I could deny it no more to myself that I had an incurable lust for her.

Ever since the day she walked into my office six months ago, I have been fighting a constant urge to touch her on some pretext or the other. At times, I would lightly tap on her shoulder to get her attention instead of calling out her name. Sometimes, I would caress her fingers to stop her from taking dictation instead of saying it aloud. I turned chivalrous and always held the door open for her but stood close to it to feel the electric sensation of her body touching mine.

Why was I so smitten by her?

Were it her mysterious, black eyes or beatific smile that drew me to her? Or was it her melodious voice? Or was it her complete lack of awareness of her own sensuality? Whatever it was, she was nothing like the previous ones!

I was on hunt, again.

I slowly progressed from the right amount of praises for her work to small gifts as tokens of appreciation and finally convinced her that she was the most exquisite creature I had ever met.

Oh! For how long could a 24 year old girl resist the charms of a 45 year old veteran? So when I asked whether she would like to accompany me to Delhi for next month’s business meeting, she smiled in affirmation.

I made sure the suit at the Taj Mahal Hotel had flowers and wine. I even had my gift ready – a red, lacy and racy negligee from the latest catalogue of Victoria’s Secret. The scene was set and soon it was time for action.

Just as I made the first move, the bell rang. I was irritated at myself for forgetting to turn the ‘privacy’ switch on.

The ringing persisted. I instructed her to remain in the bedroom and went to answer the door.

A flash of light hit my eyes followed by a volley of questions.

“Mr Dev Bannerjee, is it true that you are having an affair with your secretary?”

“Mr Bannerjee, how do you feel getting caught in a hotel room with a woman other than your wife?”

“Mr Bannerjee, we have information that you sexually harass women at your office. Do you agree?”

“Mr Bannerjee, you have been voted 4^th in the list of Top Business Men of the Year. What do you have to say about this shameful incident?”

I could not believe this was happening to me. I tried to shut the door but someone had put his foot in the way. I could not allow them to discover the wine, flowers and the red thing! I turned around to put the weight of my back on the door and block their views.

There, she was standing at the door of the bedroom, with her inscrutable black eyes on me.

And then she smiled.