Month: November 2021

Part 6: Is there a ring on his finger?

 “I am so sorry” quickly she grabbed some napkins. Trisha felt embarrassed and felt her head getting warm. Why was this always happening to her.

“Don’t worry about it, it is just water”, Sid said in a reassuring voice. “Let me get some paper towels.”

Clumsy Trisha strikes again, Trisha sighed. She wanted the ground to swallow her up.

When he came back he wiped the table. “See, like nothing happened.” Sid gave Trisha a smile, for a brief moment their eyes locked.

“Thank you, erhm where were we.”  Come on Trisha, you can do this, Trisha encouraged herself. “I think I might have someone who will be excellent for this job. She is young and mouldable and has had two internships with Fortune500 companies on her resume.”

Sid raised his eyebrows “Sounds very promising.”

“I will give her a call today.” Trisha stopped and then continued “I must say, I admire what you have achieved in such a small time.”

Bumpy Road

“Thank you. I appreciate that. It has been a bumpy road. Unfortunately not many people realize that. They think that  ‘Sid Data’ just grew like that without any fall backs.” He laughed and shook his head.   “I have many more plans for ‘Sid Data’ but can’t do them if I don’t have employees. It seems that all Tech companies are fishing in the same pond.”

Trisha nodded her head. “We are all fishing in the same pond. I will give her a call right after this meeting.”

 “That would be great, fingers crossed. Please keep me updated.”

“I will, is there anything else I can help you with, Sid?”  I am volunteering to put my head on your shoulders, her inner voice said.

Sid smiled, his eyes were sparkling again. He shook his head. “No, one Junior Software Tester is all that I need, for now.”

 “Okay, let me get in touch with this lady. It was nice meeting you, Sid,” she said and stood up. Trisha wanted to leave as soon as possible since Sid was making her feel awkward.

Feeling

“The feeling is mutual” he said when he shook her hand, “to a fruitful cooperation, Trisha”

Was he holding her hand a second too long before he let go? It is your imagination Trisha, it is what you want to believe. Look at him he is ‘Mr. Eye Candy.  He is already engaged, married or has one or more beautiful girlfriends. It was her inner voice again.

Trisha opened her bag and pretended as if she was looking for something. Then she quickly peeked at his fingers, no wedding ring and no engagement ring.  Don’t get your hopes up to high, sometimes people don’t wear rings!

“You look awfully happy” said Sid. “You must be looking forward to your weekend.”

Are you making a fool of yourself again?  Can’t you act like a normal person? Trisha reprimanded herself.

“Yeah, well sort of. I better go and catch my train” trying her best to sound casual.

Part 5: Clumsy Trisha making a fool of herself

“So, as I was saying last week, I am looking for a Junior Software Tester, with or without experience. We really need one as quick as possible since we have taken on some interesting projects.”

Trisha nodded her head “That is wonderful news, could you please tell me more about your company, Sid?” You sound like a schoolteacher, Trisha, said her inner voice.

Sid took a small sip from his espresso. “I founded this company while I was still in college to earn some  extra money in order to pay for my college fees. My company was flourishing and I could just not combine college and work. It was hard keeping all the balls in the air, I hardly slept or ate, the only thing I was doing was working. I then realized that I had to make a decision. What was more important to me. A college degree or expanding my flourishing company. I choose for the latter.

College dropout

My parents were not happy with my decision of course and from their point of view I could understand them. They just couldn’t understand my decision since it was just one more year for my graduation. But I stood my ground and devoted all my energy  into my company. Things started to go really fast when I got a big client onboard. They are still one of our clients, not the biggest one though”.

Then Sid continued in a serious tone “you know at times my dad is still saying that I am a college drop out. When the going gets tough, a degree comes in handy, son.  You know how Indian parents are, degrees are everything for them.”

Trisha nodded. She knew pretty well how Indian parents were. She had seen and experienced a fair share of drama herself.

“Mr. Eye Candy” opens up

“How many people work for you, Sid?” Trisha tried her best to say it in a casual way while looking “Mr. Eye Candy” in his eyes. Her heart started to pound again. She had never felt like this before, never. Not even with Karan her ex-husband. Remember he is a client, Trisha, what are you thinking? She said to herself.

“Fifteen people” he said thoughtful. “Sometimes I sit behind my desk and look at my staff and think, this is so surreal. Fifteen people are working for me. But at the same time, I have fifteen mouths to feed. It sometimes scares me. “

Sid took another sip from his coffee. “I have no idea why I am telling you all this.” He frowned, “can you please keep it to yourself?”

Trisha smiled. “Of course, your secret is safe with me.” You sound like a school teacher Trisha, you are trying too hard, said her inner voice.

“So can you get me someone? I have spoken to several agencies and neither of them could help me out.”

Trisha took a sip from her drink and accidentally knocked over her glass. She looked embarrassed at “Mr. Eye Candy”. You are making a fool of yourself, don’t you think so Trisha?

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Part 4: Did “Mr. Eye Candy” unlock Trisha’s heart?

