The day started like usual. I dressed up, grabbed my coffee,
and sat down in the car. I fired the engine and let the car hum as I sat in
silence. The car was making its usual clunking noise under the hood, but it had
become a rhythm to my ears. Why Madonna drove this hunk of metal was beyond me.
It had been eight months since I hired Madonna. The life in Nepal moved on its natural pace. But I was still skeptical regarding her situation with Priscilla. I had instructed her immediate senior to keep a keen eye on her. And there was nothing but good news about her. How the sales had increased almost immediately after her joining was beyond us. We came to know she was an expert outside office, but she really spread her wings and went beyond for the growth of our brand.
Specifically targeting the ones
which stood in the top 5% of Nepal’s income was a good move. Making them
interested in VRM resulted in a successful two week campaign for our finances.
Following that, she targeted their rich kids and national sportspeople into Velocity
Red’s sports cars. Throwing out complex terms and backing them up by her
thorough study, she made her critics weak in their knees. The news of sports
luxuries hit Nepal like a storm. We discovered the latent potential of our
product, but what we didn’t know was that the neighboring nations like China,
India and Japan were taking note.
Thus, when Velocity products were
out, they were sold our or pre-booked in the first two hours. The company was
projecting a big turnover in the first year of our brand’s expansion. Some of
us joked that maybe one of the partners may potentially land on Forbes’ list.
But above all, the major
undeniable reason for all this success came through Word of mouth, targeted
advertisements and social media. And all of these ideas and strategies came out
of the brain of one Madonna House.
I turned my head and saw her exit
her house. A sweet little one-bedroom apartment, not suitable for our Chief
Marketing Officer. She walked around and occupied the passenger’s seat in her
own car. As she shut the door behind her, she giggled at me for the night we
had spent together. I rolled my eyes and put her car in gear. It made a huge
pop before the engine forced her hunk of metal to roll on the road.
As we passed the local market, the
fragrance of spices and fish filled our nostrils with rejuvenation. Our bodies
needed that power to struggle through our days. It had been three weeks since
we slept together for the first time. Our staff party on a cruise raised
various kinds of waves among our hearts. The three days we had for our vacation
were spent in my cabin. We marveled at the setting sun over the horizon from
my cabin window. Two women, arm and legs entangled, sharing their body heat against
the violent winter. The colder the air got, the tighter we held each other.
Experimentation that Madonna executed
on my body was worthy of a standing ovation. The way that girl could move her
tongue, legs and toes made me switch my sexuality. I never knew a drunk kiss
could get us this far. I never knew alcohol would expose me to a whole
different hemisphere of pleasure. And I would be entirely grateful to god for a
human’s ability to change.
We were
nearing the office when I reminded the love struck Mad to behave. She pouted,
but I made sure she understood the words I was speaking. Nepal was a great country.
But it wasn’t progressive enough to accept homosexuals. The native culture clashed
with our progressive ideals. But before that, even I am not clear if we are a
couple or not.
Sure, we had sex daily. Sometimes
at her place, sometimes at mine. Sometimes at hotels. Other times out of city. And
we may have gone on a sex rampage in Venice too, but it was not clear yet. We had
cute names for ourselves, and we cooked meals for each other. I had told her
about my ex husband, and she had told me about her childhood friend. But I was
still not clear about us.
“Madonna, what are you doing after
this?”
“Hmm? I’d probably go home with a
beautiful lady. She works at my office,” She replied as she smiled at me.
“I need to talk to you. There is
something that has been bugging me…” I almost didn’t want to say it.
“Alright, you know what? I’ll
come in your office during lunch time. We can talk then,” Madonna suggested.
It seemed like a good idea, so I nodded
to her suggestion. I parked her car and we exited. As I slammed the door, I asked
her, “You know we have our own cars. Why don’t you get a new one? The chipped
red paint doesn’t represent you.”
Madonna removed her goggles and
shot a knowing smile at me before saying, “Yeah it does.”
I was curious to know more about
her, and her life. But I put those thoughts on the back of my mind as I remembered
that a pile of paperwork waited for me.
It was difficult to spend five
hours when I knew I was going to confront her. I had written all my questions
on a scrap paper, the one that I pinched in between my fingers. The decision
was to be made. Today.
