Office lunch

Sapna spotted him the moment he sat down with his plate on the table next to her in the office cafeteria.

She involuntarily drew a sharp breath. This guy sported a moustache. Not just a thin line or a medium-thick bush, but a handlebar moustache, just like Aamir Khan in Mangal Pandey! It gave his youngish face some definition and a very different flavour of hotness.

From his t-shirt sporting a specific logo, she figured out that he was from one of the company’s many branches all over the country. A few more furtive glances later, Sapna realised that he was much more than his facial hair. He had a tall and lean body, carved with perfection. His arms looked strong, his stomach was flat, absolutely flat and he had a head full of lovely jet-black hair.

She had been surrounded by paunchy and bald men, both in office and at home, for so long that she had almost forgotten how a chiseled and perfect male figure looked like, until this moment. 

Sapna could no more concentrate on her food and the mid-day news airing on the cafeteria TV. Memories of her youth jostled for her attention. Her crush on the cute and nerdy topper of her class, her dalliance with the long-haired rock musician of her college band, her one-year serious relationship with her co-intern whose over-smartness always made her uneasy in public, her secret lust for her husband’s best friend when both of them came to “meet” her – all of which had been lying forgotten in the innermost chamber of her mind, surfaced with the appearance of this guy. She had almost forgotten what a heady feeling it was to appreciate someone with the sense of sight. 

By now her lunch was over. She was sitting all alone with a cup of coffee, like every day. Her contemporaries usually come down for lunch much later and her team members avoided her table in order to enjoy their one-hour break from their boss.

The guy had also left. Sapna knew she may not see him again in future. He was a momentary distraction from the humdrum of her life.

She went to the women’s loo to touch up her lipstick. The mirror reminded her that her grays’ had become more visible and she needed an urgent salon appointment. She also resolved to force her husband to renew his gym membership from next month and suggest that he grow a goatee, citing the need to bring back the zing in their marriage. 

She walked up to her plush cabin in the corner of 7th floor and prepared to bury her head in the laptop. Her reverie was broken with a knock. Sapna looked up, startled and slightly annoyed at the intrusion.

 “Ma’am, I am Siddharth from the Bangalore unit. I have been deployed to the headquarters for a month to work with your team for the upcoming event.”

He continued, “I am sorry to have reported post lunch-time. My flight was delayed due to bad weather. If you tell me where to begin, I am ready to start.”

Sapna watched the eager face before her, complete with his handlebar moustache. Carefully masking her happiness, she welcomed him and called in her secretary to make arrangements so that his stay for the next month would be comfortable.

Her office hours for the next one month was going to be very exciting!