AS YOU MELT THIS HEART OF STONE

PARCHED

"The whiteness of confusion
Is unfolding from my mind
I stare around in wonder
Have I left my life behind?

I catch the scent of ambergris
And turn my head, surprised
My gaze is caught and held and
I am helpless, mesmerised.

Panacea, liquid grace
Oh let me touch your fragile face
Enchantment falls around me
And I know I cannot leave
Here's a meaning for my life..."

                                      ~ Rush
------------------

"Come to my office right NOW."

I put down the receiver of the intercom with a bang and cut the line.

"It is a wonder how the poor intercom is still at one piece after all..." muttered my inner voice.

"I just put the receiver down forcefully instead of throwing the whole damn thing to the wall. So stop complaining", I said.

"Yeah, lucky intercom. Although I doubt the same can be said about your secretary. Just make sure that you don't throw your laptop at her."

Deathly glare from me.

"Or don't break your wristwatch in an attempt to stop yourself from throwing your secretary out of the window."

F***, the old coot was right! This was my sixsth wristwatch in last five months and my fifteenth private secretary.

Before my inner voice could throw another nasty comment, let me tell in my defence that, no, none of them were 'her' wasn't the sole reason why they got fired. Yes, it played a major role, like, you know, in any situation, my mind would jump to the thought that she would do it this way or had she been there, it would have been like this or she almost killed herself to retrieve a pendrive and this imbecil just casually left important files scattered everywhere or... well, you got the idea, right?

Yes, I admit that I am not a friendly boss like Leonard and everything that had been going on in my personal life made me more cold or intimidating towards them. But, I was the same with her in the beginning. But she didn't whine about that. She was inexperienced, naive and to some extend, totally unprofessional and foolish.

"That's not the way you describe the woman who stole your night's sleep, man!" my inner voice cried out in protest.

Whatever. I won't sugarcoat the truth. She had been and sometimes still is, all those things I described above. But her knowledge was impeccable and her determination to prove herself or dedication to the company would outshine anyone else in comparison.

At that exact moment, a meek knock at the door broke my inner monologue. And I was immensely grateful for that.

Goodnesse, what have I been raving about for past few minutes! How could I waste my valuable time complementing the woman who was nothing but a foolhardy problem magnet!

I could feel the lines on my face hardening in further displeasure. There was no doubt that within a few minutes another secretary would rush out of my office in tears to never come back, again.

Heavens! I hated this waste of time, money and energy. When the f*** would this six months end?

I massaged my temples as headache started to form. In a voice capable of freezing the whole Atlantic, I uttered,

"Entrare."

****
(After one month and eleven days)

"Entrare"