile. 'This is quite unexpected I must say'.

'You don't seem too excited'. Ayesha said as the car sped through the end of the highway

and they were about to reach the main city.

'Are you afraid that your boss will scold you for being late?' Ayesha asked staring at Mike with a raised eyebrow.

'No. I am alright. Just a little worried about the...um...Sales documents I have to make'. Mike replied. He was surprised to see that Ayesha had a twinkle in her eye and that she laughed more than a couple of times after a short pause.

They were now nearly at the entrance of the office building which had two wide main gates, Ayesha parked her car outside of them since She didn't have an entrance pass to park on the reserved parking floor inside the building.

Mike was curious to know about the department where Ayesha was going to work, he was secretly hoping that She was being interviewed for the Sales Administration Manager position which would make her his immediate boss. Just the very thought of that very real possibility sent chills down his spine.

'Mike you and I have to pretend like we are complete strangers. Nobody can know that we are neighbors who already know each other'. Ayesha said with a stern glare as they were about to enter the elevator.

'Yes. um... ofcourse'. Mike replied a bit too seriously which prompted Ayesha to give him a quizzical look with a short laugh.

The operator who was now quite familiar with Mike immediately punched fourteen after he saw him. Only a handful of people entered the elevator along with them since it was now almost half past ten which was not a peak time for the entry of nine to five employees into the building. None of Mike's Co-workers entered the elevator either from the ground floor or the 2nd parking floor which was reserved by the building administration for Livingstone Global.

He secretly felt relieved due to this because he believed that it would have been difficult for him to be in the same elevator with both Ayesha and his coworkers so close to him.

When the elevator door to the fourteenth floor opened, Mike acted as normally as he would have on any ordinary day when he arrived at the office floor. He gave greetings to the security guards and the receptionist in a muffled tone, completely ignoring Ayesha and feeling very pained about it as he punched his card into the time machine for entry. All the while he was doing this he heard Ayesha walking up to the receptionist, the firm click of her captivating black heels giving a clear indication of her supreme confidence. He heard her greet the receptionist in a calm and collected tone who motioned her to sit on one of the comfortable looking sofas that had been reserved for visitors just outside the big wide glass entrance door. He watched Ayesha giving him a seductive teasing little wink when he couldn't help glancing back at her through the glass as he finally went inside.

'You've taken nearly the entire day and you couldn't even complete four sales documents'.

'Um...to be fair Mr. Ritcher, I was nearly absent for half the day and I did do some other things at work today that were also important'.

Mike was once again getting a hard time from Ritcher, his annoying micro managing boss who was hardly ever satisfied and kept following up on his activities more than was normal. He was doing all he could but his activities were bound to take an unavoidable amount of time which Ritcher hardly ever acknowledged. Truth be told however he did feel a little out of sorts especially after the extraordinary turn of events that had happened after Ayesha's arrival. He couldn't help feeling excited when he overheard the receptionist tell Travis the Sales Manager that the candidate for the interview had arrived.

Travis had left after a few minutes once he got the news and this event had occurred only half an hour after Mike had entered the office with Ayesha. The sequence of all these events was making it more and more clear that Travis was indeed in an interview with Ayesha and there was indeed a chance that She could possibly be his new boss quite soon. There had been rumours floating around that Ritcher was planning to resign from the company but Mike hadn't been quite sure about them until now.

Mike was unnecessarily trying to work even more seriously that day than he usually did. He had this impractical fearful feeling that his coworkers would suspect him about the interview that Travis was having with Ayesha. Nobody talked about the interview and everyone seemed to be going about their business as usual that day which was certainly a relief for him.

Travis finally came back to his seat just an hour after lunch. He didn't say anything and started making routine phone calls to customers after he sat down. Mike was now literally itching to find out what had happened but he couldn't dare to ask Ayesha or Travis about the details. He was hoping for somebody to finally break the silence on this topic. He was proud of himself for his fine play acting at work so that no one would suspect anything.

Finally Silas one of the coworkers in the Administration department asked Travis about the interview.

'Travis how did the interview go?' he asked in his usual jovial manner.

Mike immediately stole a look at Ritcher who seemed to be trying a little too hard at staying nonchalant and professional by seeming to be fully engrossed in his laptop.

'It went well'. Travis replied trying to keep his voice significantly low as he spoke.

This acted like a signal for Silas who then continued the conversation a lot more silently. Mike was very keen to overhear them as he continued to work on his laptop.

'So has She been finally selected? You know the one whose replacing Ritcher?'

What's her name?'

'Ayesha' Travis replied with a clear patriarchal vibe radiating from his deep voice and wide smiling face.