The Logical (Wo)Man

The Office

The main office of Hastings and Ferguson Associates was similar to one of the old era Victorian mansions from outside and a modern decor Corporate office from inside. Sia reported to the HR Mrs. Simli Sehgal for her onboarding process. Mrs. Sehgal was an NRI living in UK with her family for more than 20 years. She was past 45 and was graceful and sharp. She welcomed Sia with a warm smile.

“Hi ! Its nice to meet you Miss Sengupta” Mrs. Sehgal exclaimed.

“Same here Mrs. Sehgal. And please call me Sia”. Okay, so his office is unaware of our relationship. Then technically only two individuals knew about it here. One was obviously the old MacMillan and the other one was Stacy.

After a quick briefing about the work hours, company policies, compensation and bonus that will be added to the funds of Foundation, Simli took her to Shouryajit’s chamber, where her desk was set up.  

“We had this position open for a long time now and I am glad we finally have someone to take it from here”.

Sia gave her best smile. She would do her best to keep the smiles on those under-privileged faces.

The suite of the Chief Consultant was on the sixteenth floor and it was a ‘Royal’ one. It had three huge rooms with full furnishings and all kinds of corporate luxuries one can think of. There were two restrooms out of which one was strictly dedicated to the Chief himself. The first room was the largest one which was Shouryajit’s main chamber. Sia’s desk was set in the second room adjacent to Stacy, with all the required case files, documents and office stuffs. And third was the retiring room which may also be termed as a fully furnished single bedroom apartment with a huge balcony. There was a large window in all the rooms where one can get a breathtaking view of Thames and the London Eye. If you peek at an angle, you might also get a glimpse of Big Ben and the palace of Westminster.

Sia placed her belongings appropriately and started with the onboarding formalities which required signing a few papers and submitting her credentials and ID proof into the online software of the law firm. After she was done, she sat in her revolving office chair and took in the outer view. Nature had always intrigued her. She believed that everything that happened and existed was based on a complicated clockwork created and maintained with care. To her it was hard to think that all of this was just a coincidence. The life events were based on a very complex probability formula which carved the future path for anyone based on their own decisions.

Her philosophical mind was interrupted by Stacy’s modulated voice.

“I see you are already at home Mrs. Datta” Stacy winked.

“Oh Stacy, not you at least!” Sia complained.

“Okay okay. Welcome to our office, or should I say hell?” Stacy winked as she knew what Sia addressed her Boss as.

“Hehehe.” Sia giggled. She was happy that Stacy would be with her to guide and help her here.

“Now, we have a lot of work to do before the Boss arrives” Stacy started with the day’s work.

As an office clerk, Sia had to keep track of all the case files, log case details in the database, mark important dates in the application calendar for Shouryajit’s easy reference. Also, she transferred files between departments as and when required and had to create and maintain monthly software Audit reports additionally. Her technical skills gave her an upper hand as she automated most of her repetitive tasks.

The workload was huge as there were a lot of pending work that needed attention. Sia worked diligently on her first day and completed all the assignments chalked out by Stacy within 5 o clock. Though it was only a small portion of the huge backlog but it was a good start.

 Shouryajit was held up in court trials and meetings all throughout the day which was a relief for her. She didn’t want to face him after he confessed twice.

“You did a good work today” Stacy’s praise made Sia smile.

“Wouldn’t have been possible without your help!” She replied.

“Oh don’t be so meek.” Stacy grinned. “Sia, I have to leave now. Need to finish some work at home” she continued while picking her handbag.

“Yeah sure!”

“Sia, I request you to stay until Boss arrives as you need to take the handover notes from him. Can you do me this favor?”

“Sure Stacy, I ll do it. Don’t worry. You get going”

“See you tomorrow little girl” Stacy hugged her.

“See you” Sia hugged her back.

Stacy has been her first friend since she came here and was just like her mother. She was sweet caring and catered to all her needs. Stacy also considered her like her own daughter. They along with Jina sometimes went out for shopping and eating ventures. They even went for the London tour and honestly were the only friends Sia had in London. When your life goes astray and you are left all alone, the good Lord sends someone for your aide. And for her, it was them.

Sia was finishing up the software file backups when she heard the main door of the suite open. She could her Shouryajit’s deep voice talking to someone over the phone.

“I think we had negotiated the same earlier Mr. Thompson. I must highlight that I do not support any kind of agreement breach.” Shourya said in a cold voice.

“Well in that case, we will see you in court” he continued after a small pause.

Sia was a bit scared to find that he was not in a good mood and she had to go to him for the handovers.

“Oh God! Why do you make things challenging as always?” She looked up and murmured to herself.

******************************************************************************

Shouryajit’s Point Of View

I had highlighted in red bold capitals that the fees needed to be paid in full after the trial was over, but those B*stards were now playing smart. In our first meeting with Carlton and Thompson Co, I could smell something was wrong. And now, they were deliberately delaying our fees so that they can invest it in shares and get an interest out of it. Those fools think they’ ll get away with this. I smiled as I thought about the charges we’ll press which will cost double of what they actually owe.