They both walked in silence to the coffee shop which was literally an one minute walk. The only thing going through Trisha’s mind was whether Sid could hear her heart pounding. Why was she having hot flashes?  What was happening to her? She had locked her heart and now this man just unlocked it, like that.

Sid opened the door and gestured Trisha to go ahead. She  appreciated the gesture and smiled at Sid. For a short moment she looked him into his eyes and felt some fluttering in her stomach.  Sid’s eyes were gentle and calm which made Trish feel uncomfortable.

“Shall we sit at the back near the window? I feel it’s the best place since no one wants to sit there.”

Coffee breath

Trisha, who was never short of words, did not know what to say and nodded. This had never happened to her before.  She sat down and hoped that her nerves would calm down.

“What would you like to have, Trisha?”

Trisha paused for a few seconds. “A sparkling water please.”

If she was going to speak to ‘Mr. Eye Candy’ the last thing she wanted was coffee breath.  Luckily her heart was beating normal again.

“You don’t like coffee? They have the best coffee in town.”

“I do like coffee but if I drink coffee now, I will not be able to sleep” she lied.

“Aah ok, you are one of those people, just like my, never mind” he said quickly. “It doesn’t matter.”

Just like your girlfriend or wife

Just like your girlfriend or wife,  Trisha said to herself. She looked up startled. She didn’t say this out loud, did she?

“Is something the matter” Sid looked curious at her.

Did she notice a vague smile on his face or was it just her imagination? Was he laughing at her?

“Ooh no, it’s nothing. I was just thinking if I took the iron’s plug out. But then I realized that I bought one which turns itself off.”

He must be thinking that you are crazy, Trisha, she said to herself.

“I see.” He scraped his throat and smiled. “Let me get our order.”

Trisha watched him  as a hawk as he walked towards the counter. His back looks as good as his front, she said to herself.

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Part 03: Mr. Eye Candy

A few minutes later the girl came back. “Mr. Bal will be here in five minutes.”

Trisha nodded “Thank you.”

“You know this job is so boring. I am just here so I can save for my Ibiza holiday. Have you ever been to Ibiza?” Then she tilted her head and frowned. “I really need to learn how to walk on heels like those. I would absolutely look gorgeous in my golden bikini and those heels.” Her eyes wandered off dreamy. “Well,  I better get to work.” The girl walked slowly to her desk while staring at the screen of her phone.

Trisha chuckled inwardly, who had hired her? Then her heart skipped a beat. She just realized that she had not looked up Sid Bal on the internet. Andy used to handle this account, but due to personal circumstances he had  asked Trisha to take over the account last Friday. And had given her a thorough briefing of the account.  

“Mr. IT”

She had been planning to dive into it  during the weekend but it had totally slipped her mind. “Trisha” she said in a firm voice to herself “how could you be so stupid!” She could do it now, and reached for her phone in her purse when she heard a man’s voice calling  her name.

 “Trisha.”

Mr. Eye Candy

Trisha looked up and looked straight into the most beautiful brown eyes of a gorgeous tall man with a stumble beard. Had he just showered with perfume? He smelled divine, sweet yet masculine. She couldn’t utter a word.  Her friends would  have described this man as ‘Mr. Eye Candy’.  She quickly pulled herself back together, put her phone in her purse and stood up. Trisha felt as if her heart had stopped beating.

She pulled herself together and stood up. “Hi, I am Trisha Gandhi” she said calm  and as professional she could, stretching her baby pink manicured hands towards Sid.

“Sid Bal” he said in a calm voice. “Thank you for waiting Trisha. Are you familiar with days where everything seems to be going wrong?”

Trisha nodded since she felt choked up. His voice was gentle and manly and maybe even a bit arrogant. Did she just give away that she was mesmerized by him?

“Yes, I do,” her voice was professional. She was surprised that this man she just met for a few ‘nano’ minutes just swept her from her feet. This was something she believed would never happen again, since her heart was deeply scarred.

“Well this is one of those days! Do you mind if we have the meeting somewhere else?  I really could use a break.” Sid was searching for something in the pockets of his pants.

“Sure,” Trisha was glad that she was able to speak again.

“I will be back in a minute. I need to get my phone.”

Coffee

Trisha watched as Sid took the stairs upstairs. What had just happened to her? Who was this man who just  had swept her from her feet? Why did she allow him to do so? She scraped her throat softly and swallowed. “He is a client, Trisha. Behave yourself.” Trisha opened her purse and searched for her pocket mirror. She had to make sure she looked presentable. How could such an attractive man work in the IT business? Her image of Sid had been of someone with goofy glasses and no sense of fashion. Not that of a physically attractive man who just whooped her from her feet. He was the kind of man who could get any woman he wanted. Trisha pressed her lips together and tried to stand as confident as possible on her beautiful nude coloured high heels.  “Why didn’t I look him up?” Trisha shook her head. 

“Thanks for waiting again. There is a coffee shop right across the street. The barista does an excellent job.”

“That sounds good to me”. Did he notice that this was not a courtesy smile, but a smile of pure joy? How could she have a business meeting with this man? She couldn’t even think straight!