Originally posted by: maria-n
Ha dear Sabsj!
You more than deserve to be our MOTW, dear! 😛 😛 👏 So congratulations, congratulations, congratulations! 👍🏼
thanks my dear and welcome back from london. hope u had a good time there.
Finally back from London and first forum action is to see your MOTW. Your answers, poems are full of meaning Sabsj! I love it and respect it so much you always give a lot...or even you give us all 👏 👍🏼
you can't blame me, having found friends like you, my life has suddenly found so much more meaning, the least i can do is show my gratitude for all the love, support and understanding you all bestow upon me time and again. ............ its only words, and words are all i've got, to show you how much i care.
Thanx for describing me as outspoken, I'm honoured... 😳 (and thanx Cordelia 😛)
it is me that is honoured to have a friend like u, always there to guide me and let me know when i falter and i truly appreciate that.
What a wonderful husband you have Sabsj - the true love we find in your ff's must also be credited to him! Please thank him for that and pay my (our) respect to him! (How lucky KC was aired early in KS, else you both had to wait a full year for your beach-date 😆)
yes dear, u guessed right, all the ideas, the emotions are all thanks to him. as for KC, well am sure he would have come up with something else like he always does every year, just that this time he wanted to make sure i know the difference between love expressed in reel life v/s. real life ............ i guess my fascination with jb and their beach date drove him to that ........ not that i am complaining 😉
Ok, I only slept a few hours after a long travel, so brain only at half power this time just two questions:
How did you meet your husband? A romantic description would be appreciated.... 😳
😆 We met in an elevator at our work place. Romantic description ahhh.... ok, i have written it in a form of a ff, so enjoy ...... and laugh away 😆
Sabrina hadn't noticed the minute scrape on the toe of her shoe before today. The narrow scratch marring the black leather made her feel self-conscious. She thought to casually move her foot but figured losing her balance would be worse.
"Come on, come on," she chanted silently. "How long does it take an elevator to go down ten floors?"
The music piped through invisible speakers played a fast instrumental version of "Somewhere in Time." What was it about a good love story that made her a sucker for preferring happy endings? She had to admit it was probably because for her, love in real life was steeped in expectations instead of reality.
Sabrina had fallen into the trap of daydreams and evening wishes.
AJ was a man a lot of ladies in the office admired. She wasn't the only woman who had noticed the big deep brown eyes of the bank's new VP. Could anyone blame Sabrina for admiring his not so broad shoulders and masculine confidence? Although he only had been with the bank for a month, he already had the reputation of being a man a lot of women gravitated to. His assistant, Mary, had casually remarked that AJ always makes a woman feel feminine, yet is professional and respectful.
Was that a thread attached to the hem of her shirt? Reaching down to snatch it would only draw attention. She could but laugh at her ridiculous thoughts. Did she really think he would notice a thread hanging along the hem of her skirt? He was a man after all and wouldn't notice such a minute detail, would he?
She groaned inwardly. Here she was in the midst of an opportunity she had dreamed about for weeks. AJ, a eligible bachelor in the building, was standing mere inches away from her and she was obsessing about a piece of thread on her skirt.
"So, how do you think Amanda's presentation went?" a male voice asked, interrupting her musings.
Sabrina's eyes flicked to the man peering down at her. The crisp lines of his blue dress shirt complimented the style of his neatly trimmed black hair. A ripple of excitement made her stomach turn a triple summersault, like the ones she did when she was five years old.
Play it cool, she reminded herself.
"I thought Amanda did a terrific job," Sabrina said. She was afraid her attempt at appearing casual wasn't working. Her heart was thumping wildly. "It was her first customer presentation, and I know that speaking in front of groups makes her nervous."
"You know what they say," AJ shifted a file folder to his other hand, "public speaking is the number one fear for most people."
Sabrina curled a long strand of auburn red hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture. "I told her no one would have known she was terrified," she added.
"I'll bet the prospect will be signing the dotted line by the end of the week," AJ said confidently. He widened his stance and began to tap the file against his thigh. "You looked good up there, too, today. Don't give all the credit away."
Sabs looked good all right. AJ couldn't stop himself. He chanced to gaze into the soft brown eyes of hers. There was intelligence and passion in those beautiful eyes. Her long hair had been the first thing he had noticed after her smile. When his colleague Nikhil had introduced her, he thought a ten pound brick had landed on his head. Sabs certainly did not fill the stereotype of an Investment banker.
He couldn't believe his luck when Sabs had stepped onto the elevator. How long had it been since they had spoken alone? Two days? Three days? Maybe it had only been a few days, but it seemed like a week since he had chanced meeting her in the foyer. Some accident. He had been watching from his second story office awaiting her arrival.
"Oh," Sabs replied hesitantly. "It was a team effort."
"I understand you prepared the pricing proposal," he said with a tilt of his head. He folded his arms and leaned against the wall of the elevator.
He was stupefied by her willingness to downplay her role in the presentation. Amanda had presented the proposal, but he knew for a fact that Sabs had done the research and run the numbers. The little information he could covertly gather about Sabs indicated she was a strong team player. AJ was interested in getting to know the woman behind the successful banker's facade.
"Yes," she said smoothly. "As I said, this was Amanda's first time putting a proposal together. I'm a strong believer in mentoring new staff. I want to help Amanda succeed. She's fresh out of college and has a lot of potential. I believe in sharing my experience and knowledge. Otherwise, what's the point?"
"You're certainly cut from the old school," he observed. "Most people today are using their associate's back to climb up a step on the career ladder."
"I couldn't work that way." She lifted her chin and peered directly into his face. "I take more pride in relationships than anything else."
