New York Times Part 31 Updated in Thread 2 - Page 29

I shall be waiting with my bucket of popcorns 😃

Originally posted by: had2bu

It's Ilsa from the movie Casablanca...

hey ... long time...how is everyone...

Ilsa came into the picture because of the quote from Casablanca that Maan uses in his monologue...

Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.

Just as how of all the offices, in all the towns, in all the world she walked into his...

Oh! yeah NYL is my fav too...but not sure how to bring that in. I will surely try.

Originally posted by: 6th.Element

Ilsa came into the picture because of the quote from Casablanca that Maan uses in his monologue...

Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.

Just as how of all the offices, in all the towns, in all the world she walked into his...

Oh! yeah NYL is my fav too...but not sure how to bring that in. I will surely try.

[Needs editing]

One part meetings, two parts of hunting down folks who knew folks who understood the lengthy spool code handed to her and three parts staring at her screen to make sense of the gazillion decks handed to her pretty much summarized her day. Early that morning, Meera had guaranteed her that her next three weeks wouldn't be any different. That said, Meera had also cautioned her that her new intern status wouldn't cover for mistakes when handling questions from the not-so tech savvy executives who would be frequenting her meetings with Maan. Speaking out of turn or single incorrect quoting of the factual was all it was going to take to get her fired from the job. But it beat making rajma chawal day after day anytime. Somehow it was just as exciting and engaging as it was dreadful. She welcomed that more so when the scrutiny made her feel like another living, breathing person now. The anticipation and the sweat that collected in her palms every time she entered a meeting room inexcusably affirmed her mistakes would garner attention. Despite that the small acknowledging nods and tight formal smiles allowed for some hope that even her good work would count someday.

Like today, she'd thought she'd made an excellent observation and corrected Maan on the Q2 base numbers he'd been using to demonstrate his forecasting algorithmic rules. After all, she'd been burning the night oil going over all the Power points that Yash had sent her way and when the opportunity had come to show off, she'd done just that. Though only after the words had left her mouth, the full measure of her blunder had registered into her over-cluttered mind. And to think, she wanted to make an impression in her first meeting with the boss...

The next moment the room had gone absolutely still and all eyes had fixed on her. In the drone of the silence, she'd almost become certain that she would be called to his room in private for a long lecture about how smarting over the boss was never a good thing when one was still a temp. Her life's finest moments in that office had flashed across her eyes as if it was the last of the many she wouldn't have. She'd whispered a prayer then making a deal with her babaji that she would forgo lunch and dinner for that day if she still had a job when she would leave home that evening. When everyone's initial surprise had faded with Maan starting again from where they'd left off with the corrected numbers she'd called out, she'd began to breathe, barely convinced that she'd perhaps done the right thing then. After enduring the painful length of the meeting, Maan had left arguing with another bull head from the forecasting team without so much as a word with her and she'd come back with clammy feet and fraying nerves without any comfort of not having to expect an email in shouty capitals from him. Given that a full two hours had already passed and there hadn't been any office memos requesting her presence in his cabin, she was secretly doing a tippy toe dance even as she was seated. Uff! No news was still good news sometimes.

Her respite was short lived; all until she saw Meera dash towards her shaking her head in dismay, her forehead puckered up, her eyes wide with censure. Throwing her laptop and notepad on her desk, Meera swung her chair to face her fully, while she climbed to perch by the edge of her desk.

"Oh!" Meera stopped to roll her eyes, her head lolling with annoyance, "You did not just go righting Mr.Fibanocci about his numbers"

Her eyes widened, the brown of her iris rounding with worry, "What do you mean Mr. Fibonacci?...And why not?" Of course, she knew who Meera was referring to, but it was slightly disconcerting that the news had spread far and wide - even to Meera who been sitting in her own meeting 10 floors above. So, her slip was going to be the end of her after all.

"Oh! no..." Meera cried, slapping her forehead in an act of dramatization that did just what it was intended to do - peaking her curiosity further. "You just don't walk around dictating facts to MK"

She saw Meera's face contort from an agonized disbelief. "Don't you remember the five word axiom that everyone who works in Corporate should know?"

"What? Don't ever date your boss?" She asked slightly fazed with all the theatrics, which only she was usually entitled to between the best of friends.

"No...I mean, Yes! Of course..." Meera rolled her eyes again, "That and the fact that The boss is always right..." Meera dragged at end, sounding irrationally impatient, confirming all the more what she already feared was irreversible.

