By Deepa T. G.

Nina looked up from her file. Her heart skipped a beat. It was the fourth week at this job. Devan was the managing director of the advertising company. He had interviewed her for the job. She felt a pleasant cool thinking of it.

“Is it the AC?” she wondered. Every time she walked in she kept looking at the cabin. Will he be there? Won’t he be there? He moved like a panther; a dark panther. Tall dark and handsome. His thick mop of curls made him look devastatingly handsome.

“Is it just me?”

“What will the others think?”

“Do they see me drooling over him?”

She was not all that obvious; she hoped.

Lila walked in and gave her instructions. The brochure content was to be ready by the afternoon.

Immediately she hated Lila. Lila had easy access to the cabin of the MD. He sent instructions through her.

“Why should Lila talk for the MD? I would be better off from hearing the details of the work first hand,” she thought.

Nina ground her teeth and set about her job. Will he go home for lunch? He looked devastatingly handsome in the khaki trousers and black shirt. She resolved to work at this office all her life. She would prove that she was the best editor.

She heard laughter from the cabin. It was the MD and his secretary. They were laughing about some joke. She hoped he would laugh with her too.

At lunch the girls went dewy eyed and verbose when they mentioned him. It sent a pang of envy through her heart. She was sure that they did not feel as deeply about him as she did.

If only she had a chance to be close to him. She sighed.

She looked up at the sound of the cabin door opening. The MD stepped out and slid down the staircase. He was going out for lunch.

She could tell because he was not holding his car keys. He never took the keys when he went out for lunch. The canteen was downstairs.

She made her best efforts. She submitted the work to Lila. She preened a little.

‘MD is sure to appreciate it.’

She almost spoke aloud. It was 3.00 in the afternoon. The MD came out of the cabin and headed towards her desk. He had a print-out of her work in his hands. Nina’s heart began to flutter.

He sat at her table close to her chair and peered at her computer screen. He started giving her instructions about the work on her screen.

She quickly averted her face. She held her breath. Tried as she might she could not get to looking him in the face so close to her.

His breath smelled of onions. Stale onions. Putrid onions. Smell of onions mixed with that of stale cigarette smoke. At that moment she wanted nothing but to get away. Her infatuation disappeared through the doors and windows at lightning speed.

Adoration for him sped away. She felt her job was not an extraordinary godsent opportunity.

She felt her crush being folded up and heading through the ceiling to unknown lands never to visit again.

She felt her love for him flee through the nearest exit.