Chapter-4
Diverting Mind
iT WAS nearly two weeks now since Nakusha had begun her new duties in the impressive modern office building that was the headquarters of Dutta Patil's business empire, and of course she wasn't in the least bit disappointed that not once during those two very busy weeks had she seen Dutta himself and that the glass-fronted office his PA had pointed out to her as his had remained empty. Far from it. She was delighted that he wasn't in evidence, and that she had been able to take up her new role without having to contend with his presence.
Or at least she had been until something had come to light this morning, whilst she had been checking over the latest batch of reworked plans couriered over to her.
Was what she had picked up a simple mistake? Was it a trick to try and catch her out, instituted by Dutta himself? Or was it'and her stomach tensed at the thought of this'a deliberate attempt to defraud the Patil Organisation, put in place by one of her own colleagues?
Whichever of the three options she chose to believe, the initial outcome was the same, and that was that she would have to report what she had seen to Dutta Patil. Nakusha looked towards the office of Dutta's PA, Meera Wilson, wondering if she should discuss her concern with her.
She liked the older woman, who had gone out of her way to make her feel at home in her new environment. On her first morning here, Meera had gone through everything with her, informing her with a smile, 'I'll just run through a few things with you. First, we are all on first-name terms here' Dutta insists on it. But don't mistake that for a lack of discipline or respect. He demands and gets both. I've got some forms here from HR for you to fill in'personal details, that kind of thing. Whilst you're here your salary will be increased in accordance with the levels Dutta pays those who work for him, and you will be eligible for an annual bonus, medical insurance, and a car allowance. Any expenses you incur in the course of your work should be submitted to the accounts department on a monthly basis, and I should warn you that here we do not have a culture of fudging such expenses'if you take my meaning.'
This last piece of information had been accompanied by a grim look which had ensured that Nakusha knew exactly what she meant.
'I never fudge my expenses. It would go against my principles to do so,' Nakusha had responded truthfully.
'Excellent. I am sure you will fit in very well here,' had been Meera's response, before she had added, 'Oh, and when you complete your personal details form I shall need your passport details.'
'My passport?'
'Yes. You do have one, don't you? If not we must sort one out for you, just in case you are required to travel abroad on behalf of the company with Dutta'to site meetings and that kind of thing. Dutta takes a very personal and keen interest in all his projects, and is very hands-on about checking their progress.'
'Yes,' she had a passport, Nakusha had confirmed. She was also used to travelling abroad to conferences and site meetings with clients'so why on earth had that tingle of something she refused to name zipped down her spine? It was doing so now, at the memory'as though someone had feathered a touch against her bare skin. What was happening to her? Nothing, Nakusha assured herself fiercely. Nothing was happening to her and nothing was going to happen to her. Normally she enjoyed visiting the various sites she worked on, especially when they were abroad. It made up
for the fact that she had missed out on the kind of foreign trips enjoyed by most of her peers when they had been growing up.
Her great-aunt simply hadn't had the money for that kind of luxury. Additionally, the circumstances of her life'the dreadful tragedy that still haunted her and filled her with guilt'meant that she had always been wary of allowing others to get close to her even as friends, so she hadn't joined in the group holidays abroad enjoyed by her peers during her early twenties, even when she could have financed them herself. Instead she had concentrated on getting the very best qualifications she could. Then, when she had started to think about taking solo holidays to explore the architecture of other countries, her great-aunt had needed to move into residential care, and once again there simply hadn't been the money for such unnecessary expenses.
Nakusha judged Meera to be somewhere in her early fifties, which had surprised her. From kala's comments about Dutta's lifestyle she had imagined that his PA would be glamorous and nubile, not a woman of Meera's age, even if she was a very smart and elegant fifty-something. Her appearance was much like that of the other women Nakusha had seen in the offices, making her acutely conscious of the shabbiness of her own clothes. There was nothing she could do about that, though. Only two days ago she had received a letter informing her that regrettably the fees for her great-aunt's care and accommodation were to be increased by twenty per cent'not far short of the unexpected increase in her salary. There were cheaper care homes, but Nakusha was determined that her great-aunt would go on enjoying the level of comfort she had where she was'even if that did mean she herself would have to go without the new clothes she had been tempted to buy, having seen how smart the other women working here were.
Now, as she looked round her spacious office, Nakusha admitted that in many ways she preferred her new working environment'even if she would rather have worked for the devil himself than Dutta Patli. She doubted that she would be missed by her old colleagues. The men she worked with had shown quite plainly prior to her departure that they resented the fact that she had been selected over them for what they considered to be a prestigious and career-boosting opportunity, and of course her own pride had not allowed her to tell them that she would have preferred not to be chosen. However, it was the well-meaning Kala's words that were still sending scalding waves of humiliation burning painfully through Nakusha's emotions.