"But Maan didn't even speak back. After I quoted the right numbers, he simply began explaining using the numbers I gave him"

Meera got off her desk, putting her one feet down in an annoyed stomp, "MK...MK...MK...Do you get it?" She sunk back in her seat cushion, her head jerking back from never having seen Meera go berserk like that in the years they'd known each other, "Not Maan. MK! This is not Hoshiarpur to go addressing everyone by their first name. He prefers to be called MK" That was that and Meera was gone without another word and she found herself wondering what annoyed her friend more. If it was her petulance in the meeting or if addressing her boss by his first name had got onto Meera's nerves. Whatever!

"Listen Meera'" She called out to Meera's receding form, but when she didn't hear her the first time, she decided to give up then, recollecting the vague premises in which she'd met him. In all likelihood, she must not have ended up in his room that first hour she'd come into the office building. Quite obviously he'd been expecting someone with whom he was willing to try whatever it was for more than six months or a year. She thought she had a vague idea about all that had gone down in the room, but she couldn't muster the courage to string them out in so many words. It wasn't entirely lost on her that he'd introduced himself as Maan and not MK.

To think he'd some soft corner for her over the mistaken identity debacle was a gross over-imagination by all standards, when he didn't spare one look in her direction - not even when she'd corrected him. But then if the same news had traveled unto Meera in hours then surely it must be a big deal to call out on his erring and she didn't even know what was to be expected of Maan at such situations. Did he decisively ignore? And if indeed that had been the case, then was it only because he didn't have any hope for her to last all of the three months?

Oh! Lord, she needed this job badly; more particularly the small comforts that would start to come into her reach if she could last beyond the see-saw period of a quarter.

Her fingers shook, fearing the rejection that might come her way and she mindlessly looked at her desk collecting the printouts to order them in front of her. A deep breath. Now, all she had to do was work through the last power point, study the formulas and then head back home, where she was going to draw up her knees to her chest and coil as a wound up snail and go to sleep. Her worries always dissipated into half when she woke up after a good night's sleep. Focus, she told herself and stared at her wide LCD monitor. Sure, there were all sorts of symbols there, but they did not make sense to her as if they were text from an ancient script. Another deep breath. She decided she just had to doodle on the sheets and then perhaps the logic behind the expression will come to her'

Shit! But where was her pencil? She remembered tapping on her desk minutes before Meera had come to give her chiding sermon. Promptly, she pulled out of her desk and walked to the side of the break room where the office supplies were kept. Crouching down, she opened the cupboard doors and searched for the pencil that she preferred to a pen. That small space scattered with all forms of writing instruments in an array of colors hurt her eyes. Oh! Where was her yellow pencil? Momentarily, she felt swayed by the nervousness that was slowly creeping into her conscious, making its presence felt in her stiffening arms and legs. She threw her head into her hands and shook it wildly for the crippling feeling to clear from her head.

"Have you found whatever it is you are looking for?" She heard him address her softly and yet the element of surprise jerked her back at first and she got to her feet lacking all the grace of a twenty three year old. Lord! Did she truly fail to notice a full grown man when she entered the break room?

"A pencil'" She mumbled, vaguely placing her hands to the sides of her pencil skirt that seemed to be hugging her thighs a little too tightly now.

"Are you sure you don't have one on you?" He asked and she lifted her eyes to him, bemused at this questioning, her hands now fumbling into a knot while noticing his lips twist up in amusement.

"Sorry?" She asked, shaking her head in response as she shot one last look into the insides of the cupboard.

"May I?" She saw him reach up to her face, his index finger pointing to something on her side. Though she knew he wasn't going to poke a finger into her eye she couldn't help tipping her head away instantaneously, but before her gaze could follow his hand, she felt the tip of his fingers graze the top of her ear and even as she was beginning to fully feel the twist of the wood against her skin, he'd drawn the pencil from where she'd tucked it.

Oh! What a goof!

"Are you ok?" He asked, offering the pencil back to her.

She wanted to tell'

No! No...I'm not ok because I'm not sure what is uncharacteristic of you. Was today an aberration, Maan?

No! I'm not ok when I don't understand why you still haven't told me if I had overstepped my bounds correcting you.

And that brings me to ask you, if you don't want me working with you - setting me up to fail right from the start without offering me feedback?

But all she could manage was, "Yes...I think so", her eyes blinking, unwilling to allow the lingering feel of his touch spread any further into her body.

"Good..." He shrugged, "That's what I thought" He said and she thought she heard a trace of wryness in his tone as he turned back to leave once she'd taken the pencil from him.

Right after he was gone she suddenly felt the air rush back into the room and her shoulders slumped, loosening her body all over. Her head rolled to one of her shoulder and she sighed loudly.

And they said women were a mystery'

😉 I don't understand a word, but this is a good song for the upcoming friday party in the gym sit-out.


[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiItLWWxgOI[/YOUTUBE]