AJ was momentarily transfixed. There was an energy that seemed to radiate from Sabs.
"Relationships are important," he said quietly. "It takes time to…" he hesitated.
She lifted her delicate brows, unconsciously willing him to continue.
"Yes?"
AJ pushed away from the wall to face Sabs. Putting aside any insecurity about rejection or looking foolish, he charged ahead.
"I was wondering if you would like to," he began but the sentence died on his lips.
The eerie whining of cables slowing reverberated inside the elevator compartment.
"What was that?" Sabs asked. There was a slight tremor to her voice.
AJ looked at the control box and noticed the floor number had stopped at two. Before he could respond to her question, the elevator abruptly halted. The compartment shook slightly and then stilled.
"Oh, my gosh!" Sabs squeaked. "I can't believe it. Are we trapped in the elevator?"
"Looks like we are," he responded much too confidently. He peered over at Sabs. "Ever been trapped in an elevator before?"
Sabs could feel a thread of panic sneaking up from the bottom of her toes. "No. Never had and never wanted to be."
"Don't worry." Reaching inside his pocket, he pulled out his cell phone.
"Everything will be fine."
He was acting much too casual and comfortable about the situation. She felt as if the walls of the elevator were closing around her. "Get a grip," she told herself. At least she was not alone in the elevator. She had to look at the positive side. AJ at least appeared to know what he was about.
"Hello, Mary," he said to his assistant. "You better call Building Services.
Sabs and I are trapped in the elevator…hmmm, that's right."
She listened in silence as AJ advised Mary of their location. He also asked her to confirm a meeting at 1:00 p.m. The bank's new VP was as cool as a cucumber. Sabs could not help but admire his calm demeanor in the midst of an emergency.
"So, what did Mary have to say about the situation?" Sabs asked after he had disconnected the call.
"Her first word to me was a loud 'What?'" he said with amusement while replacing the cell phone in his pocket. "Our plight is going to be all over the building by the time we get out of here."
"Great," Sabs said under her breath. "Is help coming?"
"Mary said someone from Building Services should be here in the next few minutes." He crossed his arms across his chest. "Now, where were we?"
Sabs smiled. She couldn't help it. AJ had somehow made her feelings of blossoming panic vanish. Her self-conscious thoughts had seemed to melt away as well. Mary had been right. AJ did have a way about him that made a woman feel comfortable.
"I don't know," she began, "I think we were finishing up on Amanda's presentation this morning."
"Hmmm," he mumbled. "We were past that topic. I believe we were discussing relationships."
Sabs felt her mouth suddenly go dry. "Relationships?"
"Yes, relationships." The corner is his sensuous lips curved upward. "You know, interacting with someone else, getting to know them better…that kind of relationship."
"I see."
She looked into his dark eyes. The subtle scent of him seeped into her senses. At that moment, she saw him at her apartment door saying goodnight. Relying upon her vivid imagination, she knew it would be a long and thorough farewell.
"Sabs?"
She started, apparently not realizing that her mind must have wandered. What she wasn't aware of is that she was still staring at him. He was ashamed to admit it, but he could not have planned a better circumstance to be alone with Sabs. Who would have thought getting trapped in an elevator would be so pleasant.
"I'm sorry," she stumbled. "What did you say?"
He smiled a full smile now. "Sabs, can I ask you something?"
"Sure," she said brightly. Whatever had seemingly distracted her was put aside now.
"Do you have any plans for lunch this afternoon?"
There. He had said it. Her reaction was not one he had expected. Her soft mouth parted in surprise before she clamped it shut. A twinkle in her eyes made him want to reach out and draw her into his arms. The unexpected reaction had to be a positive one, didn't it? Waiting for her response was like awaiting a verdict on a first case for a trial lawyer.
She could not believe her ears. Had AJ just asked her out to lunch? Leaping for joy in front of him would have been inappropriate. Instead, she danced about, flaying her arms and screaming with excitement all in the privacy of her own mind.
"I don't have any plans," she said with a grin. "I think lunch would be fine."
"Maybe we can talk more about that 'relationship' thing."
"I don't have my calendar with me." Sabs was feeling more confident by the moment. "Why don't I call you when I get back to my office. We can set up a time."
"How's 1:00 p.m. sound?" he asked smugly.
"I thought you had a…" she started, but stopped when she saw AJ's grin. "I'm your meeting today?"
"Of course," he admitted. "Golden Dragon serves a great lunch. If we're not full, maybe we'll split a chocolate cake."
The light ring of AJ's cell phone sounded through his pocket. After a brief conversation with someone from Building Services, AJ informed Sabs that the elevator would be working in short order. If they were fortunate, they would see the foyer within the half hour. Sabs certainly had a story to tell her co-workers.
"Why don't we sit down?" AJ invited.
Assisting her to the carpet, AJ lowered himself to the floor next to Sabs. Leaning against the elevator wall, he turned and looked into Sab's eyes.
"So, what's your favorite ice cream?" AJ asked.
Sabs sighed. Daydreams and evening wishes were no longer fanciful. She could make them her reality.
The rest is history ......................... 😉
Do you like to have lived in all these different cities or would you perhaps have preferred to stay in India?
yes, it has been quiet an experience, something which i would not have wanted to miss out on, and i feel god really blessed us by making all these opportunities available to us.
Oh, one more: do you have a new ff planned, to start within - let's say - ten days from now?
yes dear, i have written down 2, but felt that there are too many ff's doing the rounds now on the forum and probably members were getting a bit tired of them. maybe once the ff competition is over, i will think about posting one.
Love from your admiring critic
Maria
Udne Ki Aasha
Kumkum Bhagya
