"Roohi Madam, Shenoy Sir wants to see you in his office." Chandhu: our floor attendant told me as he placed the steaming cup of coffee on my table. I tore my eyes off my work computer and slid my headset down. I lifted my gaze to him and his lips curled into a polite smile.
He was an old man probably in his fifties, but he looked a lot older. He was thin, very thin with dull features. He had shabby greying hair he barely combed. He looked like he could use a retirement, but I don't think he's due for another five years.
I smiled back at him. He is probably the only person who is genuinely nice to me here. "Thank you Chacha, I don't understand why does he always call me at the wrong time. Did he tell you why he wanted me there?" I asked him like an idiot that I am. How can he possibly know what my good for nothing Boss wants from me?
He gave me a really awkward smile unintentionally embarrassing me even more, "I don't know Madam, the boss asked me to call you so I did." he told me apologetically. "Thank you, Chacha." I told him in my most polite dismissive tone and walked away humming a tune I didn't recognize.
Sighing heavily I placed my headset on my table and pushed myself out of the uncomfortable chair. My back is sore from sitting for hours. I quickly stretched a little and covered my coffee mug with a lid. What if a fly or something decides to go for a swim in it? Damn, why did I have to put that gross thought in my mind?
Shrugging off the thought, I walked towards Vasudev Shenoy aka my boss's office which was on the third floor of our building. I usually take the stairs as it is my only way of squeezing in some workout into my busy and not to mention lazy lifestyle but today I'm taking the elevator so that I don't look breathless or tired when I reach his office.
The door to the elevator slid open and I quickly stepped into it, I pressed the button to the third floor and it took me to my destination. Stepping out of the elevator I walked straight to his cabin which was the third room in the hallway. A black nameplate with his name written in excellent gold font proudly hung on his door. I rolled my eyes at his self-obsession and knocked at his door
I tapped my feet as I patiently waited for his response and once I heard his stern "Come in," I pushed the door and stepped into the office and was instantly welcomed by the unbearable stench of his favorite room freshener. God, how is he even alive here? I don't think I can survive more than half an hour in this hell hole.
The room was moderately lit with a medium-sized window covered with grey blinds. The walls were plain white which had begun to turn brown for obvious reasons. The room looked pretty much like any other cheap office with a desk which looked too big for the room which was messier than a dumpster.
Vasudev Shenoy proudly sat behind the desk with his face inches away from the computer screen. His lips moved animatedly like he was reading the content out to himself. He dipped his eyebrows in concentration as he continued to read though fully aware of my presence.
I cleared my throat making him finally turn towards me. His lips pressed into a thin line and I swallowed hard. What have I done this time?
"Sit down Roohi," he ordered, pointing me towards one of the empty chairs in front of him. I nodded and took a seat. "You wanted to have a word with me, Sir?" I asked him and he responded to it with a scowl.
"We have received yet another complaint against you, Roohi. This is the fourth time Mr. Verma has complained against you for being rude to him on call when all he wanted was to get some information about our new scheme." that son of a bitch. I knew this was bound to happen sooner or later but didn't expect it to happen so soon.
"Sir that man calls a hundred times for no good reason and he specifically asks for me and..." he cut me off in the middle.
"It doesn't matter if he calls you once or a hundred times, it's your duty to attend him and assist him." he demanded, his voice booming for apparently no reason.
I roll my eyes, "He doesn't have any issue, Sir, and he just calls to flirt with me. He asks me inappropriate questions and if I don't answer them or ask him to behave he files a complaint against me. Why don't you listen to our call recording then you will understand why I had to do it." I know he would never do that, it would be way too much work and he's not the kind who would go through all that trouble.
He closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath, "Look Roohi, learn to adjust a little; he is our loyal customer and we can't lose him because of you."
I glared at him not believing what he was saying, "I'm telling you that your so-called 'loyal customer' is harassing me and you are asking me to adjust?" I demanded. I bet my eyes are wide enough to pop out right now, but I don't give a hoot. He flinched at my tone, good. "Look, I pay you to sweet talk to the customers and help them with whatever they need," I swear to God if he does not stop defending that perv I will hit him with my bare hands.
I closed my eyes and took a deep calming breath, "Sir you haven't paid my salary for two months so you are basically using me for free to stop your customers from running to someone worth their time." Wow, that was hard-core; I hope I don't get fired for this.
He ran his fingers through his thinning hair and muttered something under his breath. "I've told you the payment will be done soon and secondly the reason we are here is that you are not doing your job properly. We have been rated 2.5 for our services this month can you believe that? How do you think I should respond to my seniors?"
And how is that my fault again?
"Sir I haven't paid the rent of my apartment for two months and my landlord threatens to throw me out every day. I'm struggling to pay my bills and I'm eating Maggi for dinner every night and you ask me to worry about what you have to tell to the seniors?" I demanded having enough of his crap.
Okay maybe I'm getting bolder than necessary, but what can I do, every word I had uttered was true. His eyes softened a bit but I know there is hardly anything he can do to fix this. Our company has been under loss for years now and it's just a matter of time before we go bankrupt. I need to find a new job.
"We are done here, for now, Roohi. Take the rest of the day off," he told me and I narrowed my eyes at him. I'm I going to be fired?
"But Sir..." he wasn't in any mood to push this conversation any further so I had no other choice but to gather my scattered wits and walk out with my pride still intact.
I went back to my floor and walked straight to the ladies room. I locked myself in one of the stalls. I covered my face with both my palms and groaned in frustration. God, why does my life have to be so miserable? Why can't I have a normal happy life for once?
I can go to my Papa's place in Coorg and help him out at the estate. He and his three other retired buddies had bought this creepy property on a hilltop which they have now converted into a holiday home of sorts with five to six cottages which they had recently built.
I've always been an independent child, Papa worked hard and barely got time for me and I ended up learning to be on my own most of the time. And now I live alone in Bengaluru doing the job I don't want to do. I never blamed him for not being with me. It wasn't his fault, plus it's not easy to raise a child on your own.
And what about my Mom? Well, I haven't seen her since I was seven and at this point, I don't think I'll ever see her again. She had walked out on us a long time back and that is it. Apparently, a normal middle-class life was not enough for her and she wanted to... I don't know, get rich?
Shaking my head I tried to clear my thoughts. Thinking of her was not going to take me anywhere nor was it going to help me in getting out of this mess. Kicking off the unwanted thoughts from my mind I finally exited the stall. I wash my hands as I stare at the girl in the mirror and frown.
The girl staring back at me looked so different from the girl I used to be. Her big beautiful eyes looked dull and lifeless and her once full and pouty lips lacked colour. Her skin was pale as chalk and her hair was a whole different story. I seriously need to stop starving myself and start taking care of myself.
I walk back to my cubicle and sign out of my computer. Dilip who was sitting next to me gave me a really dirty look. "Did you get fired?" he asked me and I gave him a similar dirty look. "For what?" I shot at him and he glared at me like I had made the most ridiculous statement. "Then why did Shenoy call you to his office?" he asked.
"And how is that any of your concern?"
He looked away in embarrassment; I collected my handbag and walked out of the office with my head held high. One more day I have survived without getting my ass kicked out of this good for nothing office.