A Suitor for the Princess - Chapter 56

     Suddenly she remembered that she had to attend office too! She had to face Norman again. She felt like taking another day off and then decided against it. She didn’t want to behave unprofessionally and have the office staff gossiping that she was taking undue advantage of her closeness to the Boss. Then again, the prospect of meeting John tempted her. But she sobered on remembering Norman’s wrath. She really hoped that Norman hadn’t already fired John in her absence. She decided to confront Norman and give him a piece of her mind if he had indeed done so!

       As she was already late by two hours, she contemplated letting Norman’s haughty secretary know that she would reach there in another hour. Then she voted against it. She was just an honorary employee, not a confirmed one and she could afford the luxury of going late. She’d let Norman draw his own conclusions. It would serve him right. She felt like an ungrateful wretch but she was mad at him.  So there! For the first time since the previous afternoon, she really looked at her cell-phone ensconced in a corner of her purse.

     She had deliberately avoided checking her missed calls and messages. She had received 20 missed calls from Norman’s cell phone and 5 from John’s. She didn’t bother reading the messages at all. She knew that everyone in the office was worried about her. She suddenly felt rebellious at being treated like a truant kid who had bunked school and not a responsible adult! But that was probably because she was right then behaving just like one that deserved a sound spanking.

       The phone rang with the pleasant tune of ‘Silent night, holy night….’ And she was pleased to see that it was the Doctor’s call. Then as she remembered the ‘scene’ she felt glad that she wasn’t actually facing him. “Hello” she said softly. “Hello Martha,” his voice reached her crisply. Highly cultivated and ever-so-slightly nasal, the voice said, “Are you still at my place or have you reached home safely?”

       She felt sorry that she hadn’t remembered to let him know that she was on her way home. “I’m sorry Doctor, but I’ve reached home and will be leaving for work right now. Thanks for everything.” He said, “All right then. Have a nice day” and hung up. He was a busy man. She suddenly felt lonely.

      She was glad that she could go to work where there were many people around her. But her heart hankered for a certain someone special. John D’ Costa. If she could meet him and speak to him her day would be made!

     She quickly changed into a pale pink frock, made up lightly, brushed her hair and locked the gate to the cottage. As she got into her car and looked into the rear-view mirror, she froze. She could see a beefy guy in a cream T-shirt and black jeans looking at her keenly. As he dunked out of view, she could tell that he was observing her movements, hidden from view. Who was he and what could he possibly want? Was he the one who had revived her, the other day? No, that had to be John because she had seen the single eye and fainted, hadn’t she? So who was this stranger? She felt uneasy as she liked her privacy and didn’t like peeping-toms. If she saw him again, she’d dial the Police Control Room. For the moment, she’d not bother telling Norman or anyone else about the intruder. She could handle this on her own!

      When she reached the office, she walked straight into her department, took the papers from her drawer and started working on the subbing of the piece. Susan looked at her curiously as if trying to figure out where she had been earlier that morning and mentally debating whether to broach that topic with her. But she kept quiet on seeing Martha’s defensive demeanor. It appeared as if Martha wanted to be left all alone and Susan took the hint. Soon enough, the intercom on her desk rang. Norman wanted her in his cabin. He had important things to discuss with her.

      With great trepidation, she walked into his tastefully done up cabin with animal prints on the walls and crystal curios. He was standing with his back to the door and had said “Come in” without a backward glance when she had knocked self-consciously. “Good afternoon Norman” she said as casually as possible. He whirled around and she could see his lips pursed into a thin line. Every muscle of his appeared to proclaim his displeasure.

      He didn’t say a word about her absence the previous day or that morning. Instead he took a bound manuscript from his desk and handed it to her saying “I want this edited by tomorrow evening. It was evident that this was her punishment hence she wisely refrained from voicing the protest that had formed on her lips. Just a day and a half for that thick volume! But she accepted the challenge as she had inadvertently asked for it. “Anything else?” she asked tartly. “That’s all!” He said brusquely and dismissed her, by staring at the papers in front of him on the desk. She wished that he would get down to business and ask her outright about why she had missed office. Seeing his stubborn demeanor, she beat a hasty exit.

        She wondered whether John was there in the office. As she walked along the corridor, she couldn’t resist the urge to peep into his cabin. She was disappointed to see that he wasn’t there. She decided to send him a message from her cell-phone and decided against it. That could wait until she got home. Though she was sorely disappointed on noting his absence, she had urgent work to attend to. She looked at the thick manuscript in her hands and groaned. 

To be continued.... 

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