A Suitor for the Princess - Chapter 37

                  When she opened her eyes after a while, Norman was standing in front of her. She closed her eyes quickly and opened them again to see whether it really was Norman. Bewildered, she pinched herself. Had she really gone nuts? She panicked as Norman reached out for her and promptly fainted at his touch. When she came to, it was 12 noon. Still she could see Norman pottering about the house, tidying up things and humming to himself. She looked at her transparent nightie and suddenly felt shy and awkward. He had seen her like that! Did he like what he saw? She blushed furiously just as he whirled around to look straight into her eyes. His amused expression didn’t escape her notice and she shyly lowered her eyes.

                  “When did you come, Norman? Rather, how did you come so suddenly? As you saw, I was quite taken aback.” she said evenly.

                   “Yes,” he laughed, “So taken aback that you fainted in my arms. Am I so ugly?”

                    Now she looked at him coolly, as if assessing him and said softly, “On the contrary, you are the most gorgeous hunk I have ever come across. Maybe that was why I swooned!”

                    In a jiffy, he reached her and kissed her soundly on her lips, reveling in the soft sweetness of her mouth and her luscious body. She pushed him aside, protesting, “But I haven’t even brushed, Juan!” He stiffened, as he heard that name and looked at her questioningly. “Come again?” he queried. “I said that I haven’t yet brushed, Norman.” “But you said “Juan” not “Norman” earlier,” he insisted. “Oh, did I? I’m sorry but I’m just out of sorts these days. I’m sure that your dear friend Arnold has briefed you about my condition. As she looked at him miserably, he gathered her in his arms and held her close to comfort her. He felt what she was going through. “Don’t you worry, dear! We are in this together. Let’s just forget about your goof-up, O.K.?” he asked as he could see the tears that threatened to fall down from her lovely eyes. They looked like a river in spate. She gulped and muttered her “Yes”.

                   Then, as if remembering something, she inquired, “How come you have come here today, Norman? Aren’t you supposed to be staying with your ex-wife? Is she all right now?”

                   He regained his humor as he said, “I have currently left Nancy in charge of a full-time nurse. I came here to see you Martha. I’ve been missing you a lot. I’ve been worried sick about you. I’ve come here to acquaint you with the routine of my office and introduce you to my staff and other business contacts, so that you may take over its functioning as far as the literary requirements go. You will be editing the final manuscripts of all the writings that are approved for publication, by my trusted aide, John D’ Costa.

                   I hope that you are up to the challenge, my dear. He’s a tough nut to crack. He’s a stickler for accuracy in the final manuscript. You’ll have to work cordially in tandem with the author, the proof-readers and sub-editors and the formidable John D’ Costa. Her eyes brightened as she said with determination in her eyes. “I love challenges Norman. John D’ Costa, here I come!” As she made an action resembling an aeroplane taking off, with a soft whistle, Norman chuckled and said “That’s like a good girl!”

                 After having a lunch of Chinese noodles and salad that Norman had prepared, both of them went to town. As Norman drove, she observed him through the corner of her eyes. Not bad. Good-looking. Caring. Affectionate. Dependable. Solid husband material! But why wasn’t she elated? Something was missing in him. She couldn’t pinpoint it. Was she expecting more than she deserved? Was he too regular for her liking? Then she realized with a start that the chemistry was sorely missing! She didn’t want him! She didn’t love him!

                 As that thought struck her like a bolt from the blue, she hastily looked out of the window. She didn’t want Norman to guess her feelings. He’d surely have felt as if she was ungrateful, especially after the lengths that he had gone to, to make her comfortable and well. She decided to just take things one at a time and not ponder over her life-partner too much, as she really wanted to become mentally strong again. Love could wait!

                  When they reached his office, Martha had a ‘panic’ attack thinking about his secretary. Her palms turned clammy and she desperately held on to Norman’s elbow, pleading with him that she felt unwell and wanted to return home. He just ignored her and nudged her gently into his office. When they learned that the secretary was out on some official work, she relaxed. Norman led her to the various departments of his enterprise, describing them as they walked along, simultaneously introducing her to the people working there and who would in future be her colleagues. She liked them all.

                   The flirty Susan who proof-read texts; with a red-haired fringe and a naughty smile; the reticent Harry who barely acknowledged her presence, who was the senior sub-editor, who probably resented her already, the smart Rex, an office-assistant who multi-tasked several odd jobs all the time, with a pleasing smile on his freckled red face; the junior sub-editors, June, Sandy and Alex and the marketing personnel, savvy, formally dressed Hutch, Barry and Cynthia; all of whom welcomed her warmly.

                   All of them were astute enough to realize that she was the one who was probably going to marry the Boss, judging by the possessive way in which Norman held her, with his arm around her shoulders or around her waist. It was ages since he had flaunted a gal, they mused. This elegant lady appeared to for keeps! They had all seen her earlier whenever they had chanced upon her during her visits to the office to submit her contributions for the magazine. They had never really progressed beyond the usual niceties of “Hi” and “Bye”, each being busy with his/her routine. Besides, Martha had been aloof but nice, with a “touch-me-not” demeanor which automatically kept everyone at arm's length. She had always appeared unapproachable.

To be continued....  

The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.