It was quite a hectic day as I had a packed schedule. Monday’s are usually like that for every working person, I guess. I hanged my suit on the holder and sat down on the comfortable chair for a while , resting on my back while closing my eyes. After a while, I heard a light knock on the other side of the secretary’s room. I suddenly remembered that it was Sia’s first day here.

“How could you be so insensitive Shouryajit?” my mind rebuked me.

I opened my eyes and looked at the glass door. Sia was wearing a formal black trouser with a light pink blouse tucked in. She looked perfect. I waved her to come in and started going through my work mails. I was surprised to see a couple of mails regarding pending tasks of about a week, which Sia had covered in a day. I had to admit that she was smart.

“Beauty with Brains. Interesting” I said in a low voice and smiled as she entered my cabin.

“Sorry?”

“Don’t be.” I couldn’t help but smile mischievously. She rolled her eyes which made me want to pull her close and take in that marvelous scent she possesses.

She was becoming my anecdote with time as my senses soothed whenever I saw her pure face.

I got a text from Stacy apologizing for her absence and informing me that Sia would be taking the handover. She also mentioned how nicely wifey managed everything and completed a weeks’ work in a day. I felt the urge of hugging her right now, but controlled it as promised.

“So how was your day?” I wanted to have a normal conversation with her.

“It was good” she answered briefly.

“I see you have come to me on your own. Does that indicate anything?” I winked.

“Please don’t misinterpret things. I came here to take the handovers, Sir”.

“Sir ha? Not bad” I felt amused. It was good to see her sincerity and dedication. Also, I knew this from her previous employer’s letter of recommendation.

“Can we kindly start?”

“Yeah sure”

The handover for the two major cases were brief and she recorded every word of it, asking relevant questions and impressing me once again.

“Don’t do this to me Sia. If this goes for long, I won’t be able to control myself anymore.” I thought.

My love for her was pure but love making was also a part of it. I needed her divine touch, but not necessarily always as s*x. No, I didn’t lust her like that i***t with whom she broke off long ago. I would never abuse her. Her place was in my heart and not under the feet.

“Thank you, Sir. I should remind you about your meeting with Ahluwalia’s tomorrow at the Ridge, over brunch.”

“Thank you so much Sia.” I smiled and then continued “Let’s get back home, shall we?”

“Sure Sir. I’ll leave for the day then.” she started it again

“Please not now. I am tired” I scolded her a bit as I didn’t want her to go home alone.

“Okay fine” She sounded like an obedient school girl.

We drove back home in my car and then went into our respective rooms. After taking a shower I had to get back to my study for the briefing on the Ahluwalia’s vs Shanthanams case. It was almost 9 in the evening when Sia came in with dinner as I was immersed into the legal documents.

“Shourya it’s quite late and you have not eaten anything post lunch”. She almost sounded like my mom. She knew my routine was hectic and did the maths. Smart girl.

“I see you’re keeping an eye on your husband. Impressive!”

“Please kheye nao.”(Please have your food)

“Just give me half an hour”

“No”

She suddenly snatched the documents from my hands and kept it inside the folder. Then she grabbed my arms and pulled me in order to take me to the couch.

“You are treading in dangerous waters my dear” I warned her mischievously while gently caressing her waist with my palm.

“Is it?” she replied as she made me sit on the couch and served dinner. It was my favorite barbeque grilled chicken and vegetables. So, I poured us some red wine along with it. After we finished eating, we sipped on the wine slowly while talking about our day. It was what I longed for years. Sitting with my loved one and conversing over a glass of wine. No, all men don’t pounce upon their partners all the time. Also, when there’s a connection of the heart, a 24 *7 physical touch is indeed illogical.

“Oh by the way, I got a call from Mr. Sathpathy. He was saying that the nullification process initiation requires our signatures. He has already posted the legal documents to our office address and we should receive it within a day or two.” Sia informed me with a perplexed face.

“I had told you about it before.”

Sia looked down. I could feel that she was crying, maybe out of guilt.

“Mishti(Sweetheart) please don’t..” before I could finish, she moved near and hugged me.

“I am sorry”

“Hey there’s no need for apologizing” I coaxed her and gently patted her back and held her to my chest as she cried out loud.

“Shhh.. it’s okay”

She seemed a bit comforted on hearing my words. As she got relaxed, I wiped off the tears from her cheeks. Then my left hand started caressing her beautiful face, and fingers gently stroking her lips. I slowly placed my lips on hers. It felt heavenly. I savored it gently and then my tongue started exploring her mouth. She kissed me back and I lifted her up and straddled her on my lap. I started undressing her while she unbuttoned my shirt. Her skin was flawless. I kissed every part of her, nipping her sensitive points and could feel the pleasure that was lacking in us for decades.

That night we made love for a long time. Both of us had the same rhythm and sensuousness which made it quite special. Adulting with her seemed celestial as my mind connected well with hers and so did our bodies. It seemed ethereal.

“Your heart belongs only to me now” I smiled as we got entangled in each other slowly immersing into the pool of wilderness and affection.