She entered the room without
knocking, scaring the life out of me. I settled back in my chair as I grabbed
my breath when I saw her getting comfortable across the table. I signalled her
to close the blinds and lock the door. While she obliged, I took a sip of water
and boosted myself for ‘THE TALK.’
Madonna came back and sat down,
still sporting her cheerful attitude. I glanced at the piece of paper in my
hand one more time before I looked straight at her and let my words out.
“Maddie, what are we?”
It seemed like the air stood
still when I uttered those four words. It seemed like my vision went blurry for
a second. But I kept my cool and tried my hardest to keep my focus on Madonna. She
was sitting silently, with no emotions what so ever. I felt like I was losing
consciousness. I saw Madonna getting up from her chair and moving towards me. I
moved my chair and made a cavity for her to slip into. She stood near me and looked
into my eyes for a long time. So did I. And she forced me to close my eyes when
she pushed her rosy lips against mine.
The content and passion my soul felt at that
moment was unfathomable. It lasted for a brief period, but the aftertaste
lingered for what seemed like a lifetime.
She stood straight up, tucking
her hair behind her ear, and looked away. I could see her flushed face from the
side. But the emotions we felt were mutual, and I replied with rubbing my
cheeks with my own hands.
“Blessing, I like you. I want to
spend more time with you. And I would love to stand next to you,” After a brief
pause, she continued, “Does that define what we are?”
It felt really nice hearing those
words out of another human being. Not since I had left my husband did, I feel
this gush of emotions in me. And from another woman, nonetheless. I opened my palm
and the piece of paper fell on the ground. I reached for her hand and wrapped
my fingers around her. Did she always have these well defined fingers? I was
already exploring something new about her.
“So, are we like, dating?” I asked Maddie, still
trying to define our union.
She turned her head and kissed on my forehead.
Then, barely audibly, she said,” Yes. Would you like to go on a date with me
tonight?”
I lowered
my head until my chin touched my cardigan. i could feel my face getting warm
with all the blood that pumped in my cheeks. I nodded softly to answer Madonna’s
invitation.
Madonna
chuckled and started walking away from me. I looked up and she was already at
the door, ready to bust out. I stretched my arm and told her to stay. She said
she had to go back to work, but I used my CEO powers to sit her back in the
chair.
The
clarity that we were a lesbian couple was still illuminating my mind, but it didn’t
cloud m second question. “Mad,” I said,” If we are a couple, do you mind
answering one more of my questions?”
Madonna,
full of confidence, shot me a thumbs up. This time, I didn’t need my piece of
paper,” We have been going out for a while now. And I know we made it official
a moment later, but I’d rather not let my doubt seep into whatever future holds
for us.” Madonna nodded along as I spoke. “Maddie, almost a month ago, we first
made love. And since then, I have shared almost everything I had in my past. On
the other hand, I know almost nothing about you. Do you promise me to share
what you had in your past?”
I waited for her response. She thought
about it for a second, and gave me a slight nod.
THAT WAS MY CHANCE!
“Maddie, tell me, your name isn’t
Shaft, right?” Once again, the air around us stood still. As I waited for her
response, my mind clouded with another emotion.
Rage.
Not for three weeks, for eight
months this woman had lied to me, and our whole corporation about her identity.
I had waited for her to confess, but it seemed like she wanted to push this charade
for as long as possible. She had touched me, with those lying hands. That rage
that I felt resembled that of my husband having sex behind my back. Suddenly,
the love evaporated, and I slammed my hands on the table loud enough to make it
pang.
This time, it was Madonna who was
looking down into her lap. I bend towards her and rephrased my question,”
Madonna, are you a Shaft or a House?”
“House, I’m Madonna House!” She exclaimed.
I fell back in my chair. I didn’t believe it
would be so easy to break her.
“Blessing you have to understand-“I cut her
off before she could offer her explanation. I pointed at the door behind her
and said,” Seems like it’s a no date for you, Ms. House. Please, show yourself out.
Your papers for dismissal would be mailed to your house address.”
The cold tone in my voice must have hurt. I knew
I was doing something really bad. To her. to myself. But most of all, to my business.
I knew mixing personal business with public affairs led to nothing but a
distasteful cocktail.
But I was not going to let the woman whom I loved
so much get jobless on a whim.
Wait, LOVE? Did I love her? had I
already fallen in love with her??
This realization can wait, I
thought to myself as I picked up the phone. I had to make a call.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Seconds later, my long distance call to London had connected.
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