She had spoken to her in private. 'It's just as well that it's you who's been seconded to go and work for Dutta Patil. If it was anyone else then all
the other girls would be seething with jealousy at the thought of someone getting the opportunity to work closely with such a fabulously sexy man. But of course they won't be jealous of you, because they all know that there's no danger of you attracting him'not with your attitude to men and the way you give them the cold shoulder. Especially not with a man like Dutta, who can have any woman he wants.'
Nakusha knew it was ridiculous of her to feel humiliated by kala's remarks'somehow less of a woman. After all, Nakusha herself had always made it plain that she wasn't interested in flirting with or attracting men, cold-shouldering their advances and retreating into herself whenever they showed any interest in her. The last thing she wanted was a man pursuing her'any man'and especially a man like Dutta Patil. Why especially him? Because she was afraid that she might be vulnerable to him? Because she was afraid that she might actually want him?
Nakusha stood up, panicked by her own thoughts, and then subsided back into her chair. Of course not. It was nothing to do with anything like that. She knew that she was perfectly safe from desiring Dutta Patil, and even if by some foolish misjudgement she did, she also knew that it was impossible for anything to come of that desire. Because, as Kala had made clear, Dutta Patil would never find her desirable? No! Because she did not want him to desire her'just as she did not want any man to desire her.
She had taken refuge in angry disdain, demanding of Kala, 'Does everything have to come down to sex?'
Kala had laughed and told her, 'For most of us'yes.' Before adding, 'Men can't help being men, and they are predatory by instinct. It's in their genes. But in your case'Well, what I'm trying to say, Nakusha, is that''
'That a man like Dutta Patil wouldn't find me desirable enough to want to go to the trouble of trying to seduce me?' Nakusha had supplied for her colleague.
'Well, you do send a keep-your-distance vibe to men, you must admit, and men like Dutta Patil have plenty of women all too ready to give them what they want to be bothered with a woman who freezes them off. I haven't hurt your feelings, have I?' Kala had asked anxiously.
Nakusha had shaken her head.
'No, of course not.' Nakusha had assured her. And that was the truth. Of course she wasn't hurt because Kala had spoken the truth and said that
Dutta wouldn't be interested in her. She didn't want him to be. She didn't want any man to be interested in her. She couldn't afford to allow any man
to become interested in her because she knew that she could not and must not become interested in them. She could never have in her life the
relationships that others took for granted. She could not fall in love. She could not commit to anyone, and most of all she could not within that commitment help to create a child. She must never have a child. Never.
Anyway, how she looked and whether Dutta Patil did or did not see her as attractive were not subjects she should be paying any mind to. Instead she must focus on the reason she was here and on what she was being paid to do.
The office provided for her was well planned out and perfect for her duties, with its large windows flooding the room with natural light. It contained all the equipment she might need, including a good-sized table in the middle of the floor on which she was able to spread out paper copies of architectural drawings and plans'just as she had done earlier, with the new drawings and costings that had been sent over.
Uncertainly Nakusha looked back at them. She had been worrying about them for so long, going back to check and then recheck them just in case she had made a mistake, that she hadn't realised how late it was. Scanning the office, she saw nearly everyone else had gone home. Meera had gone too, no doubt, without Nakusha having taken the opportunity to speak with her and seek her advice.
The anomaly was definitely there. The non-frostproof terracotta tiles for the summerhouse and the area surrounding it, leading to the first of the staggered-level swimming pools, had been changed as Dutta had instructed. But the tiles used in substitution were considerably more expensive, and from a supplier whose name Nakusha could not remember having seen on their approved lists. As a precaution she had e-mailed a couple of approved suppliers, and they had both come back with costings far lower than the one quoted'which meant that either by accident or design the person responsible for the changed plans and materials was recommending a purchase that would cost far far more than it needed to. To make matters worse, the tiles recommended had a non-standard raised pattern, which meant that in future, should any one of them need replacing, they would have to be specially produced at a very high cost. And, worst of all by far, the person responsible for the recommendation and costing was her male colleague and adversary Bill Jeffries.
She'd e-mailed him to check discreetly with him that there hadn't been an error but it appeared that he was on leave for a week, and with Dutta due back from his overseas trip in the morning there was no way Nakusha could hold the plans and costings back from him until Bill Jeffries returned to the office.
She needed someone else's input and advice, she decided, making up her mind. Through the plate glass that fronted all the mezzanine offices she was delighted to spot Meera, putting on her suit jacket and preparing to leave. It had been a warm day for mid-April, with the sun streaming in through the windows, and Nakusha had removed her own jacket to work more easily. She looked hesitantly at it, and then, seeing Meera heading for the door, scooped up the papers from the desk instead and hurried to intercept her.
'From what you've told me, I rather think this is something you need to discuss with Dutta,' Meera judged firmly, once Nakusha had reached the end of her story.
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Edited by --ambar-- - 13 years ago
